Bianca P. Acevedo

Neural correlates of long-term intense romantic love

The present study examined the neural correlates of long-term intense romantic love using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Ten women and 7 men married an average of 21.4 years underwent fMRI while viewing facial images of their partner. Control images included a highly familiar acquaintance; a close, long-term friend; and a low-familiar person. Effects specific to the intensely loved, long-term partner were found in: (i) areas of the dopamine-rich reward and basal ganglia system, such as the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and dorsal striatum, consistent with results from early-stage romantic love studies; and (ii) several regions implicated in maternal attachment, such as the globus pallidus (GP), substantia nigra, Raphe nucleus, thalamus, insular cortex, anterior cingulate and posterior cingulate. Correlations of neural activity in regions of interest with widely used questionnaires showed: (i) VTA and caudate responses correlated with romantic love scores and inclusion of other in the self; (ii) GP responses correlated with friendship-based love scores; (iii) hypothalamus and posterior hippocampus responses correlated with sexual frequency; and (iv) caudate, septum/fornix, posterior cingulate and posterior hippocampus responses correlated with obsession. Overall, results suggest that for some individuals the reward-value associated with a long-term partner may be sustained, similar to new love, but also involves brain systems implicated in attachment and pair-bonding.

Does a Long-Term Relationship Kill Romantic Love?

This article examines the possibility that romantic love (with intensity, engagement, and sexual interest) can exist in long-term relationships. A review of taxonomies, theory, and research suggests that romantic love, without the obsession component typical of early stage romantic love, can and does exist in long-term marriages, and is associated with marital satisfaction, well-being, and high self-esteem. Supporting the separate roles of romantic love and obsession in long-term relationships, an analysis of a moderately large data set of community couples identified independent latent factors for romantic love and obsession and a subsample of individuals reporting very high levels of romantic love (but not obsession) even after controlling for social desirability. Finally, a meta-analysis of 25 relevant studies found that in long- and short-term relationships, romantic love (without obsession) was strongly associated with relationship satisfaction; but obsession was negatively correlated with it in long-term and positively in short-term relationships.

Is Long-Term Love More Than A Rare Phenomenon? If So, What Are Its Correlates?

Some individuals in long-term marriages report intensities of romantic love comparable to individuals newly in love. How common is this? Are correlates of long-term romantic love consistent with theoretical models of love? In a random sample of 274 U.S. married individuals, 40% of those married over 10 years reported being “Very intensely in love.” Importantly, correlates of long-term intense love, as predicted by theory, were thinking positively about the partner and thinking about the partner when apart, affectionate behaviors and sexual intercourse, shared novel and challenging activities, and general life happiness. Wanting to know where the partner is at all times correlated significantly with intense love for men but not women. For women, but not men, passion about nonrelationship factors significantly correlated with intense love. In a random New York (NY) sample of 322 individuals married over 10 years, 29% reported being very intensely in love and our predicted correlates cross validated.

Long-term effects of self-control on alcohol use and sexual behavior among urban minority young women.

High risk alcohol use and sexual behaviors peak in young adulthood and often occur in the same individuals. Alcohol use has been found to impair decision-making and contribute to high risk sexual activity. However, the association between alcohol use and risky sexual behavior may also reflect enduring individual differences in risk taking, sociability, self-control, and related variables. Both behaviors can serve similar functions related to recreation, interpersonal connection, and the pursuit of excitement or pleasure. The present study examined the extent to which high risk drinking and sexual behavior clustered together in a sample of urban minority young adult women, a demographic group at elevated risk for negative outcomes related to sexual health. We tested whether psychosocial functioning measured at the beginning of high school predicted classes of risk behaviors when girls were tracked longitudinally into young adulthood. Latent class analysis indicated three distinct profiles based on high risk drinking and sexual behavior (i.e., multiple sex partners) in young adulthood. The largest class (73% of the sample) reported low levels of risky drinking and sexual behavior. The next largest class (19%) reported high risk drinking and low risk sexual behavior, and the smallest class (8%) reported high levels of both behaviors. Compared to women from other racial/ethnic groups, black women were more likely to be categorized in the high risk drinking/low risk sex class. Multinomial logistic regression indicated that self-control in adolescence had a broad and enduring protective effect on risk behaviors eight years later and was associated with a greater probability of being in the low risk drinking/low risk sex class. Findings are discussed in terms of understanding the phenotypic expressions of risk behavior as they relate to early psychosocial development and the long-term protective function of self-control in reducing high risk drinking and sexual behaviors.

