Emotion In Close Relationships Research Articles

Attachment Anxiety Moderates the Association Between ADHD and Psychological Distress.

This study aims at examining the possible moderating role of attachment style in the association between ADHD and psychological distress, namely, anxiety and depression symptoms. Study included ninty nine participants: Sixty adults with ADHD diagnosis and thirty nine adults without ADHD or other neurological and/or psychiatric disorders. All participants completed the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), State-Trait Anxiety (STAI) questionnaires, Emotion in Close Relationships (ECR-R) questionnaire and Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale-Version 1.1 (ASRS-v1.1). Adults with ADHD had greater symptoms of depression (p < .001) and anxiety (p < .001) than adults without ADHD. Process analysis yielded that attachment anxiety moderated the association between ADHD, anxiety and depression, therefore only adults with ADHD that had moderate to high attachment anxiety exhibited higher levels of depression (p < .01) and anxiety (p < .001). No moderating effect was observed for attachment avoidance. Moreover, we did not find correlations between ADHD, anxiety and depression when secure attachment was the moderator; indicating that secure attachment could serve as a "protective factor" against psychological distress among ADHD individuals. Among anxiously attached adults, ADHD was associated with higher levels psychological distress. These findings highlight the important role of attachment style in mental health of adults with ADHD.

Attachment avoidance, but not anxiety, minimizes the joys of caregiving

ABSTRACTPerhaps unlike other social roles that people may hold, caring for children offers opportunities for both immense joy and incredible frustration. Yet what predicts how parents will feel during caregiving experiences? In the current study, we examined parents’ (N = 152) positive emotion, negative emotion, and felt meaning during caregiving using the Day Reconstruction Method. In addition, we tested attachment anxiety and avoidance as predictors of parents’ emotion during caregiving relative to their other daily experiences. We found that attachment avoidance was associated with elevated negative emotion and reduced positive emotion and meaning in life across the entire day, whereas attachment anxiety was associated with elevated negative emotion and marginally greater meaning in life, but not positive emotion, across the entire day. Furthermore, caregiving was associated with greater positive emotion and meaning, but not negative emotion, compared to parents’ other daily activities. Finally, attachment avoidance, but not anxiety, was associated with lower levels of positive emotion, negative emotion, and felt meaning during caregiving compared to other daily activities. These findings are consistent with other evidence that attachment avoidance is associated with deactivation of emotion in close relationships and suggest that attachment avoidance minimizes the joys of parenting.

