Helping Couples in the Shadow of COVID-19

The pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (coronavirus) and the associated illness, COVID-19, has caused a level of worldwide upheaval unlike any most people now living have seen in their lifetimes. This crisis affects people in their most important, committed, and intimate relationships. Although this crisis has damaged the health and well-being of individuals, crushed economies, and led to an extensive period of uncertainty about the future, there may also be positive outcomes in the motivation people have to protect their relationships. In this paper, we focus on strategies that therapists and relationship educators can use to help couples preserve and protect their relationships during such a time. We describe four foundations of safety that allow relationships to thrive: physical, emotional, commitment, and community. We then highlight three keys from our body of work that can help guide individuals and couples in protecting their relationships on a day-to-day and moment-to-moment basis: (1) decide, don’t slide; (2) make it safe to connect; (3) do your part.     

Lower Sexual Satisfaction and Function Mediate the Association of Assault Military Sexual Trauma and Relationship Satisfaction in Partnered Female Service Members/Veterans

Little is known about the association of military sexual trauma (MST) and relationship satisfaction among partnered female service members/veterans (SM/Vs). Extant civilian literature shows a strong association between sexual trauma and poorer relationship outcomes, and theory suggests that sexual function and satisfaction may mediate this association. Given that as many as 40% of female SM/Vs report MST and roughly half of female veterans are partnered and in their peak sexual years, it is critical to understand the association of MST, relationship satisfaction, sexual function, and sexual satisfaction in this population. Female SM/Vs (N = 817) completed a demographic inventory, self-report measures of MST, relationship satisfaction, sexual function, and sexual satisfaction. One hundred fifty-one (18.48%) participants did not experience MST. Three hundred eighty-eight (47.49%) reported that they experienced harassment-only MST, and 278 (34.03%) reported assault MST. At the bivariate level, lower relationship satisfaction was associated with lower sexual function and satisfaction with large effect sizes. Assault MST was associated with lower relationship satisfaction and sexual function and satisfaction with small-to-medium effect sizes. No differences in relationship satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, and function between those with harassment-only and no MST were observed. Mediation analyses demonstrated that lower sexual function and satisfaction mediated the association of assault MST and relationship satisfaction. Couples’ therapy offered to SM/Vs with MST should screen for type of MST, sexual function, and satisfaction. Addressing the sequelae of MST and increasing sexual function and satisfaction in these partnerships may be critical treatment targets.     

The Relationship Between Social Support and Family Relationships Among Low-Income Couples Attending Relationship Education

Results are mixed for relationship education (RE) interventions with low-income couples. For couples who experienced positive changes, it is not clear what aspects of program models contributed to change. Many low-income couples attend government-funded RE with limited access to social and community resources. Program models often provide related resources complimentary to RE skill-building. We examined the relationship between income, social support, and family functioning for low-income, ethnically diverse couples (N = 856) who attended RE, as well as the mediating effects of social support on family functioning outcomes. Analyses included three separate dyadic models that examined associations among constructs at baseline and immediately following the RE intervention. Results demonstrated relationships between participants’ reported social support and family functioning such that (a) social support was associated with baseline family functioning for both men and women; (b) men’s baseline social support was influenced by women’s baseline family functioning; and (c) men’s and women’s social support change score had a positive influence on their own family functioning change score. However, social support was not a significant mediator of change in family functioning. Implications for RE practice and research are also discussed.     

Mediation of Childhood Adversity and Health by Relationship Quality in Diverse Couples

Individuals with economic disadvantage experience greater (a) adverse childhood experiences (ACE), (b) risk for low relationship quality and relationship dissolution, and (c) disparity in physical and mental health. Thus, a critical need exists to understand the connections between areas of disparity in family and relational health on physical and mental health for those most vulnerable to the deleterious effects. The researchers therefore tested a dyadic model for the mediation of ACE and health by relationship quality with data from 503 couples with economic disadvantage and a racial or ethnic minority background (76.9%). The data fit the proposed model and explained a majority of the variance in health, 82.3% of the variance in menʼs health and 56.5% in womenʼs health—both large effects. Moreover, the significant indirect pathway between ACE and health through relationship quality contributed 98.05% and 57.40% of the total effects for men and women, respectively. Overall, a significant relationship existed between ACE, relationship quality, and health for men and women at the actor-level and the dyadic influence between members of a couple contributed to the overall model fit. Results add to support for the role of relationship quality as a dyadic social determinant of health disparities with implications for prevention and intervention.     

