Results of previous studies testing the influence of oral contraceptives on relationship satisfaction have produced mixed results. These discrepancies might be explained by the "Congruency hypothesis", which predicts that relationship satisfaction is determined by the congruency (or non-congruency) between current use of oral contraceptives and their use during relationship formation. This is because oral contraceptives appear to alter women's mate preferences, so that attraction to their partner may have changed in non-congruent women. Indeed, previous studies have shown that women in a non-congruent state were less sexually satisfied with their partner, even though they were more generally satisfied in the non- sexual aspects of the relationship. The aim of our study was to test the congruency hypothesis on two groups of couples (couples attending the Center of Assisted Reproduction, and a comparison group of pregnant women and their partners; note that in neither group were women currently using oral contraception). Based on previous studies, we expected that women who used oral contraceptives at the time of relationship formation would report lower sexual satisfaction with their partner than women who were non-users during relationship formation. The study involved a total of 660 couples from...

The debate over the legitimacy of Fibromyalgia as a pain syndrome is often highlighted in the literature. The result of this is that patients are left feeling demoralised by the lack of acknowledgement of their symptoms and the innuendos of hypochondria or malingering. This study proposes that professionals move beyond this and into a more solution-focused stage that encourages the examination of predisposing factors and the implementation of means of improving the lives of patients. The aim of this study was to describe the psychological profiles of Fibromyalgia patients in terms of attachment styles, Sense of Coherence, Attributional Style and depression. Twenty-nine patients aged between twenty-two and sixty-four participated in the study, completing the relevant questionnaires. The design is a quantitative one, with both descriptive and inferential statistical procedures being employed to analyse the data. It is argued that key elements in the onset, maintenance and augmentation of Fibromyalgia Syndrome symptoms are to be found by examining the psychological feature of patients with the disorder. Although some research has been conducted into psychological factors in Fibromyalgia, the field is not nearly as well explored as the physical elements. This research is therefore of great importance to the Fibromyalgia knowledge base. Moreover, it offers a Salutogenic perspective, which may be useful in combating the devastating effects of this chronic pain syndrome. The study is limited by its cross-sectional design and lack of control group. Nonetheless, it does give rise to some intriguing findings. If attachment is to be regarded as the working model that an individual maintains of self and other, then it is possible that disorders that are believed to be related to depression (such as FMS) will also be correlated to insecure attachment styles. The research, however, indicates that the FMS patients in this sample do not display the predicted high percentage of insecure attachment styles. An almost even split between those having a high Sense of Coherence and those with a low score was also found. When relating these findings to other psychological parameters (such as Attributional Style and level of depressive symptoms), a discussion is born that allows for more complex interactions than a linear argument does. The research is then lifted from its pathogenic origins to embrace the origins of health. Further research is then prompted by this study and framed in the Salutogenic question: how do some patients with FMS maintain healthy attachment styles and a high Sense of Coherence despite their illness? / Dissertation (MA (Clinical Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Psychology / unrestricted

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Previous studies have shown that women choose partners resembling their fathers in various characteristics. However, none of the studies have focused on woman's father-partner body odour similarity, even though body odour plays an important role in mate choice. The main aim of our study was to test whether the woman's father and partner body odour is similar and whether the rating of this similarity was affected by the body odour's intensity and pleasantness. Further, we wanted to know whether the quality of woman's relationship with her father during her childhood influences the body odour similarity. We also tested the effect of woman's father-partner body odour similarity on sexual and relationship satisfaction. Twenty-five women with their fathers and partners participated in the study. Every respondent completed a set of questionnaires, in addition, fathers and partners provided samples of their body odours. Body odour similarity was rated by independent female raters (N=128). According to the results of our study, body odour of woman's father and partner is significantly similar. The body odour was also similar in intensity and pleasantness. The quality of woman's relationship with her father does not affect woman's father-partner body odour similarity. Nevertheless, this similarity...

As individuals develop, it is natural to reference social situations to learn about the self. Even as adults, some learning about the self comes from interactions with others. However, when adults consistently allow others to define their sense of self, their focus may shift away from connection and intimacy toward external factors. No studies have examined how allowing others to define the sense of self is associated with intimacy and satisfaction in relationships. Using structural equation modeling, this study examined whether allowing others to define the self is associated with a decrease in emotional intimacy, relational satisfaction, and sexual satisfaction and whether this relationship might be mediated by sense of self. I used a sample (n = 421) of U.S. adults in committed sexual relationships. Three common ways of allowing others to define the self—emotional fusion, externalized self-perception, and social comparison—were considered relative to the relational outcomes. Gender differences in the model were also considered. Results showed a negative association between all three ways of allowing others to define the self and all three relational outcomes for men, and negative associations between emotional fusion and externalized self-perception and all three relational outcomes for women. These associations were mediated by sense of self such that those who reported allowing others to define the self, also reported a weaker sense of self. Having a strong sense of self was positively associated with emotional intimacy, relationship satisfaction, and sexual satisfaction. This indicates that looking to outside sources to define the self may hinder intimacy and satisfaction in relationships. Further implications are discussed.