Handbook of positive emotions

Foreword, Barbara L. Fredrickson Introduction, Michele M. Tugade, Michelle N. Shiota, and Leslie D. Kirby I. Theoretical Foundations 1. The Differentiation of Positive Emotional Experience as Viewed through the Lens of Appraisal Theory, Craig A. Smith, Eddie M. W. Tong, and Phoebe C. Ellsworth 2. Infusing Positive Emotions into Life: The Broaden-and-Build Theory and a Dual-Process Model of Resilience, Michele M. Tugade, Hillary C. Devlin, and Barbara L. Fredrickson 3. The Evolutionary Perspective in Positive Emotion Research, Michelle N. Shiota 4. What Is a Positive Emotion?: The Psychological Construction of Pleasant Fear and Unpleasant Happiness, Paul Condon, Christine D. Wilson-Mendenhall, and Lisa Feldman Barrett 5. Personality and Positive Emotion, Kimberly M. Livingstone and Sanjay Srivastava II. The Biology of Positive Emotion 6. Approach Motivation and Its Relationship to Positive and Negative Emotions, Eddie Harmon-Jones, Tom F. Price, Phillip Gable, and Carly K. Peterson 7. Animal Neuroscience of Positive Emotion, Jeffrey S. Burgdorf, Jaak Panksepp, and Joseph R. Moskal 8. Autonomic Nervous System Aspects of Positive Emotions, Sylvia D. Kreibig 9. Spontaneous Human Laughter, Michael J. Owren and R. Toby Amoss 10. Nonverbal Expressions of Positive Emotions, Disa A. Sauter, Nicole M. McDonald, Devon N. Gangi, and Daniel S. Messinger III. Social Perspectives and Individual Differences 11. Positive Emotions, Social Cognition, and Intertemporal Choice, Piercarlo Valdesolo and David DeSteno 12. Positive Emotions in Close Relationships, Claire I. Yee, Gian C. Gonzaga, and Shelly L. Gable 13. Traversing Affective Boundaries: Examining Cultural Norms for Positive Emotions, Chelsea Mitamura, Janxin Leu, Belinda Campos, Chelsea Boccagno, and Michele M. Tugade 14. Vive la Difference: The Ability to Differentiate Positive Emotional Experience and Well-Being, Leslie D. Kirby, Michele M. Tugade, Jannay Morrow, Anthony H. Ahrens, and Craig A. Smith 15. Positive Emotions across the Adult Life Span, Joseph A. Mikels, Andrew E. Reed, Lauren N. Hardy, and Corinna E. Loeckenhoff IV. Select Positive Emotions 16. Finding Happiness: Tailoring Positive Activities for Optimal Well-Being Benefits, S. Katherine Nelson and Sonja Lyubomirsky 17. Pride: The Fundamental Emotion of Success, Power, and Status, Jessica L. Tracy, Aaron C. Weidman, Joey T. Cheng, and Jason P. Martens 18. Romantic Love, Lisa M. Diamond 19. Compassion, Jennifer E. Stellar and Dacher Keltner 20. Gratitude, Anthony H. Ahrens and Courtney N. Forbes 21. Transcending the Self: Awe, Elevation, and Inspiration, Michelle N. Shiota, Todd M. Thrash, Alexander F. Danvers, and John T. Dombrowski 22. The Challenge of Challenge: Pursuing Determination as an Emotion, Leslie D. Kirby, Jannay Morrow, and Jennifer Yih 23. Hope Theory, Jennifer S. Cheavens and Lorie A. Ritschel V. Outcomes of Positive Emotions 24. Health Psychology: The Importance of Positive Affect, Judith Tedlie Moskowitz and Laura R. Saslow 25. Positive Emotion Disturbance across Clinical Disorders, June Gruber, Sunny J. Dutra, Aleena C. Hay, and Hillary C. Devlin 26. Positive Emotions in Organizations, Stephane Cote 27. Positive Emotions in Marketing and Social Influence, Samantha L. Neufeld and Vladas Griskevicius Conclusions and Future Directions, Leslie D. Kirby, Michele M. Tugade, and Michelle N. Shiota

Emotional and Developmental Repair through Psychodrama: Floortime for Grown-Ups

Emotional and Developmental Repair through Psychodrama: Floortime for Grown-Ups

Ethnic and Gender Differences in Emotional Ideology, Experience, and Expression

How universal are men and women’s attitudes toward the expression of emotion? How similar are the emotions that men and women from various ethnic groups experience and express in their close love relationships? In this study, 144 men and 307 women of European, Chinese, Filipino, Hawaiian, and Japanese ancestry were asked about their ideologies as to how people ought to deal with strong emotions in close relationships, how often they themselves felt a variety of emotions, and how they dealt with such feelings in close relationships. Finally, they were asked how satisfied they were with their close relationships. Men and women appeared to possess different emotional ideologies. Women tended to favor direct expression of emotion; men to favor emotional management. People of Chinese, European, Filipino, Hawaiian, and Japanese ancestry also possessed different ideologies as to how people ought to deal with strong emotions in intimate relationships.

The coregulation of daily affect in marital relationships.

This study examined whether changes in individuals' affective states are associated with their partners' affect when spouses come together in daily life after having spent time apart while pursuing individual activities, as well as whether such associations are moderated by individual differences in interpersonal insecurity and perspective taking. For 7 consecutive days, spouses from 166 married couples reported their affect 6 times per day on 2 dimensions, hard affect (angry-calm) and soft affect (sad/depressed-upbeat/content). Within-couple analyses indicated that spouses' changes in hard affect covaried, particularly when they scored high on interpersonal insecurity. Moreover, husbands' changes in soft affect covaried with their wives' soft affect when the husbands scored high on perspective taking. The results emphasize the interconnectedness of spouses' feelings when they reunite, and they identify key individual difference variables that strengthen interpersonal transmission of emotion in close relationships.

