The goal of this research was to extend prior work on adult attachment and sexuality, which has tended to focus on samples of adolescents and undergraduate students. A Canadian sample of 116 married ...couples aged 21–75 years completed self‐report measures of adult attachment, marital, and sexual satisfaction. Results revealed that participants with higher levels of anxiety and avoidance reported lower levels of sexual satisfaction at the individual level. Individuals with more avoidant spouses also reported lower levels of sexual satisfaction. Furthermore, the relationship between sexual and marital satisfaction was stronger for more anxiously attached individuals and those with more anxiously attached spouses. These results suggest that attachment is linked in theoretically predictable ways to marital and sexual satisfaction.
•We assessed links between the Dark Triad and tactics of derogating mating rivals.•A large sample of 331 participants was used to test hypotheses.•Higher scores on the Dark Triad predicted greater ...competition with rivals.•Each Dark Triad trait uniquely predicted type of derogation tactic endorsed.
The present study investigated the relation between the Dark Triad and tactics used to derogate mating rivals. Three hundred and thirty-one participants (213 males, 118 females) living in the United States were recruited online through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Correlations between study variables revealed significant associations between indicators of the Dark Triad and three types of mate derogation tactics. Furthermore, when competing with rivals for a mate, high scores on (a) Machiavellianism was associated with a rude derogation style, (b) Narcissism was associated with a derogation style where individuals tried to outshine their competitor in different situations (e.g., sports, dominance, and strength), and (c) Psychopathy was linked with endorsing tactics that damaged their rival’s reputation. Implications for considering subtle differences in the use of mate derogation tactics across the three indicators of Dark Triad are discussed.
Guided by attachment theory, a 2-part study was conducted to test how perceptions of relationship-based conflict and support are associated with relationship satisfaction/closeness and future ...quality. Dating partners completed diaries for 14 days (Part 1) and then were videotaped while discussing a major problem that occurred during the diary study (Part 2). Part 1 reveals that more anxiously attached individuals perceived more conflict with their dating partners and reported a tendency for conflicts to escalate in severity. Perceptions of daily relationship-based conflicts negatively impacted the perceived satisfaction/closeness and relationship futures of highly anxious individuals, whereas perceptions of greater daily support had positive effects. Part 2 reveals that highly anxious individuals appeared more distressed and escalated the severity of conflicts (rated by observers) and reported feeling more distressed. The authors discuss the unique features of attachment anxiety and how changing perceptions of relationship satisfaction/closeness and stability could erode commitment over time.
Little is known about why some people experience greater temporal fluctuations of relationship perceptions over short periods of time, or how these fluctuations
within
individuals are associated with ...relational processes that can destabilize relationships. Two studies were conducted to address these questions. In Study 1, long-term dating partners completed a 14-day diary study that assessed each partner's daily partner and relationship perceptions. Following the diary phase, each couple was videotaped trying to resolve the most important unresolved problem from the diary period. As predicted, (a) individuals who trusted their partners less reported greater variability in perceptions of relationship quality across the diary period; (b) they also perceived daily relationship-based conflict as a relatively more negative experience; and (c) greater variability in relationship perceptions predicted greater self-reported distress, more negative behavior, and less positive behavior during a postdiary conflict resolution task (rated by observers). The diary results were conceptually replicated in Study 2a, in which older cohabiting couples completed a 21-day diary. These same participants also took part in a reaction-time decision-making study (Study 2b), which revealed that individuals tend to compartmentalize positive and negative features of their partners if they (individuals) experienced greater variability in relationship quality during the 21-day diary period and were involved in higher quality relationships. These findings advance researchers' understanding of trust in intimate relationships and provide some insight into how temporal fluctuations in relationship quality may undermine relationships.
In consensually non-monogamous relationships there is an open agreement that one, both, or all individuals involved in a romantic relationship may also have other sexual and/or romantic partners. ...Research concerning consensual non-monogamy has grown recently but has just begun to determine how relationships amongst partners in consensually non-monogamous arrangements may vary. The current research examines this issue within one type of consensual non-monogamy, specifically polyamory, using a convenience sample of 1,308 self-identified polyamorous individuals who provided responses to various indices of relationship evaluation (e.g. acceptance, secrecy, investment size, satisfaction level, commitment level, relationship communication, and sexual frequency). Measures were compared between perceptions of two concurrent partners within each polyamorous relationship (i.e., primary and secondary partners). Participants reported less stigma as well as more investment, satisfaction, commitment and greater communication about the relationship with primary compared to secondary relationships, but a greater proportion of time on sexual activity with secondary compared to primary relationships. We discuss how these results inform our understanding of the unique costs and rewards of primary-secondary relationships in polyamory and suggest future directions based on these findings.
