ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Effective interventions are hindered by a lack of context-specific data on how South African men and women construct and experience intimate heterosexual relationships. Most studies exploring committed heterosexual relationships have been conducted with White populations living in developed countries. As relationship satisfaction is seen as a requirement for a good quality relationship, this study examined the relationship satisfaction of committed heterosexual couples in one low-income, semi-rural Western Cape community. A cross-sectional survey approach was used to examine relationship satisfaction among heterosexual married and unmarried couples. A random sample of 100 couples was drawn from the community, 93 of which were included in the final analyses, on the criterion that both partners were interviewed. Trained fieldworkers administered a demographic and relationship questionnaire, as well as three relationship satisfaction measures namely the Dyadic Satisfaction subscale of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, the Index of Marital Satisfaction and the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale. Analyses were conducted using the statistical programme Statistica 7.0 and both descriptive and inferential statistics were computed separately for men and women. Inferential statistics included Spearman correlations, repeated measures ANOVA, and reliability analyses. Results show that although, on average, neither men nor women were clinically dissatisfied with their relationships, women reported significantly lower relationship satisfaction than men. Significant relationships were found between relationship satisfaction and a number of demographic variables, including the male partner’s educational attainment (with the female partner’s relationship satisfaction); female partner’s perception of her male partner’s religiosity (with both her own and her male partner’s relationship satisfaction); own church attendance (with own relationship satisfaction), female partner’s church attendance (with her male partner’s relationship satisfaction), and joint church attendance (with both female and male relationship satisfaction); sharing a bedroom at night with children, sharing a bed at night with children, and sharing a bed at night with partner. Demographic variables found to have a non-significant relationship with relationship satisfaction included: age; church affiliation; employment; and couple monthly income. Although there were several trends that tended towards significance, the only relationship variables found to be significantly related to relationship satisfaction were previous marriages and, for cohabiting couples, the age at commencement of cohabitation. Relationship variables found to have a nonsignificant relationship with relationship satisfaction included: relationship status; relationship duration; age at marriage for married couples; reason for marriage (for married couples) or for marriage in the future (for unmarried couples); number of significant relationships; and a number of childrenrelated variables. Results are discussed and recommendations are made for future research. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Effektiewe intervensies oor hoe Suid-Afrikaanse mans en vroue intieme heteroseksuele verhoudings konstrueer en ervaar, word deur 'n tekort aan konteks-spesifieke data verhinder. Die meeste studies wat toegewyde heteroseksuele verhoudings bestudeer, is in wit populasies in ontwikkelde lande uigevoer. Aangesien verhoudingsatisfaksie as n voorvereiste vir ‘n goeie kwaliteit verhouding gesien word, het hierdie studie die verhoudingsatisfaksie van toegewyde, heteroseksuele paartjies in n lae-inkomste, semi-plattelandse Wes-Kaapse gemeenskap ondersoek. 'n Kruis-snit opname benadering is gebruik om die verhoudingsatisfaksie onder heteroseksuele getroude en ongetroude paartjies te ondersoek. 'n Ewekansige steekproef van 100 paartjies is uit die gemeenskap getrek, waarvan 93 in die finale analise ingesluit is, op grond van die vereiste dat beide maats ondervra is. Opgeleide veldwerkers het n demografiese- en verhoudingsvraelys toegepas, sowel as drie verhoudingsatisfaksie maatstawe, naamlik die Dyadic Satisfaction subscale van die Dyadic Adjustment Scale, die Index of Marital Satisfaction en die Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale. Analises is met die statistiese program Statistica 7.0 uitgevoer en beide beskrywende en inferensiële statistieke is afsonderlik vir beide mans en vroue uitgewerk. Inferensiële statistieke het Spearman korrelasies, herhaalde-metings-ANOVA, en betroubaarheidsanalises ingesluit. Resultate toon dat, ondanks die feit dat nie mans of vroue klinies ontevrede met hul verhoudings was nie, vroue tog beduidend laer verhoudingsatisfaksie as mans gerapporteer het. Beduidende verwantskappe tussen verhoudingsatisfaksie en verskeie demografiese veranderlikes is gevind, insluitend die manlike verhoudingsmaat se vlak van opleiding (met die vroulike verhoudingsmaat se verhoudingsatisfaksie); vroulike verhoudingsmaat se siening van haar manlike verhoudingsmaat se godsdienstigheid (met beide haar eie en haar manlike verhoudingsmaat se verhoudingsatisfaksie); eie kerkbywoning (met eie verhoudingsatisfaksie), vroulike verhoudingsmaat se kerkbywoning (met beide vroulike en manlike verhoudingsatisfaksie), en gesamentlike kerkbywoning (met beide vroulike en manlike verhoudingsatisfaksie); deel van ‘n slaapkamer, snags, met kinders, deel van ‘n bed, snags, met kinders, en deel van ‘n bed, snags, met ‘n verhoudingsmaat. Demografiese veranderlikes wat ‘n onbeduidende verwantskap met verhoudingsatisfaksie toon, sluit in: ouderdom; kerkaffiliasie; aanstelling; en gesamentlike maandelikse inkomste. Ondanks verskeie beduidende tendense, is die enigste verhoudingsveranderlikes wat beduidende verwantskappe met verhoudingsatisfaksie getoon het vorige huwelike en, vir samewonende paartjies, die ouderdom by aanvang van saamwoning. Verhoudingsveranderlikes wat geen beduidende verwantskap met verhoudingsatisfaksie getoon het nie, sluit in: verhoudingstatus; verhoudingsduur; trou-ouderdom vir getroude paartjies; rede vir huwelik of huwelik in die toekoms; hoeveelheid beduidende verhoudings; en hoeveelheid kind-verwante veranderlikes. Resultate word bespreek en aanbevelings vir toekomstige navorsing word gemaak.

