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The study aimed to provide validity evidence and reliability of the Scale of Myths of Romantic Love (SMRL) in Peru among young and adult individuals. Focusing on how romantic love myths affect relationship satisfaction and their ties to interpersonal violence, sexism, and gender inequality, the methodology involved 308 participants, mainly females (75%), using the SMRL and Relationship Assessment Scale. Bayesian Confirmatory Factor Analysis (BCFA) assessed the scale's structure and reliability, complemented by descriptive statistics and correlation analyses to examine the myths' impact on intimate relationships. Results showed the SMRL's two‐dimensional structure, confirming its robust psychometric properties and satisfactory internal consistency. Descriptive findings revealed a skeptical view of traditional romantic myths among participants, indicating the scale's good reliability and successful adaptation to the Peruvian context. This validation highlights how debunking romantic love myths can improve relationship dynamics and satisfaction and addresses their wider societal effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This article explores the relationship between romantic love and polyamory. Our central question is whether traditional norms of monogamy can be excised from romantic love so as to harmonize with polyamory's ethical dimensions (as we construe them). How one answers this question bears on another: whether ‘polyamory’ should principally be understood in terms of romantic love or instead some alternative conception(s). Our efforts to address these questions begin by briefly motivating our favored approach to romantic love, a ‘narratival’ one inspired by 1930s cultural theorist Denis de Rougemont, wherein such love is exclusive, supernatural or promising transcendence, painful, impeded, and, ultimately, fatal. We maintain that, even once exclusivity is removed as an official component, tensions with polyamory's ethical dimensions remain: romantic love's other elements rationalize acting and feeling in ways that privilege a singular beloved above others. A tempting solution is to further revise romantic love. However, we are skeptical that this leaves space for distinctively romantic love. Our tentative proposal, then, is that polyamory's ethical dimensions favor rejecting romantic love as ultimately desirable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study examined the associations between romantic attachment and relationship satisfaction as mediated by interp ersonal schemas (friendly × hostile) with Turkish couples. Background: Previous studies showed that adult romantic attachment is strongly associated with couple relationship functioning, and many efforts have been made to identify the mechanisms underlying this link. However, no study has considered interpersonal schemas when investigating the connection between romantic attachment and marital adjustment in couples. Method: In total, 230 Turkish married couples completed measures of interpersonal schemas, adult attachment, and marital adjustment. Results: Attachment anxiety is indirectly related to marital adjustment in couples via interpersonal schemas. However, attachment avoidance is both directly and indirectly related to marital adjustment via interpersonal schemas. Whereas friendly schemas are related to attachment anxiety negatively, hostile schemas are related to both attachment anxiety and avoidance positively. Conclusion: The current study extended previous research by providing evidence concerning the influence of each partner's attachment dimension on the interpersonal schemas and marital adjustment of both spouses. Implications: In romantic relationships being aware of the impact of interpersonal cycles on dyadic adjustment in clinical settings can help therapists shape their strategies in therapy sessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We explored how young adults discussed their experiences with singlehood and their reasons for being single. Background: Despite singlehood being normative during young adulthood, less research has focused on the diversity of singlehood compared to that of romantic involvement. Method: In Study 1, 35 young adults participated in in‐depth qualitative interviews about their romantic histories. We explored singlehood meanings and reasons in the context of their relationship histories. In Study 2 we used data from 155 single young adults to explore the factor structure, internal reliability, and initial validity of the Reasons for Being Single (RBS) scale, which we developed for this study. Results: In Study 1 we found that singlehood is not simply the time in‐between relationships, but represents its own, unique aspect of romantic development. In Study 2, our analyses indicated that the RBS was comprised of three subscales: (a) self‐defeating reasons, (b) self‐enhancing reasons, and (c) lack of interest. Self‐defeating reasons were negatively associated with young adult well‐being, whereas self‐enhancing and lack‐of‐interest reasons were positively associated with young adult well‐being. Conclusion: Singlehood, like other aspects of young adults' romantic lives, is a diverse and varied experience. Singlehood is also neither an entirely positive nor entirely negative experience. Yet, framing singlehood more positively may aid well‐being. Implications: Within relationship education, being single should be treated as a diverse experience. Helping single young adults gain clarity around why they are single and identify their romantic goals may increase the efficacy of relationship education efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The goal was to determine if time spent in specific Healthy Marriage Initiative program components (relationship education courses, supplemental activities, and family support services) was associated with future relationship satisfaction and to examine if effects differed depending on the degree of economic disadvantage. Background: Healthy Marriage Initiatives (HMI) generally have small, short‐term positive effects on relationship outcomes. It remains unclear, however, which programming components are responsible for those effects and for whom programming is most effective. Method: Using two waves of data from over 2,000 lower‐income couples in the Supporting Healthy Marriages study, we conducted path models and a multigroup model to address our research aims. Results: Time spent in family support services was the only component positively associated with future satisfaction, controlling for the influence of other program components, initial relationship satisfaction, and expectations of the program's effectiveness. Economic disadvantage did not moderate any of these associations. Conclusion: Results suggest that many HMI programs may potentially be beneficial to relationship functioning because of the provision of supplementary support services that partially aim to alleviate external stressors and provide personalized assistance to families. Implication s : Practitioners should not only consider how relationship education programming may influence intimate bonds, but also how complementary programs may also factor into program efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the relative contribution of family functioning to friendship quality in youths with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Background: Youths with ASD often experience problems in their friendships. Although researchers have identified linkages between individual youth characteristics and friendship difficulties in youths with ASD, much less is known about the possible linkages between family and friendship problems in this population. However, the family system is an important context in which youths with ASD can learn skills that are necessary