Quality Of Close Relationships Research Articles

How loneliness undermines close relationships and persists over time: The role of perceived regard and care.

Although loneliness has been associated with negative perceptions of social life in past research, little is known about the implications of loneliness for interpersonal perception within close relationships. The current research includes three studies (total N = 1,197) suggesting that loneliness is associated with a negative bias in perceiving relationship partners' regard and care and that this bias partially accounts for the effects of loneliness on lower relationship quality and problematic interpersonal behaviors. Loneliness was associated with perceiving family members (Study 1), friends (Studies 1 and 2), and romantic partners (Studies 1-3) as less admiring and caring, and these effects were independent of a variety of accuracy benchmarks, including partners' self-reports (Studies 1-3), reports from informants (Study 2), and objective observers' assessments of partners' responsive behavior (Study 3). Loneliness also predicted changes in perceptions of partners' regard over time (Study 3) and indirectly predicted lower relationship satisfaction, commitment, self-disclosure, and support provision through negative perceptions of relationship partners' regard and care (Studies 1-3). Studies 2 and 3 replicated these results in terms of day-to-day experiences (total daily observations = 16,064). The negative perceptions of partners' regard and care associated with loneliness predicted subsequent loneliness (Studies 2-3). Loneliness effects were statistically independent of self-esteem and attachment insecurity in all studies. Taken together, these findings suggest that, due to negative biases in perceiving relationship partners' regard and care, loneliness may compromise the quality of close relationships, motivate interpersonally problematic behaviors, and become persistent. Implications are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Trajectories of distress and recovery, secondary stressors and social cure processes in people who used the resilience hub after the Manchester Arena bombing.

Terrorist incidents lead to a range of mental health outcomes for people affected, sometimes extending years after the event. Secondary stressors can exacerbate them, and social support can provide mitigation and aid recovery. There is a need to better understand distress and mitigating factors among survivors of the Manchester Arena attack in 2017. We explored three questions. First, what experiences of distress did participants report? Second, how might secondary stressors have influenced participants' psychosocial recoveries? Third, what part has social support played in the relationships between distress and participants' recovery trajectories? We conducted a cross-sectional online survey of a convenience sample of survivors of the Manchester Arena bombing (N = 84) in January 2021 (3 years 8 months post-incident), and a longitudinal study of the same participants' scores on mental health measures over 3 years from September 2017. Survivors' mental well-being scores in early 2021 were significantly lower than general population norms. Longitudinal follow-up provided evidence of enduring distress. Secondary stressors, specifically disruptions to close relationships, were associated with greater post-event distress and slower recovery. We found an indirect relationship between identifying with, and receiving support from, others present at the event and mental well-being >3 years later. The Arena attack has had an enduring impact on mental health, even in survivors who had a mild response to the event. The quality of close relationships is pivotal to long-term outcome. Constructive support from family and friends, and people with shared experiences, are key to social cure processes that facilitate coping and recovery.

Life stories of patients with personality disorders before and after treatment: Change and stability in agency and communion.

Studying written life stories of patients with personality disorders (PDs) may enhance knowledge of how they understand themselves, others and the world around them. Comparing the construction of their life stories before psychotherapy to their reconstruction after psychotherapy may provide insight in therapeutic changes in the understandings of their lives. As few studies addressed this topic, the current study explored changes in agency (i.e., perceived ability to affect change in life), and communion (i.e,, perceived connectedness to other persons) in written life stories of 34 patients with various PDs, before and after intensive psychotherapy treatment. Life stories showed a positive increase in agency from pre- to posttreatment, in particular regarding internal agency, societal success, and occupational success. No significant changes were observed for communion as a whole. However, the perceived number and quality of close relationships revealed a significant positive increase. The increased agency in the reconstruction of patients' life story after psychotherapy suggests that patients improved their perceived ability to affect change in their own lives. This can be seen as an important step in the treatment of PDs towards further recovery.

