Intentional Jealousy-Evoking Behavior in Romantic Relationships as a Function of Received Partner Affection and Love Styles

This study examined how (a) affection received from a partner and (b) love styles (i.e., eros, ludus, storge, pragma, mania, and agape) predicted the use of jealousy-evoking behaviors in romantic relationships. Participants were 197 undergraduate students currently involved in a committed romantic relationship, who completed a survey reporting on their partners' expressions of affection and their own perceived love styles and uses of jealousy evocation in their relationships. Results indicated that (a) after controlling for relationship length, the amount of affection received from a partner was inversely correlated with the use of jealousy-evoking behaviors, and (b) after controlling for relationship length and received affection, the ludus and mania love styles remained positive predictors of jealousy-evoking behavior. No other love styles were significant predictors.     

Lying in Bed: An Analysis of Deceptive Affectionate Messages During Sexual Activity in Young Adults’ Romantic Relationships

Guided by affection exchange theory, the present study examined the associations among deceptive affectionate messages (DAMs) during sexual activity and duration of post-sex affectionate behavior, sexual satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction. Two-hundred twenty-eight participants ages 18–30, the majority of whom identified as White, completed a survey assessing deceptive and sexual communication. Linear regression and serial mediation using sexual satisfaction and post-sex affectionate behavior as sequential mediators revealed that more DAMs are associated with less sexual satisfaction, less post-sex communication, and less relationship satisfaction. The findings provide a more complete picture of how DAMs affect sexual encounters and may be used to inform interventions aimed at promoting healthier sexual relationships. Additionally, the implications for affection exchange theory are discussed.     

Young people’s everyday romance and sexual experiences in relation to sex-related conversations with parents: a diary study in the Netherlands

This study builds on existing research into how young people’s emergent sexual development is connected to parent–child sex-related communication through avoidance vs. disclosure. Over the course of one year, a total of 21 young people (age range 12–17.5) reported in longitudinal qualitative diaries their (1) everyday sexual experiences and (2) sex-related conversations with their parents. Using a mixed-methods approach, findings show that less sexually experienced participants reported greater avoidance of parent–child sex-related conversations than more experienced participants. The sex-related conversations of more experienced participants mainly concerned overt experiences in the form of everyday issues with their romantic partner, while the conversations of less experienced participants were characterised by more covert experiences such as opinions about romantic relationships in general. These results suggest that the degree to which young people feel comfortable talking about sexuality with their parents partly depends on when the conversation takes place during a young person’s romantic and sexual development.     

Does daddy know best? Exploring the relationship between paternal sexual communication and safe sex practices among African-American women

Parental sexual risk communication may influence women's sexual decision-making and safe sexual behaviours. While many studies have focused specifically on the influence of communication from mothers, some authors have argued for the importance of examining father–daughter sexual risk communication as well. However, few studies have empirically examined this relationship among African-American women. The present study sought to expand the literature by examining the relationship between various sexual risk messages received from paternal caregivers and the safe sexual practices of a sample of 171 African-American women from the Midwest USA. Results suggested that receiving messages from paternal caregivers cautioning participants about the intentions of men in romantic relationships was related to an increased likelihood of participants asking intimate partners about their sexual history. However, these messages were inversely related to safer condom practices. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.     

Sex differences in emotional reactions to discovered deception

This study explores sex differences in perceptions of discovered deception, and the subsequent emotional reactions that are experienced by relational partners. Drawing upon research examining deception, relational communication, and gender, several hypotheses were developed and tested in a sample of 190 respondents who had recently discovered the lie of a friend or romantic partner. The data were consistent with the hypotheses. Women were more likely than men to rate lying as an unacceptable form of behavior within both friendship and romantic relationships. In addition, women rated the act of lying (regardless of what was lied about) as more significant, and reported more negative emotional reactions upon discovering deception than did men. Generalized communicative suspicion functioned to enhance the intensity of emotional reactions for women, but not for men. Implications of the current results for the study of deception are discussed.     

Differences in Conversational Skills as a Function of Attachment Style: A Follow-up Study

A recent set of studies demonstrated that people evaluate their own and their partner's social skills differently as a function of attachment style. The present study extends this work by examining attachment-style differences in four conversational skills—expressiveness, composure, other-orientation, and interaction management—as rated by observers. To test for attachment-style differences, romantic couples were videotaped as they discussed relational problems or conflict issues. Based on a pretest, one of the romantic partners was targeted as representative of the secure, dismissive, fearful avoidant, or preoccupied attachment style. Two dimensions related to attachment—anxiety and avoidance—were also investigated in regard to their relations with conversational skills. Results suggest that the behavioral profiles largely reflect attachment theoretical assumptions for secures, dismissives, and fearful avoidants, and to a lesser extent, preoccupieds.     

