In two studies, we examined the effects of perspective taking aimed at one's romantic partner, and type of romantic relationship (long-distance vs. geographically close) on sensory specificity. Sensory specificity is defined as selectivity in using sensory dimensions such as visual, acoustical, or tactile, in romantic interactions. Participants were undergraduate students involved in exclusive romantic relationships. In Study 1 (N = 210), a perspective-taking orientation to the partner enhanced sensory selectivity in both types of relationships. In Study 2 (N = 120), in which perspective taking was manipulated, perspective taking caused an increase in sensory specificity for partners living in the same location, and not for those in long-distance relationships. These findings underscore the importance of studying perspective taking in the context of sensory-based romantic interactions. Implications and future directions are discussed.

This study addressed the role of influencer and influencee peer status in social influence of status-unrelated behaviours among emerging adults, while disentangling two forms of peer status, being liked (preference) and being powerful (popularity). Peer influence was examined in 67 women (M age = 20.5 years, SD = 2.1 years) using an experimental design. Popularity of the influencers and influencees (participants), as well as influencees’ preference and self-esteem were considered. Peer influence was measured through imitation of status-unrelated behaviours and task partner choice. In both tasks, influencees moved away from, rather than towards, a popular peer. Popular young women with low self-esteem were most likely to imitate a popular peer. Unpreferred young women with high self-esteem were least likely to imitate a popular peer. The findings demonstrate that the role of peer status in social influence processes is not limited to adolescence, and that the peer status of influencers and the influencees continues to affect social influence on status-unrelated behaviour in emerging adulthood.

Adaptation to the reconstructed past is central to understanding negative emotion and its management, but research is scarce on negative emotion in romantic conflict narratives. Addressing this gap, we studied negative emotion in romantic conflict narratives as a function of gender and associations with self-reports of conflict strategies. In 145 emerging adults (54% women) from the United States, we assessed angry and sad emotion words and vocal pitch (an index of emotional arousal) during romantic conflict narratives, and self-rated anger and sadness immediately following these narratives. Results showed that self-rated anger and sadness were higher for women than men, but the use of angry and sad words and pitch did not differ by gender. For men, pitch and sad words were related to reports of less problem solving and aggression. For women, negative emotion ratings were related to less problem solving and more withdrawal. Our findings suggest that reflecting back on past romantic conflicts is a task that involves the regulation of negative emotions and that such emotions are related to conflict approaches.

An exploratory qualitative study was conducted to examine the perceptions and attitudes of both school counsellors and students to online counselling. Focus groups were conducted with two groups of school counsellors and six groups of secondary students. It was found that counsellors were hesitant to use online counselling because they were not convinced that it was effective, and without the necessary online skills, they were concerned they would not be competent to deal with potential litigious and security pitfalls. Students were generally positive about the opportunity to access the school counsellor online. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

The primary goal of this study was to examine attachment style effects on self-disclosure, trust, satisfaction, and uncertainty levels of individuals in long-distance romantic relationships (LDRRs) who utilise technologically mediated communication channels as a primary means of daily interaction with their romantic partners. Participants (N = 211) from 27 countries who maintained committed romantic relationships (M = 3 years) with geographical separation (M = 1042 miles, Mdn = 160 miles) were surveyed. Using structural equation modelling (SEM), 7 of the 8 hypotheses were supported, showing that attachment style and self-disclosure predict relational uncertainty, trust, and relational satisfaction. In examining the distinctions between attachment styles (i.e., secure, preoccupied, fearful-avoidant, and dismissive) three models were developed and confirmed with good fit. The implications of the study suggest how both attachment style and self-disclosure influence the overall success of LDRRs.

This study elucidated the relationship-focused coping patterns of Japanese child-rearing couples. Participants were 101 Japanese couples with at least one pre-school child who was attending one of four daycare centres. Questionnaires included a Japanese version of the relationship-focused coping questionnaire, the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale, and the WHO-5 Well-Being Index. Cluster analysis revealed three relationship-focused coping patterns: ‘wife escapes/husband combines’, ‘mutual active relationship maintenance couples’, and ‘wife engages/husband combines’. Our study showed that relationship-focused coping has multidimensional aspects within couples. Furthermore, mutual active relationship maintenance after marital conflict within couples is important for their marital satisfaction.