Master of Science / School of Family Studies and Human Services / Jared A. Durtschi / Depression is a pervasive mental health concern; thus, it is important to identify modifiable risk factors associated with reducing depressive symptoms across time. Using 1,946 married and cohabiting German couples assessed annually across 4 years from the Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics (Pairfam) study, we tested if shifts across time in sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction were linked with expected shifts in trajectories of depressive symptoms using dyadic time-varying covariate growth models. For both men and women, higher sexual and relationship satisfaction scores across time were significantly associated with decreasing their own depressive symptom trajectories across time, but only relationship satisfaction was linked with a shift in their partners’ trajectories of depressive symptoms. Potential clinical implications from these results include the treatment of depressive symptoms by making changes across time in their own relationship satisfaction and sexual satisfaction.

Master of Science / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Jared R. Anderson / Amber V. Vennum / The present study sought to extend the research on cyclical, or on-again/off-again relationships, by examining whether a history of cyclicality moderated the association between neuroticism and relationship satisfaction. A second goal of this study was to examine the direct and indirect effects of neuroticism on relationship satisfaction through communication. The sample consisted of cohabiting cyclical (n = 1,055) and noncyclical (n = 2,527) couples from a larger dataset collected by the RELATE Institute. Results showed that cyclical partners reported higher levels of neuroticism, higher levels of conflict, lower levels of positive communication, and lower levels of relationship satisfaction than noncyclical couples. Direct actor paths from neuroticism to satisfaction were significant for cyclical and noncyclical females and males. Only the direct partner path from female neuroticism to male satisfaction was significant, and was only significant for cyclical couples. All indirect actor and partner paths were significant for cyclical and noncyclical females and males. Further, a history of cyclicality significantly moderated the direct paths from male communication to male and female relationship satisfaction, indicating this relationship is stronger for cyclical couples.

Previous research has indicated that married persons report experiencing greater happiness than cohabitating persons (e.g., Stack & Eshleman, 1998). Lee and Ono (2012) conducted a cross-national analysis to compare overall happiness between married and cohabiting couples in different cultural contexts and found the "happiness gap" increased as society became less gender-egalitarian and as the role of religion increased. The current study sought to consider how race and ethnicity might serve as a cultural context within the United States (US) by investigating the differences in relationship satisfaction between married and cohabiting couples by testing two hypotheses. First, it was expected that married couples would have higher relationship satisfaction than cohabitating couples. Secondly, it was expected that the effect of marital status on relationship satisfaction would vary with race/ethnicity. To address these hypotheses, data was taken from the Married and Cohabitating Couples dataset from the National Center for Family & Marriage Research (NCFMR). The data set includes information from 752 married and 323 cohabitating heterosexual couples, from18-64 years of age. Of these individuals, 80.5% were White/Non-Hispanic, 5.0% Black/Non-Hispanic, 4.9% Other/Non-Hispanic, 7.8% Hispanic, and 1.8% 2+Races/Non-Hispanic. A single survey item from the NCFMR study served as the dependent variable in the present study. Participants were asked: "To what extent do you agree with the following statement: Our relationship has changed for the worse”. This item was intended as a measure of relationship satisfaction by determining the relationship between the responses to this item and responses to demographic items about race/ethnicity and marital status. A two way, independent ANOVA analysis found a non-significant main effect of marital status on the respondents’ view of the relationship, F(1, 2070) = .564, p = .453, = 0, a non-significant main effect of race/ethnicity on the respondents view of the relationship, F(4, 2070) = .984, p = .415, = 0 , and a significant interaction between marital status and race/ethnicity, F( 4, 2070) = 2.582. p = .036, = .003. A simple effects analysis was conducted and among White, non-Hispanic respondents, the view of the relationship was more negative among the cohabitating group than among the married group (p < 0.01). However, the view of the relationship was similar for married and cohabitating couples among Black, non-Hispanic (p = .279), Other non-Hispanic (p = .836), Hispanic (p = .533), and 2+Races, non-Hispanic (p = .127). The findings suggest there is no difference between married and cohabitating couple's relationship satisfaction. However, there was a statistically significant difference in relationship satisfaction between married and cohabitating couples in the White, non-Hispanic group but not in the other racial and ethnic groups. The findings of this study should be interpreted with caution as there was a large difference in sample size among the racial and ethnicity groups, decreasing the reliability of the results. Understanding how marital status and race/ethnicity influence relationship satisfaction has important practical implications for relationship education programs such as ensuring that content presented is culturally relevant to diverse groups. Additional limitations and implications will be addressed in the presentation.

