Past studies examining the role of psychopathology in intimate relationships have largely focused on the construct of depression, both as a cause and consequence of relationship distress. In contrast, far less attention has been given to anxiety, despite the fact that anxiety is related to several factors influencing relationship functioning, including problem solving skills, thoughts of threat and uncertainty, sexual dysfunction, excessive self-focus and alcohol abuse. Moreover, the high rates of comorbidity between anxiety and depression make it unclear whether the findings from past studies examining the interpersonal toll of depression are specific to depression or are nonspecific markers of any type of psychopathology. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the differential roles of depression and anxiety in intimate relationship satisfaction, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Further, using the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM), we examined both the effects of one’s own anxiety and depression and also of one’s partner’s anxiety and depression on one’s own relationship satisfaction. Our cross-sectional sample consisted of 70 couples, of which 48 couples also participated at follow-up. All couples completed measures of relationship satisfaction and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Cross-sectionally, results revealed that a person’s own symptoms of depression were the only predictors of relationship satisfaction. Conversely, depressive symptoms did not predict change in relationship satisfaction over time. Instead, a person’s own levels of anxiety at time 1 were a stronger predictor of this change. Among wives, change in relationship satisfaction was also predicted by their husbands’ levels of anxiety at time 1. These results highlight the importance of studying the constructs of depression and anxiety simultaneously, and point to intriguing gender differences. The potential mechanisms behind these effects are discussed.

Past studies examining the role of psychopathology in intimate relationships have largely focused on the construct of depression, both as a cause and consequence of relationship distress. In contrast, far less attention has been given to anxiety, despite the fact that anxiety is related to several factors influencing relationship functioning, including problem solving skills, thoughts of threat and uncertainty, sexual dysfunction, excessive self-focus and alcohol abuse. Moreover, the high rates of comorbidity between anxiety and depression make it unclear whether the findings from past studies examining the interpersonal toll of depression are specific to depression or are nonspecific markers of any type of psychopathology. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the differential roles of depression and anxiety in intimate relationship satisfaction, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Further, using the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM), we examined both the effects of one’s own anxiety and depression and also of one’s partner’s anxiety and depression on one’s own relationship satisfaction. Our cross-sectional sample consisted of 70 couples, of which 48 couples also participated at follow-up. All couples completed measures of relationship satisfaction and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Cross-sectionally, results revealed that a person’s own symptoms of depression were the only predictors of relationship satisfaction. Conversely, depressive symptoms did not predict change in relationship satisfaction over time. Instead, a person’s own levels of anxiety at time 1 were a stronger predictor of this change. Among wives, change in relationship satisfaction was also predicted by their husbands’ levels of anxiety at time 1. These results highlight the importance of studying the constructs of depression and anxiety simultaneously, and point to intriguing gender differences. The potential mechanisms behind these effects are discussed.

The current study aims to analyze the nature and duration of the intimate relationship breakup experience for young adult males and females as a function of socially encouraged gender behavior and Facebook use. Seventy male and seventy female (ages 18-25) participants who have endured an intimate relationship breakup within the past year will complete three pencil and paper survey measures in a classroom setting. Participants will be asked a series of questions about their resulting emotionality and Facebook use post-breakup. The researcher anticipates a series of t-tests will reveal that in accordance with socially encouraged gender behaviors, females will report a longer duration of the breakup process, overall higher levels of emotionality, and more time spent monitoring the activity of an ex-partner on Facebook. Male participants will report higher levels of anger as a result of a breakup, and while both males and females will report Facebook interference in the coping process, females will report significantly higher levels of Facebook interference than male participants. The increased understanding of social media use and gender stereotypes in regards to an intimate relationship breakup suggest that both hold significant power in society, and may particularly encourage gender differences in dealing with such a breakup. Furthermore, the two may function in sync to dictate the breakup experience differently for males and females.

The Ideal Standards Model (Simpson, Fletcher and Campbell, 2001) suggests that individuals regulate themselves and their partners based on how closely their perceptions match their ideal standards. Overall, Fletcher and Simpson (2006) provided empirical support for the regulatory function of the Ideal Standards Model and concluded that standards which may initiate regulation reflect three pivotal domains; warmth/trustworthiness, attractiveness/vitality and status/resources. In Study 1, 150 individuals (in heterosexual relationships or had been in the previous six months) spontaneously reported prior regulatory attempts that had focused on changing themselves, their partner or their relationship. Participants then described their most salient regulatory attempt in detail and rated the success of this attempt. In Study 2, 96 individuals (in heterosexual relationships) self-rated various personality and relationship characteristics. Participants also indicated how they would likely respond (using a set of likert scales) to partner initiated regulation attempts which were provided via vignette descriptions. As predicted, results indicated (a) that regulatory attempts reflect the pivotal domains of the Ideal Standards Model, (b) predicted gender differences in the use of regulation, (c) increased regulatory success with the use of interpersonal strategies and (d) increased relationship quality with less negative reactions to regulatory attempts. Results also indicated that women were more likely to respond negatively than men, particularly when the regulation attempt focused on their attractiveness. Implication and explanations are discussed.

