Romantic Life Research Articles

Do we have a duty not to discriminate when we date?

AbstractMany believe that we have a duty not to discriminate when we act in certain ‘public’ capacities, for example when it is our job to select among various candidates for a job. In contrast, they deny that we have duties of a similar kind in our private lives, for example in our romantic lives. In this paper, we challenge this well‐entrenched asymmetry. We do so primarily by canvassing and rebutting central arguments to the effect that acting discriminatorily, for example when we date, is something we have a right to, including arguments from: (1) freedom of association, (2) legitimate self‐interest, (3) power and (4) love versus duties. In this way, we challenge a common permissive view regarding private discrimination.

Supportive Care Needs of Young Adults With Endometriosis: An Open-Ended Online Survey and Exploration of Unmet Needs.

The aim of this study is to identify and explore the unmet needs of adolescents and young adults living with endometriosis. An open-ended online survey was conducted, with questions derived from prior research looking at areas of unmet need in healthcare, career and work, financial, information, psychological, social and cultural domains. Self-selecting 18-25 year olds with surgically diagnosed endometriosis (self-reported) currently living in Australia were included as participants. Invitation to participate in an open-ended online survey was shared through the social media of Australian endometriosis organisations and the Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne. Surveys were analysed qualitatively through template analysis. Recording of the unmet supportive care needs of this population was carried out. One hundred and thirty-one respondents fit the eligibility criteria of being aged 18-25 years (median age 23 years). Most were born in Australia (94%), university-educated (54%) and lived in a metropolitan setting (69%). There was a range of unmet needs that were presented across education, work, healthcare and relationships. Group-specific challenges were identified: doctors either over- or underemphasising future fertility; disrupted sexual and romantic life due to painful sex; managing pain in the classroom and workplace where periods are taboo; and being gender-queer in gynaecological medical spaces. The increasingly young age at which patients are receiving an endometriosis diagnosis precipitates a shift in patient care. The treatment decisions that are being made must be reflective of the unique needs of the adolescents who carry the burden of the disease. Clinicians are advised to be aware of and discuss needs with their patients. The nine open-ended questions in this survey were developed from data from a preliminary series of interviews with endometriosis patients in a tertiary women's healthcare centre. In asking these data-informed questions to the online endometriosis community, patients across broader sociocultural demographics and disease states (including less symptomatic endometriosis) have provided a broader understanding of their supportive care needs.

The causal effect of skin color bias in online dating

Despite the expansive literature on U.S. ethnoracial relations, issues such as reliance on observational data and inconsistent measures of skin color limit the research on skin color stratification and cross-ethnoracial relationships. These issues hinder researchers’ capacity to disentangle the causal effect of colorism in perpetuating discrepancies within intergroup relationships, specifically within the context of online dating, a popular form of modern dating. In May–June 2021, I fielded a survey experiment that features online dating profiles of Black daters in which skin tone is the treatment. While the multivariate analyses show no statistically significant differences between light- and medium-toned daters, profiles featuring dark-skinned daters consistently receive a penalty in comparison to profiles of light- and medium-skinned people. The results suggest that colorism can have a direct impact on how dark-skinned Black people navigate their romantic lives, independent of other influential factors (e.g., socioeconomic status, social networks, etc.).

ADAPTACIA KLAVIRNEHO DIELA BELU KELERA ROMANTICKY ZIVOT OP. 101 PRE VYUZITIE V KLAVIRNEJ PEDAGOGIKE

Piano piece Romantic life op. 101 celebrates its 180th anniversary this year. Originally the piece was named Waltz of Bardejov Spa season 1844, referring to the birth place of the author. Bela Keler was one of the most important composer of salon music of 19th century. Kelers work represent cultural heritage, we would like to introduce to the wider audience. Based on todays requirements, it requires certain modifications mostly due to the interpretation. Romantic life op. 101 is extensive piano piece refering to the Bardejov spa. It represents ideal oportunity for adaptations to the easier piano arrangement. We created the arangements of this waltz that are for piano student of the Elementary music schools with various technical levels starting from easiest to the more difficult ones. Thanks to these arrangements, students in the first year of piano playing, will have the opportunity to actively familiarize themselves with the work of our important composer who comes from the territory of todays Slovakia, Bele Keler.