Previous research has discovered different subtypes of social withdrawal based on motivations to approach or avoid social interactions. Each of these motivations are uniquely related to indices of maladjustment during emerging adulthood, including aspects of the self. However, research has yet to investigate whether or not relationship quality moderates these associations. The purpose of this study was to examine whether relationship quality with best friends, romantic partners, mothers, and fathers, respectively, serve as protective factors in the negative links between shyness and avoidance and self-worth. The participants included 519 college students (Mage = 19.87, SD = 1.99, 61% female) from four universities across the United States. Results revealed that relationship quality with both best friends and romantic partners moderated the relation between shyness and self-worth. The differences between parent and peer relationships are discussed.

Recent modelling estimates up to two-thirds of new HIV infections among men who have sex with men occur within partnerships, indicating the importance of dyadic HIV prevention efforts. Although new interventions are available to promote dyadic health-enhancing behaviours, minimal research has examined what factors influence partners’ mutual engagement in these behaviours, a critical component of intervention success. Actor-partner interdependence modelling was used to examine associations between relationship characteristics and several dyadic outcomes theorised as antecedents to health-enhancing behaviours: planning and decision making, communication, and joint effort. Among 270 male-male partnerships, relationship satisfaction was significantly associated with all three outcomes for actors (p = .02, .02, .06 respectively). Latino men reported poorer planning and decision making (actor p = .032) and communication (partner p = .044). Alcohol use was significantly and negatively associated with all outcomes except actors’ planning and decision making (actors: p = .11, .038, .004 respectively; partners: p = .03, .056, .02 respectively). Having a sexual agreement was significantly associated with actors’ planning and decision making (p = .007) and communication (p = .008). Focusing on interactions between partners produces a more comprehensive understanding of male couples’ ability to engage in health-enhancing behaviours. This knowledge further identifies new and important foci for the tailoring of dyadic HIV prevention and care interventions.

Australia is one of the world's foremost mining nations. While the economic and employment benefits of the mining industry are well documented, potentially negative aspects of mining industry employment are less understood. It has been suggested that mining industry workers may be more likely than workers in other occupations to experience relationship problems and work-family stress, but there is very little empirical study examining this proposal. Data from the nationally representative Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey were used to compare males employed in the Australian mining industry with males working in other occupations, on indices of relationship quality and work-family balance, as well as mental and emotional health. Employment in the resources sector was not associated with poorer outcomes on these measures, relative to other occupations. These results suggest that hypothesised connections between mining industry employment and relationship/family stress require careful examination.

Physical attraction is an important dimension of both romantic and companionate relationship of partners. This article presents a comprehensive cross-cultural validation of the short version of the Physical Attraction Scale (PAS-S) scale — the first and only multidimensional measure of physical attraction available for research and practice. The initial development of the scale was completed in a multisite study conducted with a large sample of university students, largely from the midwest and southeast of the United States. Results demonstrated a two-dimensional factor structure, excellent reliability, and evidence of content, convergent and discriminant validity. The following cross-cultural studies, which used the PAS-S, confirmed its robust factor structure, validity and reliability in the samples from 10 cultural regions in six countries. Therefore, this short version of the PAS-S can be recommended for cross-cultural practice and research. The versions of the scale in English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Georgian are provided in appendices. Based on the results of cross-cultural validation, authors recommend the PAS-S for research purposes and practical use in counselling and therapy. The scale provides a short and informative measure of (1) how a person feels attraction to their partner in close relationships and (2) which aspects of attraction are problematic.

