The Relational Load of Political Dissimilarity in Romantic Relationships

Resilience is one of the most profound constructs across disciplines. Yet, the largely atheoretical nature of the research on resilience continues to make it elusive. A new theory of stress and resilience in close relationships—the theory of resilience and relational load (TRRL)—is advanced to fill this void in the literature. The theory bridges communicative, perceptual, and physiological aspects of stress within the context of social relationships to explain personal/relational risk, resilience, and thriving. The TRRL examines how relational partners' and family members' communal orientation and maintenance of their relationships on a daily basis influence their communication during stressful moments, as well as their appraisals of the stress. The theory also details how these communication patterns and appraisals influence personal and relational health and adaptation. Finally, the concept of relational load is set forth, which is the wear and tear that chronic stress and depletion of one's emotional, psychological, and relational resources through repeated, stress‐related conversations can have on relationships. Ultimately, people need to continually invest in their relationships to prevent relational load and foster resilience and possible thriving.

The theory of resilience and relational load was used to examine the impact of voting patterns in the 2016 U.S. presidential election on individuals’ romantic relationships. Married/cohabitating individuals ( N = 961) completed online surveys at three time points during the transition to the Trump Presidency. The results supported our emotional capital hypothesis in that ongoing relationship maintenance in one’s relationship predicted less stress about the Trump presidency, less conflict, less relational load, greater communal orientation, and greater relational resilience. The positive effect of ongoing relationship maintenance on these relational outcomes occurred regardless of how the partners voted. At the same time, voting differently than one’s partner was still stressful and negatively influenced these outcomes. The results also supported our relational load model, which found that differences in voting negatively affected individuals’ communal orientation and the degree to which they maintained their relationships, which fueled conflict and stress. This conflict and stress was associated with an increase in relational load and a decrease in relational resilience.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can have serious consequences for people’s physical health and the quality of their romantic relationships. Less clear, however, are the interpersonal dynamics of couples navigating the aftermath of TBI. We used data scraping techniques to capture five years of posts submitted to online help-seeking forums, and we analyzed the resulting 349 single-spaced pages of data using codebook thematic analysis. Both TBI survivors and partners reported the focal themes of personality changes and relationship changes . TBI survivors emphasized a lack of understanding that led to grief and loss , relational uncertainty , and isolation . Partners reported poor treatment that culminated in negative emotions and relational uncertainty . The data showed notable similarities and differences between TBI survivors and partners. We interpret the results via four prominent theories of marriage and family relationships: ambiguous loss theory, relational turbulence theory, the theory of resilience and relational load, and family systems theory. Overall, our findings shed light on interpersonal dynamics after TBI and lay a foundation for future theoretical and clinical advances.

Military couples face unique challenges that have the potential to strain their romantic relationships, including the extended rigors of deployment. Using the theory of resilience and relational load, this study examined savoring as a beneficial practice in fostering resilience and relational satisfaction among military partners whose serviceperson partner had completed at least one deployment. Military partners (n = 156) completed an online survey, with results suggesting that savoring positively contributes to relational maintenance and broader resilience processes and relational wellbeing for military couples. Savoring is a skill that can be easily practiced and shows great promise for the cultivation of relational maintenance and resilience for military families.

Using a sample of 312 people in a romantic relationship with a partner who has a spinal cord injury (SCI), this study examined the separate and combined effects of caregiving tasks, resilience, and received support on the participant’s level of psychosocial distress. We also tested whether such distress might mediate the effect of the predictors on romantic relationship closeness. Results supported the beneficial effects of both resilience and receiving high-quality support, although the timing of the injury moderated these effects. Injuries sustained after relationship initiation particularly threaten well-being and closeness and, along with the burden of caregiving tasks, alter the extent to which received support and resilience are associated with health and relationship benefits. These results suggest that support providers should be sensitive to the context of the SCI and, for scholars, indicate the importance of further theorizing context in the theory of resilience and relational load.

