Maltreatment in Childhood and Perceived Partner Responsiveness in Adult Romantic Relationships: A Dyadic Daily Diary and Longitudinal Study

This study examined the associations between childhood maltreatment (CM) and the mean-level of perceived partner responsiveness (PPR; the extent to which individuals feel cared for, understood, and validated by their partner) over 35 days, the day-to-day variability in PPR, and the initial levels and trajectories of PPR over 1 year in community couples. Both members of 228 couples completed a self-reported measure of CM and provided daily reports of PPR over 35 days and retrospective reports of PPR at three time points over 1 year. A person’s greater CM was related to a lower mean level of PPR over 35 days and to a lower initial level of their own PPR. A person’s sexual abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect had an effect over and above other forms of CM in these associations. A person’s greater CM was also related to higher day-to-day variability in their own and their partner’s PPR, and a person’s greater emotional neglect was associated with a sharper decrease over time in their own PPR. These findings provide a more fine-grained understanding of how CM may affect the perceptions of being cared about, accepted, and validated by a partner on a daily basis and over time.

Perceived Partner Responsiveness and Depression: The Moderating Role of Age and Gender

A growing body of research suggests that greater perceived partner responsiveness- the extent to which individuals feel cared for, understood, and validated by their romantic partner- leads to longer, healthier, and happier life in adulthood, yet little is known about possible moderating factors between responsiveness and well-being. Using a longitudinal design, the current study tested the moderating roles of age and gender in association between perceived partner responsiveness and depression symptoms. The data for the present study came from the National Survey of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS I and II) which is a longitudinal study on health and aging. A life span sample of 2856 married or cohabiting individuals (1402 Female, Mage= 47.16) completed measures of perceived partner responsiveness, depression, age, and gender in two waves (T1 and T2). The results showed that greater perceived partner responsiveness at T1 predicted lower depressive symptoms at T2 controlling for depressive symptoms at T1. This finding remained when controlling for potential confounders including demographics and health covariates. The moderation analysis demonstrated that participants’ age was not a significant moderator in the association between perceived partner responsiveness and depression. Yet, gender significantly was a significant moderator such that the association of perceived partner responsiveness and depression was significant for female but not for male participants. These findings can have implications for mental health and relational well-being.

Interpersonal Chemistry: What Is It, How Does It Emerge, and How Does It Operate?

Although chemistry is a well-known, sought-after interpersonal phenomenon, it has remained relatively unexplored in the psychological literature. The purpose of this article is to begin articulating a theoretically grounded and precise definition of interpersonal chemistry. To that end, we propose a conceptual model of interpersonal chemistry centered around the notion that when two or more individuals experience chemistry with one another, they experience their interaction as something more than the sum of their separate contributions. Our model stipulates that chemistry encompasses both behavior (i.e., what chemistry “looks like”) and its perception (i.e., what it “feels like”). The behavior involves interaction sequences in which synchronicity is high and in which people’s goals are expressed and responded to in supportive and encouraging ways. The perception of chemistry includes cognitive (i.e., perception of shared identity), affective (i.e., positive affect and attraction), and behavioral (i.e., perceived goal-relevant coordination) components. We review existing research on chemistry as well as supporting evidence from relevant topics (e.g., attraction, similarity, perceived partner responsiveness, synchrony) that inform and support this model. We hope that this conceptual model stimulates research to identify the circumstances in which chemistry arises and the processes by which it affects individuals, their interactions, and their relationships.

Domestic bliss, or technological diss? Problematic media use, partner responsiveness, and relationship outcomes

The purpose of this study was to examine how problematic media use (technoference, internet gaming disorder symptoms, and pornography use) predicted later partner relationship outcomes, operating through the mediator of partner responsiveness. Participants ( N = 1039) were from Waves II–IV of a nationally representative quantitative study on marriage relationships across the United States. Both spouses completed surveys reporting problematic media use, partner responsiveness, and relationship outcomes at three separate time points each spaced a year apart. In order to test the hypotheses, three longitudinal actor-partner interdependence models with indirect paths were estimated, with each model corresponding to one type of problematic media use. Results indicated that at the cross-sectional level, all three types of problematic media use had significant indirect actor and partner effects, where problematic media use predicted lower relationship outcomes through the intervening variable of partner non-responsiveness. Longitudinally, wife technoference directly negatively predicted later partner responsiveness, but there were no full indirect paths of Wave II problematic media to Wave IV relationship outcomes through the intervening variable of Wave III partner responsiveness. Implications of these findings and future directions are discussed.