General Relationship Satisfaction Research Articles

Relationship Between Interpersonal Dependency And General Relationship Satisfaction Among Young Adults

In recent years, surveys show an increase of divorce rates globally. There are numerous reasons that could play a role in this change of relationship dynamics. The present study investigates the Relationship between interpersonal dependency and relationship satisfaction among young adults. An interpersonal evaluation which consists of feelings for one’s partner and positive attraction to the relationship is termed as Relationship Satisfaction. The sample size consists of 50 college students both undergraduate and postgraduate who are in a relationship in India. The process of data collection was carried out by the means of questionnaires and personal information that was gathered through google forms. The two questionnaires used for this process are - Relationship assessment scale and Interpersonal dependency inventory. The study found that there is no significant relationship between emotional reliance, lack of self-confidence, assertion of autonomy, and general relationship satisfaction. The study also found that there is no significant difference in interpersonal dependency and general relationship satisfaction among first-born and second-born young adults.

Sexual Assertiveness and Its Correlates in Emerging Adults: An Exploratory Study in Cuenca (Ecuador)

Objective: Sexual assertiveness (SA), i.e., the ability to communicate thoughts and desires that may be translated into satisfying sexual activity within an intimate relationship, is important for safe and satisfying sexual behavior. In an attempt to unravel which cultural, relational, and individual variables are related to the development of SA in emerging adults, an exploratory study was conducted in Cuenca, Ecuador. Methods: Five hundred and thirty-eight participants completed scales that measured their levels of SA, endorsement of the sexual double standard, relationship satisfaction, and mental well-being. Results: This study showed a negative effect of the sexual double standard on SA in both men and women and this effect was slightly tempered by the level of education. Women reported higher levels of SA than men. In women, SA was associated with general mental well-being and relationship satisfaction; but not in men. For both women and men, no association was found with relationship status or duration. Conclusions: These findings corroborate evidence highlighting the importance of SA for healthy sexual relationships and emphasize the importance of (sex) education for SA for lower educated women and men. The results are discussed in relation to findings on SA in other contexts.

On the Two-sided Assessment of the Working Alliance: Development of the Working Alliance of Mandated Clients Inventory

ABSTRACT This study presents the development of the Working Alliance of Mandated Clients Inventory (WAMCI). The goal of the WAMCI is to measure positive and negative factors of the working alliance from two perspectives: the probationer and the probation officer (PO) in the Dutch context. Data from 302 probationers and 267 POs of all three probation services in the Netherlands were used. Based on two existing and validated instruments and with the addition of supplemental items specific for the Dutch probation context, this new inventory was developed to capture the Dutch and European practice. An initial psychometric evaluation was conducted with this new inventory. A principal components analysis and a structural equation analysis led to a four-factor solution that provided the best fit for the PO and the probationer versions of the WAMCI. The internal consistency of the established scales Trust, Bond and Goal-Restrictions was sufficient, but the internal consistency of the established scale Reactance was not satisfactory. The construct validity of the WAMCI was supported by correlations with other constructs. Higher scores on the WAMCI were related to higher scores on general relationship satisfaction. The Goals-Restrictions subscale was moderately associated with a measure of internal motivation.

Romantic Partner Perspectives of the Relational Context of Weight Loss Support

ABSTRACT Much of the research on romantic partner support of weight loss takes the perspective of targets pursuing weight loss. This study, however, assesses the perspectives of the partners providing support, and specifically their perceptions of the relational context and their support strategy use. An MTurk sample of 283 partners of individuals trying to lose weight reported on relational context characteristics (i.e., having a team effort, opposing approaches, and imposition regarding the weight loss pursuits) and their use of encouragement, direct influence, and coercion. Analyses largely supported the hypotheses regarding the associations between the relational characteristics and strategy use. For example, higher team effort and lower opposing approaches about weight management were linked with more encouragement, and greater opposing approaches and imposition were associated with more coercion. Four relational weight loss climates based on the collective of these characteristics were also linked with strategy use. All associations were found after accounting for general relationship satisfaction as well as other control variables. Overall, the findings suggest that perceptions of the weight loss in the context of the relationship were connected to the strategies partners employed in helping targets achieve weight loss. Because strategies vary in effectiveness, understanding which relational characteristics, as well as which broader relational climates, facilitate partner strategy choice can ultimately help augment individuals’ weight loss success.

