Actor-partner Analysis Research Articles

Association between relationship characteristics and willingness to use PrEP among same-sex male couples: a cross-sectional actor-partner analysis in Guangzhou, China

The association between relationship characteristics and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) acceptability among same-sex male couples has been limitedly examined. Dyadic survey data of 139 concordant HIV-negative same-sex male couples in Guangzhou, China were collected. The willingness to use PrEP was measured assuming that the participant's partner was HIV-positive. The actor-partner interdependence model was used to examine how one's relationship characteristics affected the PrEP willingness of the subject and his partner. Most participants (79.5%) were willing to use PrEP. The two individuals of the couple were distinguished by sex role in relationship, namely one usually playing the insertive role and the other usually playing the receptive role in anal intercourse. The former was labeled as "top" and the latter labeled as "bottom". The PrEP willingness of the top partner increased when he would think his partner is having sex with other people if the partner requests condom use in relationship (AOR: 5.74, 95% CI: 1.10-29.87), and decreased when his partner would get violent upon condom use requests in relationship (AOR: 0.19, 95% CI: 0.04-0.88). The PrEP willingness of the bottom partner increased when he trusted his partner (AOR: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.02-1.25) and when he or his partner disclosed the relationship to parents (AOR: 10.57, 95% CI: 1.91-58.61). Considering the sex role and relationship characteristics in couple-based interventions are important to optimize PrEP uptake among HIV-discordant same-sex male couples.

Sleep Quality and Inflammation in Married Heterosexual Couples: an Actor-Partner Analysis

Sleep Quality and Inflammation in Married Heterosexual Couples: an Actor-Partner Analysis

Family Functioning, Family Structure, and Differentiation of Self in Heterosexual Spanish Couples: An Actor–Partner Analysis

This study used an actor–partner interdependence model to assess the relationship between differentiation of self and family functioning in a sample of 118 heterosexual Spanish couples, with additional attention to family structural correlates, including age of the children, number of children in the household, and educational level. Results showed a significant actor effect, with greater differentiation of self levels predicting better family functioning within individuals. Implications for mental health professionals regarding differentiation are provided.

Differentiation of Self, Psychological Distress, and Dyadic Adjustment: Exploring an Integrative Model Through an Actor–Partner Analysis

This study used an actor–partner interdependence analytic approach to examine a theoretical model assessing whether lower differentiation of self is linked to higher psychological distress and lower dyadic adjustment. Data from 195 heterosexual Spanish couples were analyzed. Results showed significant actor effects in all variables. Regarding partner effects, women’s emotional cutoff had a significant influence on their partner’s psychological distress and dyadic adjustment; however, men’s emotional cutoff had a significant relationship with their partner’s dyadic adjustment but not psychological distress. Emotional reactivity on the other hand, the intrapersonal dimension of differentiation of self, did not manifest any partner effect. The findings provide (a) a new approach on the role of differentiation of self in intra- and interpersonal distress; (b) cross-cultural support for previous research; and (c) an integrated model for a systemic understanding of these variables, grounded in a strong theoretical framework, which explained up to 62% of model variance. Overall, our results support Bowen’s basic assumptions and systems theory principles that a couple is an emotional unit, and suggest that interventions targeting emotional cutoff may be particularly helpful to benefit both members of the couple. Other implications for therapy and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Sleep Quality and Inflammation in Married Heterosexual Couples: an Actor-Partner Analysis.

Subjective sleep quality is a predictor of important health outcomes, but little work has examined the social context of sleep that might inform theoretical models and intervention approaches. The present study tested actor-partner models of sleep quality and its links to inflammatory markers. Participants were 84 middle-age to older adult heterosexual married couples who completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and had blood drawn for determination of CRP and IL-6 levels. Main results indicated that only actor levels of poor global sleep quality predicted higher CRP levels. No actor × partner or gender × actor/partner interactions were significant. These results were also not moderated by relationship quality. Secondary analyses, focused on the different components of sleep quality, revealed marginally significant evidence for partner's poor sleep (i.e., sleep disturbances, sleep latency) on one's own inflammatory outcomes. These results suggest the promise of modeling sleep quality as a dyadic process that can impact inflammation and potentially related health outcomes.

Boundary Management Permeability and Relationship Satisfaction in Dual-Earner Couples: The Asymmetrical Gender Effect.

Given the increasing use of technology and the growing blurring of the boundaries between the work and nonwork domains, decisions about when to interrupt work for family and vice versa can have critical implications for relationship satisfaction within dual-earner couples. Using a sample of 104 dual-earner couples wherein one of the partners is a member of the largest Italian smartphone-user community, this study examines how variation in boundary management permeability within dual-earner couples relates to partner relationship satisfaction, and whether the effect differed by gender and partners’ agreement on caregiving roles in the family. Using actor–partner analysis, we examined the degree to which an individual and his or her partner’s level of family-interrupting work behaviors (FIWB, e.g., taking a call from the partner while at work) and work-interrupting family behaviors (WIFB, e.g., checking work emails during family dinner) was positively related to relationship satisfaction. Results show that women experienced greater relationship satisfaction than men when their partners engaged in higher levels of FIWB, and this relationship was stronger when partners had perceptual congruence on who is primarily responsible for caregiving arrangements in the family. This study advances research on dual-earner couples by showing the importance of examining boundary management permeability as a family social phenomenon capturing transforming gender roles.

