abstract: Affection represents a positive and often intimate psychological state (Floyd & Morman, 1998) that is communicated through verbal, nonverbal, and social supportive behaviors. A formidable research literature indicates that receiving and expressing affection significantly benefits health. One form of affection that may produce these benefits is cuddling. Cuddling includes intimate, physical, and loving whole-body contact that does not necessarily include sexual activity and tends to be reserved for very intimate relationships. Working from affectionate exchange theory (Floyd, 2001), this study’s purpose is to examine the effects of cuddling on relational health for individuals living with their spouse. To test a causal relationship between cuddling and relational health, a four-week experiment was conducted. Eighty adults were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) a treatment condition in which individuals were instructed to increase cuddling behaviors with their spouse, (2) a comparison condition in which individuals were instructed to increase shared mealtime with their spouse, or (3) a control condition in which individuals were instructed to not change their behavior. Individuals in the treatment condition were predicted to experience significant improvements in relational health as outlined in the investment model (i.e., relational satisfaction, investment, quality of alternatives, and commitment) to a greater extent than individuals in the comparison or control conditions. A research question explored whether individuals in the comparison condition differed from those in the control condition. Planned contrasts were conducted to test the hypotheses. Results revealed that individuals in the treatment condition reported more relationship satisfaction and commitment and less quality of alternatives than individuals in the comparison and control conditions. Experimental conditions did not differ on reports of investment. Finally, individuals in the comparison and control conditions did not differ on any of the relational health markers. These findings support affection exchange theory and contribute to a growing literature identifying the benefits of affectionate communication. Moreover, the methodology and results of this study provide compelling evidence for a causal relationship between cuddling and satisfaction and commitment for relatively satisfied couples. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Communication 2017

The purposes of this study are a) to explore the construct of "marital commitment" in order to achieve a more clear definition of it; b) to identify the component factors involved in the construct; and c) to design and develop an instrument for assessing the construct.

abstract: Maintaining sexual desire as the marriage endures is a challenge, especially as it involves the interplay of seemingly opposing tensions of novelty, autonomy, and closeness. Difficulties can arise when autonomy, which requires spousal distancing, is perceived as a martial threat and therefore suppressed. This dissertation investigates whether prosocial marital distancing can nurture autonomy and promote sexual desire. Torah-observant Jewish married couples practice family purity, a Jewish law forbidding sexual relations during menstruation and shortly thereafter. During this time couples often avoid sleeping in the same bed, physical touch, and behaviors that can instigate a sexual encounter. These distancing restrictions are lifted when the wife immerses in a ritual bath. The process repeats at the next menstruation. This research examined the effects of family purity’s marital distancing through two studies. The first involved qualitative interviews of family purity wives (N = 10) guided by relational dialectics theory (Baxter & Montgomery, 1996). Study one findings suggest that family purity wives navigate the three tensions of integration, expression, and certainty. Study one also revealed a new tension, the dialect of restraint. The dialectic of restraint appears to enhance marital communication, heighten the appreciation for the mundane, and help sustain sexual desire. Study two, the quantitative phase of the research, applied self-expansion theory (Aron & Aron, 1986) to investigate differences between family purity and non-family purity couples. A sample of 90 married Jewish dyads (N = 180) participated in a cross-sectional online questionnaire. Findings suggest that while non-practicing couples report greater self-expansion, family purity couples report greater sexual closeness. Family purity couples also report the same closeness and sexual closeness ideals, whereas non-practicing couples reported divergent ideals. Non-practicing family purity husbands had the greatest reported discrepancy between ideal and actual sexual closeness. The combined findings suggest that sanctioned prosocial distancing as practiced by family purity couples enables the integration of cognitive growth and mitigates the threat of autonomy. Prosocial distancing within the family purity marriage appears to provide the wife space for autonomy that in turn provokes novelty and sexual desire. Findings are discussed in relation to theoretical contributions, study limitations, and future directions. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Communication Studies 2020

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This study investigated the relationship of certain independent variables and young married couples' attitudes toward children. Church leaders in Plano, Texas, administered the Hereford Parent Attitude Survey to couples from their churches. Ninety-seven subjects comprised the main sample group. The data were analyzed using t-tests and f-tests. Women had more positive attitudes toward children than men. Parents had more positive attitudes than childless subjects. Childless subjects who plan to have children had more positive attitudes toward children than subjects who did not plan to have children or who were not sure. Income level was related to confidence in parenting. Age and sex of children and education level were not related to attitudes toward children. Based on these findings, recommendations were made for future research and education.

Husbands and wives of 67 couples described themselves on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, described their spouses on an altered form of this test, and completed the Locke-Wallace Short Marital Adjustment Test. Results for each man were matched to a woman's results based on socio-cultrual similarity to create a comparison group of nonmarried couples. A chi-square test indicated that related spouses of the married group did not have more similar personalities than unrelated partners in the comparison group. An F-test suggested that actually, interspousal personality similarity affects marital adjustment for both sexes, but it is not affected by perceived similarity. Accuracy of perception on the introversion-extraversion scale had a positive effect on the marital adjustment of wives, but not of husbands.

Marriage is still considered a universal institution in many countries worldwide. Marriage provides benefits for wives, husbands, children, families, and communities. Why Marriage Matters (Wilcox et al., 2005), outlined the benefits of marriage, including improved physical and mental health, biological and social benefits for husbands, wives, children and families in America. In sub-Saharan Africa benefits emanating from marriage included increased survival rates for young children (Omariba & Boyle, 2007); reduced maternal morbidity and mortality rates for women due to reduced risks from self-inflicted abortions (Garenne, Tollman, Kahn, Collins, & Ngwenya, 2001); and improved economic management in homes due to exchanging gender-specific tasks within households (Gezon, 2002). Despite these benefits, approximately half the marriages in the United States end in divorce (Raley & Bumpass, 2003; Smith, 2007). Reduced marital satisfaction leads to dissolution of marriages in the U. S. Marital expectations were associated with marital satisfaction (Juvva & Bhatti, 2006). The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between marital expectations and marital satisfaction between African immigrant and United States born married couples. The independent variable was marital expectations, measured with the Marital Expectations Questionnaire (MEQ, Ngazimbi & Daire, 2008). The dependent variables were marital satisfaction, measured by the Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS, Hendrick, 1988), and the Relationship Pleasure Scale (RPS, PAIRS Foundation, 1993). The participants were recruited from nine sites in six states located in three geographical regions. The regions were the Midwest, the West and the Pacific Northwest. They were recruited through faith-based leaders. Participants consisted of 87 couples and 35 individuals who participated without their spouses. This was a mixed methods design. In the quantitative section, three instruments were used to collect data: the MEQ, the RAS, and the RPS. The first section of the MEQ contained four open-ended questions which were used to collect qualitative data. Significant differences were found in the relationships between marital expectations and marital satisfaction between African immigrants and non-immigrants. Qualitative differences and similarities were found between African immigrant and U. S. born married couples. Implications of the findings are discussed for research, counselor education and clinical practice.

The direct effect of spouse presence during graded exercise testing on anxiety and performance has not been previously delineated. Therefore, the purposes of this study were to (a) ascertain if spouse presence during graded exercise testing affects state anxiety or physiological performance variables, and (b) determine differences in psychological status between cardiac patients and healthy adults.