A Fading Affect Bias First: Specific Healthy Coping with Partner-Esteem for Romantic Relationship and Non-Relationship Events.

Jeffrey Alan Gibbons,Spencer Dunlap,Kalli Wilson,Kyle Horowitz

doi:10.3390/ijerph181910121

Jeffrey Alan Gibbons, Spencer Dunlap + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910121

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Abstract

The Fading Affect Bias (FAB) is the faster fading of unpleasant affect than pleasant affect. Research suggests that the FAB is an indicator of general healthy coping, but it has not shown consistent specific healthy coping via differential relations of the FAB to individual differences across event types. Although previous research did not find specific healthy coping for the FAB across romantic relationship events, these researchers did not include non-relationship control events. Therefore, we examined the relation of the FAB to various relationship variables across romantic relationship events and non-relationship control events. We found general healthy coping in the form of robust FAB effects across both event types and expected relations between relationship variables and the FAB. We also found three significant three-way interactions with the FAB showing specific healthy coping for partner-esteem, which is novel for the FAB. Rehearsal ratings mediated all the three-way interactions.

Highlights

Whereas the beginnings of a new romantic relationship can be so joyous that they produce feelings of euphoria [1], breaks ups can produce such strong unpleasant emotions that they parallel, and even rival, feelings produced by the death of a loved one [2]
Initial Event Affect by Event Type interaction (F < 1). These results displayed general healthy coping for the Fading Affect Bias (FAB)
All but one relationship variable, father attachment, showed general healthy coping for the FAB

Summary

Introduction

Whereas the beginnings of a new romantic relationship can be so joyous that they produce feelings of euphoria [1], breaks ups can produce such strong unpleasant emotions that they parallel, and even rival, feelings produced by the death of a loved one [2]. Based on autobiographical memory research showing that unpleasant affect fades faster than pleasant affect [6,7], which is referred to as the Fading Affect Bias FAB: [8], romantic relationship events should show strong FAB effects. The researchers may not have shown specific healthy coping, in the form of significant but different FAB effects across events, because they did not examine non-relationship control events. The current study tested for specific healthy coping in the context of romantic relationships by investigating the relation of the FAB to relationship variables across romantic relationship and non-relationship events

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