Putting Yourself on the Line: Self-Esteem and Expressing Affection in Romantic Relationships

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (7) ◽  
pp. 940-956 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Luerssen ◽  
Gugan Jote Jhita ◽  
Ozlem Ayduk
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Relationship Satisfaction ◽  
Positive Emotion ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Relationship Functioning ◽  
Risk Regulation ◽  
Retrospective Reports ◽  
Regulation Model ◽  
Physiological Reactions

Although expressing affection is an important way to connect to a romantic partner, it also involves putting yourself on the line—revealing dependence on your partner. Extending the risk-regulation model, we hypothesized that individuals with lower self-esteem (SE), who are concerned about vulnerability in relationships, experience less rewarding reactions to expressing affection, and believe that their partners respond less positively to receiving affection. We assessed these predictions across two studies that measured retrospective reports, reactions to an in vivo exchange and responses in daily life. We found that participants with lower SE expressed less affection and experienced less positive emotional, cognitive, and physiological reactions when doing so. Participants with lower SE believed that their partners derived fewer benefits from their affection despite that their partners experienced normative boosts in positive emotion and relationship satisfaction during these exchanges. The consequences of these findings for relationship functioning and SE are discussed.

scholarly journals Attached at the lips: The influence of romantic kissing motives and romantic attachment styles on relationship satisfaction

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-30
Author(s):  
Danica J. Kulibert ◽  
Elle A. Moore ◽  
Melinda M. Dertinger ◽  
Ashley E. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Relationship Satisfaction ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Romantic Relationship ◽  
Goal Attainment ◽  
Romantic Attachment ◽  
Relationship Functioning ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Although romantic kissing is an important part of relationship functioning, little research has focused on motives for romantic kissing and how they may relate to other aspects of romantic relationships. To understand how romantic kissing impacts romantic relationship functioning, the current study assessed the relationship between romantic attachment, romantic kissing motives, and relationship satisfaction. Overall, it was hypothesized that (a) those reporting more sexual/explicit kissing motives and fewer goal attainment/insecurity motives would report higher relationship satisfaction, (b) those reporting a more secure attachment style would report higher relationship satisfaction, and (c) the relationship between romantic kissing motives and relationship satisfaction would vary according to one’s romantic attachment styles. Results from a hierarchical linear regression with 286 adults, all of whom were currently in romantic relationships, revealed that sexual/relational (β = 0.25) and goal attainment/insecurity kissing motives (β = -0.35) predicted relationship satisfaction. However, the impact of kissing motives on relationship satisfaction varied according to one’s romantic attachment. Specifically, the influence of sexual/relational motives was only significant for avoidantly attached individuals, whereas the influence of goal attainment/insecurity motives was significant for avoidantly and anxiously attachment individuals. Overall, this suggests that sexual/explicit romantic kissing motives serve to enhance the relationships of insecurely attached individuals, but not securely attached individuals. Furthermore, goal attainment/insecure motives had a negative effect on the relationship satisfaction of insecurely attached individuals, but not securely attached individuals. This study has important implications for both practitioners working with romantic couples and researchers studying romantic relationships.

Adolescent Romantic Relationship–Oriented Facebook Behaviors: Implications for Self-Esteem

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 661-683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Langlais ◽  
Gwendolyn Seidman ◽  
Kyla M. Bruxvoort
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Relationship Satisfaction ◽  
Romantic Relationship ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Romantic Partners ◽  
Relationship Development ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Public Displays

Despite the consistent, high use of Facebook among adolescents, few studies have examined how adolescents use Facebook when forming and maintaining romantic relationships. Based on the Internet-enhanced self-disclosure hypothesis, romantic relationship–oriented Facebook behaviors are likely to relate to adolescent self-esteem. The goal of this study is to examine romantic relationship–oriented Facebook behaviors (private exchanges, monitoring, public displays, and oversharing information) between adolescents and their romantic partners or crushes, and then test how these behaviors relate to self-esteem. Data come from an online survey of adolescents from the Midwestern United States who are current Facebook users. Results demonstrated that the most common romantic relationship–oriented Facebook behavior was monitoring. Regression analyses revealed that monitoring predicted lower adolescent self-esteem. Relationship satisfaction moderated the association between self-esteem and both private exchanges and oversharing information. Implications for adolescent romantic relationship development are discussed.

Narcissism and Perceived Inequity in Attractiveness in Romantic Relationships

2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 295-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elke Rohmann ◽  
Hans-Werner Bierhoff ◽  
Martina Schmohr
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Gender Effect ◽  
Dyadic Analysis ◽  
Dyadic Data ◽  
Actor Partner Interdependence Model ◽  
Narcissistic Personality ◽  
Intraclass Correlations ◽  
Narcissistic Personality Inventory ◽  
Additional Variance

In three studies of romantic relationships (N = 253, N = 81, and N = 98) the hypothesis was tested that high narcissists, relative to low narcissists, distort the assessment of equity in attractiveness. Narcissism was measured by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. In Study 1 the hypothesis was confirmed. In Study 2 it was shown that although narcissism correlated significantly with self-esteem, it was the unique variance in narcissism which predicted the tendency to feel underbenefited in respect to attractiveness. Finally in Study 3, dyadic data were analyzed on the basis of the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model. The data of 49 couples who lived together were included. The dyadic analysis indicated that actor narcissism exerted the expected influence on perceived inequity in attractiveness, whereas partner narcissism explained no additional variance. High narcissists felt more underbenefited than low narcissists. The analysis of dyadic data in Study 3 indicates that the link between narcissism and equity in attractiveness turns out to be an intrapersonal phenomenon because only actor narcissism, not partner narcissism, is significantly correlated with perceived inequity. In addition, partial intraclass correlations revealed that if one partner tended to feel underbenefited, the other partner tended to feel overbenefited. The results are explained on the basis of the agentic model of narcissism. All three studies consistently revealed a gender effect indicating that women felt more underbenefited than men in terms of attractiveness.

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.

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