Distance from a partner can put a strain on romantic relationships, especially when one is surrounded by attractive alternatives, as is often the case when moving away to college. Long distance relationships are often associated with increased stress, less relationship stability, and lower levels of relationship satisfaction. Distance may also be associated with cheating on one's romantic partner. The few studies that have examined cheating behavior in college students have found an increase in cheating over a very short, non-representative interval of time when partners were separated (e.g. spring break) but did not control for important variables such as alcohol use or relationship satisfaction. We were interested in determining if these effects could be replicated over a longer, more representative period of time (a full college semester). We examined whether distance predicted cheating among college students in committed relationships while accounting for relationship satisfaction and binge drinking, variables likely to play a role in cheating behavior. Using a large, aggregated sample (N=1,333) of college students in exclusive dating relationships, 10% percent of respondents reported physical cheating, 15% reported emotional cheating, and 6% reported both. Being 11-200 miles from a romantic partner was associated with a 31% increased likelihood of physical cheating compared to those in the same city as their partner. However, being 200+ miles from a romantic partner was associated with a slight reduction in the likelihood of physical cheating. There were no significant difference in the rates of cheating between men and women in our sample; however, these effects were moderated by gender such that distance was only related to an increased likelihood of physical cheating for women. For emotional cheating, distance was associated with an increased likelihood of cheating for both men and women. These results suggest that there is a distance danger zone for college students. Being in the same town and being very far away are associated with less likelihood of physical or emotional cheating than being in a middle zone in which your partner is around 100 miles away. Perhaps because those who have chosen to continue a relationship while living across the country are very committed to their partner, whereas living within driving distance but not the same city creates conditions that make cheating more likely.

Researchers have noted the important role which passion plays in people's lives. This study investigated an existing theoretical framework of passion and suggests an additional construct, inhibition, to this framework in regards to sexual passion. Additionally, this study investigated the constructs of passion and how they relate to sexual and relationship satisfaction. A sample of 1,429 men and women completed the Sexual Passion Scale, the Sexual Satisfaction Scale, and the Relationship Satisfaction Scale. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that sexual passion may represent three distinct approaches (harmonious, obsessive, inhibited). In terms of sexual and relationship satisfaction, data analyses revealed that the harmonious passion scale is the best predictor. Overall, these findings may further the discussion in understanding the complex nature of sexual passion in committed, long-term relationships.

Romantic relationship satisfaction relates to better overall health, and identifying factors that affect relationship satisfaction could lead to better understanding of romantic relationships. This study examined the correlation between benevolent sexism, a subtle form of sexism resembling chivalry and relationship satisfaction; gender, age, ethnicity, religious beliefs, education, and length of time were also considered as moderators. The ambivalent sexism theory, which posits that sexism is ambivalent and ranges from hostile to benevolent sexism was the theoretical framework guiding this study. Previous research indicated benevolent sexism may predict relationship satisfaction. However, there remained an important gap in the literature; the demographic variables above had not been considered as moderators in those analyses. Thus, the purpose of this non-experimental study using data collected from a U.S. sample of adults who had been in romantic relationships for at least 1 year was to determine if such links existed. Correlation and regression analyses revealed that benevolent sexism, measured by the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory did not predict relationship satisfaction, measured by the Relationship Assessment Scale, and none of the demographic variables served as moderators. Results were trending toward significance though, suggesting that benevolent sexism might influence women's relationship satisfaction. Further research using longitudinal, mixed-method studies of dyads is recommended to gain a clearer understanding of this phenomenon. Findings would make important contributions to existing literature and enhance social change by providing professionals and individuals with awareness of how benevolent sexist attitudes may affect relationship satisfaction.