爱情的白日梦--《蒹葭》主题辨析

传统的观点都认为《蒹葭》是写求偶的浪漫与痛苦,抒发可望而不可及的怅惘情思。而通过考查青春期性心理的特点与诗中情感抒发的朦胧、缥缈和神秘的特点这两者之间的联系,《蒹葭》可解读为是写情窦初开的少男少女的爱情白日梦,揭示他们可想而不可望的恋爱心理。     

Motives,barriers, and ways of communicating in mother-daughter sexuality communication: a qualitative study of college women in Tanzania

In Tanzania, young women aged 15–24 are at high risk for HIV and nearly half (45%) of women experience pregnancy or childbirth before age 19. The HIV epidemic has motivated many parents to overcome cultural taboos and talk with their children about sexuality, but few studies in Tanzania have examined how young adults perceive these discussions. In-depth interviews with 31 Tanzanian college women (ages 18–25) reveal how they make sense of sexuality messages from mothers that are sometimes vague, admonishing and fear-based. Participants identified how mothers focused on the health, educational and social consequences of premarital sex and emphasised the avoidance of men as a strategy to maintain virginity. Mothers avoided providing specific information about safer-sex practices, or strategies to negotiate romantic relationships, sexual pressures or sexual desires. Findings offer insight into how relational and cultural contexts influence mothers’ sexual socialisation and can inform education and intervention approaches that consider the changing cultural landscape. Future qualitative research with mothers is recommended to develop programmes that are more responsive to mothers’ and daughters’ needs.     

Human Affection Exchange: XV. Metabolic and Cardiovascular Correlates of Trait Expressed Affection

Recent research on the communication of affection has begun to illuminate its implications for mental and physical health. Specifically, when compared to non-affectionate people, self-report studies have indicated that highly affectionate people are less susceptible to depression and stress, and endocrine studies have shown that highly affectionate people have more differentiated 24-hour cortisol rhythms (a pattern indicative of adaptive physiological stress management). The present studies extend this knowledge by focusing on the associations that trait affection has with cardiologic (resting heart rate), vascular (resting blood pressure), and metabolic (glycosylated hemoglobin) properties of physical health. Participants in both studies provided self-assessments of their trait levels of expressed affection and received affection (the latter for use as a covariate). Resting heart rate and blood pressure were assessed in the first study, and glycosylated hemoglobin was assessed in the second study. Results indicate that when the influence of received affection is controlled for, trait expressed affection was inversely related to resting blood pressure and glycosylated hemoglobin (but not heart rate), suggesting that the expression of affection is associated with a healthy vascular and metabolic profile.     

The Impact of Relational Characteristics and Reasons for Topic Avoidance on Relational Closeness

Although research suggests that the act of topic avoidance itself has consequences for romantic partners, it seems equally likely that the antecedent conditions underlying these decisions to avoid certain topics also lead to important relational outcomes. Framed by communication boundary management theory, relationship characteristics, motivation for topic avoidance, and implications for relational closeness were examined. Findings indicate that relational commitment characteristics and individuals' reported rationale for topic avoidance are related to perceptions of relational closeness. These results illustrate the importance of understanding the underlying factors that motivate the decision to engage in topic avoidance and their impact on romantic relationships.     

Affection Deprivation in Romantic Relationships

The current study examined the role of affection deprivation, the need for greater affection than an individual is currently receiving, in the context of romantic relationships. Using affection exchange theory, the authors hypothesized several testable relationships between affection deprivation and relational outcomes (relational satisfaction, closeness, and commitment). The study also examined the possible moderating roles of relational maximization and relational uncertainty. Overall, the results supported the predictions, with affection deprivation significantly related to satisfaction and closeness. Relational maximization moderated the significant relationships between deprivation and relational satisfaction and commitment. Relational uncertainty moderated the significant relationships between deprivation and closeness and commitment. Implications and possible directions for future research are discussed.     

Gender and Willingness to Confront Hurtful Messages from Romantic Partners

Based on a social role perspective, an individual's hurt and willingness to confront a face attack expressed by a romantic partner were hypothesized to vary with gender, type of face attack, and social context. Undergraduates responding to hypothetical scenarios revealed that when teased, women imagined they would be more hurt and more willing to confront their romantic partners’ attacks than did men. Men reported that they likely would perceive less audience support for confrontation than women. Men reported that they would be less likely than women to confront, regardless of social context. The effect of audience support and hurt are independent and both have comparable influence on willingness to confront. Our findings suggest that responses to hurtful messages are related to the messages’ emotional impact and gender norms.     