Social Support, Gender and the Roots of Political Efficacy: Evidence from the Swiss Household Panel

Abstract This study explores how social support, defined as the number and quality of close relationships, affects feelings of political influence. Using Swiss Household Panel data (1999–2018), it reveals that the quality of relationships (emotional support) enjoyed from weak ties drives women’s political efficacy, while having no significant effect for men. In addition to extending on the socially oriented drivers of political engagement, social support has the potential to reduce female disadvantage in political efficacy and eventually alleviate gen der inequality in politics.

Family values as predictors of the quality of close relationships

Aim
 The aim of this study was to determine if and in what way family values influence the quality of interpersonal relationships of adult siblings and the partners in close long-term relationships. 
 Method
 In the conducted quantitative research three self-descriptive tools were used: Familism Scale, Adult Sibling Relationship Questionnaire and Commitment Inventory. The research included 234 adults (M = 35; SD = 9.128). Women accounted for 64.1% of the sample (n = 150). 
 Results
 Among the most frequently chosen family value dimensions were Individualism, Family support and Respect. Family values appeared to be significant predictors for both the quality of adult sibling relationships and interpersonal commitment in a close long-term relationship. 
 Conclusion
 Familism contributes to developing proper interpersonal relationships in close relationships.

Romantic Relationship Quality and Mental Health in Pregnancy During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Introduction: Social capital is important for good mental health and the quality of close relationships is one key indicator of social capital. Examining the association between relationship quality and mental health may be particularly important during pregnancy as mental health concerns during this period pose significant risk to families. The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to increased mental health problems among pregnant individuals. The resulting lockdown protocols of the pandemic have also disrupted larger social networks and couples spent more time together in the context of ongoing chronic stress, highlighting the particular importance of romantic relationship quality. This study explored longitudinal associations between relationship satisfaction, depression, and anxiety among pregnant individuals during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Pregnant individuals (n = 1842) from the Pregnancy During the Pandemic Study were surveyed monthly (April-July 2020). Depression, anxiety symptoms, and relationship satisfaction were self-reported. Cross-lagged panel models were conducted to examine bidirectional associations between relationship satisfaction and mental health symptoms over time. Results: Relationship satisfaction was significantly correlated with depression and anxiety at all time points. Longitudinally, relationship satisfaction predicted later depression and anxiety symptoms, but depression and anxiety symptoms did not predict later relationship satisfaction. Discussion: This study suggests that poor relationship satisfaction was linked to subsequent elevations in prenatal depressive and anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Relationship enhancement interventions during pregnancy may be a means of improving the mental health of pregnant individuals, and interrupting transgenerational transmission, during times of prolonged psychological distress.

Family and Relationship Quality among Young Adults with Different Sexual Orientations in Urban China: The Mediating Effects of Life Satisfaction and Self-Esteem

ABSTRACT This study explored the ambivalent effects of family on the close relationship quality of Chinese young adults. From a national estimate of the urban population across mainland China, 5,089 participants aged 20–39 were recruited for this study. A three-dimensional conceptualization was applied to identify three groups with different sexual orientations in this study. Group A comprised participants who identified as sexual minority people; Group B comprised participants who identified as heterosexuals but were not exclusively attracted to one sex and/or individuals who had had same-sex sexual experiences; Group C comprised participants who identified as heterosexuals. Groups A and B reported lower close relationship satisfaction and psychological well-being than Group C. Life satisfaction and self-esteem partially mediated the association between family and close relationship satisfaction for all groups. However, this relationship was weaker for Group B, and closeness to family benefitted Group B’s life satisfaction to a lesser extent, indicating that the nuanced relationship with family influenced the sexual minority people with heterosexual identities. We recommend future directions and practices in local research and policy-making.

Early relational health - A promising approach for equitable systems change in pediatrics: A commentary.