Extending the study of playfulness in romantic life: Analyzing associations with attachment and jealousy in same-gender and opposite-gender couples

Adult playfulness describes individual differences in (re)framing situations so that they are experienced as entertaining, and/or interesting, and/or intellectually stimulating. There is increasing interest in its role for romantic life. Using the OLIW model of playfulness, we localized its facets Other-directed, Lighthearted, Intellectual, and Whimsical playfulness into systems of attachment styles and romantic jealousy. We analyzed data of 332 mixed-gender and 139 same-gender couples (Ntotal = 942). We found no robust mean differences between same-gender and mixed-gender couples (exception: same-gender couples are lower in emotional jealousy). Actor-Partner Interdependence Model analyses showed that Other-directed, Lighthearted, and Intellectual playfulness yielded negative relations to attachment insecurities in actors, but no partner effects. For jealousy, all types of playfulness related negatively to emotional jealousy, but Whimsical playfulness showed positive inclinations to cognitive and behavioral jealousy in actors. Partners reported greater cognitive jealousy when their partner was high in Lighthearted, whereas partners from Whimsical high scorers reported lower emotional jealousy. The findings are invariant between same-gender and mixed-gender couples. Our study extends the knowledge on how playfulness relates to experiences in close relationships in mixed-gender and same-gender couples. We discuss implications (e.g., Signal Theory of Playfulness) and future directions.

Why Is It So Hard to Talk About Same-Sex Experience? A Case Study of Veiled Silence in a Research Relationship through Reflexive and Autoethnographic Lens

Research into intimate details of human life can be challenging for the parties involved. This article is a case study of a research situation in which I, as an interviewer, failed to elicit information from a male Vietnamese interviewee who evaded discussing specific details of his romantic life. I argue that this situation—the man’s avoidance of sharing details of his feelings toward people of the same sex and my discomfort in facing his avoidance—reveals a culture of silence regarding same-sex experiences in Vietnam. The study utilizes autoethnographic anecdotes of my experience of growing up in such a culture and observing similar evasive attitudes. It also adopts a reflexive approach that delves into segments of my second research encounter with the interviewee as well as my internal struggles, including feelings of anxiety and guilt about probing into an informant’s romantic life. It seeks to enrich Lisa A. Mazzei’s concept of “veiled silence,” which describes the deliberate non-engagement with taboo topics by linking it with the idea of a “culture of silence,” or a disempowering social environment, and discussing these concepts in the context of Vietnam. It also contributes to the literature on LGBTQ+ matters in Vietnam and qualitative research methods by recommending greater attention to silence in research encounters, which can offer unexpected insights for studies into sensitive issues.

Research on the Chinese Marriage Crisis - A Matching Perspective

This article examines the significant influence of parental attitudes on the mating choices of young adults in China. It highlights the stark dominance of Chinese parents in decision-making processes about their children's romantic lives, which can significantly influence the nation's marriage and divorce trends. Past articles revealed changes in parental attitudes towards their children's romantic relationships during university years, highlighting a shift from traditional opposition to increased support, potentially impacting financial assistance. Another stream of research focused on the ongoing marriage crisis in China, where declining marriage rates and rising divorce rates are influenced by socioeconomic changes, urbanization, and evolving marital values. They suggest that economic and cultural shifts play significant roles. This paper integrates sociocultural dynamics with a model of deferred acceptance in matchmaking to explore how shifts toward more progressive parental attitudes could be exacerbating the marriage crisis in China. By applying a matching algorithm, the study reveals that mismatches in parental expectations across different societal segments could lead to higher divorce rates and lower marriage rates. The paper proposes educational reforms and matchmaking optimizations as potential solutions to mitigate these effects.

Links Between Best-Friendship Quality and Well-Being From Early Emerging Adulthood to Early Established Adulthood.

The aim of this study was to verify whether the links between features of best-friendship quality (intimacy, reliable alliance, conflict) and well-being indicators (self-esteem, loneliness) change from early emerging adulthood to early established adulthood. The moderating effect of gender and investment in romantic life on these links was examined as well. For the purpose, 346 individuals (58% women) completed questionnaires at age 20 and again at age 30. Multilevel analysis were performed for each well-being indicators separately. The results showed reliable alliance to be associated with both well-being indicators, and intimacy to be associated with loneliness. Age moderated the effect of intimacy on self-esteem, whereas investment in romantic life moderated the effect of reliable alliance. Finally, triple interactions emerged between conflict, gender and age in their associations with self-esteem and loneliness, underscoring particularities for men. These results underscore the most influential features of friendship quality for well-being.