Attachment theory and emotions in close relationships: Exploring the attachment-related dynamics of emotional reactions to relational events

Attachment theory is a powerful framework for understanding affect regulation. In this article, we examine the role played by attachment orientation in shaping emotional reactions to interpersonal transactions within close relationships. Using our recent integrative model of attachment-system activation and dynamics as a guide (M. Mikulincer & P. R. Shaver, 2003), we review relevant evidence, present new findings, and propose hypotheses concerning how people with different attachment styles are likely to react emotionally to relational events. Specifically, we focus on attachment-related variations in the emotional states elicited by a relationship partner’s positive and negative behaviors and by signals of a partner’s (relationship relevant or relationship irrelevant) distress or pleasure. In so doing, we organize existing knowledge and point the way to future research on attachment-related emotions in close relationships.

The experience of emotion in close relationships: Toward an integration of the emotion-in-relationships and interpersonal script models

We propose that the study of emotion in close relationships may be advanced through an integration of the emotion-in-relationships model (ERM) with interpersonal script models. In two studies, we tested the hypothesis that people experience emotion when expected patterns of relating are disrupted. We also predicted that the kinds of events that are perceived as disruptive, and the concomitant emotional response, would depend on the relationship context. The results indicated that emotional reactions do vary, depending on the type of relationship in which emotion is experienced. A key finding was that when an individual expresses dissatisfaction, a neglect response from a romantic partner is associated with more negative emotion than a neglect response from a friend. Implications of this finding are discussed. We conclude that interpersonal script models can be fruitfully incorporated into the ERM.

Concordance on Negative Emotion in Close Relationships: Transmission of Emotion or Assortative Mating?

Two 3-wave panel studies were conducted to test for transmission of negative affect in naturally occurring dyads. In Study 1, symptoms of depression and negative affect were measured in 153 dating couples at 6–week intervals. In a similar second study, these same variables were measured in 170 college roommate dyads. Within both dating couples and roommates, symptoms of depression and negative affect were typically correlated at all points of measurement. However, structural equation analyses that controlled for prior negative affect and initial similarity on negative affect provided no evidence of emotional transmission in dating couples. There was minimal evidence for emotional transmission in roommate dyads. The intradyadic similarity in negative affect was greater than what would be expected by chance, but unrelated to the length of the relationship, as predicted by the assortative mating effect.

Perception of negative emotions in close relatives by patients with schizophrenia.

The perception of negative emotions in close relatives may play an important role in explaining how external stressors can affect vulnerable individuals with schizophrenia. However, there is considerable debate about the ability of people with schizophrenia to perceive emotions in others. The present study aimed to examine the reliability of patients' perception of relatives' criticism. Secondly, it aimed to investigate whether patients' judgement about relatives' criticism agreed with an independent assessment of relatives' criticism towards patients. Forty-three patients with a DSM-III-R diagnosis of schizophrenia and their relatives were assessed soon after patients' admission to a psychiatric hospital and again 9 months after their discharge from hospital. Test-retest reliability of patients' answers to a question about patients' perception of relatives' criticism towards them was carried out. The association between patients' perception of relatives' criticism and the expressed emotion (EE) measure of relatives' criticism was examined at inclusion and follow-up. Patients' symptomatology was examined at both assessments. Reliability of the measurement of patients' perception of relatives' criticism was moderate to good. Patients' judgement of relatives' criticism towards them was associated with the number of critical comments and presence of hostility at inclusion. At follow-up, this association became weaker. The ability to judge and describe reliably negative emotions in close relationships may help to explain how perception of the external environment may act as a stressor in people who are vulnerable to schizophrenia.