Beyond the breakup: Heterosexual and homosexual post‐dissolutional relationships

Although most romantic relationships will dissolve, few studies have examined the relationship formed between dating partners after their romance terminates. This study examines the post‐dissolutional relationships experienced by participants who were involved in same‐sex (N = 298) and opposite‐sex (N = 272) romantic relationships. The degrees to which ex‐partners experience interpersonal contact, emotional and sexual intimacy, and satisfaction in their post‐dissolutional relationships was examined. Further, two types of influences on post‐dissolutional relationship qualities were investigated. Variables that originated within the dyad or individuals (personal) had a stronger influence on relationship qualities than did variables that originated from the dyad's environment (structural). The importance of understanding post‐dissolutional relationships and future research suggestions are discussed.     

Surviving and Thriving: A Small-scale Study of the Role of Group Work Training in Developing Teachers' Professional Practice

This paper presents two case studies from a small-scale qualitative study which the writers have undertaken. In each case, a participant from a number of years ago reflects on their memories of and feelings about the small group training component of an MA in Human Relations programme in which they had been involved. They go on to consider how they feel these experiences affected their subsequent professional practices. The writers conclude by discussing the implications of what these former students say.     

Simmering on the Back Burner: Communication with and Disclosure of Relationship Alternatives

The term “back burner” describes a desired potential romantic/sexual partner with whom one communicates with the intent of establishing a future romantic or sexual connection. Contemporary communication technologies (e.g., mobile phones, social networking applications) facilitate connections with back burners. Two survey studies (Ns = 347, 374) showed that back burner communication is relatively common among college students; however, college students also have many romantic or sexual interests that they do not consider back burners. Additionally, although most college students will not fully disclose their communication with back burners to their partners, approximately half fully disclose communication with romantic or sexual desirables to their partners. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that back burners can be distinguished from those with whom we would entertain having a romantic or sexual connection. Theoretically, they can also be distinguished from other types of casual sexual relationships.     

Deciding How to Deceive: Differences in Communication and Detection Between Good and Bad Liars

To study deception, participants were randomly assigned the role of allocator or recipient in an ultimatum negotiation game. Allocators “earned” 7 dollars and divided the money between themselves and recipient and communicated the decision either face-to-face or through text chat. Recipients were unaware the amount the allocator had, and therefore, allocators could deceive. Most allocators used deception. We hypothesized that participants who self-identified as good liars would communicate more face-to-face than through text chat when deceiving, and this was supported for deceptive omission but not fabrications. Good liars were more likely to have their truths correctly detected than bad liars.     

English Schools and Pastoral Care as Perceived by French Teachers on a One Year Exchange Visit

This paper presents two case studies from a small-scale qualitative study which the writers have undertaken. In each case, a participant from a number of years ago reflects on their memories of and feelings about the small group training component of an MA in Human Relations programme in which they had been involved. They go on to consider how they feel these experiences affected their subsequent professional practices. The writers conclude by discussing the implications of what these former students say.     

The Past Is Present: Representations of Parents,Friends, and Romantic Partners Predict Subsequent Romantic Representations

This study examined how representations of parent–child relationships, friendships, and past romantic relationships are related to subsequent romantic representations. Two‐hundred 10th graders (100 female; M_age = 15.87 years) from diverse neighborhoods in a Western U.S. city were administered questionnaires and were interviewed to assess avoidant and anxious representations of their relationships with parents, friends, and romantic partners. Participants then completed similar questionnaires and interviews about their romantic representations six more times over the next 7.5 years. Growth curve analyses revealed that representations of relationships with parents, friends, and romantic partners each uniquely predicted subsequent romantic representations across development. Consistent with attachment and behavioral systems theory, representations of romantic relationships are revised by representations and experiences in other relationships.     

Human affection exchange: III. discriminative parental solicitude in men's affectionate communication with their biological and nonbiological sons

Although several investigations have addressed the nature of communication in men's relationships with their sons, relatively few have focused on positive interaction patterns, such as the exchange of affection, even though affection is of considerable importance to relational maintenance and satisfaction. According to affection exchange theory, affection is such a valuable relational resource because of the contributions it makes to humans’ long‐term viability and reproductive success. As such a resource, it should, thus, be governed by adaptive motivations, among which is the motivation for parents to invest in their children in ways that maximize their long‐term evolutionary success. Using the theory of discriminative parental solicitude, we predicted differences in the amount of affection men communicate to their biological sons, adopted sons, and step‐sons. We tested our predictions in two studies involving a total of 384 males. We discuss implications of the results for explaining the superordinate evolutionary motivations governing affectionate communication.     

Correlates of Psychological Abuse Perpetration in College Dating Relationships

This study examined the contributions of gender, adult romantic attachment orientations (i.e., avoidance, anxiety), defense mechanisms (i.e., narcissism, other‐splitting), and stressors to college student psychological abuse perpetration (dominance). Men with higher levels of attachment avoidance, narcissistic entitlement, and stressful problems reported more dominance of female partners. Women with higher levels of other‐splitting reported more dominance of male partners. Attachment avoidance contributed to women's dominance of male partners only in the context of elevated narcissistic entitlement or few stressors.