Long-distance Relationships Research Articles

The Role of Tele-Mental Health in Therapy for Couples in Long-Distance Relationships

The rates of long distance romantic relationships are increasing, and it is important to realize that many of these couples may face unique challenges compared with geographically close couples. However, because of geographical separation, couples in long distance relationships may not have access to therapy services that could benefit their relationships. Therefore, therapists need to make accommodations for working with them. One way of supporting this population is through videoconferencing. Videoconference services are programs that allow people in different places to talk to each other in real time. One of the more popular videoconferencing services is Skype. This article will explore the use of Skype in therapy with couples in long distance relationships. The current state of the literature on Internet based psychotherapeutic interventions and the ethical considerations associated with this type of treatment will be addressed. Drawing on a clinical case study, implications of Skype therapy for long distance relationships will be discussed.

Absence—and Mediated Communication—Makes the Heart Grow Fonder: Clarifying the Predictors of Satisfaction and Commitment in Long-Distance Friendships

This study sought to integrate research in the areas of computer-mediated communication (CMC) and long-distance (romantic and dating) relationships (LDRs). Specifically, predictions extracted from the hyperpersonal model of CMC and research on idealization in LDRs were tested. Five hundred ninety-two participants completed an online survey. Results indicated that the amount of time since individuals last communicated face to face moderates the relationship between media use frequency and satisfaction and commitment for long-distance friends. The findings provide support for hyperpersonal idealization mechanisms in some types of long-distance friendships.

Chromatin Architecture, CCCTC-Binding Factor, and V(D)J Recombination: Managing Long-Distance Relationships at Antigen Receptor Loci

The rearrangement of T and B lymphocyte Ag receptor loci occurs within a highly complex chromosomal environment and is orchestrated through complex mechanisms. During the past decade, a large body of literature has highlighted the significance of chromatin architecture at Ag receptor loci in supporting the genomic assembly process: in preparation for recombination, these loci tend to contract and form multiple loops that shorten the distances between gene segments and facilitate recombination events. CCCTC-binding factor, CTCF, has received much attention in this regard since it has emerged as an important regulator of chromatin organization and transcription. In this review, we summarize recent work outlining conformational dynamics at Ag receptor loci during lymphocyte development and we discuss the role of CTCF in Ag receptor locus conformation and repertoire development.

Absence Makes the Communication Grow Fonder: Geographic Separation, Interpersonal Media, and Intimacy in Dating Relationships

Many people assume that it is challenging to maintain the intimacy of a long-distance (LD) relationship. However, recent research suggests that LD romantic relationships are of equal or even more trust and satisfaction than their geographically close (GC) counterparts. The present diary study tested an intimacy-enhancing process, in which LD couples (a) engage in more adaptive self-disclosures and (b) form more idealized relationship perceptions than do GC couples in the pursuit of intimacy across various interpersonal media. The results demonstrate the effects of behavioral adaptation and idealization on intimacy, and suggest that the two effects vary depending on the cue multiplicity, synchronicity, and mobility of the communication medium employed. Implications for understanding LD relating and mix-mode relating are discussed.

Long-distance relationships: do membrane nanotubes regulate cell–cell communication and disease progression?

Metazoan cells rapidly exchange signals at tight cell–cell interfaces, including synapses and gap junctions. Advances in imaging recently exposed a third mode of intercellular cross-talk mediated by thin, actin-containing membrane extensions broadly known as “membrane” or “tunneling” nanotubes. An explosion of research suggests diverse functions for nanotubular superhighways, including cell–cell electrical coupling, calcium signaling, small-molecule exchange, and, remarkably, the transfer of bulky cargoes, including organelles or pathogenic agents. Despite great enthusiasm for all things nanotubular and their potential roles in cell signaling and pathogenesis, key questions remain regarding the mechanisms by which these structures regulate directional cell–cell exchange; how these linkages are formed and between which cells and, critically, whether nanotubes are as prevalent in vivo as they appear to be in the incubator.

Making it last: Combating hedonic adaptation in romantic relationships

Is the waning of passion and satisfaction in romantic relationships inevitable, or can the honeymoon period be sustained? The Hedonic Adaptation Prevention model, which describes the mechanisms by which people adapt to positive life changes, posits that hedonic adaptation is a powerful barrier to sustained relationship well-being and suggests how to thwart it. In this paper, we apply the model to a new area of study – namely, intimate relationships. We explore the practices, habits, and activities that can increase the number of positive events and emotions in relationships, boost their variety, lower a couple’s entitled aspirations, and build their appreciation – all variables that can serve to slow adaptation and increase well-being. Additionally, we discuss types of romantic relationships (e.g. long-distance relationships and unhealthy relationships) that may be relatively less susceptible to hedonic adaptation.

