scholarly journals Revisiting Adult Playfulness and Relationship Satisfaction: APIM Analyses of Middle-Aged and Older Couples

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay Brauer ◽  
Rebekka Sendatzki ◽  
Tiziana Scherrer ◽  
Garry Chick ◽  
René T. Proyer
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Relationship Satisfaction ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Older Couples ◽  
Adult Playfulness

AbstractThere is robust support for the notion that playfulness is important for how people initiate and engage in their romantic relationships. Our study sought to extend the knowledge on associations between four facets of playfulness (Other-directed, Lighthearted, Intellectual, and Whimsical; OLIW) with facets of relationship satisfaction (RS) in 116 middle-to-older age couples (median = 54 and 57 years in women and men). In comparison to younger samples, we found lower expressions in Other-directed playfulness. Using Actor-Partner Interdependence Modelling, we found that (a) older couples showed comparatively higher similarity in the single OLIW facets and their profiles than previously found in younger couples; (b) similarity is again unrelated to RS; and (c) findings on playfulness-RS associations partially replicated, with Other-directed and Whimsical playfulness showing the numerically strongest actor and partner effects, but mainly in women. We discuss the differences in similarity with regard to an attrition effect. Overall, we conclude that playfulness is important in older couples in similar ways as in younger couples.

Depressive Experience and Romantic Relationships in Young Adulthood

1998 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 339-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas L. Morrison ◽  
Anthony J. Urquiza ◽  
Beth L. Goodlin-Jones
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Relationship Satisfaction ◽  
Young Adulthood ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Attachment Security ◽  
Relationship Distress ◽  
Sexual Dissatisfaction ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Relational Aspect ◽  
The Relationship

This study examined the associations between two factors of depressive experience (dependency and self-criticism) and satisfaction in adult romantic relationships. The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire, along with measures of attachment and relationship satisfaction, were administered to 107 men and 140 women attending local community colleges. Self-criticism was associated with global relationship distress and sexual dissatisfaction. In a combined regression equation, measures of self-criticism, attachment security, and attachment activation all contributed to predicting general relationship distress. Only scores on self-criticism predicted sexual dissatisfaction. The relationship dissatisfaction reported by those with high scores on self-criticism appears to be a relational aspect of the “destructiveness of perfectionism” described by Blatt.

Examining Whether Social Anxiety Influences Satisfaction in Romantic Relationships

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Frances L. Doyle ◽  
Andrew J. Baillie ◽  
Erica Crome
Keyword(s):  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Relationship Satisfaction ◽  
Romantic Relationship ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Socially Anxious ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Relationship Processes ◽  
Conflict Initiation ◽  
Romantic Relationship Satisfaction

Abstract Research investigating social anxiety and the impacts on romantic relationships remains scarce. An online questionnaire examining romantic relationship status, social anxiety and depression symptomology, relationship satisfaction, and several relationship processes was completed by 444 adults. Individuals with higher social anxiety were less likely to be in romantic relationships. For the 188 adults in our sample in current relationships, relationship satisfaction was not influenced by social anxiety when controlling for depression. Although it was proposed that self-disclosure, social support, trust, and conflict initiation might influence romantic relationship satisfaction, none of these mechanisms interacted with social anxiety to explain additional variance in relationship satisfaction. These findings indicate that depression symptomology may be a treatment target for socially anxious individuals wishing to improve romantic relationship satisfaction.

Who gets mad and who feels bad? Mate value discrepancies predict anger and shame in response to transgressions in romantic relationships

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (10) ◽  
pp. 2963-2982 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cari D. Goetz ◽  
Nestor M. Maria
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Relationship Satisfaction ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Mate Value ◽  
Committed Relationships ◽  
Relational Transgressions ◽  
Medium Level ◽  
Theories Of Emotions

Mate value discrepancies (MVDs) predict multiple outcomes in romantic relationships, including relationship satisfaction, jealousy, and forgiveness. We tested the hypotheses that MVDs would predict anger and shame in response to both medium and strong transgressions within romantic relationships. Participants in long-term committed relationships read scenarios describing relational transgressions and rated how much anger and shame they would feel if they were either the victim or the perpetrator of the transgressions in their current relationship. We found partial support for our hypotheses. Victims of medium-level transgressions were angrier the more alternative potential mates there were that were closer to their ideal mate preferences than their current partner. Perpetrators of strong transgressions felt more shame the higher in mate value their partner was compared to them. Results suggest that different MVDs may predict different outcomes in relationships and highlight the importance of using functional theories of emotions to predict individual differences in emotional responses.