Pediatric primary care plays a critical role in supporting the healthy development of young children. Wisdom and research suggest that every developmental domain is shaped by the quality of close relationships, particularly the caregiver-child relationship. Therefore, pediatric primary care has a unique opportunity to support and nurture early relationships using the Early Relational Health (ERH) framework and its applications Early Relational Health Screen, and Early Relational Health Conversations. ERH and its applications recognize years of innovation focused on the promotion of the wellbeing of caregiver-child relationships, and children's long-term development. Central to enhancing and elevating pediatric practice is intentional effort in using diversity-informed, anti-racist, equitable systems of care frameworks. This Commentary offers a call to action for pediatric primary care to create more equitable and inclusive practice via ERH. The call to action includes deepening self and institutional awareness; allocating resources for systems change, including infusing greater equity into departmental structures; and, building authentic relationships with patients, families, and communities. This will result in intentional systems change centered on equitable practice.

The age of partners and the duration of the relationship versus the quality of close emotional relationships

The quality of emotional relationships depends on the individual characteristics of the partners but, above all, on the relational factors responsible for integrating or risking disintegrating the relationship. Their assessment requires taking a time perspective into account. Each lasting relationship experiences changes in its quality, which may be related to the age of the partners and the time of their life together.
 The aim of the research was to assess the connection between the age of partners and the length of their relationship and the quality of close relationships, including mutual communication, intimacy and conflict behaviour. They are recognised as key to the quality of the relationship, but it is still open to question how they change over time.
 The study involved 696 people aged 20-68, including 360 women and 336 men. The respondents were classified into three groups significant for human development, including 16-year age ranges. In the first group, there were 240 people aged 20-35 years (i.e., in early adulthood), the second group consisted of 276 people aged 36-51 years (which is considered appropriate for middle adulthood), and the third group of 180 people aged 52-68 (i.e., in the period associated with the second half of middle age and entering late adulthood). The respondents were in a lasting relationship from one year to 47 years.
 The research used a socio-demographic survey questionnaire and K. Halweg's Partner Relations Questionnaire in the Polish adaptation of I. Janicka.
 It was found that with the age of the partners and duration of the relationship, the number of conflict behaviours increase and the intimacy and mutual communication important for its integration weakens. The most vulnerable to these types of changes are spouses in the second half of middle adulthood and entering old age. Potential processes driving these findings are discussed.
 The age of the partners and the related seniority of the relationship may lead to changes in its quality. However, they cannot be regarded as sufficient to assess changes in close relationships.

Karakteristike socijalnog funkcionisanja na uzorku kliničke populacije - kvalitet bliskih odnosa I afektivna vezanost

The aim of this study was to examine the relations between the quality of close relationships and attachment styles using a clinical sample (N = 57.61% female, Age range = 17-68 years). To measure the quality of social functioning we used the Inventory of the Social Relations Network (NRI), to assess the attachment styles, we used the Relationships Questionnaire (RQ), and for assessing the severity of psychopathological symptoms: the Beck Depression Inventory, Cornell index and MMPI-202 were used. The obtained results showed that subjects of different categories of mental disorders do not differ significantly according to general estimates of the quality of close relationships. However, when considering the dimensions of psychopathological symptoms, we found statistically significant differences in the quality of close relationships. The research also shows that subjects with different attachment styles significantly differ in the quality of close relationships. Given that more pronounced psychopathological problems are associated with diminished quality of close relationships, we discussed that mental difficulties are potentially adversely reflected in the social functioning of individuals.

Borderline personality disorder and larger comfortable interpersonal distance in close relationships

Physical distance regulation in interpersonal communications is a key component of the quality of close relationships. This distance is regulated differently in various individuals and psychological states. Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) have been reported to prefer a larger distance. The present study aimed to compare the Healthy Controls (HC) (n = 40) and patients with BPD (n = 36) in terms of the comfortable interpersonal distance when facing different protagonists (including mother, love partner, close friend, childhood self-image and current self-image as significant others, as well as salesperson and thief). All participants in both groups completed modified computerized version of the comfortable interpersonal distance (CID) task in both the passive mode (when protagonists approached them) and the active mode (when they approached protagonists). We asked participants to determine the point at which they felt uncomfortable. The BPD group preferred a significantly larger interpersonal distance than the HC group with all protagonists except the salesperson. We discuss these results in the context of attachment theory.