A tree-ring based comparison of Terminalia superba climate–growth relationships in West and Central Africa

Tropical lowland forests are characterized by humid climate conditions with interannual variations in amount of precipitation, length of dry season, and relative humidity. The African tree species, Terminalia superba Engl. & Diels has a large distribution area and potentially incorporates these variations in its tree rings. Tree ring analysis was performed on 60 plantation trees (increment cores) and 41 natural trees (stem disks) from Ivory Coast and the Congolese Mayombe Forest. Natural forests and old plantations (50–55 years) showed similar growth patterns. Regional chronologies were developed for the two sample regions and showed a long-distance relationship for the period 1959–2008. Growth in the Mayombe was associated with early rainy season precipitation, but no relation was found between tree growth and precipitation in Ivory Coast. Congolese trees possibly show a higher climate-sensitivity than Ivorian trees, because precipitation in the Mayombe is more limiting, and Congolese T. superba trees are found closer to the margins of their distribution. Likewise, tree growth in the Mayombe was also influenced by the SSTs of the Gulf of Guinea and the South Atlantic Ocean during the early rainy season. However, tree growth was influenced by ENSO in both regions. In the Mayombe, La Nina years were associated with stronger tree growth whereas in Ivory Coast, El Nino years corresponded with stronger tree growth. The presented relation between ENSO, precipitation and tree growth is original for equatorial African forests, suggesting an influence of global climate variability on tree growth.

The Astronaut & The Poet, and: The Poet Sees a Partial Eclipse, The Astronaut Feels Hail

The Astronaut & The Poet, and: The Poet Sees a Partial Eclipse, The Astronaut Feels Hail Lisa Fay Coutley (bio) The Astronaut & The Poet refuse to call what they have a long-distance relationship. From a backyard hammock she doesn’t so much watch the robin’s breast burn its trail of rust through the sky between them as dreams it a lake, mid-tide, towing light between each of their shores. She’s given herself to twenty-two hours of sleep a day, letting go of gravity & holding her breath underwater because he’s the only man who’s looked straight at her face without staying. He learned early the fastest way to escape a plane sinking into a sea, has seen Earth unscroll its jigsaw topography, could never forget their planet’s curve & her, from such a height—dust at the bottom of a well, an island slipping into itself, every granule of sand shoved from the top of the hourglass. Her winter skin is snow-covered Scandinavia. Her rivulets are lakes are cloud are passing beneath a curtain [End Page 163] of fire he’s falling through her hair doused her dress dancing her atmosphere resisting, resisting. [End Page 164] The Poet Sees a Partial Eclipse, The Astronaut Feels Hail Molten horseshoe hung upside down against nothing but dark & then more dark. Space, you’ll say— distance, time. This evening, beneath some blooming tulip tree, not even the moon & sun make certain a path to one smelted ring in the sky. Here, I know, holds a similar kind of darkness as there, all the blood drained from the day, the sun cutting her self to crescents against flowers & leaves on this poplar, this concrete. Ache is why I came here, Love, to a roof’s edge, witness to some celestial event, rare as looking without fear or shield, willing to singe the small net of blood I’ve been given. Somehow, hail falls all around you, halving its white from its white. Try to believe me when I say breathing is more than exhalation, that we’ll always take in more than we can ever give back, yet somehow we keep growing closer together, in lesser conditions, spinning uncertain & dumb & out of time until bone is skin is air is fire. [End Page 165] Lisa Fay Coutley Lisa Fay Coutley is the author of In the Carnival of Breathing (Black Lawrence Press), winner of the Black River Chapbook Competition. She is the recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, scholarships to the Bread Loaf and Sewanee Writers’ Conferences, and an Academy of American Poets Levis Prize. Her poems appear most recently in Sou’wester, Seneca Review, Iron Horse, Third Coast, and Drunken Boat. She is a PhD candidate and poetry editor for Quarterly West at the University of Utah. Copyright © 2013 University of North Carolina Wilmington

Extended Communication Efforts Involved With College Long-Distance Relationships

The present phenomenological, qualitative research study involved in-depth interviews of all 16 female, sophomore students involved in respective distance relationships at a private, selective, comprehensive, Midwest university. Among other results found in the study, the present article focuses on communication dynamics involved with the relationships. Results showed key communication constructs to involve learning to communicate in a distance milieu, interpreting the tone of their boyfriends voice, compensating for their lack of contexts, working harder at communication, and committing themselves to the extra efforts involved with good communication. Generally, the women were content with their relationships. We interpret the findings to infer that it likely takes special individuals to make the communication in distance relationships work effectively. Further, we conclude that potential distance relationship couples should discuss the dynamics involved in the present findings prior to initiating distance relationships in order to best enhance the chances for distance relationship success.