scholarly journals Responses to sexual advances and satisfaction in romantic relationships: Is yes good and no bad?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiersten Dobson ◽  
Jenney Zhu ◽  
Rhonda Nicole Balzarini ◽  
Lorne Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Relationship Satisfaction ◽  
Sexual Activity ◽  
Sexual Satisfaction ◽  
Daily Diary ◽  
Sexual Advance

We examine the relations between accepting and rejecting a partner’s sexual advances with sexual and relationship satisfaction, and assess how long these effects endure. Couples (N =115) completed a 21-day daily diary indicating whether a partner made a sexual advance each day, and if so, whether the advance was accepted or rejected. Having one’s sexual advance accepted was associated with increased sexual and relationship satisfaction that day, and increased sexual satisfaction up to 24 hours later. Having one’s sexual advance rejected was associated with decreased sexual satisfaction that day and up to 48 hours later. Sexual advances made by one’s partner were associated with increased sexual satisfaction that day and for up to 72 hours later, regardless of whether the advance was accepted or rejected. Findings indicate benefits of sexual activity, but also prolonged post-rejection decreases in sexual satisfaction.

scholarly journals Preregistered replication of Stoeber (2012): Dyadic perfectionism in romantic relationships

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matt Williams ◽  
Catelyn Gill
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Relationship Satisfaction ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Multilevel Regression ◽  
Dyadic Perfectionism

The present study reports a preregistered replication of a study by Stoeber (2012) investigating the relationships between dyadic perfectionism, relationship satisfaction and longterm commitment. Our study included 71 couples in a dyadic design that measured actor and partner effects using multilevel regression analyses. The findings were mixed: We were able to reproduce some of the relationships reported by Stoeber, some failed to reproduce, and some new relationships were found. Participants who perceived that their partners had perfectionistic expectations of them did tend to report lower relationship satisfaction and longterm commitment. However, there was no evidence of a relationship between the degree to which participants self-reported having perfectionistic standards towards their partners and their partners’ relationship satisfaction and longterm commitment.

A window to the true self: The importance of I-sharing in romantic relationships

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 1640-1650 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace N. Rivera ◽  
Christina M. Smith ◽  
Rebecca J. Schlegel
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Relationship Satisfaction ◽  
Romantic Partner ◽  
True Self

This article examines the importance of I-sharing within romantic relationships. Results from four independent samples indicate that perceived frequency of I-sharing with one’s romantic partner predicts relationship satisfaction and that this relationship is potentially mediated by perceptions that one’s partner knows one’s true self. These results fit with theories about increasing expectations on modern relationships to fulfill self-expression needs.

Momentary sexual enjoyment: The dyadic roles of relationship satisfaction and contraception among mixed-gender dating couples

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 932-941
Author(s):  
Shari M. Blumenstock ◽  
Lauren M. Papp
Keyword(s):  
Young Adult ◽  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Relationship Satisfaction ◽  
Condom Use ◽  
Sexual Experiences ◽  
Relationship Length ◽  
Contraception Use ◽  
Dating Couples ◽  
Sexual Enjoyment ◽  
Mixed Gender

Enjoyable sexual experiences with a romantic partner are a vital element of healthy lives and happy relationships, yet positive experiences of sex, and associated interpersonal and contraceptive factors, have not been extensively studied at the momentary level. In particular, little is known about how relationship quality and contraception use simultaneously relate to both women’s and men’s momentary sexual experiences within young adult romantic relationships. Using electronic diary reports collected three times per day for 10 days ( n = 293 reports of sexual activity), this study assessed own and partner relationship satisfaction and contraception (hormonal and condom) use as predictors of momentary sexual enjoyment in 43 mixed-gender young adult dating couples. Dyadic multilevel model results indicated that women’s relationship satisfaction positively predicted sexual enjoyment for both women and men, whereas men’s relationship satisfaction was not associated with own or partner’s sexual enjoyment. Women’s hormonal contraception use was associated with lower momentary sexual enjoyment for women and their male partners. Condom use was infrequent and not associated with sexual enjoyment, contrary to our (and many young adults') expectations. All analyses controlled for relationship length and sexual frequency. Findings underscore the simultaneous importance of hormonal and relational factors in sexual outcomes within young adult romantic relationships, as well as the complex and interdependent nature of partnered sexual experiences.

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