Actor and Partner Effects of Touch: Touch-Induced Stress Alleviation Is Influenced by Perceived Relationship Quality of the Couple.

Because of the impact of close partner's touch on psychological and physical well-being by alleviating stress, it is important to explore the influence factors that underlie the stress-alleviating effect of close partner's touch. Previous studies suggested that the stress-alleviating effect was different when individuals were touched by different persons. Specifically, the stress was reduced significantly when the individual was touched by the close partner compared with the acquaintance and the stranger. However, whether the stress-alleviating effect of touch was modulated by the close relationship quality is unknown. To examine this question, the participants (n = 61) performed a 3 (i.e., alone, partner no-touch, and partner touch) × 2 (i.e., safety and threat) within-subjects experiment. The results revealed that the stress of the participants alleviated significantly while close partners present with touch compared with without touch during facing a threat. We also found that the relationship quality of couple-members (i.e., participants perceiving the quality of alternatives and the partners' commitment level) modulated touch-induced stress alleviation. Participants perceiving the low quality of alternatives and the high partners' commitment level showed stronger touch-induced stress-alleviating effect than participants perceiving the high quality of alternatives and the low partners' commitment level. The explained variance was around 16.8% jointly for actor and partner effects. These findings provide evidence for explaining the reasons for touch-induced alleviating stress and have important implications for predicting the future effect of interactive behaviors.

A Polish Adaptation and Validation of the Positive–Negative Relationship Quality (PN-RQ) Scale

The Positive–Negative Relationship Quality (PN-RQ) scale is used to test the quality of close relationships, taking into account their positive and negative dimensions. The aim of our study was to check the factor structure and criterion validity of the Polish version of this scale, and the possibilities offered by two-dimensional estimation of relationship quality. The validation study involved 740 people (369 female and 371 male) who were in romantic relationships. In addition to the PN-RQ scale, the respondents completed two other relationship quality measures: the Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS) and the Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR) attachment questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the bi-factor model is suitable for the multidimensional nature of PN-RQ. The results showed the following: high internal consistency of the subscales and the entire scale; compliance with the results obtained with RAS; the possibility of a nuanced assessment of the quality of close relationships, also taking into account the unique differences that arise as a result of anxious or avoidant attachment. The Polish version of the PN-RQ scale is characterized by good psychometric properties and measurement sensitivity; it could be useful in both research and clinical diagnostics.

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN NEGATIVE RELATIVE ASPECTS: THE ROLE OF PERSONALITY AND COMMUNICATION STYLE

The research aimed at the exploration of gender differences in the quality of close relationships with a mother, a father, a sibling, a partner, and a friend concerning the negative exchange in the form of conflicts and antagonism, as well as the role of personality traits and communication styles in the development of individual differences. The sample consisted of 400 participants (69% females), age from 19 to 51. Data were collected using the short version of personality questionnaire Big Five Plus Two (VP+2-70), questionnaire about close relationship quality Network of Relationship Inventory (NRI), and the scale for estimating communication skills, Communicator Style Measure (CSM). The results confirmed gender specificities concerning a degree of the negative exchange in the relationship types, and their correlations with personality traits and communication style. Females had stronger negative exchange with partners and fathers, while males had it with siblings. Extraverted females had more conflicts with their mothers. Higher Openness and Positive Valence of males was followed by greater conflicts with partner and lower Antagonism with friends, whereas the higher Consciousness was followed by greater negative exchange with siblings. Daughters with more assertive communication and sons with more expressive communication had stronger degree of confrontations with parents. On the other hand, males with more assertive communication, and females with more expressive communication had stronger conflicts with partners. Stronger negative exchange of females with fathers and partners was probably due to their greater orientation to deal with relationship problems and emancipation needs. The result that more assertive women had stronger degree of conflict with parents maybe the results from the fostering of the honest communication in the family of origin. Confronting more assertive women with their parents may stem from fostering honest and directive communication in the family of origin. Given that the society pressures males to be independent, the result that more expressive males had stronger negative exchange with their family of origin had been expected. These findings showed that expressiveness indicate immaturity. The willingness of more assertive men to engage in a negative exchange with a partner indicates their involvement in the relationship.