Previous research suggests that both monogamous and consensually non-monogamous (CNM) participants rate monogamous targets more positively. However, this pattern of stigma toward CNM relationships ...and the "halo effect" surrounding monogamy is at odds with the view that people typically favor members from their own groups over members of other groups. In the current research, we sought to re-examine the halo effect, using a more direct measure of stigma (i.e., desired social distance), in a methodological context that differentiates between the three most common types of CNM relationships. A convenience sample (
= 641) of individuals who self-identified as monogamous (
= 447), open (
= 80), polyamorous (
= 62), or swinger (
= 52) provided social distance ratings in response to these same relationship orientations in a counterbalanced order. Congruent with prior findings, CNM participants favored monogamous targets over CNM targets as a broad category (replicating the halo effect). However, results indicated this effect dissipated when participants were asked to differentiate between relationships they identify with, and other CNM relationships. Furthermore, supplementary findings suggest that monogamous targets were perceived to be the least promiscuous and were associated with the lowest perceived sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates, while swinger targets were perceived as the most promiscuous and were associated with the highest perceived STI rates. Consequently, our results imply social distance is partly attributable to the perception of STI risk, but not perceptions of promiscuity.
This article reviews the burgeoning literature linking greater individual differences in attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance to poorer health. Extant research indicates that more anxiously ...and avoidantly attached individuals experience heightened psychological (e.g., distress) and physiological (e.g., HPA axis activation) responses to stressful situations, as well as have poorer mental (e.g., depression) and physical (e.g., immune system functioning) health. Research also suggests that perceived social support processes are sometimes beneficial for more anxiously and avoidantly attached persons' mental health, but are not helpful in alleviating physiological responses to stress. Future studies could fruitfully delve into the possible dyadic influences on health and interventions to improve the health experiences of more anxiously and avoidantly attached individuals. Lastly, future research could benefit from longitudinal explorations of health.
Two literatures have explored some of the effects intimate relationships can have on physical and mental health outcomes. Research investigating health through the lens of attachment theory has ...demonstrated that more anxiously attached individuals in particular consistently report poorer health. Separate research on perceived social support (e.g., partner or spousal support) suggests that higher support has salutary influences on various health outcomes. Little to no research, however, has explored the interaction of attachment anxiety and perceived social support on health outcomes. The present study examined the attachment-health link and the moderating role of perceived social support in a community sample of married couples. Results revealed that more anxious persons reported poorer overall physical and mental health, more bodily pain, more medical symptoms, and impaired daily functioning, even after controlling for age, relationship length, neuroticism, and marital quality. Additionally, perceived social support interacted with attachment anxiety to influence health; more anxious individuals' health was poorer even when perceived social support was high, whereas less anxious individuals' health benefited from high support. Possible mechanisms underlying these findings and the importance of considering attachment anxiety in future studies of poor health in adulthood are discussed.
Ghosting, or avoiding technologically-mediated contact with a partner instead of providing an explanation for a breakup, has emerged as a relatively new breakup strategy in modern romantic ...relationships. The current study investigated differences in the process of relationship dissolution and post-breakup outcomes as a function of breakup role (disengager or recipient) and breakup strategy (ghosting or direct conversation) using a cross-validation design. A large sample of participants who recently experienced a breakup was collected and randomly split into two halves. Exploratory analyses were conducted in Sample A and used to inform the construction of specific hypotheses which were pre-registered and tested in Sample B. Analyses indicated relationships that ended through ghosting were shorter and characterized by lower commitment than relationships that ended directly. Recipients experienced greater distress and negative affect than disengagers, and ghosting disengagers reported less distress than direct disengagers. Ghosting breakups were characterized by greater use of avoidance/withdrawal anddistant/mediated communication breakup tactics and lessopen confrontation and positive tone/self-blame breakup tactics. Distinct differences between ghosting and direct strategies suggest developments in technology have influenced traditional processes of relationship dissolution.
Research has shown that ideal romantic standards predict
future partner characteristics and influence existing relationships, but how
standards develop and change among single individuals has yet to ...be explored.
Guided by the Ideal Standards Model (ISM), the present study sought to determine
whether repeated experiences of romantic rejection and acceptance over time were
associated with change in ideal standards, ideal flexibility, and self-perceived
mate value (N = 208). Results suggest repeated
experiences of rejection correspond to decreases in ideal standards and
self-perceived mate value and increases in ideal flexibility, though no effects
emerged for acceptance. Given the predictive nature of ideal standards and the
link rejection has with such, findings from this study contribute to a greater
understanding of relationship formation processes.
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