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Feeling connected to others, particularly our intimate partners, is closely tied to physical and mental health. Despite network theories predicting that intimate relationships influence our other social connections, and theories of intimate relationships predicting that connections to others should influence intimate partnerships, these two are rarely studied together. This dissertation demonstrates that these elements should be studied as interconnected entities influencing each other. Drawing on a variety of theoretical viewpoints and methodologies, this work consists of four interconnected chapters aimed at enhancing our understanding of how the social context impacts intimate bonds. The first chapter uses the new Social Ties and Intimate Relationships (STAIR) framework to review and synthesize research on the influence of networks on couple dynamics. I use this framework to organize a literature review of 140 peer-reviewed papers, highlighting methodological strengths and weaknesses, summarizing what scholars know about the influence of social networks on intimate relationships and vice versa, and suggesting future research directions. The second chapter addresses the impact of COVID-19 on social networks by documenting significant declines in both face-to-face and virtual interactions among a sample of mostly non-White couples living with lower incomes from before the pandemic through its first 18 months. The findings indicate that while affluent couples maintained more network relationships, especially virtually, the pandemic reduced social connections for most people even after the introduction of vaccines and the easing of distancing mandates. The third chapter addresses the finding that, although income is a known predictor of divorce, its correlation with marital satisfaction is weak. This study shows that the capacity to meet financial obligations is a more substantial predictor of marital satisfaction. Additionally, I find that the influence of financial status on satisfaction depends on how couples’ social connections are doing financially as well as how couples’ own income has changed over time. The final chapter examines whether moving homes affects couples' relationships. The analyses of this multi-study project based on interviews with nearly 700 couples during the early years of marriage suggest that moving is a normative transition that most couples navigate successfully without long-term damage to marital satisfaction.

Discrepancies in partners’ commitment have been emphasized as a key factor involved in relationship instability. We tested the contributions of multiple types of commitment asymmetry (discrepancies between partners at one time point) and asynchrony (discrepancies in the progression of commitment over time) to relationship satisfaction and break-up. In three studies (N = 6960 couples) spanning months (Study 1), days (Study 2) and years (Study 3), commitment asymmetry and asynchrony consistently did not predict satisfaction or break-up when controlling for individuals and their partners’ commitment. Only one's own commitment and proportion of downturns in commitment (reporting lower commitment than the previous time point) consistently predicted satisfaction. Women's (but not men's) commitment and proportion of downturns were associated (negatively and positively, respectively) with break-up. Thus, contrary to some significant previous findings, commitment asymmetry and asynchrony are not indicative of future relationship outcomes. Our findings have important implications for theoretical models of commitment and couples’ practical issues in relationships over time.

Research comparing intercultural and intracultural relationship quality has been inconsistent. The current study examined whether accommodation, the specific reactions to relationship problems, can shed new insight on that mixed literature. Undergraduate women (n = 207) completed an online survey containing measures of relationship quality, accommodation, and demographic characteristics. Analyses revealed that women in intercultural relationships reported greater relationship commitment and satisfaction relative to women in intracultural relationships. Active forms of accommodation, or handling problems in a direct way, were related to commitment (but not satisfaction) more strongly in the intracultural group relative to the intercultural group. Passive forms did not vary by group for commitment nor satisfaction. These findings suggest that active accommodation may be less relevant for intercultural compared to intracultural relationship commitment. Altogether, these findings highlight the importance of studying relationship processes in their distinct contexts.

Research comparing intercultural and intracultural relationship quality has been inconsistent. The current study examined whether accommodation, the specific reactions to relationship problems, can shed new insight on that mixed literature. Undergraduate women (n = 207) completed an online survey containing measures of relationship quality, accommodation, and demographic characteristics. Analyses revealed that women in intercultural relationships reported greater relationship commitment and satisfaction relative to women in intracultural relationships. Active forms of accommodation, or handling problems in a direct way, were related to commitment (but not satisfaction) more strongly in the intracultural group relative to the intercultural group. Passive forms did not vary by group for commitment nor satisfaction. These findings suggest that active accommodation may be less relevant for intercultural compared to intracultural relationship commitment. Altogether, these findings highlight the importance of studying relationship processes in their distinct contexts.

