Your goals or mine? Women’s personal and vicarious eating regulation goals and their partners’ perceptions of support, well-being, and relationship quality

AbstractLittle is known of how intergenerational acculturation discrepancy relates to communication skills differences that may influence relationship quality among parents and adult children. Mexican–American mother–daughter dyads (n = 59) were studied using the Actor Partner Interdependence Model to examine dyadic associations of acculturation and communication competence with family functioning and mediation analysis to determine the indirect effect of acculturation discrepancy on family functioning through communication competence differences. Communication competence of mothers exerted significant actor and partner effects on daughter-perceived cohesion and closeness. Higher acculturation discrepancy predicted greater communication competence difference which in turn was associated with lower cohesion and closeness. There was a significant indirect effect of acculturation discrepancy on daughter-perceived cohesion through communication competence difference. Communication competence of mothers impacts their own as well as their daughters’ perceptions of dyad cohesion and closeness. Intergenerational discrepant acculturation contributes to discordant communication skills that impair family functioning, which has implications for psychological well-being.

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Blame the Pandemic: Buffering the Association Between Stress and Relationship Quality During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Social Psychological and Personality Science ◽

10.1177/19485506211022813 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 194855062110228

Author(s):

Lisa A. Neff ◽

Marci E. J. Gleason ◽

Erin E. Crockett ◽

Oyku Ciftci

Keyword(s):

Relationship Quality ◽

Multilevel Modeling ◽

Work Stress ◽

Daily Diary ◽

Well Being ◽

Coping Resources ◽

Buffering Effect ◽

Diary Data ◽

Financial Uncertainty ◽

The Relationship

The COVID-19 pandemic created a unique climate for examining the links between stressful conditions and couples’ relationship well-being. According to theories of stress spillover, stressors originating outside the relationship, such as work stress and financial uncertainty, often undermine relationship quality. However, if individuals can easily attribute their problems to the stressful circumstances, their relationship may be more resilient. Given the salience of the pandemic, the current study used two waves of 14-day daily diary data collected from 191 participants to examine whether blaming the pandemic for problems may reduce stress spillover. We also expected the buffering effect of pandemic blaming attributions to wane as stressful conditions persisted and continued to tax partners’ coping resources. Multilevel modeling confirmed that women, but not men, who were more blaming of the pandemic exhibited reduced stress spillover during the COVID-19 outbreak; notably, this buffering effect did not weaken over time.

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Machine learning uncovers the most robust self-report predictors of relationship quality across 43 longitudinal couples studies

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1917036117 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 117 (32) ◽

pp. 19061-19071 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Samantha Joel ◽

Paul W. Eastwick ◽

Colleen J. Allison ◽

Ximena B. Arriaga ◽

Zachary G. Baker ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Relationship Quality ◽

Individual Difference ◽

Large Scale ◽

Well Being ◽

Attachment Anxiety ◽

Self Report ◽

Individual Difference Variables ◽

Partner Satisfaction

Given the powerful implications of relationship quality for health and well-being, a central mission of relationship science is explaining why some romantic relationships thrive more than others. This large-scale project used machine learning (i.e., Random Forests) to 1) quantify the extent to which relationship quality is predictable and 2) identify which constructs reliably predict relationship quality. Across 43 dyadic longitudinal datasets from 29 laboratories, the top relationship-specific predictors of relationship quality were perceived-partner commitment, appreciation, sexual satisfaction, perceived-partner satisfaction, and conflict. The top individual-difference predictors were life satisfaction, negative affect, depression, attachment avoidance, and attachment anxiety. Overall, relationship-specific variables predicted up to 45% of variance at baseline, and up to 18% of variance at the end of each study. Individual differences also performed well (21% and 12%, respectively). Actor-reported variables (i.e., own relationship-specific and individual-difference variables) predicted two to four times more variance than partner-reported variables (i.e., the partner’s ratings on those variables). Importantly, individual differences and partner reports had no predictive effects beyond actor-reported relationship-specific variables alone. These findings imply that the sum of all individual differences and partner experiences exert their influence on relationship quality via a person’s own relationship-specific experiences, and effects due to moderation by individual differences and moderation by partner-reports may be quite small. Finally, relationship-quality change (i.e., increases or decreases in relationship quality over the course of a study) was largely unpredictable from any combination of self-report variables. This collective effort should guide future models of relationships.