Sexting and Relationship Satisfaction Among Emerging Adults: Dispelling the Myth

Despite suggestions that sexting could be used to enhance relationship satisfaction, there is limited research exploring the impact of sexting on improving relationship satisfaction among emerging adults. This study included 348 Australian adults aged 18 to 25 years (M = 19.84, SD = 1.45, 14.1% men, 85.9% women), who reported being in a relationship, and completed an online questionnaire measuring general sexting behaviours, relationship satisfaction, and level of commitment. A strong positive correlation was found between level of commitment and relationship satisfaction. However, participants who sent image-based sexts to their partners were no more satisfied in or committed to their relationships than those who did not send their partners sexts. Participants who were younger and more committed to their relationship tended to express greater relationship satisfaction, with sexting making no significant contribution to the model. This study confirms that commitment is an important factor in relationship satisfaction among emerging adults, whilst partner-sexting is not associated with relationship quality. As such, media reports may overestimate potential benefits of sexting, with no support in empirical findings.

Effect of Major Selection Motivation Major Satisfaction of Health Related Departments on Their School Life Adjustment

Purpose: This study assessed the effects of major selection and major satisfaction levels on university life adaptation among health students. Methods: This study included 300 first- and second-grade college students attending classes for physical therapy, occupational therapy, and dental hygiene at K University in Busan Metropolitan City. We assessed their motivations regarding major selection and its influence on their adaptation to school life through a mobile questionnaire applied for 6 weeks between October 30 and December 9, 2018. Data from 200 respondents were included in the analysis after excluding data deemed to have been provided insincerely and questions without responses. Correlation and multi-cycle analyses were performed using SPSS version 25.0 to test the data collected. Results: The choice and satisfaction with the major selected were significantly associated with college life. Outdoor motivation was among the factors that less affected academic, social, and personal-emotional adaptation, which are sub-factors of university life adaptation. Among the factors that less affected the satisfaction level, curriculum satisfaction and awareness satisfaction affected academic adaptation; general satisfaction, curriculum satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction affected social adaptation; relationship satisfaction and awareness satisfaction affected personal-emotional adaptation; and curriculum satisfaction and relationship satisfaction affected environmental adaptation. Conclusion: The results of this study confirmed that the choice and satisfaction with majors were an important variable in predicting adaptation to college life. Thus, increasing the adaptation of university students requires educational services related to major satisfaction and social awareness, as well as a trust-based system for maintaining emotional ties.

Sexual Intimacy in First-time Mothers: Associations with Sexual and Relationship Satisfaction Across Three Waves.

New mothers often experience significant declines in their sexual and relationship satisfaction compared to pre-pregnancy, yet there has been limited research examining protective factors. Intimacy-defined as the degree of disclosure and perceived partner responsiveness in a relationship-has been identified as contributing to the positive adjustment of individuals coping with novel life stressors, as well as to general sexual and relationship satisfaction. However, it is unknown whether sexual disclosure and/or partner responsiveness are reciprocally related to sexual and relationship satisfaction. This study examined the longitudinal associations between sexual intimacy-that is, intimacy in the context of sex-and sexual and relationship satisfaction in first-time mothers. First-time mothers (N = 171) completed online measures assessing disclosure and perceived partner responsiveness specific to their sexual relationship, sexual satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction at 3, 6, and 12months postpartum. Analyses were conducted with path analysis using a longitudinal panel mediation model. Greater perceived partner responsiveness in relation to sex at a prior wave predicted increases in both sexual and relationship satisfaction at the subsequent wave. Sexual disclosure did not contribute to sexual or relationship satisfaction over time; the results did not support a reciprocal model of sexual disclosure and perceived partner responsiveness, nor indirect effects of these variables on outcomes. Perceived partner responsiveness in relation to sex is positively related, and temporally precedes sexual and relationship satisfaction in first-time mothers.

The Madonna-Whore Dichotomy Is Associated With Patriarchy Endorsement: Evidence From Israel, the United States, and Germany

The madonna-whore dichotomy denotes polarized perceptions of women as either good and chaste or as bad and promiscuous. In the present research, we examined the correlates of madonna-whore dichotomy among samples of heterosexual Israeli, U.S., and German women and heterosexual U.S. and German men. Demonstrating cross-cultural generalizability, madonna-whore dichotomy endorsement correlated with endorsement of patriarchy-supporting ideologies across samples. U.S. (but not German) men’s madonna-whore dichotomy endorsement negatively correlated with their sexual satisfaction in romantic relationships, which in turn predicted lower general relationship satisfaction. Among women, madonna-whore dichotomy endorsement did not correlate with sexual or general relationship satisfaction. These findings (a) support the feminist perspective on the madonna-whore dichotomy, which points to the role of the stereotype in policing women and limiting their sexual freedom; and (b) provide evidence that madonna-whore dichotomy endorsement can have personal costs for men. Increasing awareness to the motivations underlying the madonna-whore dichotomy endorsement and its costs can be beneficial at the social and personal levels for women and men, by providing knowledge that may help in developing focused interventions to change existing perceptions and scripts about sexuality, and perhaps foster more satisfying heterosexual relationships.