Many relationship theories assume some form of interdependence between relationship partners. Partners are thought to continuously influence each other and to be influenced by each other over time. These influences are not expected to be constant, but dynamic (sometimes partners influence each other a lot, and sometimes they do not influence each other). To investigate such changes in interpersonal dynamics, we showcase the value of using a change point detection approach, which can be used to monitor virtually any preferred quantification of interpersonal dynamics across time. Concretely, we introduce the KCP-RS method, which scans times series for changes in user-specified statistics, in interpersonal emotion dynamic research. We used KCP-RS to investigate changes in 96 couples’ emotional experiences during two 10-minute conversations, which were meant to elicit a negative and a positive interaction context. Based on participants’ continuous reports of the valence of their emotional experience, we looked for changes in three statistical measures, aiming to capture emotional similarity between partners (i.e., does their valence fluctuate together). Specifically, we investigated the occurrence, frequency, and direction of change in partners’ linear correlations, instantaneous derivative matching (IMD), and signal matching (SM). While correlation changes were only observed in 2% of the couples, IDM changes were detected for about one third of the couples (34%), and SM changes were detected in about half of them (49%). Most couples demonstrated one change point, and the direction of the change differed depending on the specific emotional similarity measure. In a first validation of this method, we demonstrated how such change points can pinpoint to subtle but meaningful dynamic processes in couples. We end by discussing the added value of change point detection analyses for relationship research and interpersonal research in general.

Prior research evaluating the relationship between a couple’s economic circumstances and their marital adjustment has been inconclusive (Amato & Beattie, 2011; Conger & Conger, 2008; Harknett & Schneider, 2012; Sayer et al., 2011). One reason this may be true is that the association between current financial status and marital adjustment depends on comparisons to relevant sources of information. We assess two of these sources in this project with the following research questions: 1) Does information about how current financial conditions compare with past conditions (i.e., temporal comparisons) predict relationship satisfaction and moderate the association between current financial status and future relationship satisfaction? 2) How do evaluations of one's own financial conditions compared to those of relevant comparison groups (i.e., social comparisons) predict relationship satisfaction and moderate the association between current financial status and future relationship satisfaction?

Being rejected sexually is a common but painful experience in interpersonal contexts (Murray et al., 2006). The different strategies (i.e., reassuring rejection; hostile rejection; assertive rejection; deflecting rejection) people use to communicate sexual disinterest can affect their relationship outcomes differently (Kim et al., 2020). The current study aims to examine the associations between trait general mindfulness and sexual rejection strategies with a correlational questionnaire study.

A daily diary study among couples across a period of two years.

Preregistration document (including analytic plan) for this subproject, which involves secondary data analysis of the parent project Diverse Romantic Relationships and Well-Being II (DRRAW II).

Preregistration document (including analytic plan) for this subproject, which involves secondary data analysis of the parent project Diverse Romantic Relationships and Well-Being II (DRRAW II).

A wealth of attachment literature testifies to the negative links between attachment avoidance and relationship outcomes (Kirkpatrick & Davis, 1994; Simpson et al., 1992; Tan et al., 2012). Recent research, however, has examined experiences (e.g., partner softening strategies; positive intimacy building experiences) that have buffering effects on avoidant individuals’ relationship outcomes (Overall et al., 2013; Stanton et al., 2017). Importantly, the Attachment Security Enhancement Model (ASEM) proposes that situations that promote positive working models of others are most likely to benefit avoidant people over the long term, as well as enhance relationship satisfaction (Arriaga et al., 2018). Of particular relevance in predicting relationship well-being is the extent to which a person views their romantic relationship as an important reflection of the self (i.e., relationship identification; Auger et al., 2017; Linardatos & Lydon, 2011). People who are higher in relationship identification are more likely to view their romantic relationship as meaningful and valued as well as view themselves as connected to their partners (Auger et al., 2017; Linardatos & Lydon, 2011). Relationship identification may provide new opportunities for positive expectations about being interdependent with partners. This aligns with the key idea of ASEM in terms of protecting avoidant people from negative outcomes via countering negative models of others and associating dependence with rewarding experiences (Kumashiro & Arriaga, 2020). To date, no research has directly tested whether relationship identification building experiences can buffer the negative link between attachment avoidance and relationship satisfaction. We propose that relationship identification building experiences may instill positive working models of others, which should predict higher relationship satisfaction for avoidantly attached individuals. Our research focuses on attachment avoidance for the following reason: According to ASEM, unlike avoidant people who benefit most from revising negative model of others, anxiously attached individuals will benefit most from the process that promotes a secure working model of self (Arriaga et al., 2018; Kumashiro & Arriaga, 2020). Importantly, relationship identification building experiences put an emphasis on relational needs (e.g., relatedness) than self-oriented needs (e.g., autonomy). Therefore, the buffering effects of relationship identification building experiences on relationship satisfaction might be more related to avoidantly attached individuals.

This registration includes the preregistration document with a priori hypotheses and analytic plan. This subproject involves secondary data analysis of the Diverse Romantic Relationships and Well-Being I (DRRAW I) dataset.

