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

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 431-446 ◽  
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.

Is self-esteem a resource for the parental couple? A longitudinal study on the quality of the romantic and coparental relationships

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 3773-3795
Author(s):  
Nahema El Ghaziri ◽  
Joëlle Darwiche ◽  
Jean-Philippe Antonietti
Keyword(s):  
Relationship Quality ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
The Self ◽  
Family Unit ◽  
The Family ◽  
Parental Couple ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Over Time

The aim of this study is to investigate the longitudinal influence of self-esteem on romantic and coparental relationship quality. The data were drawn from the German Family Panel, pairfam. Parents ( n couples = 2,364) were assessed three times over 4 years. The results indicated that romantic and coparental quality decreased over time, while self-esteem remained stable. The self-esteem of both parents predicted initial romantic and coparental quality. Additionally, mothers’ self-esteem reduced the decline in romantic quality. Finally, romantic quality mediated the relationship between parents’ self-esteem and coparental quality. These results suggest that self-esteem might be a resource for the parental couple and even for the family unit, as romantic and coparental quality are key elements for the well-being of both parent and child.

scholarly journals Fluctuation in Relationship Quality Over Time and Individual Well-Being

2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 858-871 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah W. Whitton ◽  
Galena K. Rhoades ◽  
Mark A. Whisman
Keyword(s):  
Relationship Quality ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Over Time

The Therapist’s Reaction to a Patient’s Suicide

Crisis ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friedrich Martin Wurst ◽  
Isabella Kunz ◽  
Gregory Skipper ◽  
Manfred Wolfersdorf ◽  
Karl H. Beine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Emotional Reaction ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Analog Scale ◽  
General Hospitals ◽  
Item Questionnaire ◽  
Retrospective Nature ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

Background: A substantial proportion of therapists experience the loss of a patient to suicide at some point during their professional life. Aims: To assess (1) the impact of a patient’s suicide on therapists distress and well-being over time, (2) which factors contribute to the reaction, and (3) which subgroup might need special interventions in the aftermath of suicide. Methods: A 63-item questionnaire was sent to all 185 Psychiatric Clinics at General Hospitals in Germany. The emotional reaction of therapists to patient’s suicide was measured immediately, after 2 weeks, and after 6 months. Results: Three out of ten therapists suffer from severe distress after a patients’ suicide. The item “overall distress” immediately after the suicide predicts emotional reactions and changes in behavior. The emotional responses immediately after the suicide explained 43.5% of the variance of total distress in a regression analysis. Limitations: The retrospective nature of the study is its primary limitation. Conclusions: Our data suggest that identifying the severely distressed subgroup could be done using a visual analog scale for overall distress. As a consequence, more specific and intensified help could be provided to these professionals.

Emotional Impact Feedback Changes How We Remember Negative Autobiographical Experiences

2010 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 354-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie K. T. Takarangi ◽  
Deryn Strange
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
The Other ◽  
Personal Perspective ◽  
Emotional Impact ◽  
Potential Mechanism ◽  
Negative Experiences ◽  
Negative Memory ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Negative Memories ◽  
Over Time

When people are told that their negative memories are worse than other people’s, do they later remember those events differently? We asked participants to recall a recent negative memory then, 24 h later, we gave some participants feedback about the emotional impact of their event – stating it was more or less negative compared to other people’s experiences. One week later, participants recalled the event again. We predicted that if feedback affected how participants remembered their negative experiences, their ratings of the memory’s characteristics should change over time. That is, when participants are told that their negative event is extremely negative, their memories should be more vivid, recollected strongly, and remembered from a personal perspective, compared to participants in the other conditions. Our results provide support for this hypothesis. We suggest that external feedback might be a potential mechanism in the relationship between negative memories and psychological well-being.

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