Psycho-social predictors of acculturative stress and adjustment in Pakistani Institutions

Objectives:The main objective of study was to investigate the effect of psycho-social predictors on acculturative stress and adjustment in Pakistani institutions.Methods:The study was carried out from November 15, 2016 to January 18, 2019. For this purpose data was collected from 450 international students who were studying in public and private sector universities of Pakistan and who experienced acculturative stress. The instruments include Relationship Assessment Scale, Acculturative Stress Scale for International, Psychological Adaptation Scale, and Revised Socio Cultural Adaptation Scale. The proposed model was tested by using SPSS (Version-23) and AMOS (Version-9).Results:Findings of the study revealed that relationship satisfaction (p<0.05), length of stay (p<0.05), and financial support (p<0.05) significantly negatively predicted acculturative stress. Financial support significantly positively predicted psychological adjustment (p<0.05). Employment status did not predict acculturative stress, psychological and socio-cultural adjustment (p>0.05). Moreover, all psycho-social predictors did not show effect on socio-cultural adjustment among international students (p>0.05).Conclusion:It can be concluded that general relationship satisfaction, more length of stay in host country, and financial support are very important for international students to manage their acculturative stress and to adjust better in a new cultural environment.

Perceived partner responsiveness predicts smoking cessation in single-smoker couples

IntroductionRomantic partners are crucial to successful smoking cessation, but the mechanisms by which partners influence cessation is unclear. Research in this area has focused heavily on partner smoking status and support for quitting, but partner influence may not be limited to these two constructs. The current study examines the perceived responsiveness of the partner (i.e., the perception that the partner understands, approves of, and supports the self) as a predictor of smoking cessation in unassisted quitters, independent of smoking-specific support for quitting and more general relationship satisfaction. MethodsData were taken from a sample of smokers (N = 62) in relationships with never/former smokers (i.e., members of single-smoker couples) who completed a 21-day ecological momentary assessment study during an unassisted quit attempt. Measures of perceived responsiveness, support for quitting, and relationship satisfaction obtained at baseline were used to predict smoking outcomes over the course of the study. ResultsConsistent with our predictions, perceived responsiveness emerged as a significant predictor of smoking cessation over and above the effects of support for quitting and relationship satisfaction. Support for quitting only predicted self-reported relapse. Unexpectedly, once perceived responsiveness was considered, greater relationship satisfaction was associated with poorer smoking outcomes. ConclusionsThe current research suggests that perceived responsiveness is a more effective resource for smoking cessation than support specifically for quitting. These findings extend previous research by demonstrating that perceived responsiveness represents a distinct construct from smoking-specific support or relationship satisfaction, and that it is important for smokers during a quit attempt.

Group Clustering by Adult Attachment and Early Maladpative Schemas in College Students: Group Differences in Parents, Friends, Professors, and General Relationship Satisfaction

Group Clustering by Adult Attachment and Early Maladpative Schemas in College Students: Group Differences in Parents, Friends, Professors, and General Relationship Satisfaction

Strategies in Context: How Perceptions of Romantic Partner Support for Weight Loss Vary by the Relational Context

ABSTRACTBecause romantic partners can be a strong influence on individuals’ weight loss efforts and progress, the current study assessed the relational context of weight loss—dynamics within the relationship that pertain to weight loss. Three relational characteristics were examined: whether the weight loss was a team effort, how much partners had opposing approaches to weight loss, and individuals’ difficulty in balancing their weight loss goals within their relationship goals. Findings showed that the relational characteristics were associated with both the perceived frequency and effectiveness of partner strategies (i.e., instrumental influence, encouragement, and coercion). Team effort was associated with perceiving all three strategies as more frequent and effective; opposing approaches were negatively associated with encouragement but positively associated with coercion for both frequency and effectiveness; and balance struggle was positively associated with coercion frequency and effectiveness. Additionally, a cluster analysis of the three relational characteristics yielded four relational climates: synchronized (high team effort, low relational strains), contentious cooperatives (moderate in all three relational characteristics), autonomous (low in all relational characteristics), and lone battlers (low team effort, high relational strains). The groups varied in the strategies they perceived as effective. All of these findings emerged beyond the variance explained by general relationship satisfaction. Overall, these results better explicate relationship characteristics that can be incorporated into a larger, ecological model on health behavior change.

