The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between mindfulness and its link to sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction. Data were collected from 809 individuals (18.8% bisexual, 60.7% straight, 19.2% gay/lesbian) in romantic relationships. Participants completed an online survey to measure mindfulness (five facets: observing of experience, describing with words, acting with awareness, non judging of inner experience, non reactivity to inner experience), sexual satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction. Results from two multivariate analyses (predicting sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction) revealed that relationship satisfaction is significantly predicted by three of the five facets of mindfulness – acting with awareness, describing with words, and non judging of inner experience. Sexual satisfaction was significantly predicted by the non judging of inner experience facet of mindfulness. Non judging of inner experience was the only facet that significantly predicted both relationship and sexual satisfaction. These findings indicate that when individuals are able to take a non-evaluative stance towards their sensations, cognitions, and emotions, they are more likely to be satisfied. Future research and clinical intervention for improving satisfaction may benefit from focusing on mindfulness related to the non judging of inner experience. Implications for clinical practice and future research will be discussed.

Relationship satisfaction is positively related to life satisfaction and subjective well-being. The main aim of this thesis was to investigate what features that may explain satisfaction and dissatisfaction in friendship versus romantic relationships, and to compare the results. This study also aimed to examine the association between perceived loneliness and the degree of satisfaction in friendship versus romantic relationships. A questionnaire was distributed to a group of 93 university students between the ages of 18 to 41 years. Through thematic analysis it was found that balance, communication, closeness, support, trust, understanding, safety and conflict management were satisfying features in both types of relationships. Lacks of these features were found to be dissatisfying. Other dissatisfying features in romantic relationships were worry, lack of time and stress and in friendship relationships feelings of alienation and superficial relationships were dissatisfying features. Statistical analyses showed a negative association between friendship satisfaction and perceived loneliness. A tendency to a similar association with romantic relationship satisfaction emerged. Yet, there were also indications of the reverse in regard to romantic relationship satisfaction. Moreover, the possibility that friendship relationships might be more important than romantic relationships for university students in order for them not to feel lonely was discussed. / Relationstillfredsställelse har ett positivt samband med livstillfredsställelse och subjektivt välmående. Huvudsyftet med denna studie var att undersöka vilka faktorer som skulle kunna förklara tillfredsställelse såväl som otillfredsställelse i vänskaps- respektive kärleksrelationer, samt jämföra dessa resultat. Studien ämnade även undersöka sambandet mellan upplevd ensamhet och graden av tillfredsställelse i vänskaps- respektive kärleksrelationer. En enkät delades ut till 93 universitetsstudenter i åldrarna 18-41 år. Genom tematisk analys framkom balans, kommunikation, närhet, stöd, tillit, förståelse, trygghet och konflikthantering som tillfredsställande faktorer i de båda relationstyperna. Brist på dessa faktorer framkom som otillfredsställande. Andra otillfredsställande faktorer i kärleksrelationer var oro, tidsbrist och stress medan känslor av utanförskap och ytliga relationer framkom som otillfredsställande i vänskapsrelationer. Statistiska analyser påvisade ett negativt samband mellan tillfredsställelse i vänskapsrelationer och upplevd ensamhet. Tendenser till ett liknande samband med tillfredsställelse i kärleksrelationer kunde ses. Trots detta fanns även indikationer för ett motsatt samband gällande tillfredsställelse i kärleksrelationer. Dessutom diskuterades möjligheten att vänskapsrelationer kan vara av större betydelse än kärleksrelationer för att universitetsstudenter inte ska känna sig ensamma.

Media use may have the potential to influence romantic relationships, depending on the context of media use. For example, pathological media use, which includes symptoms of addiction such as relapse, withdrawal, and conflict with family and friends over media use, may be particularly damaging to romantic relationships. Additionally, research shows that pathological video game use can negatively influence factors of mental health, including depression. The current study includes 183 heterosexual couples from the Eastern United States. Both members of each couple completed online surveys answering questions regarding pathological media use, depression, and relationship satisfaction. Results showed that male pathological video game use was not associated with female romantic relationship satisfaction. Additionally, male pathological video game use was associated with increased levels of male depression, and male depression was associated with increased levels of female relationship satisfaction. However, male depression did not mediate the relation between male pathological video game use and female relationship satisfaction. Discussion focuses on the implications of pathological video game use on mental health, as well as problems within the sample, measurement, and short-term longitudinal study design.

