Amy J. Rauer

Exploring processes of change in couple relationship education: predictors of change in relationship quality.

In the past several decades, a number of largely atheoretical individual and meta-analytic studies of couple relationship education (CRE) programs have focused on program effectiveness without considerations of how these programs work and for whom. To address this gap in the literature, the current study drew upon assumptions from social-cognitive and behavioral theories that are implicit in CRE design to assess the influence of short-term changes from pre- to posttreatment in behaviors and commitment on changes in relationship quality among a racially and economically diverse group of 2,824 individuals who participated in a CRE program. Findings from structural equation modeling indicated that the best-fitting model for both men and women was one in which changes in behaviors predicted changes in relationship quality via their influence on changes in commitment. Further, a series of moderational analyses provided some evidence to suggest that the strength of the relationships between these variables may depend to a small extent on the social address of the participants (race, income) and to a greater extent on characteristics of the CRE experience (i.e., beginning the class at lower levels of functioning, attending with a partner). Findings help us begin to understand the influences among domains of change that occur as a result of participating in a CRE program, as well as offering some useful information to practitioners on demographic and contextual moderators of program outcomes. Implications for future research on the mechanisms of change for CRE are presented.

Sleeping with one eye open: marital abuse as an antecedent of poor sleep.

In a diverse community sample of 241 married couples, we examined received psychological abuse (PA) as a longitudinal predictor of mens and womens sleep. Participants reported on marital functioning and mental health during three assessments (T1, T2, T3) and sleep problems during two assessments (T2, T3), with 1-year lags between waves. Growth curve analyses revealed that for both spouses, higher initial levels of PA and increases in PA over time predicted greater sleep disturbances at T3. For husbands and wives, anxiety and depression mediated some of the associations between PA and sleep problems. For wives, moderation effects highlighted the importance of violence, anxiety, and depression in exacerbating sleep problems associated with PA. Results build on and contribute significantly to the scant literature implicating the importance of the marital relationship for sleep and suggest that simultaneous consideration of intrapersonal and interpersonal variables is critical when explicating sleep disruptions.

Quick to Berate, Slow to Sleep: Interpartner Psychological Conflict, Mental Health, and Sleep

OBJECTIVE Relations between interpartner psychological conflict (IPC) and the sleep of men and women were examined, and depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed as intervening variables of these associations. METHOD Participants were 135 cohabiting or married couples. The mean age was 36.50 (SD = 5.93) for women and 39.37 (SD = 7.33) for men. Most women (76%) and men (78%) were European American (EA) and the rest were predominantly African American (AA); there was a wide socioeconomic representation. Men and women reported on IPC used by their partner against them. Sleep was examined objectively with actigraphs, and multiple sleep quantity and quality measures were derived. RESULTS Dyadic path analysis in which both actor and partner effects were assessed was conducted. For women, greater IPC by the partner was related to elevated levels of anxiety, which in turn was associated with shorter sleep duration and worse sleep efficiency; anxiety was an intervening variable. For men, IPC by the partner was related to greater symptoms of anxiety and depression; the latter was an intervening variable linking IPC with sleep quality (lower efficiency, longer latency). Some partner effects were observed and indicate that for both men and women, ones perpetration of IPC is related to increased anxiety in the partner, which in turn is related to longer sleep latency for the actor. CONCLUSION Results build on this scant literature, and using objective well-validated measures of sleep highlight the importance of relationship processes and mental health for the sleep of men and women.

Reciprocal pathways between intimate partner violence and sleep in men and women.

Toward explicating associations and directionality of effects between relationship processes and a fundamental facet of health, we examined cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between the perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) and men and womens sleep. During two assessments, a diverse community sample of couples reported on their perpetrated acts of psychological and physical IPV and their sleep quality. Cross-sectional associations between IPV and sleep were evident for both partners, in particular between psychological IPV and sleep. A dyadic path analysis controlling for the autoregressive effects and within-time correlations revealed longitudinal links between mens perpetration of IPV and their sleep quality. Even though high levels of stability in all IPV and sleep measures were observed over time, results indicated that sleep problems predicted increases in the perpetration of psychological IPV over time for both men and women. Cross-partner effects emerged for men, revealing that mens sleep problems were strongly affected by their partners earlier perpetration of IPV and sleep difficulties. Findings illustrate the significance of contemporaneous, dyadic assessments of relationship processes and sleep for a better understanding of both facets of adaptation, and have implications for those wishing to understand the etiology and consequences of the perpetration of IPV for both men and women.