How to End a War: Remnants of Hope and Terror in Danny Ramadan’s The Foghorn Echoes

In the novel, The Foghorn Echoes (2022) by Danny Ramadan, readers are introduced to two young men, Hussam and Wassim, who love each other but whose lives are forever changed by a terrible event. Though this event marks the beginning of their end, they are met with several encounters that continue to separate them, as they grapple with what it means to be queer in Syria and what it means to be refugees elsewhere. Both their stories, told back and forth between the two young men, reveal the cruel optimism that is situated in the relationship between the good life and the queer struggle of romantic life. In other words, their desire for a better life as queer refugees becomes cruel when it becomes an obstacle in and of itself. For Hussam, readers witness this devastating blow as he is haunted by the death of his father and then by his separation from Wassim, as he struggles to build a better life in the nation-state of Canada. Wassim, on the other hand, has become a refugee in his own homeland, in this case, Syria during the Civil War, and he comes to view himself as a problematic object. Through both of their lives, it is revealed that the reality of queer Syrian refugees is inseparable from the complicated and oppressive histories that mark them such as the war and their forbidden love, whether they remain in the homeland or seek to build a good life somewhere else.

The architecturing of modern love and the architecturing of modern architecture: revisiting ‘Huiyin Lin’

The ‘birth’ of Chinese modern architecture coincided with the beginning of the advocation of ‘modern’, ‘free’, and ‘true love’ as the country moved away from the feudal system in the early twentieth century and its population began rebelling against the conventional practice of arranged marriages. Huiyin Lin, allegedly the first Chinese female architect, became a nexus of this paradigm shift. Constructed as the ultimate lover — a reputation supported by the stories about her relations with the poet Zhimo Xu, the architect Sicheng Liang, and the philosopher Yuelin Jin — she was further romanticised and popularised in TV dramas, among other forms of storytelling. Meanwhile, as a member of the first generation of Chinese architects in the modern period, she contributed to the founding of the discipline and the pedagogy of modern architecture in the country. Instead of applying reductive labels and pinpointing a straightforward case of the objectification and fetishisation of women, or of the demeaning of their professional value through a focus on their personal romantic life, this paper presents both aspects of Lin's life as intricately entwined, drawing no dichotomy between private and public, romance and profession. By reflecting the interweaving of the construction of love and of architecture, and their intersection with gender constructs in the decolonising China in a global context from the 1920s on, through the material event of ‘Huiyin Lin’ — the life of a holistic person, the histories of a name — the reformation of both love and architecture becomes possible.

Not just reading the romance online: adolescent girls’ reading Korean Manhwa

ABSTRACT Portable mobile technologies and high-speed access to the internet has led to the development of new online-first reading materials such as Korean Manhwa or webtoons, designed for quick consumption on mobile devices. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 11 adolescent girls aged 14 to 15 years old, this study examines why and how adolescents read Manhwa, especially romances. Findings show that these girls read for entertainment and to escape from reality. Strong visual aesthetics, relatable characters and engaging storylines, driven by technological infrastructures encouraging continual engagement, support these adolescents’ immersion in online storyworlds. Their engagement with these texts allowed the girls as readers to discover self as reader and person, negotiating multifaceted aspects of their working, moral and romantic lives as they envision present and future possibilities.

Contextualizing singlehood among young adults: Exploring the meanings and perceived reasons for being single

AbstractObjectiveWe explored how young adults discussed their experiences with singlehood and their reasons for being single.BackgroundDespite singlehood being normative during young adulthood, less research has focused on the diversity of singlehood compared to that of romantic involvement.MethodIn Study 1, 35 young adults participated in in‐depth qualitative interviews about their romantic histories. We explored singlehood meanings and reasons in the context of their relationship histories. In Study 2 we used data from 155 single young adults to explore the factor structure, internal reliability, and initial validity of the Reasons for Being Single (RBS) scale, which we developed for this study.ResultsIn Study 1 we found that singlehood is not simply the time in‐between relationships, but represents its own, unique aspect of romantic development. In Study 2, our analyses indicated that the RBS was comprised of three subscales: (a) self‐defeating reasons, (b) self‐enhancing reasons, and (c) lack of interest. Self‐defeating reasons were negatively associated with young adult well‐being, whereas self‐enhancing and lack‐of‐interest reasons were positively associated with young adult well‐being.ConclusionSinglehood, like other aspects of young adults' romantic lives, is a diverse and varied experience. Singlehood is also neither an entirely positive nor entirely negative experience. Yet, framing singlehood more positively may aid well‐being.ImplicationsWithin relationship education, being single should be treated as a diverse experience. Helping single young adults gain clarity around why they are single and identify their romantic goals may increase the efficacy of relationship education efforts.