An individual`s eyes provide a wealth of information during social interactions. The present research investigates the social adjustment implications of one gaze behaviour, specifically, shared attention, which is the tendency to follow an interlocutor`s directed gaze to attend to the same object or location. Recent clinical research suggested that gaze control reflects the capacity to differentiate self from other at the attentional level, since patient populations with poor gaze control abilities (i.e., schizophrenic patients) were also found to exhibit difficulty in differentiating between the self and another agent. Four studies were conducted to examine whether flexible gaze following behavior, specifically the ability to inhibit gaze-following, when the situation warrants, would be positively linked with two markers of adaptive social functioning: sociocognitive abilities and self-close other(s) differentiation. Based on previous research that gaze cues linked to upright (but not inverted) faces trigger reflexive gaze following mechanisms, an upright face condition was used to assess social cueing mechanisms and an inverted face condition, as a control for non-social cueing mechanisms in a gaze control task with realistic (Study 2) and schematic faces (Studies 1, 3, and 4). Studies 1-4 showed that more flexible gaze following behavior predicted superior sociocognitive abilities, as indexed by higher capacity to infer the mental states of others in both young and older adults (Studies 1-3), as well as in clinical populations (i.e., Parkinson’s Disease [PD] patients, Study 4). Studies 2-4 further revealed that poorer gaze control predicted decreased self-close other differentiation in both younger and older adults. In Study 2, poorer gaze control performance characterized young adults from enmeshed family systems, which allow limited private space and emotional autonomy. In Studies 3 and 4, poorer gaze control predicted decreased cognitive-affective differentiation from one’s spouse and lower marital quality in healthy elderly couples (Study 3) and elderly couples, where one spouse had PD (Study 4). The present findings argue for the existence of a unified sociocognitive network, perpetually shaped by one’s interpersonal history, and which encompasses perceptual mechanisms, specialized for face and gaze processing and higher-order cognitive mechanisms, specialized for processing the meaning (s) of social environments.

An individual`s eyes provide a wealth of information during social interactions. The present research investigates the social adjustment implications of one gaze behaviour, specifically, shared attention, which is the tendency to follow an interlocutor`s directed gaze to attend to the same object or location. Recent clinical research suggested that gaze control reflects the capacity to differentiate self from other at the attentional level, since patient populations with poor gaze control abilities (i.e., schizophrenic patients) were also found to exhibit difficulty in differentiating between the self and another agent. Four studies were conducted to examine whether flexible gaze following behavior, specifically the ability to inhibit gaze-following, when the situation warrants, would be positively linked with two markers of adaptive social functioning: sociocognitive abilities and self-close other(s) differentiation. Based on previous research that gaze cues linked to upright (but not inverted) faces trigger reflexive gaze following mechanisms, an upright face condition was used to assess social cueing mechanisms and an inverted face condition, as a control for non-social cueing mechanisms in a gaze control task with realistic (Study 2) and schematic faces (Studies 1, 3, and 4). Studies 1-4 showed that more flexible gaze following behavior predicted superior sociocognitive abilities, as indexed by higher capacity to infer the mental states of others in both young and older adults (Studies 1-3), as well as in clinical populations (i.e., Parkinson’s Disease [PD] patients, Study 4). Studies 2-4 further revealed that poorer gaze control predicted decreased self-close other differentiation in both younger and older adults. In Study 2, poorer gaze control performance characterized young adults from enmeshed family systems, which allow limited private space and emotional autonomy. In Studies 3 and 4, poorer gaze control predicted decreased cognitive-affective differentiation from one’s spouse and lower marital quality in healthy elderly couples (Study 3) and elderly couples, where one spouse had PD (Study 4). The present findings argue for the existence of a unified sociocognitive network, perpetually shaped by one’s interpersonal history, and which encompasses perceptual mechanisms, specialized for face and gaze processing and higher-order cognitive mechanisms, specialized for processing the meaning (s) of social environments.

Aim: The purpose of the study is to do the research that under the e-commerce business model, the impact factors of customer loyalty in an online shopping environment, how to improve the customer loyalty and how to build a long lasting customer relationship. Design/Methodology/approach: Through to the questionnaire survey research, design and collect sample data, combine with the Amazon Company’s current operating mode and the theoretical, and also got the second data. In order to make the data become more and more reliable. Findings: The studying on improving customer loyalty under the B2C e-commerce model is significant for theory and practice. On the background of Amazon company，which is the biggest e-commerce company in America, according to the relevant literature and field surveys，the paper brings forward the importance of customer loyalty at the e-commerce business. It could come to the conclusion is how to improve the customer loyalty and then how to build the long lasting customer relationship. Contribution: The paper according to the characters of the online shopping and combine with the literature about the e-commerce and customer loyalty research, Put forward a certain hypothesis, through questionnaire survey on customers, and statistical analysis of the relationship between customer loyalty and its influence factors make an empirically evaluation. The paper gives contribution to the e-commerce business, how to build the long lasting customer relationship.