Bridging the Divide or Intensifying the Conflict? How Disagreement Affects Strong Predilections about Sexual Minorities

This study draws on a sample of participants in online groups that discussed legalization of same‐sex marriage, to examine whether exposure to perceived disagreement decreases—as the deliberative theorists hope—or rather increases—as the research on confirmation bias predicts—strongly held predilections. Overall, participants' views towards same‐sex marriage and sexual minority rights remained largely unchanged after deliberating, regardless of the ideological composition of their groups. Consistent with the confirmation bias model, those who strongly opposed same‐sex marriage and sexual minority rights prior to the discussions and who perceived that others disagreed with them became even more opposed, and this effect was not a short‐term shift. Strong proponents, on the other hand, did not polarize in their views, but instead became slightly less favorable towards same‐sex marriage and sexual minority rights as a result of disagreement. Implications of these findings for deliberation of contentious issues are discussed.     

How does personality matter in marriage? An examination of trait anxiety, interpersonal negativity, and marital satisfaction

Although trait anxiety and its aliases (negative affectivity, neuroticism) have frequently been found to be associated with marital dissatisfaction, few efforts have been made to identify the processes through which trait anxiety exerts its influence. This study reports findings from a 13-year, 4-phase longitudinal study in which trait anxiety, measured when spouses were newlyweds, consistently predicted marital negativity which, in turn, was associated with partner's marital dissatisfaction. Some support was also found for effects of trait anxiety on partner's marital satisfaction, independent of marital negativity, as well as for the idea that trait anxiety is directly related to spouses' own marital satisfaction. Trait anxiety did not distinguish couples who divorced from those who remained married, and it generally did not predict declines in marital satisfaction. The disagreeable impact of trait anxiety on marriage was evident at the outset of marriage and was stable over time.     

Social Change and Marital Problems: Implications for Marriage Counselling

There are many reasons why people experience marital dissatisfaction. This paper is concerned with those who experience dissatisfaction not as a result of individual personality problems but as a result of the impact of social change on contemporary marriage. On the whole, these people are emotionally mature even if they present, initially, with 'clinical' symptoms. The paper identifies the effect of social change on such couples and suggests an approach to marriage counselling designed specifically to meet their needs. Background material is provided by a study of 40 couples seen for marriage counselling in a psychiatric clinic.     

Women of Polygamous Marriages in Primary Health Care Centers

Clinical implications for working with polygamous families are discussed following a report of research among a sample of 126 Bedouin-Arab women from polygamous marriages who were being seen in primary health care centers. Of these, 94 were senior wives who were followed by another wife in the marriage, and 32 were junior wives, the most recent wife joining the marriage. Data revealed that senior wives reported lower self-esteem as compared to junior wives. Findings also showed that senior wives reported poorer relationships with their husbands compared to their junior counterparts. Often when a husband married a second wife, the marriage could be based on love, rather than parental arrangement, an exchange, or consanguinity as in the first. These factors also contribute to the senior wife's low self-esteem and marital dissatisfaction.     

The effects of exposure to slender and muscular images on male body dissatisfaction

This research examined the effects of appearance-based comparisons to muscular and slender idealized male bodies and the contribution of internalization and social comparison to change in body dissatisfaction. Participants were 111 male undergraduates who completed measures of body dissatisfaction, internalization, and social comparison and viewed images of either muscular or slender men in advertisements or product-only advertisements. Results indicated that exposure to both muscular and slender images was associated with an increase in body dissatisfaction, with no significant differences in the change in body dissatisfaction between the two image conditions. Internalization and trait social comparison were each associated with an increase in body dissatisfaction; however, upward social comparison was only a significant predictor of a change in body dissatisfaction for the males who viewed muscular images. These results highlight the impact of slender models on young men's body dissatisfaction and support the examination of media literacy interventions with this population.     

Impacts of exposure to images of ideal bodies on male body dissatisfaction: a review

Research suggests that young men's body dissatisfaction increases when they see images of attractive muscular men. This article provides the first extensive review of experimental studies exposing men to advertisements or commercials featuring idealized male bodies. Impacts on body dissatisfaction were evaluated by calculating and analyzing effect sizes from 15 studies. The effect sizes indicate that exposure to images of idealized male bodies has a small but statistically significant negative impact on men's body dissatisfaction. Three studies suggest that young men who are dissatisfied with their bodies are at increased risk for negative self-evaluations when exposed to idealized images. Two studies suggest that men who are satisfied with their bodies may be protected against negative impacts from seeing such images.     