Attachment orientations predict relationship outcomes and health and well-being, making it important to illuminate factors which enhance attachment security. We investigated how general and relationship-specific mindfulness predict changes in attachment orientations in couples over time, testing relationship preoccupation and partner-focused empathy as mediators. We also explored whether the longitudinal links between general mindfulness and attachment are bidirectional. Couples reported their general and relationship mindfulness and attachment orientations in a baseline session (Phase 1). They then reported relationship preoccupation and empathy each day for 14 days (Phase 2). Lastly, they reported general mindfulness and attachment orientations 2 months later (Phase 3). Results revealed that higher Phase 1 actor general—but not relationship—mindfulness directly predicted Phase 1-3 decreases in actor attachment anxiety. Conversely, greater Phase 1 actor relationship—but not general—mindfulness indirectly predicted Phase 1-3 decreases in actor attachment avoidance via greater Phase 2 actor empathy. Finally, lower Phase 1 actor and partner attachment anxiety directly predicted Phase 1-3 increases in general mindfulness. This research provides the first dyadic longitudinal demonstration of the interplay between partners’ mindfulness and attachment.

General and domain-specific (e.g., relationship-specific) mindfulness frequently predict salutary relationship outcomes. The present preregistered study examined whether general and relationship mindfulness predicted longitudinal change in positive and negative relationship quality via greater perceived partner responsiveness (PPR). One hundred couples completed a baseline lab session (Phase 1), a 14-day diary period (Phase 2), and a 2-month follow-up survey (Phase 3). Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Model analyses revealed that actors’ Phase 1 relationship mindfulness—but not general mindfulness—predicted increases in their own positive relationship quality from Phase 1–3 and decreases in their own negative relationship quality from Phase 1–3 indirectly via their own Phase 2 PPR. An exploratory alternate model testing if Phase 1 PPR predicted changes in Phase 1–3 relationship quality via Phase 2 relationship mindfulness did not reveal significant indirect effects. All results held when controlling for gender, age, and relationship length, and no partner effects emerged in any analysis. These findings further elucidate the relationship-enhancing role of mindfulness in couples and highlight PPR as a critical mediator explaining the link between domain-specific mindfulness and relationship quality. Implications for mindfulness-based training programs for couples are discussed.

Informed by scripting theories and Relational Dialectics Theory, this qualitative study used interviews, focus groups, and friendship pods conducted during the summer of 2020 in the COVID-19 pandemic to explore how 29 cisgender women and gender minorities made sense of, communicated about, and maintained their intimate relationships during COVID-19. Findings reveal a discourse of scripted intimacy reflecting normative relational patterns such as the heterosexual life script and the discourse of co-created intimacy, both of which legitimized and challenged the existing relational scripts by generating new ideas of what intimacy could look like in a relationship. Sub-themes included tensions of stability v. growth, comfort v. discomfort, and physical risk v. relational risk. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed.

Spending time with a romantic partner by going on dates is important for promoting closeness in established relationships; however, not all date nights are created equally, and some people might be more adept at planning dates that promote closeness. Drawing from the self-expansion model and relationship goals literature, we predicted that people higher (vs. lower) in approach relationship goals would be more likely to plan dates that are more exciting and, in turn, experience more self-expansion from the date and increased closeness with the partner. In Study 1, people in intimate relationships planned a date to initiate with their partners and forecasted the expected level of self-expansion and closeness from engaging in the date. In Study 2, a similar design was employed, but we also followed up with participants 1 week later to ask about the experience of engaging in their planned dates (e.g., self-expansion, closeness from the date). Taken together, the results suggest that people with higher (vs. lower) approach relationship goals derive more closeness from their dates, in part, because of their greater aptitude for planning dates that are more exciting and promote self-expansion.

This preregistration includes the hypotheses and analytic plan document for this sub-project.

This research is a subproject of the Diverse Romantic Relationships and Well-Being I (DRRAW I) parent project (https://osf.io/ekv6x). This registration contains the preregistration document for secondary data analysis of the DRRAW I dataset.

This preregistration includes the hypotheses and analytic plan document for this sub-project.

This preregistration includes the hypotheses and analytic plan document as well as study measures.

This registration includes the study preregistration document and full compendium of measures for the project.

This preregistration includes the hypotheses and analytic plan document for Study 2 of this sub-project.

This research is a subproject of the Diverse Romantic Relationships and Well-Being I (DRRAW I) parent project. This registration includes the preregistration document with hypotheses and analytic plan for novel secondary data analysis of the DRRAW I dataset.

This registration includes the preregistration document for secondary data analysis of two studies (Study 1: https://osf.io/fn8i2; Study 2: https://osf.io/ekv6x). The document includes a brief background with hypotheses, and then methods and analytic plan for each study.

This study investigated associations between perceived stress and sexual communication, considering supportive dyadic coping as a potential mediator and whether being male or female moderated associations. Data from 2,529 couples from Wave 5 of the German Family Panel (pairfam) were used in the analyses. Structural equation modeling results showed higher levels of stress were linked with lower levels of dyadic coping and higher levels of dyadic coping were associated with higher levels of sexual communication. There was no direct association between stress and sexual communication, but there was an indirect relationship between higher levels of perceived stress and less sexual communication via supportive dyadic coping. Sex did not moderate these associations. These results highlight supportive dyadic coping as an important protective factor against the effects of perceived stress on sexual communication and call for further investigation of how couples can maintain a healthy sex life in the face of stress.