A high-powered replication study finds no effect of starting or stopping hormonal contraceptive use on relationship quality

Abstract A number of recent studies have implicated that incongruent use of hormonal contraceptives (HCs) negatively affects various aspects of women's romantic relationships. It has been suggested that women with incongruent HC use (a discrepancy in HC use status between when they first met their current partner and the time of study participation) report less sexual satisfaction and higher jealousy scores compared to women with congruent HC use. A similar effect has also been hypothesized for general relationship satisfaction, and recent findings suggest that the association between HC incongruency and women's general relationship satisfaction is moderated by third-party ratings of facial attractiveness of the women's male partners. Using a large convenience sample ( N =948) of Finnish women, we attempted to replicate previously reported findings but found no support for the HC congruency hypothesis, despite excellent statistical power (≥98.7%) to detect previously reported effect sizes. Instead, after dividing our sample into four groups based on HC congruency/incongruency, we found that the largest differences in jealousy, sexual satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction scores tended to be found between women who were consistent HC users and consistent non-users (i.e., between women with different kinds of congruent HC use). We also detected a significant main effect of current HC use on jealousy. We conclude that HC congruency effects reported in previous studies may have spuriously arisen from unequal distributions of current HC users within congruent and incongruent HC user groups.

Exploring the Link Between Daily Relationship Quality, Sexual Desire, and Sexual Activity in Couples

Current models of sexual responding emphasize the role of contextual and relational factors in shaping sexual behavior. The present study used a prospective diary design to examine the temporal sequence and variability of the link between sexual and relationship variables in a sample of couples. Studying sexual responding in the everyday context of the relationship is necessary to get research more aligned with the complex reality of having sex in a relationship, thereby increasing ecological validity and taking into account the dyadic interplay between partners. Over the course of 21 days, 66 couples reported every day on their sexual desire, sexual activity (every morning), and relationship quality (every evening). In addition, we examined whether the link between these daily variables was moderated by relationship duration, having children, general relationship satisfaction, and sexual functioning. Results showed that the sexual responses of women depended on the relationship context, mainly when having children and being in a longer relationship. Male sexual responding depended less on contextual factors but did vary by level of sexual functioning. Several cross-partner effects were found as well. These results verify that relational and sexual variables feed forward into each other, indicating the need to incorporate interpersonal dynamics into current models of sexual responding and to take into account variability and dyadic influences between partners.

Time for love: Partners’ time perspectives predict relationship satisfaction in romantic heterosexual couples

The aim of the present research was to explore the role of individual differences in time perspective (TP) in predicting two relationship quality indicators: general relationship satisfaction and sexual satisfaction, in romantic heterosexual couples. A total amount of 100 dyads took part in the study. Our study revealed that relationship satisfaction indices are predicted by partners’ time perspectives; both actor and partner effects proved significant. For instance, past-negative was related to lower general relationship satisfaction, whereas past-positive proved detrimental to sexual satisfaction. Higher relationship (but not sexual) satisfaction was related to a more balanced time perspective. Moreover, we demonstrated that the role of some time perspective dimensions may change with relationship length, e.g., a relationship between future-positive (FP) time perspective and females’ relationship satisfaction proved to change across relationship course from significantly negative to strongly positive. Contrary to our hypotheses, we found no evidence for assortative mating effects for time perspective dimensions. The present results provide evidence for the role of psychological temporality in relationship functioning and suggests potential utility of time perspective theories in practical interventions aimed to improve romantic relationships’ quality.

Relational and Health Correlates of Affection Deprivation

This article articulates the construct of affection deprivation, the condition of wanting more tactile affectionate communication than one receives. Individual- and group-level variance on the construct is investigated and its social and health correlates are identified in a survey of 509 adults from all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 16 foreign countries. Affection deprivation shows no correlation with age and no relationship with ethnicity, but men report significantly higher average affection deprivation than women. Moreover, as affection exchange theory predicts, affection deprivation shows positive linear associations with loneliness, depression, stress, alexithymia, preoccupied and fearful avoidant attachment styles, and numbers of personality disorders, mood and anxiety disorders, and secondary immune disorders. Affection deprivation shows negative linear associations with general health, happiness, social support, relationship satisfaction, and attachment security. These findings support the claims of affection exchange theory that the provision and receipt of affection contribute to health and wellness in both mental and physical ways.