for developing friendships. Method: The current study examined the relations of key dimensions of family functioning and caregiver romantic relationships to central domains of friendship quality in youths with ASD, while also accounting for individual characteristics of the youths. Participants included youths with ASD (N = 93) and their primary caregivers who completed measures that assessed family, caregiver, and friendship variables. Results: Hierarchical linear regression models revealed that family functioning and caregiver romantic relationships explained significant variance in domains of youth friendship quality above and beyond individual youth characteristics. Conclusion: Friendships in youths with ASD were more strongly related to important elements of the family system than to various characteristics of the individual youth. Implications: Family relations should be considered in interventions that aim to improve peer relations for youth with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the introduction to The Psychology of the Transference (1946), Carl Jung sketched out a theory of "erotic phenomenology" which condenses his teaching about sexuality and romantic love into a very concise summary. But the meaning of this passage is obscured in the English translation given in the Collected Works of C. G. Jung. I propose here a new translation which makes Jung's meaning clearer, along with a commentary which explains it in the context of Freudian drive theory and German 19th century philosophy. Invoking the concepts of instinct, mind, and Eros (both the passion and the divine figure), Jung's theory says that male sexual desire can be cultivated or repressed in four distinct ways, each associated with a female symbolic figure or anima image: Eve, Helen, Mary and Sophia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The goal was to explore if perceived romantic relationship importance moderated associations between single status and young adults' positive well‐being. Background: Singlehood is often framed within a deficit framework, with the expectation that being single during young adulthood may be costly for well‐being. That approach, however, does not account for young adults' romantic goals, which may shape how being single is connected to well‐being. Method: Participants were 909 American young adults, ages 18–35 (M = 26.6, 51% female, 81% heterosexual, 58% White, non‐Hispanic), who completed an online survey in December 2019. Results: Being single, compared to having a romantic partner, was associated with lower love life satisfaction, general life satisfaction, and flourishing. However, the associations with general life and love life satisfaction were attenuated by relationship dismissal. Conclusion: Although single young adults reported lower general and love life satisfaction and flourishing, when perceptions of relationship importance were taken into account, relationship dismissal ameliorated the effect of being single on love life satisfaction and general life satisfaction. Placing less importance on romantic relationships may be a promotive factor for single young adults' positive well‐being. Implications: These findings have implications for supporting young adults' positive well‐being, particularly by framing singlehood as normative and, in some cases, preferable to romantic involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on significance quest theory, we hypothesized that when people in romantic relationships experience a general feeling of significance loss, they should develop an obsessive passion toward their partner, which in turn should enhance their willingness to act in an extreme manner to maintain their relationship (i.e., their remaining source of significance). To test this hypothesis, we ran two cross‐sectional studies and a longitudinal one. The first operationalized extreme behaviors through self‐sacrifice. The second considered obsessive relational intrusion (ORI) to be an example of extreme behavior. The third study tested whether the consequentiality among variables we considered was that hypothesized and ensured that the hypothesized model remained consistent also while considering the possible overlap between significance loss (i.e., quest for significance) and low self‐esteem. Results confirmed our hypothesis, suggesting that love, amorous relationships, and romantic partners are perceived as fruitful in maintaining or restoring one's personal sense of significance. Notably, this research represents one of the first applications of both the significance quest theory and, secondarily, the theory of motivational imbalance, to the context of romantic relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the couples‐centered perspective that has dominated public discourse and scholarly literature, the values and interests of coupled people are the implicit standard against which single people are judged, resulting in deficit narratives of single life. From that perspective, single people are "alone" and "unattached," the important people in their lives are mere substitutes for a romantic partner, and their families, if recognized at all, are described as "alternative" family forms. From a singles‐centered perspective, single life can be a psychologically rich life of freedom and autonomy, where people can chart their own life course, and value "The Ones" rather than "The One." Solitude can be savored rather than feared, and family, intimacy, and love encompass far more than just nuclear family, sexual intimacy, and romantic love. A singles‐centered perspective recognizes systems of inequality that disadvantage single people and privilege coupled people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of monogamy has been a central question in biological anthropology. An important avenue of research has been comparisons across "socially monogamous" mammals, but such comparisons are inappropriate for understanding human behavior because humans are not "pair living" and are only sometimes "monogamous." It is the "pair bond" between reproductive partners that is characteristic of humans and has been considered unique to our lineage. I argue that pair bonds have been overlooked in one of our closest living relatives, chimpanzees. These pair bonds are not between mates but between male "friends" who exhibit enduring and emotional social bonds. The presence of such bonds in male–male chimpanzees raises the possibility that pair bonds emerged earlier in our evolutionary history. I suggest pair bonds first arose as "friendships" and only later, in the human lineage, were present between mates. The mechanisms for these bonds were co‐opted for male‐female bonds in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a critical presentation and development of Alain Badiou's theory of romantic love, at the center of which is an understanding of the phenomenon in terms of a truth‐generating event. I discuss this notion against the more familiar ontological modes of theorizing love: as the subject's intentional attitude and as an activity of internal value. Arguing that the evental conception of love poses a preferable alternative to the former mode, my analysis focuses on its complementary relations with the latter, of which I take Stanley Cavell's theory of marriage as a representative. My further argument is concerned with the place of sexuality in the evental conception of love, compensating for what I argue to be the shortcomings of Badiou's treatment of the topic by turning to Roger Scruton's account of the immanent significance of the sexual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a mixed‐methods approach, this study investigates forgiveness, the factors of forgiveness, and unforgivable acts, and analyzes relational and gender differences in participants' qualitative answers. Open‐ended questions were answered