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This study assesses the contextual aspect of working in a family business on intimate relationships. Guided by principles of ecological theory, this study explores the unique situation of individuals who work with an intimate partner in a business they own and how this situation manifests itself in their close relationship. Individuals in a family business are confronted with a potentially unique family-work experience, especially for spouses/partners who work together in a business. It is hypothesized that objective and subjective work time influence couple relationship quality. Six specific hypotheses centered on the connection between family and work microsystems as well as the influence of macrosystem beliefs regarding family, work, and gender were assessed by regression analysis. Ninety-nine individuals completed a demographic and daily diary online. The sample was 52.53% men, 78.79% White, and educated (63.63% held at least Bachelor degrees). The majority of the sample was legally married (91.92%), with an average relationship length of 16.20 years (SD = 12.74 years). Regression analyses revealed limited support for the hypotheses. For people in family businesses, working more hours was associated with greater withdrawal from their intimate partner. Perceiving work time as sad was linked to more withdrawal from partner and more anger with partner, but not linked with feelings of closeness to partner. People who felt time at work as appreciated reported feeling closer to their intimate partner. The more respondents believed it was meaningful to distinguish between work and family, the less closeness to their partner they reported. Finally, age was significant for relationship quality, with younger individuals reporting more withdrawal and anger with partner and less closeness to their partner than did older individuals. This study contributes to research exploring the connection between family and work among individuals who work together in family businesses. While objective work time was associated with the measure of withdrawal from a partner, objective work time did not significantly contribute to the report of anger with a partner or closeness to a partner. Overall, how individuals felt during work time had an effect on their spousal/partner relationship, with feeling sad at work associated with more relationship withdrawal and anger, and feeling appreciated at work associated with more closeness. Limited support for the model suggests there may be unique processes of work and family operating within family businesses. Although work and family microsystems were connected in this study of family business owners, the links between work and family were different from previous research on dual- and single-earner families. Future research should untangle the processes through which work and family and time are connected, with attention to larger cultural influences, particularly how individuals within family businesses do work and family and how families ascribe to and enact gender within family businesses. In addition, further research should assess the degree to which microsystems can be differentiated in populations characterized by an extreme mesosystem connection between work and family. / Ph. D.

This study has explored how couples raising children on the autism spectrum negotiate intimacy in their marriages/committed partnerships as well as what contextual factors influence these process and how they change over time. Twelve couples currently raising children on the autism spectrum were interviewed conjointly regarding their experiences of intimacy negotiation. A methodological approached based on constructivist grounded theory was used to analyze the data collected from these couples. The results of this study indicate that intimacy negotiation for couples raising children on the autism spectrum is an interactive process in which both partners must work together to make several key cognitive and relational shifts. Couples were either aided or hindered in making these shifts by the degree to which contextual and environmental factors were experienced as resources or roadblocks. The result of the degree to which couples raising children with ASDs navigate the necessary cognitive and relational shifts, also taking into account the influence of any contextual factors on these processes, was found to be a couple's experience of intimacy. However, this study also found that intimacy was not a fixed point at which a couple one day arrived, but was instead an iterative process taking place over time and requiring work to develop and maintain. / Ph. D.

This study investigated the intrapersonal and interpersonal context of female dieting and partner support for dieting in 44 heterosexual couples. Participants completed questionnaires assessing self and relationship functioning, dieting levels and eating disordered attitudes, and weight-loss support frequency and helpfulness, in both a cross-sectional and longitudinal study. As predicted, a) higher levels of unhealthy dieting were significantly related to more negative views of the self (e.g., lower self-esteem), and b) lower perceived levels of support from the partner were significantly related to higher levels of eating-disordered attitudes, anxious attachment, and lower relationship satisfaction. However, testing more complex causal models showed that self-esteem played a pivotal role. First, tests confirmed that the impact of self-esteem on unhealthy dieting was mediated by more disordered attitudes to eating. Second, those with low-self-esteem were much less likely to diet in an unhealthy fashion with more frequent and positive partner support, whereas high self-esteem women were not influenced by the support offered by their partners. These findings did not apply to the frequency of healthy dieting, with the important exception that more frequent partner support encouraged healthier dieting, and they held up when plausible third variables were statistically controlled. The findings suggest that dieting behaviour is influenced both by individual differences and the nature of support in intimate relationship contexts.

Doctor of Philosophy / School of Family Studies and Human Services / Amber V. Vennum / Sexual desire is important to personal and relational well-being but inevitably declines over time in committed relationships. Individuals, further, commonly report times when they desire more or less sex than their partners (desire discrepancy) which is negatively associated with both relationship and sexual satisfaction. How partner’s make meaning out of (i.e., attributions about their partner’s lower desire for sex) and respond (pursue, withdraw or engage) to moments of discrepant desire is likely influenced by the extent to which partners are able to maintain a clear sense of self in the context of physical and emotional closeness (i.e., their level of differentiation), although this has yet to be tested. Through two studies, I explored the types of attributions and behaviors in response to desire discrepancies and how negative attributions and behaviors mediate the link between differentiation and sexual desire. Specifically in Study 1, I analyzed open-ended responses from 463 participants, using deductive content analysis to examine types of negative attributions and behaviors in response to moments of desire discrepancy. In Study 2, using the findings from Study 1, I developed items to quantitatively measure specific negative attributions and behaviors in response to desire discrepancies. Using a sample of 511 participants, I refined the factor structure of the Desire Discrepancy Attributions and Behaviors Scale and used a path analysis to examine how differentiation is associated with sexual desire both directly and indirectly through negative attributions, emotions, and behaviors (pursue-withdraw). Results indicated that an individual’s level of differentiation is positively associated with sexual desire and this link is significantly mediated by negative attributions and certain negative behaviors. The clinical implications and areas for future research based on the findings of this study are discussed.