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Thesis (M.A.)--Marshall University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Includes abstract. Document formatted into pages: contains 136 p.

Research indicates that determinants such as commitment, communication and attachment facilitate long-term marriages. The present study seeks to understand these and other possible determinants that facilitate enduring relationships. Furthermore, the research focuses exclusively on the determinants that males believe facilitate long-term relationships. Bader and Pearson's transposition of Mahler's Model of Separation Individuation onto adult relationships was used as a theoretical point of departure. Bader and Pearson posit that couples evolve through stages which resemble Mahler's Model of Childhood Development. A qualitative approach using semistructured interviews aided in creating a non-threatening environment whilst collecting data. Purposive non-random sampling was used to identify participants and thereafter participants were obtained via snowball sampling. Tesch's thematic analysis was used to analyse results. The research findings highlight the understanding of what determinants males deem essential to facilitate long-term relationships.

With the aging of society and increased longevity, understanding the factors that contribute to declines in quality of life and mood, such as normative health declines and cognitive declines is progressively more important. Past research has consistently demonstrated that cognitive skills decline with age; specifically, a major change associated with normative aging is a decline in executive functions (Phillips & Henry, 2008). Past research has focused on investigating how abnormal declines in cognitive and executive functioning have impacted the self and others; however a relatively unexplored issue is examining how individual differences in normative age-related changes in cognitive functioning impact the self and others. The first purpose of the current study was to investigate normative age-related differences in executive functioning skills and how these individual differences impact individuals and their marital partners. The second purpose of the current study was to investigate whether executive functioning skills in particular, rather than other domains of cognitive skills thought to be separate from executive functioning, predicted poor quality of life and mood in self and partner. Participants were 91 heterosexual couples 55 years and above who were married or cohabiting. They completed measures of quality of life and mood in addition to a variety of cognitive tasks and executive functioning tasks measuring their inhibition, working memory and task switching abilities. We found that lower executive functioning skills in one partner significantly predicted lower levels of quality of life in the other partner (partner effect). However, we found that there was no significant relationship between those with lower levels of executive functioning and one’s own ratings of quality of life (actor effect). Conversely, when investigating the impact of executive functioning on mood we found that lower levels of executive functioning resulted in lower ratings of mood for the same partner (actor effect). However, lower levels of executive functioning in one partner did not predict lower levels of mood in the other partner (partner effect). In no instance was general cognition, as assessed using tasks of language, visuospatial ability, and short-term memory, related to partner or actor effects for either outcome measure. Implications of these findings are discussed.

With the aging of society and increased longevity, understanding the factors that contribute to declines in quality of life and mood, such as normative health declines and cognitive declines is progressively more important. Past research has consistently demonstrated that cognitive skills decline with age; specifically, a major change associated with normative aging is a decline in executive functions (Phillips & Henry, 2008). Past research has focused on investigating how abnormal declines in cognitive and executive functioning have impacted the self and others; however a relatively unexplored issue is examining how individual differences in normative age-related changes in cognitive functioning impact the self and others. The first purpose of the current study was to investigate normative age-related differences in executive functioning skills and how these individual differences impact individuals and their marital partners. The second purpose of the current study was to investigate whether executive functioning skills in particular, rather than other domains of cognitive skills thought to be separate from executive functioning, predicted poor quality of life and mood in self and partner. Participants were 91 heterosexual couples 55 years and above who were married or cohabiting. They completed measures of quality of life and mood in addition to a variety of cognitive tasks and executive functioning tasks measuring their inhibition, working memory and task switching abilities. We found that lower executive functioning skills in one partner significantly predicted lower levels of quality of life in the other partner (partner effect). However, we found that there was no significant relationship between those with lower levels of executive functioning and one’s own ratings of quality of life (actor effect). Conversely, when investigating the impact of executive functioning on mood we found that lower levels of executive functioning resulted in lower ratings of mood for the same partner (actor effect). However, lower levels of executive functioning in one partner did not predict lower levels of mood in the other partner (partner effect). In no instance was general cognition, as assessed using tasks of language, visuospatial ability, and short-term memory, related to partner or actor effects for either outcome measure. Implications of these findings are discussed.

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Aims: Friendship plays an important and central role in adolescent life. This thesis was conducted in two parts to address two broad aims relating to friendship in adolescence. The first aim was to establish what is currently known about the impact of perfectionism on adolescent interpersonal relationships. Specifically, it was of interest to determine whether perfectionism exerts a negative influence on adolescent friendships. The second aim was to explore the friendship experiences of adolescents diagnosed with an eating disorder (ED) in order to address a significant gap in the current literature. Method: A systematic review of the literature relating to perfectionism and interpersonal functioning in adolescence was carried out with a view to addressing the first aim. With regards to the second aim a grounded theory study was conducted with adolescents currently in treatment for an eating disorder. The young people were asked about their experiences of friendship and emerging concepts were followed up in a concurrent process of data collection and analysis. Results: The systematic review highlighted an absence of research on interpersonal functioning and perfectionism in adolescence, with only seven studies identified that met inclusion criteria. The results were further complicated by inconsistencies in the conceptualisation of perfectionism in the identified studies. The empirical study uncovered the efforts that adolescents go to to achieve acceptance in their friendships. It also revealed that the development of an ED is experienced as creating distance in adolescent friendships. This affects both the actual amount of time that young people spend with their friends as well as the emotional connection that they are able to feel in their friendships. Conclusions: There is a need to reconsider the conceptualisation of perfectionism in future research with a consistent acknowledgement of the interpersonal dimensions of the concept. It is important to acknowledge the significant impact that ED development can have on adolescent relationships. Young people may require support to address these difficulties and preserve their friendships to avoid long term negative consequences.

The purpose of this study was to examine three experimental hypotheses: (1) each grade level in the study will show greater physical distances in interpersonal spacing as the grade level increases in both child-to-child and child-to-adult relationships, (2) interpersonal spacing will be greater in child-to-adult relationships than in child-to-child relationships, and (3) there will be a correlation between a child's self-esteem and his interpersonal spacing in both child-to-child and child-to-adult relationships. Two basic instruments were used in testing the hypotheses: (1) Interpersonal Spacing Measurement Apparatus and (2) modified Self-Esteem Inventory Short Form B. The three hypotheses were accepted and significant at better than the .01 level.

People with high (HSEs) and low self-esteem (LSEs) often react differently to interpersonal risk. When concerns about their relationship are salient, HSEs seek connection with their partners to quell feelings of vulnerability whereas LSEs distance themselves from their partners to minimize the impact of potential rejection. In the present research, I investigate the extent to which these regulatory dynamics reflect executive-based processes that govern broader regulatory responses. In Studies 1 and 2, HSEs exhibited stronger approach goals (i.e., a greater tendency to pursue rewards and ignore risks) in non-social domains when faced with interpersonal risk whereas LSEs inhibited approach goals and made more conservative decisions. In Studies 3 and 4, I demonstrated that HSEs’ and LSEs’ divergent regulatory responses to risk were contingent on executive control. When participants were cognitively busy, HSEs were less likely to bolster relationship evaluations in the face of interpersonal risk whereas LSEs were more likely to do so. Finally, Study 5 demonstrated that these global regulatory strategies govern HSEs’ and LSEs’ responses to non-interpersonal risk as well. HSEs were more willing to engage in risky social comparison following failure than they were when they received neutral feedback about their performance, whereas LSEs were less willing to compare themselves with others after failure. These effects did not emerge when cognitive resources were depleted. Taken together, the results suggest that HSEs’ and LSEs’ self-regulatory responses to risk are broader and more controlled than previously theorized.