by 649 participants from Slovakia (532 dating, 117 married; 517 women, 132 men). Responses were analyzed qualitatively using the Consensual Qualitative Research‐Modified method, then transformed into quantitative data in order to statistically compare the groups. The results showed that dating individuals tended to see forgiveness as working on the relationship, whereas married individuals viewed forgiveness as an emotional process. Married individuals were more likely to report that shared commitments helped them to forgive. Dating partners tended to look at the situational context. Men were more likely to report that forgiveness was key to the relationship. When forgiving their partner, men focused on internal factors, whereas women needed an apology and acts of love. Infidelity was the most common unforgivable transgression. Therapists may benefit from a more nuanced understanding of forgiveness in dating and married individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Objective: This study examined differences by sexual orientation in romantic relationship and marriage attitudes, and relationship skills, among a large, diverse sample of high school youth. Background: The romantic relationships of sexual minority youth have been understudied, particularly factors related to their relationship quality, such as attitudes and skills. Sweeping changes in social and legal equality (e.g., same‐sex marriage) have promoted a paradigm shift in relationship possibilities for sexual minority youth. Methods: Data were drawn from the baseline survey of a study of school‐based relationship education for adolescents. Adolescents (N = 979) completed a self‐report survey of their demographics, attitudes regarding romantic relationships and marriage, and their romantic relationship skills. Regression models examined differences by sexual orientation identity in relationship outcomes, controlling for relevant demographics. Results: Sixteen percent of youth identified as sexual minority. Sexual minority youth, relative to heterosexual youth, did not differ in their attitudes regarding qualities of healthy romantic relationships. However, sexual minority youth endorsed less traditional views of marriage and held less traditional expectations of marriage for themselves. They also perceived themselves to have fewer romantic relationship skills than heterosexual youth. Conclusions: Today's sexual minority youth hold less traditional views of marriage as a future for themselves, although legalized same‐sex marriage is now available. They perceived themselves as less skilled in romantic relationships, which are critical in adolescence for social and emotional development. Scientific efforts are needed to understand contributors to these differences and inform evidence‐based practices to support strong, healthy romantic bonds for all teens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When violence clearly conveys a message and produces order, it simplifies meaning. Worded differently, it creates a "dead zone" (Graeber 2012). This article argues that intense, passionate love, like intense, physical violence, drastically diminishes meaning and enhances the potential for harm. In recent globalized feminist discourse, it is commonly claimed that love and violence are mutually exclusive, which rests on the assumption that violence is bad and love is good. Yet strictly separating love and violence (e.g., by purging sacrifice from one's understanding of love) intensifies the two and produces dead zones. By contrast, many inhabitants of Milpa Alta, a rural, partially Nahuatl‐speaking community south of Mexico City, contend that violence can only be understood in relation to love. They define both concepts in terms of their affective qualities and potential to transform marital and social life. Violence, like love, is neither inherently negative nor positive because sacrifice and punishment are often considered key ingredients for maintaining a productive love among spouses, siblings, and within the wider community. Leaving the boundary between love and violence conceptually and morally porous allows them to remain generative of meaning and retain their productive potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the content of 61 video capsules, presenting stories about unhealthy relationships invented, performed and filmed by 534 adolescents, from Spain, Portugal, Romania and Italy. The purpose is to analyse, through a thematic analysis of the video capsules, youth perspectives on what factors, myths and beliefs turn healthy relationships into unhealthy relationships, and what positive assets are managed to solve them. The results show common youth's perspectives on the idealization of romantic love, based on gender stereotypes, identified as a common characteristic of unhealthy relationships. Individuality is misinterpreted as a threat to the stability of dating relationships. Positive assets used by victims to face dating violence (DV) are assertiveness, communication abilities and management of emotions, whereas offenders used assertiveness, empathy and critical thinking. The paper debates the efficacy of intervention programs combining youth positive development and DV prevention approaches based on filmmaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positive peer and romantic relationships are crucial for adolescents' positive adjustment and relationships with parents lay the foundation for these relationships. This longitudinal meta‐analysis examined how parent–adolescent relationships continue into later peer and romantic relationships. Included longitudinal studies (k = 54 involving peer relationships, k = 38 involving romantic relationships) contained demographically diverse samples from predominantly Western cultural contexts. Multilevel meta‐regressions indicated that supportive and negative parent–adolescent relationships were associated with supportive and negative future peer and romantic relationships. Meta‐analytic structural equation modeling (k = 54) indicated that supportive parent–adolescent relationships unidirectionally predicted supportive and negative peer relationships, while negative parent–adolescent relationships were bidirectionally associated with supportive and negative peer relationships. Maintaining mutually supportive relationships with parents may help adolescents to develop positive social relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I argue that Michel Houellebecq's novelistic descriptions of isolated and depressed protagonists in Sérotonine (2019) and in his earlier novels should not simply be read as symptomatic of the crisis of love in late capitalism. By focusing on situations where love might or might not manifest itself, Houellebecq also explores the potentiality of love. Despite the vast reception of Houellebecq's poems and novels, his critics have not sufficiently understood how the love theme is central throughout his work. This article explains its significance by focusing on Sérotonine and drawing lines to the earlier novels. In Sérotonine, as in Soumission (2016), the potentiality of love is closely related to an ambivalent pondering on the threshold of religion. Both novels have protagonists characterised by avoidance, negativity and indecisiveness. Love is both a potential and a testing ground for survival, on a personal as well as on a cultural level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In writing I Sad Love i , Carrie Jenkins wants us to think differently about romantic life. First, I am unsure that many people subscribe to the ideal of romantic happiness which Jenkins aims to challenge. Chapter 1 describes the paradox of happiness and looks at the prominence given to happy feelings in US culture. [Extracted from the article]