The ways that couples form and manage their intimate relationships at higher and lower levels of socioeconomic status (SES) have been diverging steadily over the past several decades. At higher SES levels, couples postpone marriage and childbirth to invest in education and careers, but they eventually marry at high rates and have relatively low risk for divorce. At lower SES levels, couples are more likely to cohabit and give birth prior to marriage and less likely to marry at all. This review examines how SES comes to be associated with the formation, development, and dissolution of intimate relationships. Overall, research has highlighted how a couple's socioeconomic context facilitates some choices and constrains others, resulting in different capacities for relationship maintenance and different adaptive mating strategies for more and less advantaged couples. A generalizable relationship science requires research that acknowledges these differences and one that recruits, describes, and attends to socioeconomic diversity across couples.

Purpose This paper aims to explore the sexuality of individuals with psychopathic traits. Sexuality is not only a physiological need but also a way by which people connect to others. According to a Darwinian perspective, psychopathic traits are seen as adaptive responses to environmental conditions, and as a nonpathological and reproductively viable life history strategy, although superficial emotionality and a detached interpersonal style characterise individuals who are high on psychopathic traits. Design/methodology/approach Data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development are analysed. This is a prospective longitudinal study of 411 London males, with face-to-face interviews from 8 to 48 years of age. Findings Men who are high on psychopathic traits were likely to drift from one relationship to another, without a particular attachment to any of them, and to be sexually promiscuous. They never used contraception, which increased their likelihood of having several children from different partners. Practical implications Findings provide an insight into the non-criminal sexual behaviour of males with high psychopathic traits; evidence on a pattern of unsafe/risky sexual relations by males with high psychopathic traits; information on targeting risk factors to prevent the intergenerational transmission of psychopathy. Originality/value These findings are significant in highlighting the impact of psychopathic traits upon interpersonal and family dynamics in community samples, as detecting the impact of problematic intimate relationships is difficult in the absence of evident criminality. Rather than completely neglecting their children, men with psychopathic traits spent time with their sons but not with their daughters.

In the face of aging population and the fluidity of intimate relationships, this qualitative study aimed to understand the conjugal dynamics of elderly couples who have been together for more than 20 years. Reflections about the aging, the conjugality formation and the marriage transformations were made by the psychodynamic bias. The Mini-Exam of the Mental State was applied to five Brazilian couples aged from 60 to 83 years old, with an average marriage time of 41.6 years, who were at last interviewed. Such interviews were guided by a semi-directed script with identifying data and five questions previously elaborated according to the research objective. This content was analyzed and their results were thematized showing that couples perceive marriage as a union requiring commitment and sharing of life projects. It was concluded that even amidst a hedonist society, the elderly are not yet thoughtful of individuality, because love for them has a connotation other than a sum of pleasurable moments.

The current research examined how intimate partners’ affect is related, on a moment-to-moment basis, to their level of empathic accuracy during conflict interactions. To this end, we analyzed data from two laboratory-based studies ( n = 155 and n = 172 couples) in which couples participated in a conflict interaction task, followed immediately by a video-review task during which they reported on their own feelings and thoughts and inferred those of their partner at different moments in the interaction. We found that the partners’ affective similarity—for both positive (Studies 1 and 2) and negative affect (Study 2)—was related to greater perceiver empathic accuracy for both the partner’s feelings (Studies 1 and 2) and the partner’s thoughts (Study 2). The data from Study 2 also revealed a complementary effect: lower levels of empathic accuracy for feelings at moments of affective dissimilarity between the partners (i.e., when a perceiver was feeling positive while his/her partner was feeling negative).

Many couple therapies focus on enhancing the disclosure of thoughts and feelings, and on an accurate understanding of these. But does the expression of thoughts and feelings lead to better empathic accuracy, as is generally assumed? In this study, we explicitly tested a dynamic expression-leading-to-accuracy account of empathic accuracy in intimate relationships. Specifically, in the conflict interactions of 155 mixed-sex couples, we investigated (a) whether greater momentary expressions of the target (self-reported vs. observed) were associated with more empathic accuracy in the perceiver; (b) whether this outcome was similar for the expression of thoughts versus feelings; and (c) whether the expression-leading-to-accuracy link was moderated by the perceived threat level of these thoughts and feelings. The data revealed that greater (self-reported and observed) expression of the target's thoughts and feelings was associated with better empathic accuracy by the partner; that this association was similar for thoughts and feelings; and that this link was not moderated by the perceived threat level of these thoughts and feelings. These findings confirm a fundamental assumption of couples therapy and have important implications for therapeutic interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved). ispartof: Journal Of Family Psychology vol:35 issue:8 pages:1199-1205 ispartof: location:United States status: published

Some studies suggest that religious people cope better with stress. For married couples, if partners perceive their relationship as sacred, supportive dyadic coping mediates the association of sanctification with marital satisfaction and well-being. In the current study, applying the actor–partner interdependence model to 116 Polish couples (n = 232), aged between 21 and 64 (males: M = 37.8, SD = 11.8, females M = 37.1, SD = 12.0), we examined the link between centrality of religiosity and dyadic coping. Although general dyadic analyses indicate that centrality of religiosity and dyadic coping are unrelated concepts, at the subscales level, we could observe few significant relationships. The results show that Polish religious men rate their common dyadic coping low. Actor effects in women are moderated by the type of relationship (cohabitation and civil marriage vs. catholic marriage).