Strained Bedfellows: An Actor-Partner Analysis of Spousal Attachment Insecurity and Sleep Quality.

The quality of interpersonal ties-especially closer relationships-appears to be associated with physical health outcomes. Sleep is one pathway through which relationships and health appear to be linked, but this has been inadequately investigated in the context of dyadic attachment. The present study examined links between relationship-specific attachment anxiety (which can involve preoccupation with one's partner, negative relationship cognitions, and fear of abandonment) and avoidance (e.g., low emotional investment or intimacy) and sleep quality. Attachment, assessed using the Experience in Close Relationship (ECR), was used to predict Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory (PSQI)-assessed sleep quality in 92 married heterosexual couples via actor-partner interdependence models. Depression was examined as a potential mediator of this association. Consistent with hypotheses, actors' anxious attachment predicted diminished quality of their own sleep, whereas actors' avoidant attachment was unrelated to their own sleep quality. Results further suggested that couples in which both spouses were higher in attachment anxiety experience better sleep quality (b = -0.74, SE = 0.28, p = .0082, 95% CI [-1.287, -0.196]). Conversely, couples in which both spouses were higher in attachment avoidance showed poorer sleep quality (b = 0.56, SE = 0.23, p = .0188, 95% CI [0.095, 1.016]). These effects were found to be independent of marital satisfaction and depression. Some evidence was also consistent with mediation of links between attachment and sleep quality via depression. Results suggest adult romantic attachment and sleep are associated in complex ways, highlighting the importance of dyadic approaches to the study of relationships, sleep, and health.

Butch, femme, and androgynous gender identities within female same-sex couples: An actor-partner analysis.

Butch, femme, and androgynous gender identities within female same-sex couples: An actor-partner analysis.

Life satisfaction and inflammation in couples: an actor-partner analysis.

Life satisfaction has been linked to lower cardiovascular disease mortality. However, much less is known about the biological mechanisms linking life satisfaction to physical health. In addition, the dyadic context of life satisfaction has not been considered despite increasing evidence that partners influence each other in health-relevant ways. These questions were addressed with 94 married couples who completed measures of life satisfaction and had their blood drawn for determination of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Actor-partner models showed that higher actor levels of life satisfaction predicted lower levels of IL-6 and CRP (p's<.05), whereas partner levels of life satisfaction did not predict any measure of inflammation. The actor results were not mediated by marital satisfaction or health behaviors. Finally, no actor×partner interactions were significant and these links were not moderated by marital satisfaction. These data highlight inflammation as a potentially important biological mechanism linking actor reports of life satisfaction to lower cardiovascular mortality.

"If you get better, will I? An actor–partner analysis of the mutual influence of group therapy outcomes": Correction to Paquin et al. (2013).

"If you get better, will I? An actor–partner analysis of the mutual influence of group therapy outcomes": Correction to Paquin et al. (2013).

Trait hostility is associated with systemic inflammation in married couples: An actor–partner analysis

Trait anger and hostility predict the development of coronary heart disease, and systemic inflammation may partly mediate this association. In a sample of 94 middle-aged and older married couples, we replicate research showing a within individuals (i.e., actor effect) association of trait hostility with high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP). As a novel extension of that research, the present study also examined the association of individuals’ trait hostility with their partners’ hsCRP (i.e., partner effect). Controlling for potential confounds, trait hostility, measured with the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire, was significantly associated with both participants’ own hsCRP, b=.0528 (SE=.0196), p=.008 and their partners’ levels b=.0473 (SE=.0194), p=.016. Hence, the inflammatory correlates of trait hostility occur not only within individuals but between them, as well. The effects of unhealthy personality traits may extend to intimate partners and possibly other social network members.

If you get better, will I? An actor–partner analysis of the mutual influence of group therapy outcomes.

The effectiveness of group psychotherapy has been empirically studied and supported over several decades; however, there remains much to understand regarding the specific factors contributing to effective group psychotherapy. The current study uses Kashy and Kenny's (2000) actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) to examine the relationship between an individual group member's outcome and the outcomes of the other group members. This is the first study to examine the effects of the outcomes of other therapy group members on those of individual members. Specifically, we examined the relationship between an individual group member's presymptom score, the aggregated presymptom scores of the other group members, and the aggregated pre- to postsymptom change of the other group members on an individual group member's pre- to postsymptom change. We analyzed the change in pre-post posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms of 105 women in 16 trauma-informed groups in a women's correctional facility. As hypothesized, an individual's presymptom measure (actor effect) and the aggregated presymptom measures of the other group members (partner effect) were positively related to the individual's change in PTSD symptoms. Contrary to our hypothesis, the aggregated pre-post change in PTSD symptom measures of the other group members (partner effect) was negatively associated with the pre-post change in PTSD symptom measures of an individual group member. Social comparison theory is discussed as an explanation for why a group member would report lowered amounts of change when in a group with others who are reporting a higher amount of change. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Personality and Metaphor Use: How Extraverted and Introverted Young Adults Experience Becoming Friends