Emmanuel Levinas's early work inaugurated a tradition of thinking about alterity as at odds with generalized forms of knowledge that characterize political institutions. However, in his later work Levinas broaches but leaves underdeveloped the provocative idea that institutional modes of reasoning can provide a welcome home for alterity if they follow the wisdom of love. Against this backdrop, I argue that reading G. W. F. Hegel's early writings on neighbor love alongside his mature philosophy of the state offers us important resources for articulating an institutional approach to alterity that offers a compelling solution to Levinas's concern with letting the other(s) be seen by institutions in a non‐totalizing manner. Across his early writings, Hegel positions love as the vehicle through which one comes to be at home in the institutions of one's community and the vehicle through which one can revise and expand the institutions of one's community in novel ways. My aim is to demonstrate that Hegel's early account of love provides an indispensable blueprint for understanding his mature account of the relation between the individual qua infinitely unique and modern political institutions. In turn, this will enable us to discern the institutional approach to alterity embedded in his thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study sought to map schemas of five types of love and characterize their commonalities and differences in the Brazilian context. Two studies were carried out sequentially. In Study 1, 537 adults answered open‐ended questions about friends' love, romantic love, parental love, filial love, and self‐love. Responses for descriptions of the different types of love were grouped into 29 thematic categories. In Study 2, we tested the degree of representativeness of these 29 categories for the five types of love. Five hundred thirteen adults from all regions of Brazil participated. Results from two studies showed that each type of love has peculiarities that distinguish them from the others and that "understanding" is the common core of all types of love. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peter Abelard (1079–1142) is still considered one of the giants of philosophy, theology, and psychology, and the unsurpassed master of dialectical debate. Born in Le Pallet, near Nantes, Abelard became an academic and wandering cleric of great fame, founder of several schools that attracted students from all countries, arousing the admiration of his contemporaries and the profound envy of his colleagues. Around 1115, Abelard became master of the school of the Cathedral of Notre‐Dame. Shortly after, the canon Fulbert asked him to take his niece, the equally famous and highly cultured Héloïse d'Argenteuil (1092–1164), as a pupil. Thus a relationship began, celebrated for centuries to come, characterized by burning sexual and intellectual passion, by the famous correspondence, which will be the archetype of sentimental education and the template of romantic love letters, bythe birth of a son and consequent marriage, and by the cowardly revenge of Fulbert, who, together with a band of servants, mutilated "those parts of my body with which I had done what was the cause of their pain," as Abelard wrote. While this unclear self‐description has suggested to contemporaries and to posterity that Abelard was castrated, we aim to question this belief by analyzing in‐depth this historical‐andrological clinical case to understand if there is any evidence that could suggest that Abelard was instead the victim of an even more brutal punishment: penectomy. Signs and symptoms gleaned from the personal writings and historical perspectives of Abelard and his time are used here to provide a possible answer to a thousand‐year‐old question: what makes a man ... a man? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent readings of Kierkegaard's Works of Love have admirably shown how his apparent reservations about romantic love can be deflected on his own terms by imbuing them with some of the moral rigor of neighbor‐love. This paper argues however that these readings must be complemented by the reverse argument, which would show how some of the qualities of romantic loves are in fact preserved in neighbor‐love. By drawing on his dialectics of sensate love, psychical love, spiritual love, and self‐love, I show how Kierkegaard believes neighbor‐love should be impartial and yet exhibit some of the character of preferential romantic loves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Initial romantic attraction (IRA) refers to a series of positive reactions (such as feelings of exhilaration and compulsive thinking) toward desirable potential partners, usually at initial or early‐stage encounters when no close relationship has yet been established. After decades of effort, the evolutionary value and key characteristics of IRA are well understood. However, the brain mechanisms associated with IRA are unclear. To address this question, we simulated a mate selection platform similar to that of Tinder. When participants assessed their romantic interest in potential partners on the platform, their electroencephalogram (EEG) signals were recorded in real time. The behavioral data demonstrated that IRA to ideal potential partners mainly reflects the dimensions of arousal and domination. The main study finding was that processing of the individual preference faces that resulted in IRA was associated with a decrease in power in the alpha and lower beta bands over the posterior and anterior sensor clusters; this occurred between 870 and 2,000 ms post‐stimulus. Key findings regarding event‐related potentials (ERPs) sensitive to individual stimuli preferences were replicated. The results support the hypothesis that brain oscillations in the alpha and lower beta range may reflect modulation in cortical activity associated with individual mate preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This research examines the relationship between passion for a romantic partner and obsessive relational intrusion (ORI) which is defined as repeated and unwanted behaviors toward a partner that invade his/her personal privacy and cause fear for his/her safety. Method: Based on the dualistic model of passion, we predicted that obsessive passion (OP) would be associated with fear of abandonment, which in turn would be associated with ORI. In contrast, harmonious passion (HP) should not be associated with ORI. Results: Four studies (N = 1257) supported these predictions. Study 1 found cross‐sectional support for these hypotheses from the victim's perspective. Study 2 replicated Study 1 and extended it to the perpetrator's perspective by demonstrating that the relationship between passion and ORI is mediated by fear of abandonment. Study 3 replicated these findings using an experimental manipulation of passion. Study 4 found similar results by experimentally manipulating fear of abandonment, the mediator, to demonstrate its causal influence on ORI. Conclusions: Taken together, the present results demonstrate that passion and fear of abandonment play an important role in the type of behavior people are willing to pursue to maintain their romantic relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review explores research over the past quarter century on couples with age differences. I present recent global trends in age‐dissimilar couplings, illustrating a shift away from statistical marriage studies focusing on relationships' motivations, inequalities, and challenges, and largely underpinned by biological, economic, or demographic outlooks. Since the last review of age‐dissimilar couples in 1993, there have been substantive qualitative developments. Scholarship looking beyond Euro‐American contexts is increasingly common, as are approaches examining class, race, sexuality, culture, religion, and nationality, as well as age, marital status, education, and employment. This