The aim of the article is to present the results of a study addressing the issue of the positive and negative influence of appearance in the context of private and professional life. The publication is based on qualitative research on attitudes towards the appearance of women and men of different ages. The way of thinking about appearance depends on the conditions of the gendered age – i.e. the gender and age of the respondents. For women, appearance plays an important role in both the public and private spheres, while men have placed greater importance on it in the public sphere. While women still seem to attribute a greater role to physical appearance, more and more men are beginning to see this as a key aspect in interpersonal relationships. On the basis of the research we can observe the coexistence of two models of “femininity” and “masculinity”: patriarchal and androgynous. Sometimes in the same generation there are contradictory internal attitudes towards appearance. In the youngest generation, the process of unifying attitudes towards appearance is noticeable – attractive appearance is perceived by young men and women as one of the key human capital resources. Celem artykułu jest zaprezentowanie wyników badania podejmującego zagadnienie pozytywnego i negatywnego wpływu wyglądu w kontekście życia prywatnego i zawodowe­go. Publikacja powstała w oparciu o badania jakościowe dotyczące postaw wobec wyglądu kobiet oraz mężczyzn młodych, w średnim wieku oraz starych. Sposób myślenia o wyglądzie zależy od uwarunkowań gendered age – czyli płci i wieku badanych. Dla kobiet wygląd odgrywa istotną rolę zarówno w kontekście funkcjonowania w sferze publicznej, jak i prywatnej, z kolei mężczyźni przypisywali mu większe znaczenie w sferze publicznej. Choć nadal kobiety zdają się przypisywać większą rolę wyglądowi fizycznemu, to również coraz więcej mężczyzn zaczyna postrzegać ten aspekt jako kluczowy w relacjach interpersonalnych. Na podstawie niniejszych badań daje się zauważyć współistnienie dwóch modeli „kobiecości” i „męskości”, patriarchalnego i androgynicznego. Niekiedy w tym samym pokoleniu funkcjonują sprzeczne wewnętrzne postawy wobec wyglądu. W najmłodszym pokoleniu zauważalny jest proces ujednolicania się postaw wobec wyglądu – atrakcyjny wygląd zarówno przez młodych mężczyzn, jak i młode kobiety jest postrzegany jako jeden z kluczowych zasobów kapitału ludzkiego.

Panel data on intimate relationships are becoming increasingly available, enabling a closer examination and deeper understanding of why and how they develop over time. The aim of this review is to illustrate to what extent demographic research has made progress in understanding the dynamics of intimate relationships by examining panel data. We focus on hypotheses about key transitions throughout the progression of intimate relationships, ranging from union formation up to cohabitation, marriage, divorce and repartnering. For every hypothesis, we will present findings from cross-sectional data and illustrate whether the use of panel data and longitudinal methods modified the previous understandings of transitions in intimate relationships. * This article belongs to a special issue on "Identification of causal mechanisms in demographic research: The contribution of panel data".

Partners in intimate relationships, because they have each other to rely on, have generally been considered safe from the negative consequences of social isolation. Here, we question this assumption, suggesting instead that social isolation may pose a threat to couples by depriving them of the tangible and emotional support that couples are likely to need, especially when confronted by stress. After briefly reviewing theoretical frameworks relevant to this idea, this article summarizes existing research documenting (1) associations between network ties and relationship outcomes, (2) mediators of these associations, for example, support and approval, and (3) moderators of these associations, for example, relationship qualities and cultural differences. We conclude by describing a research agenda to address methodological limitations in existing research and the policy implications of this line of work.