Marital dissatisfaction,psychological vulnerability and subsequent marital disruption

Four alternative theoretically-informed models specifying the interrelationships among marital dissatisfaction, psychological dysfunction and subsequent marital disruption are tested using panel data from two stages of young adulthood. The results support the hypotheses that: (1) dissatisfaction with one's marriage leads to subsequent marital disruption; and (2) controlling for marital dissatisfaction, psychological vulnerability is inversely related to marital disruption, perhaps reflecting the maintenances of distressing relationships due to the inability to perceive the availability of more favorable alternatives to the current marriage.     

The effects of "thin ideal" media on women's body image concerns and eating-related intentions: the beneficial role of an autonomous regulation of eating behaviors

The present study examines the protective role of an autonomous regulation of eating behaviors (AREB) on the relationship between trait body dissatisfaction and women's body image concerns and eating-related intentions in response to “thin ideal” media. Undergraduate women (n = 138) were randomly assigned to view a “thin ideal” video or a neutral video. As hypothesized, trait body dissatisfaction predicted more negative affect and size dissatisfaction following exposure to the “thin ideal” video among women who displayed less AREB. Conversely, trait body dissatisfaction predicted greater intentions to monitor food intake and limit unhealthy foods following exposure to the “thin ideal” video among women who displayed more AREB.     

Social comparison and the drive upward revisited: Affiliation as a response to marital stress

To test theoretical ideas derived from classic and recent social comparison theory, two studies examined affiliative tendencies as a response to marital problems among individuals varying in marital dissatisfaction. Study 1 (n. = 632) showed that the higher the degree of marital dissatisfaction and the higher the uncertainty about how things are going in one's marriage, the stronger was the desire for affiliation (operationalized as the desire to talk with others about one's marriage). Moreover, among individuals high in marital dissatisfaction, a preference for upward affiliation was found, i.e. for contact with others having better marriages. Individuals with lower levels of dissatisfaction preferred affiliation with similar others. Women experienced more uncertainty and a stronger affiliative tendency than men. In Study 2 (n = 233), these findings were largely replicated. Moreover, it was shown that the desire to affiliate when facing marital stress was particularly strong among individuals high in interpersonal orientation.     

Why do even satisfied newlyweds eventually go on to divorce?

Although divorce typically follows an extended period of unhappiness that begins early in marriage, some couples who are very happy throughout the first several years of marriage will also go on to divorce. This study aimed to identify risk factors early in marriage that distinguish initially satisfied couples who eventually divorce from those who remain married. We identified 136 couples reporting stably high levels of relationship satisfaction in the first 4 years of marriage. We compared the couples who went on to divorce by the 10-year follow-up with the couples who remained married on initial measures of commitment, observed communication, stress, and personality. Divorcing couples displayed more negative communication, emotion, and social support as newlyweds compared with couples who did not divorce. No significant differences were found in the other domains, in relationship satisfaction, or in positive behaviors. Overall, results indicate that even couples who are very successful at navigating the early years of marriage can be vulnerable to later dissolution if their interpersonal exchanges are poorly regulated. We speculate that, paradoxically, the many strengths possessed by these couples may mask their potent interpersonal liabilities, posing challenges for educational interventions designed to help these couples.     

On models and vases: body dissatisfaction and proneness to social comparison effects

When and why do media-portrayed physically attractive women affect perceivers' self-evaluations? In 6 studies, the authors showed that whether such images affect self-evaluations depends jointly on target features and perceiver features. In Study 1, exposure to a physically attractive target, compared with exposure to an equally attractive model, lowered women's self-evaluations. Study 2 showed that body-dissatisfied women, to a greater extent than body-satisfied women, report that they compare their bodies with other women's bodies. In Study 3, body-dissatisfied women, but not body-satisfied women, were affected by both attractive models and nonmodels. Furthermore, in Study 4, it was body-dissatisfied women, rather than body-satisfied women, who evaluated themselves negatively after exposure to a thin (versus a fat) vase. The authors replicated this result in Study 5 by manipulating, instead of measuring, body dissatisfaction. Finally, Study 6 results suggested that body dissatisfaction increases proneness to social comparison effects because body dissatisfaction increases self-activation.     