Two studies were conducted to identify variables associated with hypothetical infidelity forgiveness and promote forgiveness by manipulating implicit theories of relationships (ITRs; destiny/growth beliefs). Study 1 assessed the relationship between the type of behaviour, sex of the forgiver, ITRs and infidelity forgiveness. Study 2 investigated the causal relationship between ITRs and infidelity forgiveness (including attachment insecurity as a moderator). Results revealed that male participants forgave a partner's infidelity to a greater extent than female participants and that solitary behaviours were rated as most forgivable, followed by emotional/affectionate and technology/online behaviours, and sexual/explicit behaviours as least forgivable. Male participants (not female participants) induced to endorse growth beliefs forgave a partner's emotional/affectionate and solitary infidelity to a greater extent than those induced to endorse destiny beliefs; attachment insecurity moderated this relationship. These results have important implications for researchers and practitioners working with couples in distress.

The aims of this research were to develop and validate a Brief Attachment Adjective Checklist (BAAC) to represent the four category model of attachment, compare it with a current measure of attachment, and use both to predict relationship satisfaction. A 32-item operationalisation of a hypothesised four-category model was analysed using a principal component analysis. Results of Study 1 (n = 174) indicated the items of the four-category model reflected good factor structure. Comparison with the four-paragraph Relationship Questionnaire (RQ) showed low correlation between the two operationalisations, suggesting that they were measuring different aspects of attachment. Analyses showed that the BAAC was a weak but better predictor of relationship satisfaction than the RQ. A confirmatory factor analysis in Study 2 (n = 131) refined the structure of the BAAC. The pattern of correlations showing relative independence of the BAAC and the RQ in Study 1 was also shown in Study 2. The frequency of respondents in dominant attachment categories of the RQ was consistent with previous research but the frequency of respondents in dominant attachment categories differed for RQ compared with the BAAC. The replication of the prediction of relationship satisfaction in Study 2 showed that both measures were weak predictors of relationship satisfaction but the BAAC was a better predictor than the RQ.

We administered a revised version of the Mate Value Scale that focuses on individuals’ perception of their romantic partner's mate value. Students (N = 330) from four universities completed surveys. The measure demonstrated good internal consistency reliability. Multiple regression analyses indicate that those who perceive their mates as possessing a higher value tended to compromise more when faced with conflict with their partners, had less anxiety in close relationships, and had more passionate love attitudes. We argue that this pattern of associations provides additional validity data in support of the Mate Value Scale.

We propose that an orientation toward relating to one's romantic partner via multiple sensory channels has beneficial effects for the relationship, especially for long-distance relationships. We used Wicklund's (2004) conceptualisation of full-dimensionality of relating and Brehm's (1999) emotional intensity theory to test the effects of a sensory multidimensional orientation and difficulty of maintaining the romantic relationship on feelings of love and commitment. In Study 1, we tested 55 participants involved in a long-distance romantic relationship and found that a multidimensional orientation fended off the detrimental effects of difficulty of maintaining the relationship: when partners experienced high difficulty, those with a high orientation experienced more positive affect, love, and commitment than those with a low orientation. In Study 2, data from 31 long-distance and 23 geographically-close participants indicated that a high multidimensionality orientation had a greater positive impact in long-distance relationships than in geographically-close relationships. In Study 3, 40 long-distance participants were asked to write about two times when it was either difficult but possible or nearly impossible to maintain their current relationship. Positive affect for the partner, love, and desire to be with the partner in the future were highest for the participants in the possible condition who preferred relating to the partner on multiple sensory channels. Altogether, these studies underline the importance of multidimensional orientation in romantic relationships, especially when intimates perceive maintaining the relationship as being difficult but manageable. Theoretical and practical implications of this new concept of sensory multidimensionality orientation are discussed.

In this study, we explored the effects of mentor and mentee insecure attachment dispositions (ambivalence and avoidance) on mentoring relationship quality while considering the specific nature of the interactive mentoring context. Participants (N = 252 matches) were enrolled in the MIRES program, a one-year college-based mentoring program that matches late adolescent mentees (17-year-olds) with young adult mentors (23-year-olds), designed to facilitate the transition to college. Using data drawn from mentors’ logbooks (at nine time points), two interactive contexts were addressed: (1) situations involving mentee academic issues and mentor proactive academic support (academically oriented), and (2) situations involving mentee personal issues and mentor emotional support, and caring (emotionally oriented). Linear regression results showed that both mentors’ and mentees’ avoidance uniquely predicted lower reports of mentoring relationship quality, but especially in emotionally oriented matches and when their partners’ attachment ambivalence was high. In matches less focused on emotional support, mentors’ attachment avoidance interacted with mentees’ ambivalence to predict positive mentoring relationship quality. Theoretical, practical, and mentor training issues are discussed.