Treatment of Alec: "History does not have to repeat itself".

Treatment of patients with pathological narcissism presents several challenges and there is paucity of published case reports that document meaningful and durable change in patients suffering from this condition. Using descriptive and atheoretical language, this paper presents a treatment of a young manin his transition from young adulthood to middle adulthood while he was negotiating complex residues of his experiences of growing up along with developmental challenges related to work and love. Against the backdrop of these transitions, the patient was working through various aspects of functioning related to pathological narcissism. Initially, given academic pressures and past romantic disappointments, he was confronting issues related to perfectionism, self-criticism, and avoidance. While he was able to move past some of these dynamics and function academically, later challenges related to becoming an independent adult led to a retreat into an avoidant state of futility and pessimism. Working through painful family dynamics related to not being seen and controlled, along with a deepening attachment in therapy as well as confrontation with realities of his life, led him to take steps towardgreater independence. Thereafter, his treatment focused on learning from life experiences such as a newly developed career and romantic life, accepting the complexity of self and others, and tolerating disillusionments.

‘It’s not all about spreading one’s legs’

This article explores the layers of signification and interpretive frames of female adolescents’ nuanced experiences of virginity loss in heterosexual relationships in Akpabuyo and Bakassi Local Government Areas of Cross River State in southeastern Nigeria. This study is theoretically anchored in the social constructionist perspective of doing gender, which conceptualises it as a routine accomplishment embedded in everyday interaction. Drawing on qualitative data using semi-structured interviews with 25 female adolescents who were purposively sampled, we investigate the social, cultural, and structural factors that informed participants’ sexual debut and romantic life trajectories from their nuanced perspectives and experiences. We investigate virginity-based discursive subjectivities under three thematic tropes: coercive/consensual sex, stigma, and patriarchal affordances. The results, based on linguistic evidence, show that participants have ambivalent perceptions of virginity loss and/or preservation: while some were overwhelmed with guilt and tended to align with traditional prescriptions about female sexuality, others viewed it as an extension of patriarchal subjugation of women and interpreted their experience in terms of agency and resistance. In this way, virginity loss discourses provide a prominent site for doing or undoing gender. The study recommends intervention programmes for young rural women to reduce the risk of unplanned pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and HIV/AIDS acquisition as a result of their lack of sexual competence, economic security, and educational empowerment, which have contributed to their vulnerability, victimhood, and exposure to unhealthy sexual practices.

Agency, the Family and the Patriarchal State in Archival Documentation of Australian Second World War Brides

AbstractThis article examines the intersecting social circumstances of Australian women's intimate, international relationships with American and other foreign allied servicemen during the Second World War, including their experiences of romance, marriage, divorce and subsequent child‐maintenance USA. We explore how the widely varying, often highly personalised, perceptions of the women's raced, classed and ethnic status, across differing legal systems, could impact not only immigration eligibility, but, especially in the case of Indigenous women, the fundamental right to marry. Immigration laws and local authorities worked in discretionary ways, shaped by a range of considerations and interactions, including class, race and gender to limit non‐white people's mobility and freedom. We demonstrate how this unprecedented larger‐scale experience of international and interracial marriage unsettles feminist arguments that underplay the intersection of issues of race, ethnicity and class with gender in the impact of the Second World War and set the scene for subsequent social changes driven by the logics of race inequality. Enlarging on earlier scholarship, we see the Second World War as a site for the ignition of changes in women's economic, cultural and political status, related here not so much to their work experiences, but to their personal and romantic lives, and also transnational raced experiences of exclusion, agency and shared knowledges.

Resilience Through Relationship Experiences: A Qualitative Exploration of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Romantic Development

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals often experience stress and discrimination related to sexual identity, which may lead to poorer outcomes compared to their heterosexual counterparts). However, research suggests LGB individuals often have happy, stable, and egalitarian relationships. What remains unclear is the process through which LGB individuals navigate the stressors associated with minoritized sexual identities and establish fulfilling romantic lives. Using grounded theory methods, we explored the features of LGB romantic development, emphasizing how individuals build resilience through their relationship and sexual experiences. Based on in-depth relationship histories from 10 LGB young adults, we found that concealment, conformity, and authenticity reflect common, underlying themes of romantic development in LGB people. These themes align with a risk and resilience framework, which explains how individuals address and overcome adversity. The findings showcase the need for comprehensive, inclusive, and informed relationship research and education for LGB people.