The influence of culture and gender on sexual self-schemas and satisfaction in romantic relationships

Recently, scholars have become interested in the impact of culture on people's attitudes, emotions, and behavior. In this study, it was predicted that culture and gender would have an impact on people's sexual self-schemas – especially, women's self-schemas. It was also predicted that couples that verified one another's sexual self-schemas would be more satisfied than those couples that did not. Contrary to the predictions, race did not prove to be a good predictor of either women's or men's sexual self-schemas. However, self-construal was a significant predictor of women's sexual self-schemas. Again, contrary to prediction, whether or not couples verified one another's sexual self-schemas did not appear to be an important predictor of either sexual or general relationship satisfaction. Some unexpected findings were found, however. Women who perceived their partners to be passionate and men who perceived their partners to be romantic were more sexually and generally satisfied in their relationships than were their peers. Men were also less satisfied if they viewed their partners as more shy/embarrassed sexually. These data demonstrate that culture (as indicated by self-construal) may influence how women see themselves sexually and that perception (for both men and women) of their partner's sense of sexual self are important predictors of sexual and relationship satisfaction.

The Components of Great Sex

Ubiquitous “sex tips” in popular media evidence an unquenchable public interest in learning how to experience “great sex,” and studies confirm that a great sexual relationship correlates to general relationship satisfaction, which in turn correlates to overall happiness. While studies of great sex or “optimal sexuality” are few, enough is known to conclude that the paths to great sex depicted in popular media are largely dead ends. This lesson plan will help educators (a) dispel inaccurate information about optimal sexuality disseminated in the popular media and (b) inform students about the components of optimal sexuality.

Erotica Viewing Effects on Intimate Relationships and Self/Partner Evaluations

Viewing visual sexual stimuli (VSS) has been documented to have both positive (e.g., increased sexual arousal and sexual behaviors) and negative (e.g., higher anxiety, devaluing of partner attractiveness) effects. Excitation transfer and social comparison theories were used to generate hypotheses that could explain these mixed findings. Forty-four monogamous, heterosexual couples viewed erotic, exciting (non-erotic films), and nature films both alone and together. They rated their feelings of general arousal and relationship satisfaction as well as perceptions of self and partner sexual behaviors and attractiveness. Participants viewing both the erotic and exciting films reported equivalent increases in excitement; however, the erotic film was rated as slightly more generally arousing and increased participant's desire to be close to their partner. Viewing the erotic films also induced greater reports of negative affect, guilt, and anxiety. These findings moderately support a transfer of excitation interpretation. No effects of partner presence or absence while viewing the films was found. Viewing erotic films led to more positive evaluations of one's own sexual behaviors. These findings provide mixed support in regard to self and partner social comparisons. Co-occurring positive and negative emotional reactions were explored as possible explanation to the complex reactions to VSS.

ORIGINAL RESEARCH—ANATOMY/PHYSIOLOGY: Genetic and Environmental Influences on self-reported G-Spots in Women: A Twin Study

There is an ongoing debate around the existence of the G-spot--an allegedly highly sensitive area on the anterior wall of the human vagina. The existence of the G-spot seems to be widely accepted among women, despite the failure of numerous behavioral, anatomical, and biochemical studies to prove its existence. Heritability has been demonstrated in all other genuine anatomical traits studied so far. To investigate whether the self-reported G-spot has an underlying genetic basis. 1804 unselected female twins aged 22-83 completed a questionnaire that included questions about female sexuality and asked about the presence or absence of a G-spot. The relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to variation in the reported existence of a G-spot was assessed using a variance components model fitting approach. Genetic variance component analysis of self-reported G-spot. We found 56% of women reported having a G-spot. The prevalence decreased with age. Variance component analyses revealed that variation in G-spot reported frequency is almost entirely a result of individual experiences and random measurement error (>89%) with no detectable genetic influence. Correlations with associated general sexual behavior, relationship satisfaction, and attitudes toward sexuality suggest that the self-reported G-spot is to be a secondary pseudo-phenomenon. To our knowledge, this is the largest study investigating the prevalence of the G-spot and the first one to explore an underlying genetic basis. A possible explanation for the lack of heritability may be that women differ in their ability to detect their own (true) G-spots. However, we postulate that the reason for the lack of genetic variation-in contrast to other anatomical and physiological traits studied-is that there is no physiological or physical basis for the G-spot.