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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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Articles 1 - 10 of 10
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Faith, Feminism, And Marriage: Institutions, Norms, And Relationship Quality, Jason S. Carroll, Spencer James, W. Bradford Wilcox, Richard Reeves, Laurie Derose
Faith, Feminism, And Marriage: Institutions, Norms, And Relationship Quality, Jason S. Carroll, Spencer James, W. Bradford Wilcox, Richard Reeves, Laurie Derose
Faculty Publications
In this essay, we explore the links between religion and relationship quality for cohabiting and married couples. Our evidence from an 11-country sample suggests men and women in highly religious couples enjoy significantly higher levels of relationship quality and sexual satisfaction. Joint decision-making, however, is higher among men in shared secular relationships and women in highly religious relationships, compared to their peers in less/mixed religious couples. We also find a J-Curve in overall relationship quality for women such that women in shared secular, progressive relationships enjoy comparatively high levels of relationship quality, women in the ideological and religious middle report …
Relational Aggression And Marital Quality: A Five-Year Longitudinal Study, Sarah M. Coyne, David A. Nelson, Jason S. Carroll, Nathan J. Smith, Chongming Yang, Hailey G. Holmgren, Chad Johnson
Relational Aggression And Marital Quality: A Five-Year Longitudinal Study, Sarah M. Coyne, David A. Nelson, Jason S. Carroll, Nathan J. Smith, Chongming Yang, Hailey G. Holmgren, Chad Johnson
Faculty Publications
Relational aggression occurs in many different contexts, including in romantic relationships. The current study examined associations between two subtypes of relational aggression (love withdrawal and social sabotage) and marital quality over a 5-year time period. Participants consisted of 311 married couples who completed a number of questionnaires on relational aggression and relationship quality once a year over a 5-year period. Results revealed that relational aggression was highly stable over time and that women used more relational aggression than men. Men’s use of social sabotage and love withdrawal were bidirectionally related to both partners’ perceptions of poor marital quality over time. …
Marital Quality Buffers The Association Between Socioeconomic Status And Ambulatory Blood Pressure, Wendy C. Birmingham, Jenny M. Cundiff, Bert N. Uchino, Timothy W. Smith
Marital Quality Buffers The Association Between Socioeconomic Status And Ambulatory Blood Pressure, Wendy C. Birmingham, Jenny M. Cundiff, Bert N. Uchino, Timothy W. Smith
Faculty Publications
Background Socioeconomic status is robustly associated with rates of death and disease. Psychophysiological stress processes are thought to account for a portion of this association. Purpose Although positive and supportive relationships can buffer psychophysiological stress responses, no studies have examined whether the quality of a primary adult relation�ship—marriage—may buffer the negative association be�tween socioeconomic status and stress-related disease processes. Methods The current study examines the interaction between income and marital quality (supportive vs. ambivalent) on individuals’ daily ambulatory blood pressure, a valid and re�liable indicator of cardiovascular risk. Results Results revealed that supportive marital relationships buffered the otherwise higher ambulatory …
“Technoference”: The Interference Of Technology In Couple Relationships And Implications For Women’S Personal And Relational Well-Being, Brandon T. Mcdaniel, Sarah M. Coyne
“Technoference”: The Interference Of Technology In Couple Relationships And Implications For Women’S Personal And Relational Well-Being, Brandon T. Mcdaniel, Sarah M. Coyne
Faculty Publications
Technology use has proliferated in family life; everyday intrusions and interruptions due to technology devices, which we term “technoference,” will likely occur. We examine the frequency of technoference in romantic relationships and whether these everyday interruptions relate to women’s personal and relational well-being. Participants were 143 married/cohabiting women who completed an online questionnaire. The majority perceived that technology devices (such as computers, cell or smartphones, or TV) frequently interrupted their interactions, such as couple leisure time, conversations, and mealtimes, with their partners. Overall, participants who rated more technoference in their relationships also reported more conflict over technology use, lower relationship …
Relationship Quality And Oxytocin: Influence Of Stable And Modifiable Aspects Of Relationships, Wendy C. Birmingham, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Kathleen C. Light
Relationship Quality And Oxytocin: Influence Of Stable And Modifiable Aspects Of Relationships, Wendy C. Birmingham, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Kathleen C. Light
Faculty Publications
Prior studies report that couples with higher relationship quality show higher oxytocin (OT) levels, yet other studies report those with higher distress have increased OT. This study investigated these competing predictions in the context of a support enhancement intervention among 34 young married couples (N = 68). Preintervention marital quality (Dyadic Adjustment Scale) was examined for associations with plasma and salivary OT levels 4 weeks apart and for changes between these time points within the intervention group. High relationship quality, not distress, was associated with higher OT in both saliva and plasma at both time points. No significant interaction …
Financial Declines, Financial Behaviors, And Relationship Satisfaction During The Recession, Jeffrey P. Dew, Jing Jian Xiao
Financial Declines, Financial Behaviors, And Relationship Satisfaction During The Recession, Jeffrey P. Dew, Jing Jian Xiao
Faculty Publications
Using nationally-representative data collected during the summer of 2009 (N = 575), this study examines how reports of financial declines are associated with financial behaviors and how financial behaviors are associated with relationship satisfaction among cohabiting and married participants. Findings suggested that financial declines were only negatively associated with sound financial management behavior if participants also experienced feelings of economic pressure. Sound financial management behavior was found to be positively associated with marital satisfaction. Finally, sound financial management behavior also moderated the association between financial declines, economic pressure, and relationship satisfaction.