Moving toward and away from others: Social orientations in emerging adulthood

As emerging adults navigate numerous changes to their relationships, the ways in which they connect with and move away from others, or how they are socially oriented, may play an important role in their relational and individual well-being. The current study explored holistic types of social orientations (i.e., social motivations, the self in relation to others, other-directed emotions, and actual behaviors) and how they relate to the quality of close relationships, depression, and substance use in a sample of 787 US emerging adult college students. Results from latent profile analysis suggested five types of social orientations, each showing a distinct pattern of moving toward or away from others and links to varying degrees of relational and individual well-being. This study's consideration of multiple aspects of social orientations not only advances current theoretical models of social interaction, but also has important implications for understanding mechanisms that lead to flourishing and floundering in emerging adulthood.

A meta-analysis of longitudinal associations between substance use and interpersonal attachment security.

Substance use has long been associated with close relationship distress. Although the direction of influence for this association has not been established, it has often been assumed that substance use is the causal agent and that close relationship distress is the effect. But research seeking to establish temporal precedence in this link has produced mixed findings. Further, theoretical models of substance use and close relationship processes present the plausibility of the inverse pathway-that insecure close relationships may serve as a vulnerability factor for the development of later substance problems. The current review applies an attachment-theoretical framework to the association between close social bonds and substance use and substance-related problems. Targeting longitudinal studies of attachment and substance use, we examined 665 effect sizes drawn from 34 samples (total N = 56,721) spanning time frames ranging from 1 month to 20 years (M = 3.8 years). Results revealed a significant prospective correlation between earlier attachment and later substance use (r = -.11, 95% CI [-.14, -0.08]). Further, cross-lagged coefficients were calculated which parsed auto-regressive effects, indicating that lower attachment security temporally preceded increases in substance use (r = -.05, 95% CI [-.06, -.04]). Analyses further indicated that the pathway from earlier attachment to later substance use was significantly stronger than that from earlier substance use to later attachment. Results also revealed several moderators of the attachment-substance use link. These findings suggest that insecure attachment may be a vulnerability factor for substance use, and indicate close relationship quality as a promising line of inquiry in research on substance use disorder risk. (PsycINFO Database Record

Viral challenge reveals further evidence of skin-deep resilience in African Americans from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Studies have revealed a phenomenon called skin-deep resilience, which develops in upwardly mobile African American youth. They perform well in school, maintain good mental health, and avoid legal problems. Despite outward indications of success, they also show evidence of worse health in biomarker studies. Here we extend this research, asking whether it manifests in differential susceptibility to upper respiratory infection, and if it emerges in European Americans as well. The sample included 514 adults in good health, as judged by physician examination and laboratory testing. Participants completed questionnaires about lifecourse socioeconomic conditions, conscientiousness, psychosocial adjustment, and lifestyle factors. They were subsequently inoculated with a rhinovirus that causes upper respiratory infection, and monitored in quarantine for 5 days the development of illness. Consistent with past work, African Americans from disadvantaged backgrounds displayed indications of skin-deep resilience. To the extent these participants were high in conscientiousness, they fared better across multiple domains of psychosocial functioning, as reflected in educational attainment, symptoms of depression, and close relationship quality (p values = .01-.04). But analyses of these participants' susceptibility to infection revealed the opposite pattern; higher conscientiousness was associated with a greater likelihood of becoming ill following inoculation (p value = .03). In European Americans, there was no evidence of skin-deep resilience; conscientiousness was associated with better psychosocial outcomes, but not infection risk. These observations suggest that resilience may be a double-edged sword for African Americans from disadvantaged backgrounds. The same characteristics associated with academic success and psychological adjustment forecast increased vulnerability to health problems. (PsycINFO Database Record

Neural activity patterns evoked by a spouse's incongruent emotional reactions when recalling marriage-relevant experiences.

