Effects of relationship education on emerging adults' relationship beliefs and behaviors

In this multisite study, we used a randomized controlled trial to examine how a relationship education intervention affected emerging adults' maladaptive relationship beliefs, mutuality, relationship decision making, relationship quality, and psychological distress. In addition, we explored whether one intervention modality (i.e., facilitated group discussion) was more/less effective than another (i.e., self‐facilitated online) and whether there were differential effects for participants in a relationship. We found that the facilitated group evidenced a decline in maladaptive relationship beliefs and an improvement in deliberate decision making. Moreover, facilitated group participants in a relationship reported higher levels of mutuality. Contrary to our hypothesis, there were no changes in relationship quality or psychological distress. Implications for the content and delivery of relationship education for emerging adults are discussed.     

Self‐esteem and caregiving in romantic relationships: Self‐ and partner perceptions

Self‐esteem may be associated with romantic partners' experience of emotional support and caregiving. Using a sample of 6,385 heterosexual couples in committed relationships gathered from the RELATionship Evaluation (RELATE) data set (see www.relate‐institute.org ), structural equation modeling was used to compare two actor–partner interdependence models examining the associations between both partners' self‐esteem and perceptions of partner caregiving responsiveness (i.e., accessibility, responsiveness, and engagement). Male and female self‐esteem was significantly related to partners' caregiving responsiveness while controlling for family‐of‐origin attachment experiences and relationship stability. Female self‐esteem was also significantly associated with females' caregiving responsiveness. These findings yield important implications, demonstrating that higher self‐esteem may be associated with improved caregiving behaviors between romantic partners. Relevant implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Voices,Boxes, and Sources of Messages

Can adults be induced to use social rules distinguishing “self” and “other” to respond to the behaviors of technologies? In a 2×2×2 between-subjects laboratory experiment involving the use of multiple computers with voice output, 88 computer-literate college students used a computer for tutoring and a different computer for testing. The performance of the tutoring session was either praised or criticized (Manipulation 1) in the same voice as the tutoring session or a distinct voice (Manipulation 2) via the computer (box) that performed the tutoring or a distinct computer (box; Manipulation 3). Respondents were shown to use voices but not boxes to distinguish “self” from “other” behavior in applying the social rules “Performance evaluations from others are more accurate than are performance evaluations of self,”“Praise from others is friendlier than praise from self,” and “Criticism from self is friendlier than is criticism from others,” to evaluate the tutoring and evaluation session.     

Idiomatic Communication and Interpersonal Solidarity in Friends’ Relational Cultures

This study examined the relationship of interpersonal solidarity to various aspects of idiomatic communication in friends’ relational cultures. A pilot study determined that the typology of idiom functions used in past investigations of romantic relationships could be extended to friendship. The idioms described functioned to name activities, emotional states, objects, and places; communicate affection; manage confrontations; accomplish greetings and goodbyes; reference the self, partner, or other individuals; issue requests and insults; and denote sexual matters. In the main study, 114 females and 117 males each identified a close same-sex friend, completed the Interpersonal Solidarity Scale, and filled out an idiom report form for each idiom that had emerged in the friendship. The majority of the 1,380 idioms reported were verbal, used in public contexts, and used in more than just the one friendship described. For both sexes, solidarity was positively correlated with five idiom categories: activities, affection, confrontation, nicknames for self, and objects. In addition, solidarity correlated positively with place, requests, nicknames for friend, and sexual references for females and with emotions, greetings/goodbyes, labels for others, and teasing insults for males. For both sexes, solidarity was related to the total number and breadth (diversity) of idioms reported, as well as to other features of friends’ idiomatic codes. A subset of the idiom variables collectively accounted for over one third of the variance in, solidarity. Support was also found for several hypothesized sex differences in the structure and use of idiomatic codes. Associations among idiom function, channel, patterns of use, and relational consequences were also explored.