Current Intimate Relationship Research Articles

Perceived dysfunctional intimate relationships: a specific association with the non-melancholic depressive subtype

Associations between perceptions of dysfunctional current intimate relationships and subtypes of depressive disorders were quantified in a sample of 136 patients, using the Intimate Bond Measure (IBM). Deficient care was two to three times more likely to be reported by patients with non-melancholic disorders than by matched subjects, but was no more likely to be reported by patients with melancholic disorders, suggesting a risk factor selective for depressive type. Patients who reported markedly deficient care in childhood were more likely to report very poor current intimate relationships. For the remaining patients, however, no evidence of continuity between a dysfunctional parental relationship and a current dysfunctional intimate relationship was found.

Defining a family heritage and a new relationship identity: two central tasks in the making of a marriage.

The roles of origin family environmental characteristics and couple consensus-building process within the development of marital relationships were examined prospectively in 16 premarital couples. Three important findings emerged. First, significant correlations were found between dimensions of origin family environment and the reported level of satisfaction within the couple's current relationship. Second, measures of the couple's ability to reach consensus concerning important interpersonal relationships appeared to be important mediators of the association between origin family environment and current relationship satisfaction. Third, important gender differences emerged that replicate and extend prior findings that portray women in the role of "relationship specialist" within their marriages. As a group, these findings were best explained by a developmental model of early marriage that envisions the young couple as facing two entwined tasks: to define both their family heritage and their new relationship identity. Overall, the importance of examining family-of-origin characteristics and consensus-building process as critical determinants of the fate of intimate relationships received strong support. The gender differences found in the literature reviewed, as well as the results of this study, have largely been overlooked by the theory and practice of family therapy. Efforts on both the research and theory construction fronts are needed to increase our understanding of the mechanisms whereby prior family experience is brought forward into current intimate relationships.