Stepfamily Functioning And Closeness: Children's Views On Second Marriages And Stepfather Relationships, Todd M. Jensen, Kevin Shafer
Stepfamily Functioning And Closeness: Children's Views On Second Marriages And Stepfather Relationships, Todd M. Jensen, Kevin Shafer
Faculty Publications
Current research on stepfamily well-being often overlooks the perspective of children, and deals primarily with factors as reported by the adults involved. The authors examine a number of family role characteristics, parental subsystem characteristics, and resources that might influence how children perceive the quality of their stepfamily relationships. A sample of 1,088 children in households with a mother and stepfather, ages 10 to 16 years, in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 cohort—Children and Young Adult Sample, is used for the analyses. Results indicate that open communication between children and their mothers, low amounts of arguing between mothers and …
Childhood Sexual Abuse, Other Childhood Factors, And Pathways To Survivors’ Adult Relationship Quality, Eric C. Walker, Thomas B. Holman, Dean M. Busby
Childhood Sexual Abuse, Other Childhood Factors, And Pathways To Survivors’ Adult Relationship Quality, Eric C. Walker, Thomas B. Holman, Dean M. Busby
Faculty Publications
We were interested in understanding how the effects of childhood sexual abuse, in concert with other negative childhood experiences, were carried forward into adult romantic relationships. Data from 15,831 married or cohabitating individuals were gathered via the RELATE Questionnaire. Empirical research, attachment theory, and a general model of adult relationship quality suggested that the path from negative childhood events to adult relationship quality was mediated by a number of individual and relational affect-laden variables. Results showed that childhood abuse and other family-of-origin variables work primarily through the adult survivor’s perceptions of the events of his or her childhood. This “current …
Friendship And Romantic Relationship Qualities In Emerging Adulthood: Differential Associations With Identity Development And Achieved Adulthood Criteria, Carolyn Mcnamara Barry, Stephanie D. Madsen, Larry J. Nelson, Jason S. Carroll, Sarah Badger
Friendship And Romantic Relationship Qualities In Emerging Adulthood: Differential Associations With Identity Development And Achieved Adulthood Criteria, Carolyn Mcnamara Barry, Stephanie D. Madsen, Larry J. Nelson, Jason S. Carroll, Sarah Badger
Faculty Publications
This study examined how emerging adults’ identity development and achievement of adulthood criteria were related to qualities of their friendships and romantic relationships. Participants included 710 emerging adults (ages 18–26). Results indicated that identity achievement was related positively to four romantic relationship qualities, but not to any friendship qualities. Several achieved adulthood criteria were related positively to romantic relationship qualities; however, achieved adulthood criteria were related negatively to friendship qualities. It appears that progress on salient developmental tasks of adulthood carries important implications for emerging adults’ social relationships, but in ways that are more differentiated than commonly assumed.
Putting Emotional Reactivity In Its Place? Exploring Family-Of-Origin Influences On Emotional Reactivity, Conflict, And Satisfaction In Premarital Couples, Brandt C. Gardner, Dean M. Busby, Andrew S. Brimhall
Putting Emotional Reactivity In Its Place? Exploring Family-Of-Origin Influences On Emotional Reactivity, Conflict, And Satisfaction In Premarital Couples, Brandt C. Gardner, Dean M. Busby, Andrew S. Brimhall
Faculty Publications
The purpose of this research was to develop a structural equation model that tested the effects of emotional reactivity on the relational health of a representative sample of 736 premarital couples. We hypothesized that partners’ perceived family-of-origin experience would be predictive of partners’ reports of their own and their partners’ emotional reactivity. These reports were hypothesized to predict partners’ reports of their own and their partners’ ability to manage conflict, which were hypothesized to predict relationship satisfaction. Overall, the model fit the data quite well, with particularly interesting differences by gender. We discuss the model’s fit within the larger body …