Guided by implicit theories of relationships and sexual satisfaction and the theory of resilience and relational load (TRRL), our study investigated the mediating role of sexual communal strength on associations between implicit beliefs regarding sexual compatibility and relational thriving in new romantic couples (≤ 6 months duration) facing a hypothetical scenario of sexual dysfunction (i.e., vulvovaginal pain or erectile dysfunction). Participants in new romantic relationships ( N = 461) completed an experimental survey in which they imagined their partner was experiencing sexual dysfunction. We explored indirect associations among implicit beliefs about sexual compatibility, specifically sexual growth (i.e., sexual [in]compatibility requires work) and sexual destiny (i.e., sexual [in]compatibility as being reflective of a [poor] romantic match) beliefs, and couples’ anticipated relational thriving, mediated by sexual communal strength. Our hypothesized model was tested via structural equation modeling in SPSS AMOS 29. The findings indicated that sexual growth beliefs, but not sexual destiny beliefs, were indirectly associated with anticipated relational thriving through sexual communal strength. Specifically, sexual growth beliefs were positively associated with sexual communal strength, which in turn was associated with and greater anticipated relational thriving. Although the indirect effect for sexual destiny beliefs was not significant, sexual destiny beliefs were significantly associated with less anticipated relational thriving. We extend theorizing about implicit (sexual) beliefs by examining a new relational context—relationship initiation—as well as offer practical implications for partnerships experiencing sexual dysfunction.

Chronic illness is both prevalent in U.S. adults and influential in people’s lives and relationships. In this study, we integrate relational turbulence theory with the theory of resilience and relational load to consider associations between perceptions of the relationship, relational maintenance, and two global relationship qualities: resilience and relational load. Results from a cross-sectional online survey of 100 dyads in which at least one partner reported a chronic condition suggest relational turbulence was associated with relational maintenance, which, in turn, was associated with relational load and resilience. Relational maintenance emerged as a mediator in the association between relational turbulence and resilience and relational load in several tests. Communal orientation was positively associated with relational maintenance and indirectly related to resilience and relational load in certain circumstances. We discuss these findings for each theory individually, the value of considering these theories concurrently, and pragmatic advice for couples navigating chronic illness.

Facebook has been identified as one of the most influential social network site (SNS) in the formation, maintenance and interruption of romantic relationships. Over the last decade, several studies have been carried out on Facebook and romantic relationships; however, there is still lack of evidence on how the reciprocal perceptions of partners’ behaviours on Facebook relate with couple relationship quality. This study aimed to fill this gap examing whether and to what extent participants’ surveillance and visibility behaviour related with the perception of their partner’s surveillance and visibility behaviour, and to what extent this perception related with both romantic jealousy and relationship quality. A sample of 635 heterosexual women having a romantic relationship participated in a study, which consisted of answering an online questionnaire with items on both the participants’ and their partner’s online behaviour. Path analyses were used for testing the hypotheses. Results showed that Facebook supported behaviours that can affect the quality of romantic relationship. Contrary to what expected, both online surveillance and couple visibility positively related with romantic jealousy, which in turn mediated the relation between surveillance and relationship quality, thereby worsening the participants’ perception of couple relationship quality.

Dementia alters relationships between family caregivers and their relatives living with dementia. Drawing from the theory of resilience and relational load (TRRL) and the investment model, this study assesses the influence of dementia caregivers’ pre-onset relational investments in these relationships (relationship maintenance and communal orientation) on their individual and relational wellbeing (depression, personal growth, love/closeness). Two mediating mechanisms (relational deprivation, ongoing relationship maintenance) were examined, and disease severity was tested as a moderator. Using surveys from 454 dementia family caregivers (majority adult child and spousal caregivers), analysis revealed that pre-onset relational investments generally support caregiver wellbeing through ongoing relationship maintenance as a mediator. Disease severity moderated these associations. Findings are discussed in light of TRRL and investment model theorizing.

Based on China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) data, this paper explores the influence of adolescents’ romantic relationship on individual development in terms of academic, emotional, and interpersonal development. The research finds that the academic performance of adolescents who involved in romantic relationship is relatively lower and their risk of having negative emotions is also lower than their counterparts outside relationship. The romantic relationship provides an opportunity learning how to maintain intimacy relationship and build positive self-concept, and thus, it has a positive effect on growth of interpersonal ability. Due to differences in gender roles, the romantic relationship has a stronger impact on female adolescents. In addition, in a high-pressure environment, individuals with romantic relationship bear greater psychological pressures. A more open, tolerant, and supportive environment toward adolescents’ romantic relationship will promote their holistic development.

