Individuals expect openness in their romantic relationships, and this standard, known as the standard for openness, is the focus of this project. Currently, little empirical evidence describes what individuals do to deal with any dissatisfaction, anger, and disappointment they feel toward their partners and relationships when standards, such as that for openness, go unfulfilled (Boldero et al., 2009). Based on Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) theory of stress and coping, this project's purpose was to address limitations in existing research by exploring the stress elicited when the standard for openness goes unmet, identifying the coping strategies individuals engage in when faced with this stress, and assessing the consequences of coping efforts for individuals and their relationships over time. Individuals in newly dating relationships (N = 203) responded to weekly questionnaires over the course of six weeks. Findings from cross-sectional analyses of Week 1 data revealed that exiting and using humor partially mediated the relationship between the stress associated with unfulfilled openness standards and relational satisfaction, and escaping fully mediated the relationship between stress and relationship satisfaction. Further, exiting, modeling, escaping, and reframing partially mediated the relationship between the stress associated with unfulfilled openness standards and mental well-being. Longitudinal analyses using data from all six weeks failed to support predictions that relational satisfaction and mental well-being were related to discrepancies in the fulfillment of openness standards and stress the following week. / text

The present study explored the phenomenon of serial hurt – hurtful interactions between romantic partners that reoccur about the same topic or issue. In this investigation, a framework of serial hurt was offered, and a number of research questions and hypotheses were examined. The first goal of this study was to assess whether serial hurt was discernable from discrete hurt that occurred in a single, isolated instance. The second purpose of this project was to provide an initial exploration of serial hurt as it occurs in romantic relationships. A community sample of romantic partners (N = 203) completed a series of self-report questionnaires pertaining to either discrete or serial hurt in their current romantic relationships. Results indicated that romantic partners made sense of and responded to hurtful exchanges with their partner in distinct ways depending on the type of hurt experienced. Specifically, the results indicated that discrete hurt and serial hurt are experienced in unique ways by individuals, both cognitively and behaviorally. Further, descriptive, exploratory data on serial hurt provided insight into an alternative perspective for examining hurtful interactions in relationships. / text

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Doctor of Philosophy / School of Family Studies and Human Services / Jared A. Durtschi / Perceptions regarding the causes and intentions behind partner transgressions are often just as important as the transgressions themselves. Although mindfulness-based interventions have been useful in clinical work with couples, the potential role that mindfulness plays in attributions is unclear. Using a sample of 542 young adults in romantic relationships, I explored the direct and indirect associations among attachment, trait mindfulness, and attributions. Specifically, I conducted a latent profile analysis, a person-centered approach, through which I identified four latent classes of trait mindfulness, including a High Mindfulness class, a Nonjudgmentally Aware class, a Low Mindfulness class, and a Judgmentally Observing class. I then ran a path analysis and found a number of significant direct effects. For example, relative to membership in the Low Mindfulness, membership in the High Mindfulness class and the Nonjudgmentally Aware class were associated with more benign attributions. I also found two significant indirect effects. First, heightened attachment anxiety was associated with an decreased probability of being Nonjudgmentally Aware class relative to the Low Mindfulness class, which was inversely linked with benign attributions. Second, avoidant attachment was linked with a decreased probability of membership in the High Mindfulness class relative to the Low Mindfulness class, which was linked to a decrease in benign attributions. The clinical implications and areas for future research based on the findings of this study are discussed.

Healthy romantic relationships are associated with a multitude of positive physical and mental health outcomes. Conversely, low relationship quality and relationship dissolution are associated with risk for poor health outcomes. Accordingly, numerous studies investigate ways to preserve healthy relationships through the use of preventative relationship education interventions, many of which improve relationship outcomes. However, evidence for the efficacy and effectiveness of these interventions is somewhat mixed, and promising interventions often fail to reach at-risk populations due to high participant burden. There is a movement within clinical psychology to create easily accessible, targeted therapy protocols in order to increase the broad availability of these evidence-based interventions. The current study aimed to replicate and extend the Marriage Hack (MH), a brief, evidence-based preventative relationship intervention designed to stabilize the natural decline in relationship quality over time. This study addressed four specific aims designed to: 1) examine the efficacy of the MH intervention using an abbreviated protocol; 2) extend the original MH intervention by investigating theory-based mechanisms of change and assessing individual health outcomes; 3) explore how theory-based mechanisms change over time; and, 4) evaluate the relationship between within-person and between-person variance in process variables and outcome measures. Seventy-eight (N = 78) couples were randomized to the 4-week MH protocol (n = 41) or control condition (n = 37). Results demonstrated men in the intervention group exhibited 1) greater improvements in relationship satisfaction and 2) decreases in both anxiety and depression compared to men in the control group. This study did not replicate the findings of the original MH for additional outcome variables and process variables for men or women. No support was found for mediating effects of additional theory-based mechanisms of change on outcome measures. However, exploratory intensive longitudinal analyses revealed noteworthy relationships between within-person and between-person variance in process variables and treatment outcomes. Research recommendations to further improve preventative relationship interventions and clinical implications of the current findings are discussed.

The present study investigated how young women “do” and “undo” gender in relation to their anger in romantic relationships. With this aim, I conducted in-depth interviews with 24 young women between the ages of 18 and 25. I interviewed participants about the characteristics of their current romantic relationships and their experiences of anger in this context. I used a constructivist grounded theory methodology involving open, axial, and theoretical coding to analyze the data collected through the interviews (Charmaz, 2006). My analysis suggested an emerging theory of young women’s anger in romantic relationships involving 5 categories, 16 sub-categories, and 4 types. Overall, the findings suggest young women experience contradictions about their power in romantic relationships and variability across events in how they “do” and “undo” gender in relation to their anger in romantic relationships. The findings also confirm that for most young women, their power in romantic relationships is associated with how women relate to, understand and express their anger. The emerging theory of women’s anger in romantic relationships provides a tool for further research on anger in the context of romantic relationships and a set of guidelines for clinicians to assess young women’s anger in romantic relationships. / Ph. D.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This study sought to better understand the communication of commitment in monogamous romantic relationships, including how one communicates his/her commitment to his/her partner and how one interprets messages from his/her partner. Focusing on the fundamentals of communicating commitment to one’s partner proves beneficial in understanding the commitment processes in daily life. In an effort to understand this concept, I used themes from interdependence theory and the investment model to formulate the interview questions and develop the findings. The findings and interpretations demonstrate that couples are communicating their commitment to each other in words/verbal expressions, especially in the beginning stages of the committed relationship; the commitment global construct employed most to communicate commitment in relationship is relational maintenance behaviors; and people perceive that nonverbal expressions of commitment are the best way to interpret messages of commitment from one’s partner.

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Previous researchers have established that social networks can influence an individual’s romantic relationship. Two studies examined whether one third party’s opinion was more influential than another when multiple parties’ opinions conflict or concur. The first study was a 2 (Parent Opinion: approval, disapproval) x 2 (Friend Opinion: approval, disapproval) between-subjects factorial design experimental survey which examined how third party opinions influenced an individual’s current romantic relationship state. Analyses revealed that both friend and parent opinion had significant effects on an individual’s romantic relationship. The second study incorporated a virtual dating game in which participants received feedback about one of their interaction partners. The study employed a 2 (Parent Opinion: good match, bad match) x 2 (Friend Opinion: good match, bad match) x 2 (Interaction Partner: Target, Control – within-subjects) mixed factorial design. Friend opinion emerged as playing an important role in individuals’ perceptions and choices of a potential romantic partner.

No description available.