Many social processes influence the amount, quality, and availability of support from an individual's social network. Trait influences are characteristics of the individual that generalize across relationships and affect how much support is received and perceived on average from other people. Social influences comprise characteristics of the individual's social network. They are relationship specific and account for the variability in supportiveness among an individual's providers. Recent studies have taken a multilevel approach to studying social support in order to partition the variance in sets of relationship-specific support measures into trait and social components. These studies have also used multivariate generalizability (G) theory to examine the correlations between social support and other constructs, such as negative mood, at the trait and social level. These multilevel studies have begun to clarify the relative contributions of trait and social influences on social support, but much is yet to be learned about the nature and measurement of social support's trait and social components. One set of aims within this project was to identify characteristics of support recipients and characteristics of support providers that were related to the reception and perception of social support. Another set of aims focused on validating the measurement strategies used by G theory researchers and understanding how the trait and social components of support and mood derived from relationship-specific measures relate to traditional measures of these constructs. My final set of aims involved the application of multilevel analyses of social support and negative mood to three existing theories in the social support literature--the buffering hypothesis, the matching hypothesis, and the platinum rule. The participants in this study comprised two samples--one group of 755 undergraduate psychology students, and one group of 430 community members from across the United States. Participants completed measures of their personality traits, recent depressive symptoms, recent experiences of life adversity and perceived control over life adversity. They also reported on three close relationships including support from those relationships, satisfaction with those relationships, and mood experienced when interacting with those three people. Several multilevel analyses were used in the study. Univariate G theory analyses were used to quantify the relative variance in support, mood, and relationship satisfaction attributable to trait and social influences. Multivariate G theory analyses were used to estimate the links between these variables at the trait and social levels of analysis. Mixed effects models were used to identify trait and relationship-specific constructs that that might partly constitute the trait and social influences on social support. Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to evaluate the validity of several constructs employed in previous multilevel studies on social support. Finally, mixed effects and multivariate G theory analyses were used to test the buffering hypothesis, the matching hypothesis, and the platinum rule. Consistent with previous multilevel studies of social support, recipients who received more support, on average, from their social networks also reported more negative mood when interacting with their providers. After taking those average tendencies into account, the amount of support received from an individual support provider was not associated with negative mood experienced when with that provider. The investigation of the trait influences on social support showed that recipients who were younger, more extraverted, and more open to new experiences tended to receive more social support. Women tended to receive more support than men. With respect to social influences, romantic partners tended to provide the most support whereas friends and siblings provided significantly less support on average. Women tended to provide more support than men. The validity assessment showed that the social component of support availability was only modestly distinct from the social component of generic relationship satisfaction. The trait component of support availability showed good discriminant validity from relationship satisfaction and good convergent validity with global support availability. The trait component of relationship-specific mood showed moderate convergent validity with general mood. The buffering and matching hypotheses were not supported by my findings. The platinum rule was supported at the trait level in that recipients who reported greater support adequacy, on average, tended to report more positive mood and less negative mood. The platinum rule was also supported at the social level in that recipients tended to report experiencing the most positive mood and least negative mood when interacting with individual providers who tended to supply the most adequate support.

Experiences of childhood physical and sexual abuse among men have not been sufficiently studied because many men are not forthcoming about experiences of abuse. This abuse is linked to aggressive behaviors, difficulty developing and maintaining close relationships, and various psychological disorders. Current research has not fully examined relationships between childhood abuse, adult attachment, and levels of relationship satisfaction among men. The purpose of this nonexperimental quantitative study was to evaluate the relationship between adult attachment as measured by the Relationship Scales Questionnaire and relationship satisfaction as measured by the Couples Satisfaction Index among men abused during childhood. Bowlby's theory of attachment served as the theoretical foundation for this study, contending that an individual's ability to connect with and seek safety in others influences relationships later in life. Participants (n = 79) were recruited from MaleSurvivor Organization, which serves victims of abuse. Multiple regression and correlation analysis were used to measure adult attachment, childhood abuse severity, and relationship satisfaction. Results showed no significant relationship between abuse severity and adult attachment, no significant differences in relationship satisfaction based on attachment style, and no moderation between abuse severity and adult attachment and relationship satisfaction. Social change implications highlight the importance of providing appropriate treatment and prevention measures, which allow for awareness of abuse histories and its contributions to attachment behaviors and overall satisfaction in relationships.

The current study examines the construct of relationship social comparison orientation, which deals with an individual's propensity to compare his or her romantic relationship to that of others' romantic relationships on various dimensions, in both dating and married samples. The study also examines the role of relationship uncertainty and self uncertainty as an inducement or precondition to relationship comparison tendencies in both groups. 204 married individuals were recruited through The University of Iowa employee pool and 270 dating individuals were recruited to participate using the Elementary Psychology research pool. Dating and married individuals completed questionnaires related to relationship social comparison orientation, general social comparison orientation, and personality traits. A subset of married individuals' spouses also completed questionnaires to report as informants on their partners' relationship comparison tendencies, general social comparison orientation and personality. Findings show that married individuals report higher levels of relationship and self certainty and satisfaction than dating individuals. Factor analyses of the Relationship Social Comparison Measure (RSCM; Smith LeBeau & Buckingham, 2008) and relationship comparison tendencies items produced an interpretable and replicable three factor structure, in both samples, of: 1) general relational comparisons, 2) relational comparisons with positive affect and 3) relational comparisons with negative affect. Dating individuals reported more frequent engagement in general relational comparisons and relational comparisons with negative affect. General relational comparisons and negative affect relational comparisons factor scales were significantly, negatively associated with satisfaction in both dating and married samples; in contrast, however, general social comparison orientation was unrelated to satisfaction. Findings, additionally, show significant convergence on self-reported and spouse ratings of personality, in the married sample, for Big 5 traits as well as for relational comparison tendencies and general social comparison orientation. Positive affect relational comparisons were found to have a small positive association with satisfaction, suggesting that some comparison processes are not maladaptive and may serve to bolster relationship functioning.