Body dissatisfaction and body comparison with media images in males and females

This study examined the role of media body comparison as a mediator of the relationships between psychological factors and sociocultural pressures to be thin and body dissatisfaction in both females and males. Participants were 1,386 females (mean age = 19.37 years) and 1,130 males (mean age = 19.46) from diverse backgrounds who completed a self-report questionnaire. Path analysis was used to test a cross-sectional model in which media body comparison mediated the impact of self-esteem, depressive mood, parent dieting environment, friend dieting, TV exposure, magazine message exposure, weight teasing and body mass index (BMI) on body dissatisfaction. In females, media body comparison partially or fully mediated relationships between self-esteem, depressive mood, friend dieting, magazine message exposure and BMI, and body dissatisfaction. In males, media body comparison was not a significant predictor of body dissatisfaction. This research particularly highlights the need to further examine processes that are involved in the development of body dissatisfaction in males.     

The relational context of social support: Relationship satisfaction moderates the relations between enacted support and distress

In two studies of kidney transplant patients and their significant others, the authors examined whether the relations between enacted social support and patient distress were moderated by patients' satisfaction with their relationship with the support provider (i.e., their significant other). In Study 1 (n = 121 couples), unsupportive spousal behaviors were associated with more distress only among patients who were less satisfied with their marital relationship. In Study 2 (n = 112 couples), the relations between unsupportive behaviors and distress again varied as a function of the patient's relationship satisfaction, although the particular pattern of the interaction depended on the specific unsupportive behaviors offered to the patient. In both studies, relationship dissatisfaction was associated with higher levels of patient distress. Supportive behaviors were not related to distress and did not interact with relationship satisfaction. Implications for future research on social support in marriage are discussed.     

Marital Adjustment and Irrational Beliefs

The present study was designed to determine which aspects of Ellis' irrational beliefs as well as emotional traits (anxiety, curiosity, anger) differentiate couples attending marriage counseling from couples couple not attending marriage counseling as well as levels of marital satisfaction in couples as measured by the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test. Participants were 61 married couples, 18 of whom were attending marriage counseling and 43 who were not attending marriage counseling. Each partner completed a number of self-report questionnaires containing items measuring irrational /rational beliefs, anger, anxiety and curiosity, and communication skills. Correlational and multiple regression analyses indicate support for Albert Ellis' proposition concerning the importance of individual partner's emotional traits and accompanying irrational beliefs in marital adjustment and dissatisfaction. Self-downing and need for comfort were the dimensions of irrational thinking most strongly related to marital dysfunction. Anger, anxiety but neither curiosity nor communication skills distinguished individuals experiencing or not experiencing marital problems. Implications for relationship counseling are briefly discussed.     

Maternal Emotion Socialization: The Contribution of Inhibited Behaviour and Mothers' Dissatisfaction with the Parent–Child Relationship

In the present study, we examined the associations between children's inhibited behaviour, mothers' dissatisfaction with the parent–child relationship and mothers' self‐reported reactions to children's emotions. Fifty‐three mother–child dyads visited the laboratory, and mothers completed questionnaires about child temperament and emotion socialization. Maternal stress stemming from dissatisfaction with the parent–child relationship was negatively predictive of mothers' supportive reactions to happiness. In addition, the interaction between children's inhibited behaviour and parent–child relationship dissatisfaction significantly predicted mothers' supportive reactions to children's fear; specifically, mothers who reported the highest levels of dissatisfaction in their relationship with their children and had children who exhibited low levels of inhibition reported the lowest levels of supportive responses to their children's fear. Importantly, mothers reported the highest levels of supportive reactions to children's fear when their children were low in inhibition, and they reported low levels of dissatisfaction in their relationship with their child. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bible Beliefs,Conservative Religious Identity,and Same‐Sex Marriage Support: Examining Main and Moderating Effects