When distance apart: The roles of emotional-social intelligence on trust among individuals engaging in long distance relationships

We examined the role of emotional-social intelligence on trust, among couples engaging in long-termed long-distance romantic relationship (6 to 84 months), with meeting intensity between 1-12 times within a year. The results of this correlational study demonstrated that in general, individuals’ emotional intelligence predicted greater trust toward partner. However, the main component of emotional intelligence that predicted trust was not intrapersonal or interpersonal skills, but other emotional-social skills (stress management, adaptation, mood). Discussion was focused on the importance of each component of emotional-social intelligence on trust, among couples engaging in long-termed long-distance relationship.

Full-Dimensionality of Relating in Romantic Relationships

We propose that an orientation toward relating to one's romantic partner via multiple sensory channels has beneficial effects for the relationship, especially for long-distance relationships. We used Wicklund's (2004) conceptualisation of full-dimensionality of relating and Brehm's (1999) emotional intensity theory to test the effects of a sensory multidimensional orientation and difficulty of maintaining the romantic relationship on feelings of love and commitment. In Study 1, we tested 55 participants involved in a long-distance romantic relationship and found that a multidimensional orientation fended off the detrimental effects of difficulty of maintaining the relationship: when partners experienced high difficulty, those with a high orientation experienced more positive affect, love, and commitment than those with a low orientation. In Study 2, data from 31 long-distance and 23 geographically-close participants indicated that a high multidimensionality orientation had a greater positive impact in long-distance relationships than in geographically-close relationships. In Study 3, 40 long-distance participants were asked to write about two times when it was either difficult but possible or nearly impossible to maintain their current relationship. Positive affect for the partner, love, and desire to be with the partner in the future were highest for the participants in the possible condition who preferred relating to the partner on multiple sensory channels. Altogether, these studies underline the importance of multidimensional orientation in romantic relationships, especially when intimates perceive maintaining the relationship as being difficult but manageable. Theoretical and practical implications of this new concept of sensory multidimensionality orientation are discussed.

Well MET: Exosomes promote metastasis through transfer of MET from melanoma to bone marrow progenitors

Well <scp>MET</scp>: Exosomes promote metastasis through transfer of <scp>MET</scp> from melanoma to bone marrow progenitors

Relationship Quality, Commitment, and Stability in Long‐Distance Relationships

Using a nationally representative sample (N = 870), the present study compared long-distance romantic relationships to close-proximity romantic relationships in terms of relationship quality, commitment, and stability. Individuals in long-distance relationships generally reported higher levels of relationship quality on a number of relationship quality variables, as well as higher levels of dedication to their relationships and lower levels of feeling trapped (i.e., felt constraint), but were similar to individuals in close-proximity relationships in terms of perceived and material constraints. Although individuals in long-distance relationships perceived a lower likelihood of breaking up with their partner at the initial time point, they were as likely as the individuals in close-proximity relationships to have broken up by the follow-up assessment.

Two Atoms Announce Their Long-Distance Relationship

The quantum entanglement of two atoms 20 m apart, verified by a secondary process, can enable long-distance quantum communications.

Interpersonal Conflict and Health Perceptions in Long-Distance Caregiving Relationships

With job markets expanding globally and life expectancy continually increasing, more demands are being placed on distant relatives to provide care for their aging family members, creating a health care situation known as long-distance caregiving. An online survey explored the relations between negative health perceptions by long-distance caregivers and conflict frequency and conflict strategy usage. The authors observed positive significant relations between distant caregiver negative health perceptions and conflict frequency and usage of the distributive and avoidance conflict strategies. However, they observed no significant associations between distant caregiver negative health perceptions and usage of the two integrative strategies. Implications for long-distance caregiving communication are discussed.

Motives for Facebook use and expressing “true self” on the Internet

A survey on 143 university students was conducted to examine what motives young adults have for Facebook use, which of those motives were endorsed more than the others, and how those motives were related to the tendency of expressing one’s “true self” through Facebook use. According to the results, primary motive for Facebook use was to maintain long-distance relationships. This motive was followed by game-playing/entertainment, active forms of photo-related activities, organizing social activities, passive observations, establishing new friendships, and initiating and/or terminating romantic relationships. Another interesting result was that individuals’ tendency for expressing one’s true self on the Net had an influence on their Facebook use motives: The ones with high tendency to express their true self on the Internet reported to use Facebook for establishing new friendships and for initiating/terminating romantic relationships more than the individuals’ with low and medium levels of the same tendency did.