The current study explored positive relational qualities — love, need satisfaction, sexual satisfaction— to better understand what might be alluring to on-again/off-again (cyclical) partners given that they typically report lower relational quality and functioning than non-cyclical partners (i.e., those who have not broken up and renewed). A sample of 558 young adults in current romantic relationships (27.6% in cyclical relationships) reported on Sternberg's (1997) three love components (intimacy, passion, and commitment), relationship need satisfaction (e.g., companionship, emotional involvement), and their sexual satisfaction. Results supported the bulk of research showing cyclical partners report lower relational quality — cyclical partners reported less love, need satisfaction, and sexual satisfaction. A pattern of findings regarding passion and need satisfaction regarding sexual and physical intimacy, however, suggests that cyclical partners might value the physical component of relationships more, and further, that passion might be more strongly related to global satisfaction as compared to non-cyclical partners. Overall, the value of this study is not in what differences were found but in ruling out certain explanations of what perpetuates cycling in young adult relationships. The current findings suggest the reasons individuals return to less satisfying relationships is complex and might require novel theoretical models.

This study investigated the impact of class-level variables on the effectiveness of a universal middle school social and emotional learning (SEL) program, as reported by students (7th to 9th grade) and their teachers. There were 746 participants (M age = 13.38; SD = 1.36), comprising 576 in the intervention groups and 170 in the control groups. Results from both self- and teacher reports identified positive intervention gains in social awareness and self-control. According to both types of informants, rural school students benefitted more in social awareness, whereas teacher reports attributed bigger gains in social awareness to 7th- and 8th-graders. These results highlight the importance of class-level variables when analysing the effectiveness of SEL programs.

The current study addressed whether attachment, rumination, and trait depression were predictive of co-rumination in dyadic friendships. The final sample consisted of 205 pairs of same-sex friends (Mage = 18.93 years, SD = 1.31) and 135 (66%) of the dyads were female. Results revealed that an individual's attachment avoidance was significantly related to their own (actor effect) and their friend's (partner effect) co-rumination. Gender moderated the (1) effect of attachment avoidance on co-rumination at the actor and partner levels and (2) effect of attachment anxiety on co-rumination at the partner level. Furthermore, an interaction emerged between friendship duration and trait depression on co-rumination at the actor level. Considering the adjustment trade-offs of co-rumination (e.g., closer friendship quality accompanied with greater levels of depression and anxiety), it is important to understand the predictors of co-rumination and the consequences of it in order to effectively apply intervention efforts.

Intimate relationships are an integral part of our lives, but the rate of relationship breakups is high. We explored the role of the investment model and the traits that influence investments on relationship satisfaction among 146 volunteers (age M = 28.76 years, SD = 10.23). Relationship satisfaction was predicted by investments, which in turn were predicted by attachment, personality and love style. Clinicians working with individuals or couples with relationship issues may benefit from knowing how invested they are in the relationship and their love style. Insight into imbalances in these constructs between partners may be used to facilitate relationship satisfaction.

Multilevel meta-analytic techniques were used to examine the overall relationship between self-reported gender-role dimensions (psychological femininity and psychological masculinity) and self-reported relationship satisfaction. Twenty-six studies (43 effect sizes) were included in the femininity-relationship satisfaction meta-analysis, and 26 studies (43 effect sizes) were included in the masculinity-relationship satisfaction meta-analysis. Femininity revealed a stronger association with relationship satisfaction than masculinity: there was a medium relationship (r = .28) between femininity and relationship satisfaction and a small relationship (r = .13) between masculinity and relationship satisfaction. Sex/gender was not a moderator in either meta-analysis. Publication biases were not detected. Implications and recommendations are discussed.