Competing theories have viewed relationship formation as a gradual process or as an instant development, with little attention to differences in individual perceptions of the same relationship. In the present study, conceptual metaphors concerning relationship formation were identified and coded from interviews with each friend in 59 same–sex, white, college–age, US dyads (57% female). Friends were extreme and either very similar or different from one other with regard to extraversion–introversion. An actor–partner analysis found that friends paired with an extravert used more Force–Impact metaphors that conveyed an explosive ‘friends–at–first–sight’ experience, whereas friends paired with an introvert used more Journey–Organism metaphors that reflected a gradual transition into friendship. Regardless of their partner's personality, extraverts and female friends used more Joint–Proximity metaphors that emphasised the development of intimacy. Results are interpreted using the Social Relations Model and the PERSOC approach to show how personality can serve both as an environment (partner) and as a cognitive schema (actor) to distinctly shape impressions of how a friendship develops. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

An Examination of the Broaden-and-Build Model of Positive Emotions in Military Marriages: An Actor-Partner Analysis

How emotional and cognitive processes combined to produce resilience in military marriages post-combat deployments was examined using the “broaden-and-build model of positive emotions” with 40 military couples. The model suggests that positive emotions expand, and negative emotions impede cognitive processes. Using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model, the association between positive and negative emotions on insight-causation was examined. Actor and partner effects were found for service members’ positive emotions and spouses’ negative emotions but not for service members’ negative emotions and spouses’ positive emotions. Service members’ actor and partner effects were significantly stronger than those of their spouses. Clinical and research implications are discussed.

The group's absence norm and commitment to the group as predictors of group member absence in the next session: An actor–partner analysis.

The group's absence norm, a construct from the applied psychology literature, was used to examine session absences in personal growth groups. Rather than examining the absence norm statically, we modeled it dynamically as a time-varying covariate (Tasca et al., 2010). We also examined moderation by modeling the interaction of the absence norm and the group member's commitment to the group in predicting the group member's absence in the next group session. Session absences in 1,722 group sessions for 66 group members in 9 interpersonal growth groups were modeled using Kenny, Mannetti, Pierro, Livi, and Kashy's (2002) adaptation of the Actor-Partner Interdependence model. Specifically, a 3-level model (sessions within group members within groups) examined the relationship of the group's absence norm (average previous absences of the other group members), commitment to the group (previous absences of the group member), and the interaction of the group's absence norm and commitment to the group on absence in the next session. As we hypothesized, (a) a greater number of previous individual absences (low commitment) increased the probability of a member being absent the next session, (b) the higher the group's absences norm, the greater the probability that an individual group member would be absent the next session, and (c) individual group members who were more committed to the group were more influenced by the group's absences norm than were group members less committed to the group. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Negative self‐conscious emotion and grief: An actor–partner analysis in couples bereaved by stillbirth or neonatal death

The purpose of the present study was to examine the intrapersonal (actor) and interpersonal (partner) relationships of personality proneness to negative self-conscious emotion (shame and guilt) to grief in couples 13 months after a perinatal death. A cohort study using self-report questionnaire measures of grief, shame, and guilt. The participants were 63 Australian couples bereaved by stillbirth (N= 31) or neonatal death (N= 32). The actor and partner relationships of chronic shame (Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2), situational shame (Test of Self-Conscious Affect-2), and survivor guilt and omnipotence guilt (Interpersonal Guilt Questionnaire-67) to grief (Perinatal Grief Scale-33) were explored using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) method of dyadic analysis. The correlations between the self-conscious emotions and grief were invariably larger in men compared with women. Chronic shame had a significant actor relationship with grief in women and men and a non-significant partner relationship in both sexes. Situational shame and survivor guilt had significant actor relationships with grief in men and significant partner relationships in women. Omnipotence guilt had a significant linear actor relationship with grief in men and a significant U-shaped quadratic actor relationship in women. Negative self-conscious emotions had intrapersonal relationship with grief in men and both intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships with grief in women. A moderate level of omnipotence guilt was associated with lower grief in women. APIM dyadic analysis furthers understanding of the relationship between personality and parental grief following a perinatal death.

Relational Maintenance, Satisfaction, and Commitment in Marriages: An Actor-Partner Analysis

We used data collected from 117 married couples to investigate the interdependent nature of spouses' perceptions of marital satisfaction and commitment and the use of maintenance behaviors. Results using dyadic analysis techniques revealed significant actor and partner effects of spouses' perceptions of satisfaction and commitment with the use of maintenance behaviors. Further, the strength of the actor and partner effects were similar between wives and husbands, indicating that the perceptions of both partners are important in the use of maintenance behaviors in marriage. The results can help family communication scholars fashion a more complete picture of the process of relationship maintenance in the lives of married couples.