Resonance with the inner states of another social actor is regarded as a hallmark of emotional closeness. Nevertheless, sensitivity to potential incongruities between one's own and an intimate partner's subjective experience is reportedly also important for close relationship quality. Here, we tested whether perceivers show greater neurobehavioral responsiveness to a spouse's positive (rather than negative) context-incongruent emotions, and whether this effect is influenced by the perceiver's satisfaction with the relationship. Thus, we used fMRI to scan older long-term married female perceivers while they judged either their spouse's or a stranger's affect, based on incongruent nonverbal and verbal cues. The verbal cues were selected to evoke strongly polarized affective responses. Higher perceiver marital satisfaction predicted greater neural processing of the spouse's (rather than the strangers) nonverbal cues. Nevertheless, across all perceivers, greater neural processing of a spouse's (rather than a stranger's) nonverbal behavior was reliably observed only when the behavior was positive and the context was negative. The spouse's positive (rather than negative) nonverbal behavior evoked greater activity in putative mirror neuron areas, such as the bilateral inferior parietal lobule (IPL). This effect was related to a stronger inhibitory influence of cognitive control areas on mirror system activity in response to a spouse's negative nonverbal cues, an effect that strengthened with increasing perceiver marital satisfaction. Our valence-asymmetric findings imply that neurobehavioral responsiveness to a close other's emotions may depend, at least partly, on cognitive control resources, which are used to support the perceiver's interpersonal goals (here, goals that are relevant to relationship stability).

I’m still socially anxious online: Offline relationship impairment characterizing social anxiety manifests and is accurately perceived in online social networking profiles

Prior research has identified the offline thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that lead to impaired relationships for individuals high in social anxiety (HSA; e.g., fear of conversation; interpersonal aloofness). We tested whether social anxiety manifests through visible online signals of relationship impairment that mirror these known offline indicators, and whether observers use these signals when judging social anxiety online. Facebook profile owners (n=77) reported social anxiety, their profiles were coded for objective features, and unacquainted observers (n=6) rated profile owners’ social anxiety after viewing their profiles. HSA individuals’ Facebook profiles were shown to contain signs indicating relationship impairment across the domains of social inactivity (e.g., few friends and photographs), close relationship quality (e.g., relationship status of single), and self-disclosure (e.g., absence of status updates), and observers inferred high levels of social anxiety in individuals’ whose profiles showed these signs. These findings suggest that offline relationship impairment experienced by HSA individuals carries over into online contexts, and that online relationship impairment can be accurately perceived by unacquainted observers. Discussion considers whether integrating this knowledge into existing treatments – most notably online, self-guided protocols – could improve the identification and treatment of social anxiety.

Negative aspects of close relationships as risk factors for cognitive aging.

The extent to which social relationships influence cognitive aging is unclear. In this study, we investigated the association of midlife quality of close relationships with subsequent cognitive decline. Participants in the Whitehall II Study (n = 5,873; ages 45–69 years at first cognitive assessment) underwent executive function and memory tests 3 times over a period of 10 years (1997–1999 to 2007–2009). Midlife negative and positive aspects of close relationships were assessed twice using the Close Persons Questionnaire during the 8 years preceding cognitive assessment. Negative aspects of close relationships, but not positive aspects, were associated with accelerated cognitive aging. Participants in the top third of reported negative aspects of close relationships experienced a faster 10-year change in executive function (−0.04 standard deviation, 95% confidence interval: −0.08, −0.01) than those in the bottom third, which was comparable with 1 extra year of cognitive decline for participants aged 60 years after adjustment for sociodemographic and health status. Longitudinal analysis found no evidence of reverse causality. This study highlights the importance of differentiating aspects of social relationships to evaluate their unique associations with cognitive aging.