Genetic factors are likely involved in many aspects of human social behavior, yet influences of molecular genetic markers on aspects of human intimate relationships have only recently been documented. The present dissertation begins with a review of these recent advances which have collectively given rise to the transdisciplinary sub-field of relationship genetics (Chapter Two). Particular attention is given to candidate gene studies of intimate relationship characteristics and to the elusive but tantalizing notion of "genetic compatibility" between intimate relationship partners. The review is followed by two original studies. The first of these (Chapter Three) investigates the effects of matching at major histocompatibility complex (MHC) gene markers between existing long-term relationship partners on self-reported levels of in-pair attraction. The results provide qualified support for the hypothesis that higher levels of matching between relationship partners at MHC markers leads to reduced levels of attraction between those partners. However, this effect appears to be strong and reliable only for individuals of Asian ancestry, whereas the evidence for such an effect in individuals of non-Asian ancestry is far more equivocal. The second study (Chapter Four) applies a genetic technique known as haplotype analysis to investigate associations between variation in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) and self-report measures of individual differences and relationship parameters collected from partners in long-term intimate relationships. Few effects were found for measures of relationship quality, but a number of interesting and consistent associations were uncovered between OXTR haplotypes and measures of extra-pair interest and desire. Taken as a whole, the present work documents the emergence of an exciting new subfield and presents two novel contributions to this nascent literature. Relationship genetics offers the prospect of marrying cutting edge molecular genetic techniques to the investigation of questions that have been at the center of human life and thought since time immemorial.

Covid-19 viruset, något som medförde en pandemi som ingen går oberörd igenom. Coronapandemin medför restriktioner som innebär mer tid i hemmet, och för par med tid med varandra än någonsin. Det gör det intressant att med den här studien, undersöka hur par upplever att det är att leva som par under rådande coronapandemi. Studien stödjer sig på ett teoretiskt och begreppsligt ramverk som tar sin grund i Giddens teori om det rena förhållandet och social reflexivitet, Baumans teori om liquid love samt Becks teori om risksamhället. En hermeneutisk metodansats valdes för undersökningen, och dialogiska intervjuer genomfördes med tio olika par som varit tillsammans minst fyra år. Studiens resultat presenterar en huvudtolkning som påvisar att en viktig del av en fungerande relation under coronapandemin är “jaget”. Det innebär att det är viktigt för individerna i en relation att involvera sig själva i en relation för att inte känna en emotionell tomhet. Den individuella människans ’jag’ visade sig vara centralt i relationen, där det visats att det inte finns något “oss”, utan ett “mitt” och “ditt”. “Jaget” konstrueras mycket i samverkan med andra, vilket blir problematiskt när individer isoleras av en pandemi. Isoleringen gör att paren får svårare att hitta “jaget”, och då “jaget” visats vara en central del av relationen skapar det problem i den emotionella tillfredsställelsen hos paren.

Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati ulogu kognitivnih i motivacijskih odrednica konstruktivne komunikacije pri rješavanju sukoba u intimnim vezama, odnosno provjeriti može li se konstruktivna komunikacija prilikom sukoba predvidjeti korištenjem modela Teorije planiranog ponašanja. Namjera ponašanja najbolji je prediktor stvarnog kasnijeg ponašanja, a Teorija planiranog ponašanja definira da su za formiranje namjere ključni stav prema ponašanju, socijalna norma izvođenja ponašanja, te percipirana bihevioralna kontrola nad ponašanjem. Vremenska perspektiva i atribucijski stil, kao stabilne karakteristike pojedinca, utječu na formiranje stavova, uvažavanje socijalnih normi te percepciju bihevioralne kontrole nad izvođenjem ponašanja, ali i na samu komunikaciju prilikom sukoba. Stoga nas je zanimalo doprinose li vremenska perspektiva i atribucijski stil, uz elemente koje postulira Teorija planiranog ponašanja, boljem predviđanju ponašanja osoba prilikom sukoba. Provedeno je istraživanje u dvije vremenske točke na uzorku od 240 sudionika mlađe odrasle dobi koji su u trenutku provedbe istraživanja bili u ljubavnoj vezi, ali ne i u braku. U prvoj vremenskoj točki ispitani su stavovi o konstruktivnoj komunikaciji, socijalna norma konstruktivne komunikacije, percipirana bihevioralna kontrola nad konstruktivnom komunikacijom prilikom sukoba, namjera buduće konstruktivne komunikacije, vremenska perspektiva te atribucijski stil sudionika. Mjesec dana kasnije uslijedila je druga točka mjerenja u kojoj ispitana stvarna konstruktivna komunikacija prilikom sukoba u proteklih mjesec dana. Metodologijom strukturalnog modeliranja provjereno je pristajanje podataka modelu koji postulira Teorija planiranog ponašanja, te pristajanje podataka proširenom modelu koji uključuje vremenske perspektive, atribuiranja partnerovog negativnog ponašanja i atribucijski stil. Rezultati pokazuju da je konstruktivnu komunikaciju prilikom sukoba moguće predvidjeti modelom definiranim Teorijom planiranog ponašanja, te da stav o ponašanju, socijalna norma i bihevioralna kontrola ne predviđaju konstruktivnu komunikaciju izravno, već posredno preko namjere konstruktivne komunikacije. Osobe koje izražavaju pozitivniji stav prema konstruktivnoj komunikaciji, koje drže da okolina od njih očekuje da komuniciraju na taj način te koje smatraju da su u stanju komunicirati konstruktivno ako to žele, izražavaju veću namjeru budućeg konstruktivnog komuniciranja prilikom sukoba, te posljedično uistinu i komuniciraju više konstruktivno prilikom sukoba s partnerom. Uključenjem vremenskih perspektiva, atribuiranja partnerovog negativnog ponašanja i atribucijskog stila u model, povećava se prediktivnost modela za konstruktivnu komunikaciju prilikom sukoba, ukazujući na važnu ulogu ovih konstrukata u razumijevanju dinamike bliskih odnosa. Istraživanje daje doprinos razumijevanju kognitivnih i motivacijskih činitelja kao prediktora konstruktivne komunikacije prilikom sukoba u intimnoj vezi, posebno u segmentu njihova međuodnosa. Dobiveni nalazi, predstavljaju teorijski i metodološki doprinos ovom području, a imaju i važne praktične implikacije za razumijevanje partnerskih odnosa. Introduction: Conflicts occur occasionally in every close relationship and they are inevitable. But the way people communicate during these conflicts is predictive for relationship quality, satisfaction and relationship dissolution. The usual ways in which one communicates during relationships conflicts is called a communication pattern. Some patterns help resolve conflicts, while other patterns intensify conflicts. The constructive communication pattern involves both partners equally in resolving the conflict or stress within the relationship. It refers to a pattern whereby one couple member engages in joint problem solving and mutual disclosure during a conflict situation with the other couple member. Since constructive communication is an intentional behavior, it is plausible that the Theory of planned behavior (TPB) model (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1977) predicts such behavior. According to the TPB, behaviors can be predicted by behavioral intent which is formed based on attitudes toward the specific behavior, the social norm associated with the behavior and the perceived behavioral control to perform the behavior. Since attitudes, social norm and perceived behavioral control are guided by other cognitive and motivational processes, it is expected that one's time perspective and attributional style should help in understanding relationship communication. Thus, the main goal of this study was to investigate whether constructive communication during conflicts can be predicted using the TPB and to determine if expanding the model by including time perspectives and attributional style improves this prediction. Methodology: The sample consisted of 240 young adults, aged between 18 and 30, who were in a serious relationship but not married. The research was conducted in two time points. In the first, elements of the TPP (attitudes towards constructive communication, social norm for such behavior, and perceived behavioral control over constructive communication during conflicts) were assessed using a questionnaire constructed according to Ajzen's (2011) guidelines specifically for this study. Time perspectives (Zimbardo's Time Perspective Inventory, ZTPI, Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999), attributional style (Attributional Style Questionnaire, ASQ, Peterson, Semmel, Von Baeyer, Abramson, Metalsky, & Seligman, 1982) and attributions of partner's negative behavior (Relationship Attribution Measure, RAM, Fincham & Bradbury, 1992) were also assessed. A month later, actual constructive communication during conflicts in the past month were measured using the Communication Patterns Questionnaire's (CPQ) Constructive Communication subscale (Christensen & Sullaway, 1984). Using structural equation modelling, two models were tested: the basic TPB model, and the extended TPB model which included time perspectives, attributional style and attributions of partner's negative behavior. Results and discussion: The results revealed that constructive communication during conflicts can be predicted using the TPB's model. A more positive attitude towards constructive communication, a stronger social norm for communicating constructively and higher perceived behavioral norm were associated with a stronger intent to communicate constructively in future conflicts. Behavioral intent predicted actual constructive communication during conflicts. Attitudes, social norm, and perceived behavioral control did not have a direct effect on constructive communication, but rather an indirect one through behavioral intent. Examining the extended model, in which time perspectives, attributional style and attributions of partner's negative behavior were included in the TPB model, it was shown that the extended model improved the prediction of constructive communication compared to the basic TPB model. Past positive and negative time perspectives predicted subjective norm, and present fatalistic time perspective was associated directly with lower behavioral intent to communicate constructively. Those more oriented towards the past showed a stronger norm for constructive communication, although those focused on negative aspects of their past believed they were not able to communicate constructively. Lower behavioral intent was predicted by present fatalistic time perspective, which is in line with previous findings indicating present fatalistic oriented individuals generally tend to underestimated their behavioral intent in self –report measures (Van Ittersum, 2012). Perceived behavioral control was also associated with attributional style's stability dimension. The stability dimension of attributions of partner's negative behavior had a direct effect on constructive communication, as well as an indirect one through attitudes towards constructive communication. Assigning blame to the partner for what he did (dimension of blame in the attributions of partner's negative behavior) had only an indirect effect on constructive communication through perceived behavioral control. Therefore, we can say that those who believe their partner's negative behavior was caused by a one-time only cause as well as those who do not blame their partner for what he did are more likely to communicate constructively. Conclusion: The present research contributes to better understanding of intimate relationship conflicts and communication, as well as their antecedents. A deeper understanding of the cognitive and motivational basis of constructive communication, through attitudes, social norm, perceived behavioral control, behavioral intent and factors influencing them provides one of the preconditions for the integration of these constructs into a model that not only broadens the theoretical knowledge of the field, but is also applicable in everyday life couple's therapy and interventions. Indirectly, the research fuels further advancement in the study providing interesting directions for future research.