This study examined whether romantic partners’ relationship maintenance and communal orientation predict their financial conflict, and, in turn, their relational load and physiological stress. Eighty-two heterosexual, cohabitating couples participated in a conversation about their financial stress, completed surveys, and provided saliva and hair samples for cortisol. Overall, greater communal orientation and ongoing relationship maintenance were associated with less conflict about financial stress, as well as lower relational load. The findings revealed partner and actor effects. For women, feeling communally oriented was associated with less of their own and their partner’s relational load after the conversation by lessening both of their perceptions of conflict. Even though relationship maintenance and communal orientation did not significantly affect men’s physiological stress, women’s HCC and salivary cortisol (at p < .10) were mediated through their own and their partner’s perceptions of their financial conflict.

This study investigates individuals’ perceptions of reciprocal relationship maintenance in their marriage over time during the Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19). Using a Qualtrics Panel, married individuals (N = 3,601) completed online surveys at four time points during the initial 3 months of the pandemic. Both the between- and within-person effects were consistent with the theory of resilience and relational load. On average, married individuals who reported giving greater relationship maintenance to their partners also reported receiving greater relationship maintenance from them, as well as reported greater communal orientation and flourishing and lower relational load. Giving relationship maintenance to one’s partner was a stronger predictor of receiving maintenance than the reverse, even though both influenced each other. Giving relationship maintenance to one’s partner was also a stronger and more consistent predictor of communal orientation, relational load, and flourishing than maintenance received. Finally, relational load in one’s marriage was the strongest predictor of flourishing.

The theory of resilience and relational load (TRRL) articulates how actively maintaining one's relationships helps manage stress and fosters resilience and potential thriving. It also allows partners and family members to feel more communally oriented or unified with each other against their stress and life's challenges, which further encourages them to re-invest in their relationships. Ongoing relationship maintenance and communal orientation facilitate more security-based stress appraisals and communication patterns, which build resilience, promote positive health, and prevent relational load. Relational load is the"wear and tear" that chronic stress and conflict have on emotional, psychological, relational, and cognitive resources in the relationship. In Chapter 26, authors Tamara D. Afifi, Chantel Haughton, and Allison Mazur outline the intellectual tradition of the TRRL, set forth some of its primary assumptions, provide examples of how it has been tested so far, and identify future directions.

ObjectiveThe aim of the current study was to identify constructive interpersonal behaviors that may make relational partners more resilient while foster caregiving.BackgroundFoster caregiving can be stressful due to the unique demands of the role. Consistent with the theory of resilience and relational load, we propose one possible way for couples to manage stress and promote resilience is by investing in their relationships through repetitive and positive relationship maintenance behaviors.MethodTwo‐parent foster caregiving couples (N = 227) completed online surveys measuring perceptions of their own and their partners' relationship maintenance and conflict management behaviors, as well as individual reports of depressive symptoms and parenting stress.ResultsStructural equation actor–partner interdependence modeling indicated significant direct and indirect actor effects, but no partner effects. Both men's and women's perceptions of the couple's relationship maintenance were positively associated with their perceptions of the couple's conflict management, which, in turn, were negatively related with their own depressive symptoms and parenting stress.ConclusionCouples' prosocial and constructive behaviors are related to lower mental distress in foster caregivers.ImplicationsCouple‐focused interventions may be helpful in promoting behaviors that enhance couple functioning and promote the well‐being of foster caregivers.

ABSTRACTBackground and Objectives: Simultaneous exposure to time, cognitive, and emotional demands is a feature of the work environment for healthcare workers, yet effects of these common stressors in combination are not well established. Design: Survey data were collected from 125 hospital employees (Sample 1, Study 1), 93 ambulance service employees (Sample 2, Study 1), and 380 aged care/disability workers (Study 2). Methods: Hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted. Results: In Sample 1, high cognitive demand exacerbated high emotional demand on psychological strain and job burnout, whereas the negative effect of high emotional demand was not present at low cognitive demand. In Sample 2, a similar pattern between emotional demand and time demand on stress-remedial intentions was observed. In Study 2, emotional demand × time demand and time demand × cognitive demand interactions again revealed that high levels of two demands were stress-exacerbating and low levels of one demand neutralized the other. A three-way interaction on job satisfaction showed the negative impact of emotional demand was exacerbated when both time and cognitive demands were high, creating a “triple disadvantage” of job demands. Conclusions: The results demonstrate that reducing some job demands helps attenuate the stressful effects of other job demands on different employee outcomes.