Effects of global and contextualized personality on relationship satisfaction

Researchers have made great strides in conceptualizing and assessing contextualized personality—how people’s personalities vary across different contexts (e.g., among friends, co-workers, and relationship partners). We investigated how global and contextualized personality traits are linked to relationship satisfaction. In Study 1, longitudinal associations between global and contextualized personality and relationship satisfaction were examined in a sample of adults in committed dating relationships. Study 2 investigated actor and partner effects of global and contextualized personality on relationship satisfaction in undergraduate couples. Study 3 used observer ratings of contextualized personality traits expressed in couples’ daily Instant Messages (IMs). These results demonstrate that contextualized personality—in particular neuroticism—is linked to the quality of both current and future romantic relationships.     

Effects of public feedback during RTI team meetings on teacher implementation integrity and student academic performance

As a result of the new revision of IDEA (2004), models of early intervention and response-to-intervention (RTI) have received a great deal of attention in the literature. Although various tiered models have been described in detail, one aspect of RTI that has received little empirical attention is the need to ensure integrity of intervention as part of a team decision making process. One method that has good support for improving treatment integrity is performance feedback (PFB); however, the utilization of PFB within a team context has received very little attention in the literature. Experiment 1 evaluated the effect of PFB delivered within the context of an RTI team on treatment integrity after fidelity had fallen to unacceptable levels. Experiment 2 evaluated the effects of PFB on the maintenance of treatment integrity prior to integrity fall off. Results indicate that PFB can be used as an efficient means of improving or maintaining treatment integrity when applied within a team model.     

Classroom discourse and the distribution of student engagement

Research in the social psychology of achievement motivation stresses the contribution of the classroom motivational context to problems of student engagement among low achieving students. This analysis contributes to that literature through a focused analysis of English and language arts instruction during the middle school years. Using data from the Partnership for Literacy Study the author investigates the relationship between classroom evaluation during question and answer sessions and two forms of student engagement, participation in classroom discourse, and student effort on classroom and homework assignments. When teachers focus on provoking student thought and analysis, and postpone evaluation during question and answer sessions by engaging in dialogic instruction, levels of student effort are more evenly distributed among students. Moreover, the relationship between levels of initial achievement and student effort is weaker in classrooms where teachers incorporate elements of dialogic instruction into question and answer sessions. However, dialogic instruction had no effect on the distribution of participation in classroom discourse itself.     

Postpartum Daily Stress,Relationship Quality,and Depressive Symptoms

This study explored the relationships among daily stresses, specifically interpersonal conflict, the quality of supportive spousal relationships, and the experience of postpartum depressive symptoms. In our sample of 51 women nearly 30% reported symptoms consistent with postpartum depression. Using regression analysis and controlling for depression during pregnancy, results suggested that arguments with family members and the depth of the spousal relationship acted as significant predictors of the severity of reported postpartum depressive symptoms. Results of the regression were in the expected direction, but due to the small sample size, the findings should be interpreted with caution. Post-hoc analyses were conducted separating the women into three groups based on their depression scores. Therapeutic interventions to reduce postpartum depressive symptoms are considered. An erratum to this article can be found at     

手机短信与大学生人格特征关系的研究

采用自编式手机短信（SMS）问卷及NEO—PI—R人格测试,以280名大学生为研究对象,该研究考察了SMS使用情况与大学生人格特征的关系。结果表明：（1）神经质与使用SMS的担心时间、幻觉经验、作息时间有显著负相关,与SMS对交往的影响呈显著的正相关;（2）外倾性与SMS使用数量和作息时间显著正相关;（3）宜人性与SMS使用时间有显著负相关,而与SMS比例呈显著正相关;（4）认真性与总费比例有显著负相关,与幻觉经验和作息时间存在显著正相关。     

大学生自尊状况的调查研究

该研究的主要目的是对大学生的自尊状况进行描述分析。测量工具为Rosenberg的“自尊量表”。被试取自北京市3所高校的一至三年级大学生,共788人。结果显示,约80％接受调查的大学生显示高自尊,另外约20％的大学生显示低自尊。