Research finds that Americans who espouse theologically conservative beliefs about the Bible generally oppose same‐sex marriage. Studies exploring this link, however, have been limited in that their operationalization of fundamentalist belief has been problematically conceptualized and they have potentially confounded the effect of conservative religious identity. The current study asks: (1) How do distinct beliefs about the nature and authority of the Bible influence same‐sex marriage support? (2) Do these beliefs influence same‐sex marriage support independently of conservative religious identity? (3) To what extent do Bible beliefs and conservative religious identity moderate one another's effects? And (4) to what extent are these factors moderated by religious tradition and frequency of Bible reading? Analyses of 2006 Portraits of American Life Study data reveal that while identifying as religiously conservative is the strongest predictor of opposition to same‐sex marriage, believing in inerrancy and creationism remain strong predictors in full models. I also find moderating effects between belief in creationism, inerrancy, inspiration; religious‐conservative identity; and religious tradition. Findings clarify how theological beliefs and religious identity shape support for same‐sex marriage across religious traditions.     

Gratitude buffers the adverse effect of viewing the thin ideal on body dissatisfaction

Gratitude has robust associations with multiple aspects of well-being. However, little research has explored whether the psychological benefits of gratitude extend to body image. We used a repeated measures experimental design to test whether a brief period of grateful reflection would buffer the adverse effect of exposure to thin-ideal media. Female undergraduates (N = 67) completed three sessions one week apart. The conditions were specifically designed to isolate (a) the effects of viewing thin models on body dissatisfaction and (b) the moderating effect of grateful contemplation. Results showed that body dissatisfaction scores were lower for women who engaged in a brief period of grateful contemplation before viewing photographs of thin models than for women who reflected upon life hassles before viewing the same photographs. The magnitude of this decrease depended on BMI. Gratitude offers an innovative direction for future research directed toward helping women to accept their bodies.     

Patterns of couple interaction during the transition to parenthood

Using latent transition analysis, this study identified Constructive and Destructive marital problem‐solving patterns in couples prenatally and at 3, 12, and 24 months postbirth. Most couples remained in the same group across the 2 years (27.5% and 52.2% who started as Destructive and Constructive, respectively). Always Destructive spouses reported more depressive symptomatology and more negative and less positive views of marriage than Always Constructive couples. Mixed wives mirrored Always Constructive wives in their depressive symptomatology and concurrent views of marriage; mixed husbands mirrored Always Constructive husbands in their depressive symptomatology and Always Destructive husbands in their concurrent views of marriage. Mixed couples divorced or separated at the highest rates (35.7%), while Always Constructive couples tended to remain married (93.1%).     

Effects of exposure to muscular and hypermuscular media images on young men's muscularity dissatisfaction and body dissatisfaction

This study examined the effects of exposure to muscular and hypermuscular media images on young men's body images, and the moderating roles of baseline body dissatisfaction (BD) and muscularity dissatisfaction (MD). Men (M age = 21.9, SD = 2.8) were exposed to pictures of muscular (n = 34) or hypermuscular (n = 29) male physiques throughout a 30-min health seminar. In support of the study hypotheses, higher levels of baseline BD and MD were associated with greater post-seminar BD and MD. In addition, MD moderated the effects of the exposure conditions on BD; greater baseline MD was associated with greater post-seminar BD, but only among men who viewed the muscular images. These results speak to the importance of pre-existing muscularity concerns in determining men's reactions to muscular physique images, and suggest that exposure to the media ideal of muscularity, and not muscularity per se, elicits body dissatisfaction in men with pre-existing muscularity concerns.     

‘Retouch free’: The effect of labelling media images as not digitally altered on women's body dissatisfaction

This study aimed to investigate the effect of ‘retouch free’ labels on thin ideal fashion images on women's body dissatisfaction. This represents an experimental analogue to current practice by some fashion magazines. Participants were 224 female undergraduates who viewed a set of fashion shoots with either no label, or a label indicating that the image had not been digitally altered. Results indicated that, although body dissatisfaction increased after exposure to the thin ideal images, there was no significant effect of label type on mood or body dissatisfaction. It was concluded that labelling images as digitally unaltered appears neither helpful nor harmful in terms of body dissatisfaction. Nevertheless, more extensive research is required to guide the most effective use of labels.