STI phase and the geography of sexual partnerships: Prevalence of long-distance sexual contacts among chlamydia, gonorrhea, and coinfected STI cases in Manitoba, Canada

We utilized public health data and a geographic information system (ArcGIS) to study long-distance sexual partnerships (opposite and same sex partnerships) among chlamydia, gonorrhea, and coinfected STI (sexually transmitted infection) cases. The top 10% of relationships among chlamydia and gonorrhea cases and their contacts equaled or exceeded 198km and 237km respectively; the top 15% of partnerships among coinfected cases equaled or exceeded 207km. This research also detected proportionately more long-distance partnerships among gonorrhea cases than among chlamydia cases. Wasserheit and Aral’s four-phase model for understanding the impact of control programs on STI incidence over time offers one framework for interpreting these results: as chlamydia was in an early decline phase during the period under study, while gonorrhea had reached a phase of low endemicity, our results could suggest that in later phases of an STI control program, the overall proportion of long-distance relationships among cases and contacts may increase.

Predictors of satisfaction in geographically close and long-distance relationships.

In this study, the authors examined geographically close (GCRs) and long-distance (LDRs) romantic relationship satisfaction as explained by insecure attachment, self-disclosure, gossip, and idealization. After college student participants (N = 536) completed a Web survey, structural equation modeling (SEM) multigroup analysis revealed that the GCR and LDR models were nonequivalent, as expected. Self-disclosure mediated the insecure attachment-idealization path differently in GCRs and in LDRs. Self-disclosure was positively associated with idealization in GCRs and negatively associated with idealization in LDRs, with the insecure attachment-idealization and the insecure attachment-satisfaction paths negative for both GCRs and LDRs. Furthermore, the insecure attachment-idealization path was stronger than the mediated path, especially for LDRs; the insecure attachment-satisfaction path was stronger than the mediation model for GCRs and LDRs. In other words, the GCR and LDR models differed despite some similarities. For both, with higher insecure (i.e., anxious and avoidant) attachment, the person discloses less to the partner, idealizes the partner less, and is less satisfied with the relationship. Also, people who idealize are more satisfied. In contrast, in LDRs only, with higher insecure attachment, the people tend to gossip more. With higher insecure attachment and with higher self-disclosure, people idealize more in GCRs but idealize less in LDRs. Overall, attachment insecurity explained more idealization and satisfaction in LDRs than in GCRs. Implications are discussed.

Pavlov’s Podcast: The Acousmatic Voice in the Age of Mp3s

The “acousmatic voice”—as famously defined and deployed by Michel Chion and Kaja Silverman—has in recent years unanchored itself from its cinematic context and become a free-floating aspect of the information age. We thus find ourselves adrift in a sea of solicitous voices without a visual origin or point of reference. The inherent uncanniness of the voice—whether it be the dog’s absent master, man’s distant lover, or woman’s internalized other—is normalized by digital technologies such as MP3 compression. Depending on the conditions of production, distribution, and reception, this serves to either further or obscure, or violently reveal, what I call (in the wake of Roland Barthes) “the aural punctum.” This article explores the importance of such detached voices for simulating, or even summoning, intimacy and presence in a time of long-distance relationships and time-shifted exchanges. As such, it asks what role the voice plays in the ongoing game of fort-da that underlies everyday human experience, and whether the ontological stakes change in different technological situations and environments. Paying particular attention to the gendered voice, this piece attempts to steer a middle course between the Lacanian “object voice” of Mladen Dolar and the intense focus on human singularity of Adriana Cavarero. Through discussions of the libidinal economy circulating within certain mythological tropes (Sirens, Swan Maidens, Narcissus/Echo, etc.) as well as an aesthetic genealogy of contemporary pop music, this article encourages a more sensitive ear for the sonic dynamics of the gendered acousmatic voice.

Analysing sustainable development social structures in an international civil engineering consultancy

Civil engineering is experiencing an increasing stakeholder emphasis on sustainable development (SD). As such, it is becoming ever more important that engineers share knowledge and information to cope with the complex integrated nature of SD. This article uses social network analysis (SNA) to explore SD knowledge and information sharing relationships. Three functional units within an international civil engineering consultancy were web surveyed to solicit population members’ SD contacts, achieving a 76.8% response rate. The data was analysed with the aim of understanding: intra-population and cross-boundary connectivity; relationship effectiveness; and key players within the networks. This revealed three main findings. First, cross-functional relationships were commonplace, suggesting population members were seeking SD knowledge and information from other specialist areas. Second, population members were more likely to approach co-located peers for knowledge and information; they often exhibited fewer inter-office SD relationships – a common issue due to the inherent costs of developing and maintaining long-distance relationships. Finally, population members felt that they did not need to regularly interface with SD contacts in order to maintain good relationships; they were able to maintain a reasonable knowledge and skills awareness, gain timely access and successfully engage with the majority of actors with whom they infrequently contacted. The article concludes by emphasising how SNA can be applied in broader SD contexts to provide insight into how SD knowledge and information sharing performance can be enhanced within organisations, project teams and communities.