Marital Histories and Economic Well-Being

Using panel data from the Health and Retirement Study the authors analyze the impact of a lifetime of marriage events on wealth levels near retirement. They find that unmarried widowed and divorced men and remarried men with more than one past marital disruption have lower housing wealth than continuously married men and women. Both financial and housing wealth are lower for the same marital categories of women. Each year spent married increases wealth by 4 percent. Observable differences in lifetime earnings, pension and Social Security wealth are not enough to explain the large differences in wealth accumulation across marital groups.

Growing old together Compassionate love and health in older adulthood

The health benefits associated with marriage are disproportionately large in older adulthood, due in part to the powerful role spouses play in promoting each other’s well-being. What remains unclear is what motivates this caretaking. To determine whether compassionate love plays a role, the current study used an Actor–Partner Interdependence Model to examine how 64 older couples’ compassionate love is linked to their health. Feeling compassionate love was linked to better health for wives. The partner effects, however, painted a more complicated picture, with the receipt of compassionate love appearing to undermine health. Given the unprecedented growth in the number of older adults in the United States, we have a vested interest in determining how compassionate love may help or hinder well-being in later-life marriages.

“It’s not just words coming from the mouth” The nature of compassionate love among older couples

Compassionate love is an important characteristic of healthy close relationships. However, we know little about how compassionate love is behaviorally manifested. Furthermore, compassionate love may be uniquely experienced among older couples, as age-related challenges may require adjustments by spouses in providing more care for one another. Through interviews with 63 older married couples, this exploratory study examined the behavioral component of compassionate love among older couples as reported from the recipients’ perspective. From the qualitative data analysis, 11 behavioral domains were identified, including caring for physical health and helping with household tasks. The examples varied greatly in magnitude and meaningfulness, from willingly moving around the country to fixing breakfast. Further, couples frequently highlighted acts related to their increasing age-related challenges, underscoring the importance of taking a life-span approach to the study of compassionate love. The results may be useful to further develop interventions promoting compassionate love, especially among older couples.

Young adult females’ relationship work and its links to romantic functioning and stability over time

We examined the frequency with which 67 young adult females from the Southeastern U.S. discussed romantic relationship problems with their partners and their best friends, a process referred to as “relationship work” (RW). Results from data collected over two time points revealed that females engage in more frequent RW with partners than with friends and that RW with partners increases over time. Path analyses revealed early RW patterns did not predict changes in love or conflict, yet RW with partner and love were concurrently positively linked at both time points. Women reporting greater conflict reported decreases in RW with partners. Results suggest that discussing romantic challenges with one’s partner likely has a positive impact both immediately and over time.

Romantic relationships and alcohol use: A long-term, developmental perspective.

This study considers the developmental origins of alcohol use in young adulthood. Despite substantial evidence linking committed romantic relationships to less problematic alcohol use in adulthood, the uniformity of these protective benefits across different romantic relationships is unclear. Further, the extent to which the establishment and maintenance of these romantic relationships is preceded by earlier adolescence alcohol use remains unknown. To address these gaps in the literature, the current study utilized multitiple-dimensional, multiple-informant data spanning 20 years on 585 individuals in the Child Development Project. Findings from both variable- and person-centered analyses support a progression of associations predicting adolescent alcohol use (ages 15-16), drinking, and romantic relationships in early adulthood (ages 18-25), and then problematic young adult alcohol use (age 27). Although adolescent alcohol use predicted greater romantic involvement and turnover in early adulthood, romantic involvement, but not turnover, appeared to reduce the likelihood of later problematic drinking. These findings remained robust even after accounting for a wide array of selection and socialization factors. Moreover, characteristics of the individuals (e.g., gender) and of their romantic relationships (e.g., partner substance use problems and romantic relationship satisfaction) did not moderate these findings. Findings underscore the importance of using a developmental-relational perspective to consider the antecedents and consequences of alcohol use early in the life span.