Post-traumatic stress theory applied to the experience of female incestuous childhood sexual abuse survivors (ICSA) suggests that the trauma may result in negative psychological consequences affecting relationships in adulthood. This study sought to explore the relational consequences of ICSA, specifically focusing on conflict resolution styles (CRS), relationship satisfaction, and relationship stability. This research used data from the RELATionship Evaluation questionnaire. Participants included 487 heterosexual couples in which only the female partner experienced ICSA compared to a comparison group of 1827 couples in which neither partner experienced ICSA. Analyses tested for differences in the frequencies of reported CRS (Gottman 1994) for ICSA and non-ICSA groups. A path analysis also explored the mediating effects of CRS on the relationship between ICSA, and self and partner reported relationship satisfaction and stability. Significant differences in the reports of types of CRS were found for ICSA versus non-ICSA groups. Path analysis showed that although ICSA and CRS were negatively related to relationship satisfaction and stability, the mediating effects of CRS types were not found. Ways clinicians may want to focus on CRS when treating these types of couples reporting low relationship satisfaction are discussed.

This thesis describes a program of research which aimed to explore the role of relationship self-regulation (or relationship "effort") and wisdom in relationship satisfaction. Three separate studies were conducted to examine the association between self-regulation and satisfaction, and the mechanisms for this association. Study 1 examined self-regulation, wisdom and satisfaction, using a sample of 61 couples in long-term relationships, and found that while wisdom shared little association with satisfaction, self-regulation was a significant correlate of satisfaction for men and women. Study 2 examined whether the association between self-regulation and satisfaction was mediated by communication skills in a sample of 101 couples in the early stages of their relationship. Results replicated the self-regulation/satisfaction association found in Study 1, but provided no evidence for mediation by communication. Study 3 tested for mediation of the self-regulation/satisfaction association by attributions in a sample of 73 newly-wed couples. The association between self-regulation and satisfaction was partially mediated by attributions, but self-regulation also had a direct relationship with satisfaction. It was concluded that self-regulation is an important correlate of satisfaction in relationships, and that this association cannot be fully explained by communication or attributions. Several directions for future research were provided, including the need to examine self-regulation and its predictors longitudinally, ways in which a behavioural measure of self-regulation could be developed, and the implications of self-regulation for couple therapy.

Most couples eagerly anticipate the birth of their first child. However, the transition to parenthood is also associated with significant lifestyle changes and approximately 50% of couples report a moderate to severe decline in relationship satisfaction and quality. Low relationship satisfaction is associated with increased couple conflict, individual psychological distress, negative parent-child relationships and poor child outcomes. Despite our increasing knowledge of the factors that predict enhanced couple adjustment, few evidence-based programs are available to assist couples' adjustment to parenthood. In this first randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of a flexible delivery psycho-education program, entitled 'Couple CARE for Parents', 71 pregnant couples were assessed on self-report and observational measures of couple relationship and individual functioning and then randomized into either the Couple CARE for Parents program (n = 35) or a comparison program (n = 36). Couple CARE for Parents was a six unit program, comprising of an antenatal workshop, two home visits and three telephone support calls, and included skill-training in key relationship processes that are predictive of couple relationship quality, with the addition of parenting and baby care information. Among intervention couples the typical decline in female relationship satisfaction was prevented, with only 13% of intervention females reporting a decline in relationship satisfaction from pregnancy to 5 months postpartum, compared to 42% of females in the comparison program. Observed couple communication also improved as a result of the intervention, with Couple CARE for Parents couples showing reliably lower rates of negative speaker and listener skills at post-intervention relative to comparison couples. Couples were highly engaged in Couple CARE for Parents and there was a low drop out rate across the 7 month intervention period. These findings are promising and add to the early intervention studies showing positive effects of couple-focused psycho-education during the transition to parenthood by demonstrating that flexible delivery programs are feasible and attractive to couples. Providing cost-effective couple relationship education to expectant and new parent couples opens another window of opportunity for health professionals and governments to minimize the rates of relationship distress and divorce and their associated negative effects on individual, couple and family functioning.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of gender, age, duration of relationship, self concept clarity and personal agency in predicting romantic relationship satisfaction of emerging adults. Participants were consisted of 344 (70.3% female, 29.7% male) volunteered undergraduate students from one of the state universities in Central Anatolia. Age of the participants ranged from 18 to 25 with the mean of 20. 85 (SD = 1.65). The data was gathered using four instruments namely, Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS), Self Concept Clarity Scale (SCCS), Multi-Measure Agentic Personality Scale- Short Form (MAPSSF), and personal information form. In order to analyze the data, hierarchical regression analysis was conducted. Results revealed that gender, age and duration of relationship were not significant predictors of romantic relationship satisfaction / whereas self concept clarity and purpose in life dimension of personal agency were significant predictors which explained the 12% of the total variance in romantic relationship satisfaction scores of emerging adults. Results of the study are discussed in the light of the relevant literature. Finally implications of the study and recommendations for further research are presented.