Moral sensibility, understanding others, and children's friendship interactions in the preschool period

The relations between children's views on the permissibility of transgressions involving friends, and their justifications concerning such views, and individual differences in their socio‐cognitive and temperamental characteristics and family background were studied in 128 4‐year‐old children (64 pairs of friends) from a wide range of social backgrounds. Children were interviewed about the permissibility of a series of transgressions between friends, tested on a battery of theory of mind, emotion understanding and language assessments, and filmed as they played with a close friend. Views on permissibility and moral justifications were not closely linked. Justification that took account of interpersonal issues was correlated with understanding of mental states and emotions, with behavioural and temperamental characteristics, and with the quality of interaction between the friends. Views on permissibility were related to understanding of inner states, but also independently to parental education and occupation, with those from more highly educated and professional families more likely to judge transgressions as not permissible. Girls were more likely than boys to justify their views in terms of interpersonal issues, differences not explained by verbal ability differences. Regression analyses highlighted the association between girls’ justifications and their understanding of emotions in close relationships, while those of boys were correlated with their understanding of mental states. The significance of understanding inner states for children's moral sensibility, and the possible social processes implicated, are discussed.

Influence, appraisals, and emotions in close relationships

Influence messages can be characterized along two dimensions: explicitness and dominance. These dimensions were cast as causally antecedent to cognitive appraisals which, in turn, were expected to shape emotional response. Two studies were conducted in which participants were asked to assume the role of message target and then view a video of an influence message. The first study made use of a gain‐assistance goal, and the second was constructed around a give‐advice goal. Whereas both studies show strong support for the appraisal‐emotion link, the effect of message form on appraisals was weaker and more complex than expected. The results imply that only a subset of the appraisals are relevant to influence attempts in close relationships. Furthermore, dominance and explicitness showed unique and nonparallel effects on appraisals. Implications for appraisal theory, politeness theory, and interpersonal influence are discussed.

Love, hate, anger, and jealousy in close relationships: a prototype and cognitive appraisal analysis.

The aim of this research was to make a prototype and cognitive appraisal analysis of 4 emotions within marriage. In Study 1, 160 Ss recalled and wrote about a partner-related love, hate, anger, or jealousy incident. Distinct prototypes and appraisal patterns were obtained. In Study 2, 80 Ss wrote accounts of hypothetical love, hate, anger, and jealousy events in marriage. The results suggested both recalled and hypothetical accounts were derived from the same knowledge structures. In Study 3, Ss matched emotions to events described with varying amounts of prototypical and appraisal information, derived from Study 1. Adding such information significantly increased emotion-matching accuracy over the event-description-only condition. The results are discussed in relation to prototype and cognitive appraisal theories of emotion in close relationships.

The Interactional Theory of Depression: A Meta-Analysis of the Research Literature

Coyne's (1976a) interactional theory of depression states that depressed people induce a negative mood in others through social interaction and hence elicit rejection from them. A meta-analysis was conducted to ssess the relationship between (1) depression and negative mood in others, (2) depression and rejection by others, and (3) negative mod and rejection by others. The results indicate strong support for the rejection component of the theory, but rather modest support for the negative mood induction hypothesis. Negative mood seems to show a curvilinear (inverted-U) relationship with depression

The Relation Between Inequity and Emotions in Close Relationships

This study examined the relation between perceived inequity and the experience of a variety of emotions in close, heterosexual relationships. The first goal was to test two hypotheses derived from Equity theory: (a) Perceived inequity is positively related to negative affect and negatively related to positive affect; and (b) Underbenefiting inequity is related to positive and negative affect to a greater degree than is overbenefiting inequity. The second goal of the study was to determine which specific emotions are most related to inequity. The third goal was to examine the impact of inequity on the emotions experienced, relative to the effects of other possible predictors. These issues were examined in a survey study of more than 500 men and women. The results indicated that inequity is related, in the directions predicted, to positive and negative emotions experienced in the relationship, even controlling for other determinants of emotions. The strength of the relationship was found to depend on the specific type of emotion examined, whether the inequity was in the underbenefiting or overbenefiting direction, and the gender of the individual.