Adolescent flirting analysis of the phenomenon and its contemporary form

Introduction: The article aims to present the phenomenon of adolescent flirting, with particular emphasis on the context of contemporary cultural challenges. The article is a review, based on domestic and foreign literature. A closer acquaintance with the flit phenomenon may help understanding the social functioning of adolescents and thus may be helpful in creating preventive and intervention programs for young people. Analysis: The analysis of the phenomenon begins with the presentation of two ways of defining the phenomenon, in the biological and philosophical sciences. The reasons why people flirt can be found within the theoryof evolution as well as the theory of human psychosexual development. The impact of social norms on the perception of behaviours that we attribute to this phenomenon was discussed. The undertaken flirtation strategies were distinguished according to gender and sexual orientation. The concept of five styles of flirting wasintroduced: traditional, physical, sincere, fun and polite (Hall et al., 2010). Conclusions: The Internet and forced isolation related to the outbreak of the COVID-19pandemic have significantly influenced adolescent flirting. The digital reality for young people is as real as the material reality. Accordingly, romantic life takes placeusing new technologies. Universal signs and scripts for communicating interest are changing. For adolescents these days, sending a love letter will be less accessiblethan, for example, deepliking. There are also threats in the digital world of teenage romantic relationships, such as feeling FOMO and its consequences, or experiencingonline sexual abuse.

How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?

Being a resident is hard. Being a resident dealing with a recent breakup is even harder. I wrote this piece after a serendipitous encounter on Valentine's Day with an elderly woman who embraced her messy journey to finding love, no matter her age or circumstance. We learn a lot from our patients: from their bodies, physiologies, and illnesses, we learn to become stronger clinicians; from their stories, traumas, and emotions, we learn to become more full, well-rounded humans. Looking back, I think about how easily I almost missed this heartfelt connection by being absorbed in my usual checklist of tasks for a new hospital admission. My patient's keen insight into her own romantic life taught me a vital skill in both medicine and personal relationships: the importance of being open to the unexpected.Annals "Online First" article.

Race, Religion, and Geopolitics: Dating and Romance Among South Asian Muslim Immigrants in Canada

Abstract Using the “complex religion” framework, this article shows the importance of religion while recognizing how race, national origin, and geopolitics shape how Muslims navigate their romantic lives. Based on 50 in-depth interviews of South Asian Muslim immigrants in Canada on interfaith and interracial romance, I show that taken-for-granted labels “Muslim” and “South Asian” are ambiguous even for the participants as they navigate the search for compatible partners. Race and ethnicity are important components alongside religion and sect that together give meaning to negotiations about who is a “real” Muslim. And despite a sense of panethnic desi groupness, religion, sect, and nationality create fissures that challenge and limit notions of brown solidarity on the ground, even for children of immigrants. Finally, I identify how another important yet overlooked dimension of Muslimness—global geopolitics—shapes participants’ romantic pursuits. Overall, this article problematizes current approaches to studying Muslim immigrant experiences in the West.

Developmental changes in best friendship quality during emerging adulthood.

The purpose of this study was to examine change in four features of best friendship quality (intimacy, companionship, reliable alliance and conflict) from age 19 to 30 by gender and investment in romantic life. To this end, 363 participants (58% women) were asked about the quality of the relationship with their best friend and their level of investment in romantic life at ages 19, 20, 21, 22, 25 and 30. Latent growth curve analysis revealed a slight increase in reliable alliance and companionship and a slight decrease in intimacy in the early 20s followed by a steeper drop for these three features (quadratic trajectories), while conflict declined linearly. Women reported higher levels of intimacy and companionship and less conflict than men did at 19 years old. Also, their intimacy diminished throughout their 20s, slightly at first but more strongly thereafter. For men, it was lower early on and remained stable afterwards. Finally, investment in romantic life at age 19 was associated with change in intimacy levels shared with their best friend. This study confirms that features of best friendship quality change differently from one another during emerging adulthood and demonstrates the influence of gender and investment in romantic life on these changes.