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[pt] A relação comprador-fornecedor em contexto colaborativo tem sido amplamente investigada pela comunidade acadêmica. Em um ambiente de grandes incertezas, colaborar para inovar tem sido uma alternativa importante para empresas. Observando relações colaborativas entre o comprador e o fornecedor, este estudo teve como objetivos avaliar os impactos da confiança e do contrato sobre a inovação e a satisfação com o relacionamento, separadamente. Para tanto, foi utilizada uma amostra de 54 empresas brasileiras, fornecedoras de uma empresa de engenharia situada no Rio de Janeiro. Foi empregada uma abordagem quantitativa com método survey, para posterior análise via regressão múltipla. Os resultados do estudo demonstraram que a confiança influencia positivamente a inovação e a satisfação com o relacionamento e que o contrato influencia negativamente a inovação e a satisfação com o relacionamento. Contribuições acadêmicas e implicações gerenciais foram elaboradas, assim como limitações e sugestões para futuras pesquisas. / [en] The buyer-supplier relationship in a collaborative context has been extensively investigated by the academic community. In an environment of great uncertainty, collaborating to innovate has been an important alternative for companies. Observing collaborative relationships between the buyer and the supplier, this study aimed to assess the impacts of trust and the contract on innovation and satisfaction with the relationship, separately. To this end, a sample of 54 Brazilian companies, suppliers of an engineering company located in Rio de Janeiro, was used. A quantitative approach with a survey method was used for further analysis via multiple regression. The results of the study showed that trust positively influences innovation and satisfaction with the relationship and that the contract negatively influences innovation and satisfaction with the relationship. Academic contributions and managerial implications were elaborated, as well as limitations and suggestions for future research.

With a sample of 3,436 engaged and married couples, this study explores the prediction of relationship satisfaction using the personality traits of neuroticism, depression, kindness, impulsivity, flexibility, self-esteem, and extraversion while utilizing controls for non-independent couple data in structural equation modeling. Both actor effects (the impact of an individual's personality on his or her own satisfaction) and partner effects (the impact of the partner's personality on satisfaction) are examined, including comparisons of the relative strength of each for males and females. A comparison is also made of engaged and married couples to determine if relationship status acts as a moderator. A separate model is estimated for each personality trait, and all the models show excellent fit statistics. Findings show significant, negative actor and partner effects for neuroticism, depression, and impulsivity, and significant, positive actor and partner effects for kindness, flexibility, and self-esteem among both engaged and married couples. Extraversion has some significant positive effects but is a weaker predictor. Actor effects are generally stronger than partner effects among the engaged couples in the sample, however among married couples the actor and partner effects are more often of equal magnitude. Many paths differ significantly between engaged and married couples, and in each case the paths are stronger among married couples. These findings support the idea that a variety of personality traits are important predictors of satisfaction, and that both actor and partner effects need to be considered. Findings also give evidence that relationship status acts as a moderator, indicating that personality may be a stronger predictor of satisfaction among married couples than engaged couples. With some traits, an engaged individual's own personality may be a more powerful predictor of his or her satisfaction than the partner's personality, while both spouse's traits may be equally predictive of a married individual's satisfaction.

Technology-mediated sexual interaction (TMSI) is a behavioural domain that captures the variety of ways that people engage in interpersonal exchanges of self-created, sexual material via communication technology. People report TMSI with romantic partners more than in other relationship contexts, yet there are few theoretically driven studies on people's motives for TMSI within romantic relationships. This lack of theoretical framing in the existing TMSI research makes it difficult to organize findings across studies in a coherent way, to explain particular phenomena, and to make connections between people's technology-mediated and in-person sexual experiences. The overarching goal of this dissertation was to improve knowledge about people's motives for engaging in TMSI with a committed romantic partner. To address this goal, I produced four articles which together allowed me to: (1) develop an evidence-based grounding for TMSI; (2) address limitations in current approaches to TMSI research; and (3) apply the approach-avoidance motivational framework to examine people's motives for and outcomes of engaging in TMSI with a committed romantic partner. In Article 1, I completed a systematic literature review on definitions, prevalence, and relationship context of sexting and cybersex (two of the most common TMSI activities). I found that researcher's conceptual definitions of sexting and cybersex are virtually indistinguishable and that the prevalence of sexting and cybersex was similar when researchers used comparable definitions. From these results, I conceptualized the TMSI behavioural domain. In Article 2, I described four common conceptual and measurement problems that arise when researchers focus on activities (i.e., sexting) rather than behaviours (i.e., TMSI). These problems include: (1) imprudent focus on the medium, (2) inconsistent conceptual definitions, (3) poor measurement practices, and (4) a lack of theoretical frameworks. I argue that the solutions to these problems require construct valid measures, theory-driven research, and a shift in focus away from sexting research and towards the TMSI behavioural domain. In Article 3, I used multi-grounded theory to guide qualitative analyses of 25 interviews focused on TMSI experiences and motives in current romantic partnerships. I found that participants described their TMSI motives in terms that aligned with the approach-avoidance motivational framework. In Article 4, I conducted two separate surveys to (1) develop a construct valid measure of people's approach and avoidance motives for TMSI with a current romantic partner (Article 4.1; N = 269) and (2) examine the extent to which people's approach and avoidance motives for TMSI with a romantic partner predicted well-being outcomes (Article 4.2; N = 459). I found that people's approach and avoidance motives predicted sexual, relationship, and life satisfaction through changes in dyadic sexual desire. Overall, this dissertation contributes to and extends knowledge about people's approach and avoidance TMSI motives by focusing on theoretically driven and construct valid research practices.

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