Background
The quantity of social relationships and social interactions is positively related to well‐being, but the underlying role of personality dispositions in these associations is unclear. The ...present study investigated whether social motives for affiliation and intimacy moderate associations of personal networks with well‐being.
Method
We analyzed data from N = 389 individuals living alone (aged 35–60 years) who provided self‐reports of social motives and well‐being, and who completed an ego‐centered social network task. A subsample of N = 331 individuals participated in a social network diary with daily questions about social interactions within their personal networks.
Results
Overall, we found little support for moderations. Individuals higher in affiliation felt less lonely than individuals lower in affiliation when having more frequent in‐person contact. Multilevel analyses of the diary data revealed that highly affiliative individuals reported being more satisfied than individuals lower in affiliation when having more daily social interactions than usual. No moderations were found in the context of intimacy.
Discussion
Findings suggest that, especially in the context of daily social encounters, affiliation might moderate associations of social interaction quantity with well‐being. Implications for future research on personality–relationship dynamics in personal networks and daily social interactions are discussed.
Most people experience their first romantic relationship during adolescence. However, there is also a substantial proportion of youth who remain single during this time. Delaying the transition into ...the first romantic relationship may be associated with a decrease in self-esteem which might recover or even increase after youth engage in their first romantic relationship. The current study examined self-esteem development surrounding the transition into the first romantic relationship over a period of 10 years in a sample of N = 1395 adolescents (Mage = 16.22 at T1; Mage = 26.22 at T11) from pairfam, a German representative panel study starting in 2008. Results from multilevel piecewise growth curve models showed that self-esteem did not change before beginning the first relationship, but slightly decreased thereafter. There were no moderating effects of age at first relationship, single satisfaction, or relationship satisfaction. However, both single and partnered youth who were more satisfied with their current relationship status reported higher self-esteem on average. Overall, the findings extend the current understanding of self-esteem development surrounding the transition into the first romantic relationship. Being single during late adolescence and emerging adulthood does not seem to pose a risk for youth’s self-esteem development.
Residential mobility-the change of residence within a country-is a pervasive phenomenon in 21st century societies, with the peak clearly being in young adulthood. Placing the self in geographical ...space has now become a major challenge for young adults, making region a key identity domain. Little is known, however, about the correlates of regional identity development. In line with the dynamic-transactional paradigm, we expected longitudinal associations between regional identity and the geographical dispersion of personal relationships. We specifically assumed that both individual experiences-such as moving-and personal relationship experiences-such as emotional closeness toward relationship partners-moderate these associations over time. Using longitudinal multilevel analyses, we found support for these hypotheses in a 3-wave longitudinal study over 1 year with 1,059 postsecondary graduates from Germany (73% female, mean age 24.53 years). Most notably, changes in regional identity were related to changes in geographical distance from personal relationship partners. Effects were robust and confirmed when controlling for diverse reasons for moving. We conclude that regional identity and personal relationships share a common developmental pathway. This pathway also points toward the relevance of geographical distance from personal relationships, even in young adults' mobile and connected world.