Experiences of falling in love: Investigating culture, ethnicity, gender, and speed

This research investigated 12 precursors to falling love — reciprocal liking, appearance, personality, similarity, familiarity, social influence, filling needs, arousal, readiness, specific cues, isolation, and mysteriousness — with respect to culture, ethnicity, gender, and speed. In Study 1, White-American and Asian-American participants wrote narratives of their falling in love experiences. In Study 2, participants from the United States and China wrote narratives and completed self-ratings of the precursors. Few ethnic, gender, and speed differences were obtained in either study, but those found were in the predicted direction. Many cultural differences were found in Study 2, the majority of which were consistent with individualism-collectivism models. Implications for understanding falling in love and directions for future research are discussed.

Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence in a Sample of Multiethnic Urban Young Adults

The purpose of the present study was to investigate risk and protective factors for intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization in a high-risk sample of predominantly minority young adults from low-income urban communities. Participants were 1,130 individuals (57.9% women) ages 21 to 26 who participated in a telephone interview assessing IPV victimization, violence-related behaviors, and sexual behaviors. Results indicated that about 20.9% of participants reported experiencing one or more IPV incidents in their lifetime. Based on previous research, we examined lifetime violence, lifetime number of sexual partners, number of children, education, and religious service attendance as predictors of IPV. Results from a multivariate logistic regression showed that lifetime violence-related behaviors, number of lifetime sexual partners, and number of children were significant risk factors for IPV. The link between children and IPV risk: (a) was moderated by education for women and men and (b) was stronger for women (vs. men). These findings suggest that training for coping with stress and anger, endorsement of safe sex practices, and greater support for education may be effective strategies for preventing and reducing IPV among high-risk populations.

Regional brain activity during early-stage intense romantic love predicted relationship outcomes after 40 months: An fMRI assessment

Early-stage romantic love is associated with activation in reward and motivation systems of the brain. Can these localized activations, or others, predict long-term relationship stability? We contacted participants from a previous fMRI study of early-stage love by Xu et al. [34] after 40 months from initial assessments. We compared brain activation during the initial assessment at early-stage love for those who were still together at 40 months and those who were apart, and surveyed those still together about their relationship happiness and commitment at 40 months. Six participants who were still with their partners at 40 months (compared to six who had broken up) showed less activation during early-stage love in the medial orbitofrontal cortex, right subcallosal cingulate and right accumbens, regions implicated in long-term love and relationship satisfaction [1,2]. These regions of deactivation at the early stage of love were also negatively correlated with relationship happiness scores collected at 40 months. Other areas involved were the caudate tail, and temporal and parietal lobes. These data are preliminary evidence that neural responses in the early stages of romantic love can predict relationship stability and quality up to 40 months later in the relationship. The brain regions involved suggest that forebrain reward functions may be predictive for relationship stability, as well as regions involved in social evaluation, emotional regulation, and mood.

Affective Self-Regulation Trajectories During Secondary School Predict Substance Use Among Urban Minority Young Adults.

This study explored the relationship between trajectories of affective self-regulation skills during secondary school and young adult substance use in a large multiethnic, urban sample (N = 995). During secondary school, participants completed a measure of cognitive and behavioral skills used to control negative, unpleasant emotions or perceived stress. As young adults, participants reported on the frequency and quantity of their alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use in a telephone interview. Controlling for demographic variables, self-regulation did not significantly change over adolescence, although there was significant variation in participants’ rates of growth and decline. Lower seventh-grade self-regulation and less steep increases in self-regulation were predictive of higher young adult substance use. Male participants had significantly lower initial self-regulation and higher young adult substance use. The results suggest that interventions that build affective self-regulation skills in adolescence may decrease the risk of young adult substance use.

Longitudinal Relationships Between Self-Management Skills and Substance Use in an Urban Sample of Predominantly Minority Adolescents

We explored changes in self-management skills and substance use from 7th to 11th grade in a multiwave study of predominantly minority adolescents (N = 1,756). Using latent growth curve analysis, we found that substance use significantly increased, whereas self-management skills significantly decreased. In a parallel process model, we found that participants who reported higher self-management skills in the 7th grade had smaller increases in substance use. Participants who had larger decreases in self-management skills tended to have greater increases in substance use. We also explored the influence of grades and gender and found that (a) participants with higher grades at baseline had lower initial substance use, higher initial self-management skills, and smaller increases in substance use, and (b) male participants had greater increases in substance use. These results suggest that the provision of self-management skills may be an effective strategy for preventing substance-use initiation and escalation during adolescence.