transformation informs new perspectives on power and partner choice. I argue that research now needs more fluid definitions of age differences, greater range in qualitative studies' geographies and methodologies, and continued consideration of the life course and intersecting differences. Examinations of age‐dissimilar couples should thus focus on these relationships' varied configurations, explored through a range of social analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Explore perceptions of health technology use among emerging adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and their interactions with romantic partners about their diabetes. Background: Dating and the formation of romantic relationships are key features of emerging adulthood. However, emerging adults with T1D may experience dating relationships in a unique way due to managing T1D. Health technology use may play an important role in those dating relationships. Method: Twelve emerging adults with T1D (average time since diagnosis = 9 years) participated in two focus groups during a weekend program with the College Diabetes Network in Boston, MA. Findings: Qualitative analysis revealed an overarching context of health technology use in relation to dating relationships among emerging adults with T1D. Within this context, three descriptive themes emerged: sensitivity to the perceptions of others, an emphasis on boundaries and independence, and T1D partner support. Conclusion: Technology plays a central role in the way that emerging adults with T1D interact with romantic partners. Insulin pumps, body sites, continuous glucose monitoring devices, and the sharing of technology all factor into decisions and methods of concealing and disclosing and the development of digitally supported intimacy. Implications for Emerging Ideas: T1D may place individuals in unique circumstances within romantic relationships. Professionals could educate those with T1D about technological and social aspects of T1D management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Romantic experiences during adolescence have an important influence on functioning later in life. Romantic love has been associated with the acceptance of abusive behaviors. This study examined the relationship between myths of romantic love and the perceived severity of different types of abusive behaviors, as well as the influence of gender.Methods: The sample comprised 448 Spanish adolescents (M = 12.92 years old; SD = 0.85), of which 50.3% were male and 49.7% were female. Participants were evaluated in the school setting. The Perception of Abuse Scale and the Myths, Fallacies, and Misconceptions about Romantic Love Scale were administered.Results: Statistically significant negative associations between the myths of romantic love and the perceived severity of abusive behaviors were found. Myths regarding possession, dedication, and exclusivity were associated with a lower perceived severity of abusive behaviors in adolescent males. Myths regarding the omnipotence of love were associated with a lower perceived severity of abusive behaviors in adolescent females. Believing in jealousy as a demonstration of love (myth of jealousy) and in the need to establish a steady union when you love someone (marriage myth) explained a lower perceived severity of abusive behaviors in regression models. However, being female and having these beliefs explained a higher perceived severity of abusive behaviors.Conclusions: The myths of romantic love are already present during early adolescence. These beliefs are implicated in the construction of gender inequality and difficulties in the identification of dating abuse behavior severity. A gendered perspective is necessary to understand this issue. Early intervention strategies should address the cognitive and emotional components of intimate relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study investigated the actor and partner effects of self‐esteem on the quality of the parental couple relationships: the romantic relationship and the coparental relationship. The mediating role of romantic quality also was considered. Background: Previous findings suggest that self‐esteem affects the quality of the romantic relationship. Yet few studies have focused on self‐esteem in the parental couple or explored self‐esteem related to the coparental relationship, both of which play a significant role in the nature of the family unit. Method: Using data from two independent samples (including 2,549 couples), actor–partner interdependence models were tested to analyze the effects of self‐esteem on both relationships of the parental couple. Results: Parents with high self‐esteem reported higher romantic quality, as did their partner. Self‐esteem also showed actor and partner effects on negative coparenting. Accordingly, parents with high self‐esteem reported fewer conflicts about the child and fewer undermining behaviors. In contrast, the link between self‐esteem and positive coparenting received little support. However, when mothers had high self‐esteem, they engaged more frequently in positive coparental behaviors, such as including the father. Finally, romantic relationship quality mediated the actor and partner effects of self‐esteem on negative coparenting. Conclusion: Having high self‐esteem appears to be a couple resource with beneficial effects for both parents. Implications: Improving parents' self‐esteem could be an important gateway for enhancing the functioning of families with romantic and coparental difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While Kierkegaard creates characters who represent various ways of existing as lovers in the aesthetic and the ethical spheres, namely, Johannes the Seducer and Judge William, he does not have a corresponding character for love in the religious sphere. Is there truly only marginal space for romantic love in Kierkegaard's religious sphere, or did his own personal history prevent him from being able to imagine what that might look like? This paper examines a commonly overlooked discourse, "On the Occasion of a Wedding," for Kierkegaardian insights on erotic love in the religious sphere. Against understanding erotic love as a moment (in the aesthetic sphere), or a duty (in the ethical sphere), this paper explores how "On the Occasion of a Wedding" recasts erotic love as gift. Kierkegaard stages the "imagined occasion" of a wedding as a phenomenological reduction through which love presents itself with gift‐like characteristics. Respecting the gift‐status of love transforms the lover into a grateful recipient rather than a seducer or a conqueror. This paper concludes that the proper response to love as gift would be neither to refuse it in favor of nihilistic uncertainty nor to possess it through triumphalistic objectivity, but to humbly embrace both its "already" and its "not yet" dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Albert Camus does not provide a direct or sustained exploration of romantic love. Instead, love is addressed only indirectly in The Myth of Sisyphus, and sporadically in other writings. This article analyses the experience of absurdity in love. Absurdity clears away the social, cultural, and philosophical ideals of love to focus on the actual experience of love. With this in mind, a positive account of Camus' philosophy of love is developed from several different works. This shows that Camus' philosophy of love centres on the biological feelings of love, which are temporary, non‐exclusive, and do not imply commitment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This research investigates the processes leading to felt constraint in romantic relationships. Background: Romantic commitment can be driven by a genuine desire to remain romantically involved with a partner, or it can be motivated by real or perceived constraints (e.g., shared property, psychological control or coercion, perceived obligations to one's partner) that make leaving relationships challenging. When relationship commitment and stability are driven by constraints rather than personal desire, individuals may feel "stuck" in their romantic unions, leading to negative outcomes for both individuals and couples. Method: Using data from in‐depth interviews with 35 individuals about their relationship histories, we employed grounded theory techniques to define and explain the process of entering and exiting relationships with high levels of felt constraint (i.e., stuck relationships). The final sample included 14 individuals discussing 21 stuck relationships. Results: Participants often entered stuck relationships in their teens and early 20s. Based on positive early experiences, couples quickly accrued barriers to breakup (e.g., cohabitation, marriage, children, family entanglement) that sustained the partnership despite declines in relationship satisfaction. The decision to leave stuck relationships was often motivated by maturing out of the relationship or becoming more aware of alternatives. Conclusions: Our study adds additional support for the notion that constraints are not universally problematic but must be understood within the context of the developing relationship in order to determine their likely consequences. Implications: Our findings support relationship education focused on building an individual's capacity to (a) assess the future viability of their partnerships and (b) overcome barriers to breakup if and when that becomes relevant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural heterosexist ideologies assume heterosexuality to be the default norm. Four studies investigated when concepts of romantic love are heterosexual‐by‐default (N = 685). In Studies 1–2, participants generated features of romantic love, in general (i.e., the default prototype) or among one of three sexual orientation‐specific couples (lesbian, gay, or heterosexual). Heterosexual‐identified participants' default prototypes were more similar to heterosexual than same‐gender prototypes (Study 1). Lesbian‐ and gay‐identified participants' default prototypes were more similar to both heterosexual and gay male than lesbian prototypes, whereas bisexual‐identified participants' sexual orientation‐specific prototypes were equivalently similar to the default (Study 2). However, heterosexual‐identified participants rated presented features of love similarly across sexual orientation‐specific conditions (Study 3). In a timed feature‐verification task (Study 4), participants categorized fewer peripheral features of romantic love as relevant to same‐gender than mixed‐gender couples. Activating sexual orientation‐specific representations affected subsequent default concepts of romantic love. We discuss implications for heterosexism theories and intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This research explores the implications of father absence due to divorce on young adults' well‐being and romantic relationships. Background: Studies have demonstrated the negative implications of father absence, a common consequence of divorce, on children's development. However, previous research has not systematically compared complete versus partial father absence. Method: Young adults who, as children, experienced complete (n = 38) or partial (n = 41) father absence were compared with 40 participants in a father‐presence control group. Results: Compared with those in the control group, young adults in the partial father‐absence group reported higher psychopathology and maternal overprotection, and lower maternal care, romantic intimacy, commitment, and passion. Under elevated maternal care, the partial‐absence group reported lower dyadic adjustment and consolidated sense of identity. Participants in the complete‐absence group reported higher self‐criticism and maternal overprotection and lower maternal care than controls. Conclusion: Partial father absence might have particularly pernicious consequences for young adults' well‐being. Implications: Clinical and public policy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The current study explored the psychometric properties of the Brief Accessibility, Responsivity, and Engagement (BARE) scale in a sample of Turkish adults in ongoing committed relationships (N = 509). Background: The sense of safety that results from accessibility, responsiveness, and engagement in a romantic relationship predicts more positive expectations and affect about one's partner, as well as better emotion regulation and communication skills in a relationship. However, there are no studies investigating the measurement of these behaviors in the context of Turkish culture. Method: The data for this study were collected through either social media and online listservs or three college campuses in Istanbul from November 2016 to June 2017. Participants were 27.26 (SD = 9.82) years old on average and mostly women (82.9%, n = 422), and approximately one quarter were married (23.4%, n = 121). Results: Results showed that the BARE scale demonstrated good internal and test–retest reliability, as well as adequate concurrent and discriminant validity. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the 12‐item structure of the BARE scale, but there was no support for the 2‐item by six‐subscale structure in the Turkish sample. Due to the high overlap between the BARE Self and Partner subscales, the scale appears to be a single‐factor measure when used in the Turkish context with a community sample of adults in romantic relationships. Conclusion: Further research is needed to test the BARE scale's psychometric qualities among distressed and clinical samples, using reports of both partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consistent with the intergroup contact literature, cross‐political relationships (e.g., friendships or romantic relationships between different partisans) may help reduce inter‐political group prejudice. Given that unfavorable attitudes based on the political group membership are particularly heightened at present in the United States, we explored whether having cross‐political friendships (Study 1) or romantic relationships (Study 2) predict more positive interpersonal or intergroup attitudes among American Democrats and Republicans. In Study 1, using a social network measure (N = 301), where participants reported on their closest friends, cross‐political (versus same‐political) friendship was associated with less positive interpersonal attitudes when this relationship was unsatisfying. Having any (versus no) or more (versus less) cross‐political group friendships was not associated with holding more positive intergroup attitudes. In Study 2, cross‐political romantic relationships were examined (N = 392). Having a cross‐ (versus same‐) political romantic relationship was associated with relatively less positive attitudes toward the political outgroup via lower empathy when relationship satisfaction was low. Study findings highlight the potential limitations of the beneficial effects of intergroup contact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I About Love on a Small Island i is a film that explores polygamous love, marriage, and sexuality as everyday experiences rather than revolutionary acts. This is followed by a kitchen scene, where Ayesheh, Saleh, and Miriam are seen in the same frame. He highlights the fights Ayesheh and Miriam would have when Miriam first moved into their house. Through the course of the film, we understand that Ayesheh and Miriam are married to Saleh, a camel herder. [Extracted from the article]