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Hand-in-Hand Combat: Affectionate Touch Promotes Relational Well-Being and Buffers Stress During Conflict

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin ◽

10.1177/0146167218788556 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 45 (3) ◽

pp. 431-446 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Brittany K. Jakubiak ◽

Brooke C. Feeney

Keyword(s):

Relationship Quality ◽

Well Being ◽

Conflict Behavior ◽

Couple Conflict ◽

Real Experiment ◽

Relational Conflict ◽

State Security ◽

Considerable Impact ◽

Over Time ◽

Excess Stress

Relational conflict has a considerable impact on relational and personal well-being, but whether that impact is positive or negative depends on how the conflict is managed. Individuals struggle to have constructive conflicts that protect their relationships and avoid excess stress, which can lead to declines in relationship quality over time. The current set of experiments tested whether a brief touch intervention would promote relational well-being and prevent stress during couple conflict discussions. Results indicated that engaging in touch prior to and during conflict was effective to improve couple-members’ conflict behavior and to buffer stress in real (Experiment 1) and imagined (Experiments 2a and 2b) contexts. The results of these experiments suggest that touch may be a simple yet effective intervention for improving couple conflict discussions. In addition, we provide initial evidence that enhanced state security and cognitive interdependence serve as mechanisms underlying these effects.

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Ethnic identity commitment and socioemotional well-being among Latinx-origin college students: The influence of maternal and peer relationships

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships ◽

10.1177/02654075211052057 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 026540752110520

Author(s):

Zeinab A. Hachem ◽

Rosa I. Toro

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Ethnic Identity ◽

Relationship Quality ◽

Peer Relationships ◽

Social Relationships ◽

Well Being ◽

Immigrant Generation ◽

Generation Status ◽

Identity Commitment ◽

The Impact

Purpose: Considerable research has noted the association between ethnic identity commitment, which refers to a positive affirmation, sense of belonging and heightened level of engagement to one’s ethnic group, and indices of well-being, but less is known in terms of factors that can explain this link. Research Design: The current study explored the relationship between ethnic identity commitment and indices of well-being, the mediating role of social relationships, and the moderating roles of gender and immigrant generation status. Study Sample: A sample of 707 Latinx college students (79% female, 21% male, M age = 19.08 years, SD age = 1.17, Range: 17.00–25.00) reported on ethnic identity commitment, maternal and peer relationship quality, self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and anxiety. Results: Results suggested that ethnic identity commitment was positively associated with socioemotional well-being. Although both types of relationships were significant mediators on their own, maternal relationship quality had a greater influence. Furthermore, gender and immigrant generation status were not significant moderators of these indirect effects. Conclusions: Findings indicate that committing to one’s ethnic identity enhances socioemotional well-being. They also demonstrate the complex interplay of social relationships and the enduring influence of maternal relationships during early adulthood. Results support the development of efforts geared toward facilitating ethnic identity commitment as well as leveraging the impact of social relationships in a manner that supports Latinx individuals.

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Divorced Coparents' Use of Communication Technology

Encyclopedia of Mobile Phone Behavior ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-8239-9.ch021 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 246-253 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ashton Chapman ◽

Lawrence H. Ganong ◽

Marilyn Coleman

Keyword(s):

Family Structure ◽

Relationship Quality ◽

Communication Technology ◽

Contextual Factors ◽

Communication Technologies ◽

Well Being ◽

Additional Research ◽

Use Of Technology ◽

Structure Communication

Advancements in technology have resulted in widespread use of communication technologies, particularly in families. Most research on the use of communication technologies in families, however, has ignored family structure. Communication has been identified as a key contributor to coparental efficacy, particularly in postdivorce families, and some research indicates that coparents may rely on communication technologies to interact with one another. The limited research on divorced coparents' use of communication technology has found that coparents' use of technology may vary based upon coparental relationship quality and relevant contextual factors (e.g., repartnering of one or both coparents). Additional research is needed to understand the factors that influence coparents' decisions about communication technology and the influence of technology as means of communication on parents' and children's well-being.

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