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Mobile media are quickly becoming primary sources of communication in everyday life. With this progress, comes the ability to experience an array of different degrees and types of presence. Individuals can be both in the physical presence of others as well as present with others at a distance by experiencing telepresence. This study examined the role of mobile media in the context of romantic relationships. It looked at the relationship between the senses of intimacy and telepresence as they were experienced by individuals. The theories of apparatgeist and perpetual contact were employed to describe the relationship between the nature of the technology, the associated behavior of its use, and the experience of various forms of telepresence. Interviews with fourteen participants provided the data analyzed in this qualitative study. These interviews were transcribed and used for a thematic analysis of presence and intimacy experience. The results describe a wide variance and nuanced reality of how individuals sense the presence of each other through mobile technology. These results contribute to an understanding of how individuals understand and talk about their experience of telepresence and also what it means to them in their personal lives. / Mass Media and Communication

This study investigates variation in preferences for mutual emotional dependence and togetherness in heterosexual romantic relationships among adults in the United States specifically considering the impact of race, gender, gender ideology, and cohort on preferences. A social structure and personality framework and concepts from exchange theory are used to interpret and predict relationship preference patterns found using binary hierarchical logistic regression analysis of data from the 1996 General Social Survey's (GSS) gender and emotions modules. Gender, gender ideology, cohort, and specific sociodemographic variables, such as education and marital status were found to impact preferences for mutual emotional dependence, however, no racially distinct patterns were found. The variables in the models explain less of the differences in preferences for togetherness than emotional dependence. However, education had a curvilinear relationship with preferences for togetherness, as people with the lowest and the highest educations were least likely to prefer togetherness. / Master of Science

While extensive research has been done examining stress in families using the Double ABCX model and examining stress management using attachment theory, there is no research combining the model to understand how they might be integrated in understanding stress and coping. The current study uses the Double ABCX model and research on attachment to suggest that attachment relationships will be the primary resource to adjust for military families during deployment. Two extreme case studies were selected to explore the interplay of these two models. The in-depth interviews of the women with a deployed spouse and with children in the home were examined. Exploration of the experiences of the two women informed a model in understanding the synthesis of stress and attachment and understanding the influence of meaning making and adjustment. Therapeutic implications and suggestions for future research are also discussed. / Master of Science

Yes / Romantic relationships are extremely important to people’s happiness and well-being, yet many people do not seek advice with relationship issues or may do so only once serious problems arise. Paired is a commercially available relationships app. Launched in October 2020, it currently has over 12,000 daily active users, predominantly in the US and UK. Public self-management of care (i.e. self-help) is target for technological investment, as digital health and well-being apps gain popularity. There are currently over 318,000 health apps available worldwide, with a further 200+ new health apps coming onto the market each day. Research has shown that mobile health (mHealth, i.e. health and well-being apps) can be effective in supporting behaviour change: helping us to adopt and maintain healthy behaviours. However, many health and well-being apps are not based on reliable research evidence, the only indication of an app’s quality deriving from ‘user reviews’. Paired is evidence-based. Focusing on the area of romantic relationships, it seeks to support and enhance couple relationships, before the point when professional help may be needed. Researchers at The Open University (OU) and the University of Brighton evaluated the effectiveness of Paired, using a mixed methods approach... We created the Quality of Relationship Index (QRI), a rigorously-developed measure of overall relationship quality. We found that quality of communication – the underpinning dimension of all relationship maintenance behaviour – was most strongly related to overall relationship quality... In developing the QRI, we explored change in different aspects of relationship quality, whilst using Paired... Integration of the findings from our analyses of different data sources, and the ‘dose-response’ effect that we consistently observed, together give us confidence that Paired is responsible for the improvements to relationship quality that its users enjoy. / The Open University

The purpose of this study is to measure the ideology of Romanticism in men and women and determine if there are any gender differences in Romanticism. As illustrated in various past studies, in order to draw a most accurate conclusion, it may be helpful to examine Romanticism scores with other constructs. Therefore, other associated variables will be included in this study, one of which is perceived parental romanticism level. A parallel perhaps may be drawn between perceived parental romanticism levels and individual's actual romanticism level. Are individuals who perceive their parents as more romantic more romantic? A measure for intra familial relationships will also be included in this study to assess the relation between young adults and their parents, parental dysfunction, and marital relation of the respondent's parents (Lachar & Gruber, 1995). A measure of erotophilia- an openness and appreciation of sex and sexuality also will be included in this study because it is expected, though not formally hypothesized, that openness to sex and sexually-related activities may correlate with romanticism.