Motivational variables are considered fundamental factors influencing the occurrence of behavior. The current study compared different types of motivational variables (implicit and explicit motive dispositions, motivation as states and as aggregated person-level variables) in their ability to predict communal and agentic behavior reports in intimate relationships. 510 individuals completed measures of dispositional communion and agency motives and participated in a dyadic experience sampling study with five assessments per day across four weeks. They reported on their momentary communal and agentic motivation, as well as on their own and their partner’s behaviors. All examined types of motivational variables predicted certain behavior reports on the between-person or within-person level and had incremental effects beyond the other motivational variables in at least one motive domain. Directly replicating and conceptually extending prior research, the effects of motivational states and their aggregates were consistently found across behavioral outcomes, across self- and partner-reports and across the motive domains of communion and agency. Using the example of motivational states, the general value of assessing within-person variables for psychological phenomena in ESM-designs is discussed.

The article focuses on relationship experiences in the light of the diversity of relationship forms, relationship length and the attitude of partners to relationship permanence. The conceptual framework was determined by the sociotemporal perspective, and the analysis was carried out with reference to concepts employed in the fields of the sociology of the family, the sociology of intimacy, the sociology of gender and the sociology of time. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between the socio-demographic characteristics of women and men and their relationship experiences, the diversity of relationship forms and their length, as well as their readiness to stay in a relationship or leave in a crisis situation. The research was carried out using the diagnostic survey method on a representative sample of adult Poles in January 2018. Gender has been shown to differentiate the length of relationship and the attitudes to relationship permanence. It was found that women stay in shorter relationships more often than men. It was also found that the experiences of women with different types of relationships are more diverse when linked to their social status than the experiences of men. Four types of orientation to the (im)permanence of relationships were identified. It was established that men’s readiness to leave depends on their age, education and self-assessment of their financial situation, whereas women’s decision to leave depends on their age, education and socio-occupational category. Przedmiotem zainteresowania w artykule uczyniono doświadczenia w związkach w perspektywie różnorodności ich form i czasu trwania oraz orientacji partnerów na trwałość relacji. Ramy pojęciowe wyznaczała perspektywa socjotemporalna, a analizy prowadzono w odwołaniu do koncepcji usytuowanych w obszarze socjologii rodziny, socjologii intymności, socjologii płci oraz socjologii czasu. Celem badań było ustalenie zależności między cechami społeczno-demograficznymi a doświadczeniami w związkach (różnorodnością form i czasem trwania) oraz gotowością do pozostania lub rozstania w sytuacji kryzysu w związku kobiet i mężczyzn. Badania zrealizowano metodą sondażu diagnostycznego na reprezentatywnej próbie dorosłych Polaków w styczniu 2018 roku. Płeć okazała się różnicować staż związku i stosunek do trwałości związków. Ustalono, że kobiety częściej niż mężczyźni pozostają w krótszych związkach. Stwierdzono również, że doświadczenia kobiet z różnymi typami związków są bardziej zróżnicowane ze względu na status społeczny niż mężczyzn. Rozpoznano cztery typy orientacji na (nie)trwałość związku. Ustalono, że wśród mężczyzn gotowość do rozstania jest zróżnicowana przez wiek, wykształcenie i samoocenę warunków materialnych, a wśród kobiet przez wiek, wykształcenie i kategorię społeczno-zawodową.

The current study examined the associations between actual, assumed, and perceived understanding and partners' levels of dyadic adjustment. One hundred fifty-two couples provided questionnaire data (assumed and perceived understanding), participated in a videotaped conflict interaction, and in a video-review task to assess actual understanding (empathic accuracy). The data were analyzed by means of the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model. The results suggest that (a) some aspects of how well someone assumes that (s)he has understood the partner during a preceding conflict interaction were positively associated with his/her own objective level of understanding (actor effect), (b) that someone's perception of how understood (s)he feels was not associated with the partner's objective level of understanding (partner effect), and (c) perceived understanding, but not actual understanding, was positively associated with dyadic adjustment.

The purpose of our qualitative research was to explore distinct ways individuals surpass ambivalent tendencies for autonomy and for relatedness in intimate relationships. Our study was based on principles of grounded theory and included 47 participants (55.3% female and 44.6% male) of Slovene nationality, whose average age was 30 years and 8 months and who had been in intimate relationship on average for 7 years and 4 months. Analysis of data collected with diary method identified two distinct ways of resolving fundamentally antagonistic tendencies: tendencies for autonomy and tendencies for relatedness can be satisfied by their constant interchange or by their synthesis. Lastly, the paper also discusses parallels and differences between our results and findings of attachment and interdependence theory.