Objectives: This study investigates the effects of a new research‐informed couple relationship education (CRE) curriculum, ELEVATE, in a diverse sample of 300 adults. Methods: Using a quasi‐experimental design and propensity score adjustments, change trajectories were compared over a 6‐month period with multilevel growth‐curve modeling. Variations in outcomes based on income, family harmony, and relationship length were also explored. Results: Results indicate sustained program effects of ELEVATE over 6 months in four of the nine target outcomes (intimate knowledge of partner, social connections, conflict management skills, and couple relationship quality). Participants experiencing more stressful family contexts at baseline experience a greater amount of change in intentionality, developing a couple identity, use of caring behaviors, relationship quality, and depressive symptoms. Participants in more established relationships experienced greater change in conflict management skills and relationship quality. Participants with higher levels of income experienced greater change in developing a couple identity and social connections. Conclusion: These findings evidence several positive program effects for the ELEVATE program for a broad group of participants and also reveal some distinctions in change patterns for subgroups. Implications: This research provides information relevant to the development of best practices for CRE in diverse communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a youth relationship education program (YREP) on psychological functioning and to understand the mechanisms associated with change in distress. Background: Successfully (or unsuccessfully) navigating romantic relationships is a robust predictor of adolescent mental health. Youth relationship education programs have been found to promote adaptive relationship knowledge, attitudes, and skills; however, little research has examined how such programs influence mental health. Method: This study examined whether significant reductions in psychological distress occurred for a diverse sample of adolescents (N = 113) completing a YREP. The study also explored whether the curriculum, Love Notes 3.0, was effective in reducing distress due to changes in hope and compromising conflict‐resolution behaviors. Results: From pretest to posttest, psychological distress decreased for young women but not for young men. Furthermore, reductions in distress were associated with simultaneous increases in hope, but not reductions in conflict‐resolution behaviors. Conclusion: YREPs can assist in improving youth's knowledge about adaptive relational dynamics while also significantly improving psychological functioning, primarily through increasing hope. Implications: YREPs may be beneficial for youth's mental health, and hope may play an important role. Encouraging youth to set clear goals and promoting self‐efficacy for behaviors that enact those goals may be helpful considerations for those serving youth (and particularly adolescent young men) in YREPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This research examines the influence of adolescent family conflict on relationship quality in early and later emerging adulthood, while considering the interpersonal resources that protect youth against the intergenerational transmission of negative relationship quality. Background: Family conflict during adolescence can impede the development of skills needed to maintain future productive interpersonal relationships. Positive peer and romantic relationships in emerging adulthood may buffer the negative ramifications of earlier family conflict. Method: A longitudinal design was used to follow a sample of 850 at‐risk adolescents (50% female, 50% male) who were predominantly (80%) African American. Binary logistic and ordinary least‐squares regressions were run to test hypotheses. Results: Adolescents who reported higher levels of family conflict in adolescence were less likely to report closeness or support from both their parents and spouses or partners during both early and late emerging adulthood. These adolescents also reported higher levels of perceived daily stressors. Positive relationships in emerging adulthood did not affect the relationship between family conflict and later relationship outcomes. Conclusion: Family conflict in adolescence is associated with unhealthy relationship patterns in emerging adulthood. Implications: Adolescents from high‐conflict homes are unlikely to learn adaptive relationship strategies through natural maturation or exposure to positive interpersonal relationships in emerging adulthood. Direct intervention (e.g., conflict resolution skills) in emerging adulthood should be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore how vulnerabilities, stressors, and adaptive processes influenced early adults' (N = 1,073) future relational desires and topic preferences in relationship education (RE). Background: There is great diversity in pathways to relationship formation. Early adults are exposed to risk factors from their past and present relationship experiences that can influence their current and future relational functioning. Thus, there is an increasing need to provide individually relevant relationship education services to ultimately help early adults navigate these diverse relationship processes and transitions. To ensure relevant and successful programing, relationship educators need to consider early adults' future relational preferences and variations in early adults' interest in specific areas of RE content. Methods: Combining data from a nationally representative sample (N = 436) and a snowball sample (N = 637), we collected information on various risk factors for relationship distress early adults had observed or experienced, demographic information, and current relationship status to identify not only future relational desires but also interest in RE topics. Results: Results indicated that early adults are concurrently experiencing many risks that influence their future relational desires and interests in specific RE topics. Conclusion: We demonstrate how each risk factor independently influences an early adult's future relational desires and interest in RE topics, while also highlighting the cumulative effect of risk factors on these outcomes. Implications: Implications highlight tailoring functions within RE to increase interest and engagement and more precisely address specific participant stressors and vulnerabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore emerging adults' beliefs about their ability to end romantic relationships and to identify demographic, personality, and romantic experience factors associated with breakup beliefs. Background: Although, ending relationships is a key component of emerging adult romantic development, research suggests that breakups tend to be protracted and painful. Little is known about what individual skills might be relevant in making breakups smoother for both members of a couple. Method: Using a cross‐sectional design and drawing from an existing survey panel, 948 emerging adults completed an online survey about their romantic experiences and health outcomes. Results: Most participants perceived that they can carry out breakup‐related tasks; they reported knowing when to break up, being able to do so appropriately, being able to accept it when someone breaks up with them, and not delaying breaking up. However, a sizable proportion of participants (23.5% to 47.1% depending on the item) reported that they lacked the skills necessary to end romantic relationships. Beliefs about the ability to end relationships were most consistently associated with emerging adults' general self‐efficacy. Conclusion: Although most emerging adults in the sample appeared confident in their abilities to break up, a sizeable minority indicated that they lacked key skills to end relationships. Implications: Relationship education programs for emerging adults generally do not focus on relationship