Media use may have the potential to influence romantic relationships, depending on the context of media use. For example, pathological media use, which includes symptoms of addiction such as relapse, withdrawal, and conflict with family and friends over media use, may be particularly damaging to romantic relationships. Additionally, research shows that pathological video game use can negatively influence factors of mental health, including depression. The current study includes 183 heterosexual couples from the Eastern United States. Both members of each couple completed online surveys answering questions regarding pathological media use, depression, and relationship satisfaction. Results showed that male pathological video game use was not associated with female romantic relationship satisfaction. Additionally, male pathological video game use was associated with increased levels of male depression, and male depression was associated with increased levels of female relationship satisfaction. However, male depression did not mediate the relation between male pathological video game use and female relationship satisfaction. Discussion focuses on the implications of pathological video game use on mental health, as well as problems within the sample, measurement, and short-term longitudinal study design.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of gender, age, duration of relationship, self concept clarity and personal agency in predicting romantic relationship satisfaction of emerging adults. Participants were consisted of 344 (70.3% female, 29.7% male) volunteered undergraduate students from one of the state universities in Central Anatolia. Age of the participants ranged from 18 to 25 with the mean of 20. 85 (SD = 1.65). The data was gathered using four instruments namely, Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS), Self Concept Clarity Scale (SCCS), Multi-Measure Agentic Personality Scale- Short Form (MAPSSF), and personal information form. In order to analyze the data, hierarchical regression analysis was conducted. Results revealed that gender, age and duration of relationship were not significant predictors of romantic relationship satisfaction / whereas self concept clarity and purpose in life dimension of personal agency were significant predictors which explained the 12% of the total variance in romantic relationship satisfaction scores of emerging adults. Results of the study are discussed in the light of the relevant literature. Finally implications of the study and recommendations for further research are presented.

Prior research has established significant associations between regular physical activity and enhancements in well-being, quality of life, and self-regulation. Given that these benefits may extend to influence the quality of romantic relationships, the present study was the first to evaluate the relationship between exercise and romantic relationship satisfaction through the role of body image, drawing upon the Self-Determination Theory as the theoretical framework. Specifically, the current study aimed to achieve three objectives: (a) to investigate the impact of exercise on romantic relationship satisfaction, (b) to examine the effects of body image as a mediator in the exercise-relationship connection, and (c) to determine whether exercise motives moderate the mediating effect of body image. Data were gathered from an online survey completed by 392 cisgender women in heterosexual relationships and analyzed using PROCESS Macro for SPSS Model 4 and Model 7, respectively. The results showed that exercise frequency was not directly related to romantic relationship satisfaction. However, body image fully mediated this association, indicating that increased exercise predicted body satisfaction and subsequently contributed to individuals' perceived relationship quality. While exercise motivation did not emerge as a moderator of the mediation of body image, health/fitness and enjoyment/mood motives significantly predicted positive body evaluation and relationship quality. In contrast, concerns related to appearance were linked to higher levels of social comparison and negative affect. Therefore, these findings highlight the value of fostering a positive body image and reducing body-focused motivation, as well as prioritizing autonomous exercise for the quality of romantic relationships and overall well-being.