dissolution. Yet our findings suggest that some emerging adults may need opportunities to build skills that will help them exit relationships that are unhealthy, unsatisfying, or out of sync with their individual goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the sexual culture of gay men in Budapest, Hungary, based on research in 2011. HIV prevalence in Hungary is relatively low, compared with the United States, Western Europe, and parts of Eastern Europe (where injecting drug use is common, elevating the HIV rate). This preliminary, qualitative study of 21 gay and bisexual men, examines their social and sexual culture (their norms and values) in order to explain their low HIV prevalence rate. This low rate is particularly interesting because Hungarian homophobia and inconsistent condom use among gay and bisexual men are cultural factors that would appear to raise the HIV rate. Cultural and subcultural differences are important in understanding Hungarian gay male behavior, for example, the emphasis on romance and monogamy as an ideal, the importance of one's personal reputation, a perceived lack of a strong gay community, a failure to use condoms when in love, and infrequent HIV testing. The anthropological concept of romantic love plays a decisive role in sexual decision‐making among same‐sex couples. As Nanda indicates, "Romantic love [like marriage] also appears to be universal, but it is not the basis of marriage in most societies.... Romantic love as a basis for marriage has over time, become more widespread across cultures. This phenomenon is integrated in different societies in different ways, depending on local contexts and global connections." Despite widespread reluctance to use condoms while "in love," there is also an accurate knowledge of safer sex among gay men in Hungary. One possible solution to this seemingly contradictory situation, not available at the time of the study, is to promote the use of preexposure prophylaxis (or PrEP). PrEP is a daily pill shown to be even more effective than condom use. [sexual culture, HIV prevalence, AIDS risk, Hungary, gay and bisexual men] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate sibling support as a buffer against the intergenerational transmission of romantic relationship hostility. Background: Parental marital discord in adolescence negatively affects romantic relationships in adulthood. Given that sibling support is linked to positive outcomes in adolescence and adulthood, the current study investigated sibling support as a protective factor against romantic relationship hostility from adolescence to adulthood. Method: Using prospective longitudinal data from a community sample, 351 participants completed home assessments during adolescence (7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th grades) and adulthood (Mage = 31 years old). Romantic relationship hostility was coded from videotaped observations of participant interparental relations in adolescence and participant behavior toward a romantic partner in adulthood. In addition, the participants reported on the support they received from a sibling in adolescence, which was modeled as a moderator between romantic hostility in adolescence and adulthood using structural equation modeling. Results: Across sibling dyads, sibling support did not moderate the intergenerational transmission of romantic relationship hostility; however, sex differences revealed that sibling support buffered this effect in sister pairs, whereas sibling support exacerbated this effect in brother pairs. Sibling support moderated this association above and beyond parental support, socioeconomic status, and sibling age spacing. Conclusion: Perceived sibling support can potentially ameliorate or catalyze the intergenerational transmission of observed romantic relationship hostility depending on gender socialization in the family. Implications for sibling‐focused interventions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research considers whether romantic pair‐bond motivations influence numerical preferences. Across cultures and throughout history, the number "2" has been symbolic of a romantic pair bond. We propose that reminders of romance lead people to prefer the number "2" and other associated even numbers. A series of studies demonstrate that romantic motives—goals related to forming a romantic pair‐bond—increase preference for the number "2" and other numbers of its parity (i.e., even vs. odd numbers) as well as marketing stimuli featuring even (vs. odd) numbers. This effect is specific to romantic motives and does not occur for motives related to other social relationships, such as work relationships, kinship, and friendship. Consistent with the motivational perspective, the desire to form a romantic relationship statistically mediates the effect of romantic cues on preference for even numbers. Subsequently, the effect of romantic motives on preference for even (vs. odd) numbers are suppressed when the focal goal has been already achieved (i.e., having a romantic relationship) or when an individual endorses a promiscuous lifestyle (i.e., having multiple partners simultaneously). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relationship education is widely used to help people develop and sustain healthy romantic relationships. We first provide a review on the current state of evidence and key issues in the field, laying a foundation for suggesting specific best practices in relationship education. We focus on services provided to couples but also address the burgeoning field of relationship education with individuals. Although there are many gaps in the knowledge informing best practices—such as mechanisms of effect and dose—decades of research and experience provide a strong basis for specific recommendations. The hallmark of an evidence‐based, best‐practice approach lies in making thoughtful decisions based on current knowledge, the goals of the effort, the population served, and available resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescent-era predictors of adult romantic life satisfaction were examined in a multimethod, prospective, longitudinal study of 165 adolescents followed from ages 13 to 30. Progress in key developmental tasks, including establishing positive expectations and capacity for assertiveness with peers at age 13, social competence at ages 15 and 16, and ability to form and maintain strong close friendships at ages 16-18, predicted romantic life satisfaction at ages 27-30. In contrast, several qualities linked to romantic experience during adolescence (i.e., sexual and dating experience, physical attractiveness) were unrelated to future satisfaction. Results suggest a central role of competence in nonromantic friendships as preparation for successful management of the future demands of adult romantic life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marriage among senior citizens is often characterized by an increasing appeal to romantic love and companionship. Japanese retired men in Malaysia tried to transform their marital relations from unions based on a strict division of labor to bonds formed out of a romantic partnership. But the new marital intimacy had hidden costs for wives, as the gendered hierarchy continued to constitute the basic terms of what were considered valuable activities in their overseas retirement. Companionate relationships do not simply erase the previously meaningful hierarchy or gender roles. The forms and expressions of gendered hierarchy also shift as dependency and power may be re‐created in nonfinancial forms. The liberal rhetoric celebrated in the ideals of companionate marriage often masks the reproduction of these regulatory forms. [intimacy, gender, transnational retirement, companionate marriage, active aging, Malaysia, Japan] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]