Diane Felmlee

The Dissolution of Intimate Relationships: A Hazard Model

We conducted a longitudinal investigation to advance our understanding of determinants of the breakups of premarital relationships. We considered causes, derived from several major theories, that were located in a variety of sources ― in the relationship, in the social network environment, and in the individual. In the analyses we examined how measures of different factors affected the rate at which a relationship changed from intact to broken up

Status Struggles Network Centrality and Gender Segregation in Same- and Cross-Gender Aggression

Literature on aggression often suggests that individual deficiencies, such as social incompetence, psychological difficulties, or troublesome home environments, are responsible for aggressive behavior. In this article, by contrast, we examine aggression from a social network perspective, arguing that social network centrality, our primary measure of peer status, increases the capacity for aggression and that competition to gain or maintain status motivates its use. We test these arguments using a unique longitudinal dataset that enables separate consideration of same- and cross-gender aggression. We find that aggression is generally not a maladjusted reaction typical of the socially marginal; instead, aggression is intrinsic to status and escalates with increases in peer status until the pinnacle of the social hierarchy is attained. Over time, individuals at the very bottom and those at the very top of a hierarchy become the least aggressive youth. We also find that aggression is influenced not so much by individual gender differences as by relationships with the other gender and patterns of gender segregation at school. When cross-gender interactions are plentiful, aggression is diminished. Yet these factors are also jointly implicated in peer status: in schools where cross-gender interactions are rare, cross-gender friendships create status distinctions that magnify the consequences of network centrality.

No Couple Is an Island: A Social Network Perspective on Dyadic Stability

Social networks have a relatively large and multifaceted effect on the stability of intimate relationships, based on proportional hazard analysis involving 290 individuals. Perceptions of approval from a respondents friends and approval from a partners family increase relationship stability. On the other hand, perceived approval from a respondents family, overall encouragement to date, and closeness to a best friend decrease stability in the multivariate model. Perceptions of social approval are better at predicting stability than actual approval. The effects of social networks occur even after controlling for the significant effects of dyadic variables such as the perceived existence of alternatives, closeness to the partner, and arguing. Findings confirm the positive and negative roles of social ties and support the argument that friendships can compete with romantic relationships for companionship.

Who's on top? Power in romantic relationships

Power balances are investigated in a sample of 413 heterosexual dating individuals (86% white, 9.7% black, 4.3% other ethnicities). Less than half the respondents perceive their relationships to be equal in the distribution of power, and men are over twice as likely as women to be viewed as the partners having more power. Imbalances are also evident in three related measures—decision-making, emotional involvement, and equity. A higher proportion of both women and men say that the male partner, rather than the female partner, made more of the decisions, was less emotionally involved, and in general was “getting a better deal.” Finally, male dominance, but not equality of power between the genders, is associated with greater romantic relationship longevity. More specifically, the higher the relative degree of power attributed by respondents to the male, rather than the female, partner of a dyad, the lower is the subsequent rate of relationship dissolution.

Women's Job Mobility Processes within and between Employers.

This research examines the role of the firm in womens job mobility using a dynamic approach. Rates of womens job to job transitions are analyzed with a multivariate, stochastic model. The data are employment histories derived from the National Longitudinal Survey of Young Women (1968-1973). The results demonstrate the significance and the advantages offirm-internal labor markets in womens employment. First, the process ofjob mobility differs greatly within and between employers. Voluntary job changes made between employers rely on observable job rewards and general individual resources. Shifts within a firm depend largely on a womans age and job duration, signifying the importance of seniority and job-specific resources in determining promotions. Second, jobs in firm-internal labor markets offer higher wages and socioeconomic status to women than other jobs.

The Balance of Power in Romantic Heterosexual Couples Over Time from “His” and “Her” Perspectives

In this investigation, the balance of power between men and women in romantic relationships was examined with a sample of 101 heterosexual couples, some of whom were surveyed up to jive times over a four-year period. A majority of the participants (who were primarily Caucasian and middle class) reported some imbalance in power in their relationship (53% of the men and 52% of the women on a global measure of power; 67% of the men and 65% of the women on a measure of decision making). The longitudinal data indicated that perceptions of power were quite stable over time. When power imbalances in relationships occurred, the male partner was more likely than the female to be seen as the power holder, although these differences were statistically significant only for men (full sample). In support of W. Wallers “principle of least interest” [(1937) The Family: A Dynamic Interpretation, New York: Gordon], being the less emotionally involved partner in the relationship was associated with greater power. We further found that men were more likely than women to perceive themselves as the less emotionally invested partner. Perceptions of power balance were generally unrelated to either relationship satisfaction or to the likelihood that the couple broke up over time. In one exception, men who perceived their relationship to be equal in power (but not decision making) reported the highest level of satisfaction. We conclude that the balance of power still often favors men in these romantic couples (especially in decision making), although couples do not always agree on their perceptions, with male partners tending to see more male dominance than females.

Causes and Consequences of Women's Employment Discontinuity, 1967-1973:

Using a sample of young White women from 1967 to 1973, this research finds support for the hypothesis that a single break in employment has immediate, adverse effects on occupational attainment. Job changes that were interrupted by an employment break yielded significantly lower gains in wages and job status than did uninterrupted job shifts and had relatively higher rates of downward job mobility. A critical factor was marital status, with married women having significantly higher rates of interrupted job mobility and significantly lower rates of uninterrupted job mobility. Structural explanations for the negative consequences of employment discontinuity are contrasted with a human capital explanation.

Casualties of Social Combat School Networks of Peer Victimization and Their Consequences

We point to group processes of status conflict and norm enforcement as fundamental elements in the development of school-based victimization. Socially vulnerable youth are frequently harassed for violating norms, but the logic of status competition implies they are not the only victims: to the extent that aggression is instrumental for social climbing, increases in status should increase risk—at least until the pinnacle of the hierarchy is reached. Victimization causes serious harm, and, we argue, at the margin these consequences will be magnified by status. We test these ideas using longitudinal network data on friendship and victimization from 19 schools. For most students, status increases the risk of victimization. However, youth at the uppermost extremes of the school hierarchy—students in the top 5 percent of centrality and those with cross-gender friendships where such friendships are rare—sit just above the fray, unlikely to fall victim to their peers. As expected, females and physically or socially vulnerable youth are victimized at particularly high rates. Victims experience psychological distress and social marginalization, and these adverse effects are magnified by status. For most students, gains in status increase the likelihood of victimization and the severity of its consequences.

Stability and Change in Relationships: Social Networks and Change in Personal Relationships

Intimate relationships begin, develop, are maintained, change, and dissolve within a larger environment. Although personal characteristics of the pair members and properties that emerge from their interaction (e.g., love) affect the temporal course and outcome of a relationship, the larger environment also is important, and, in fact, can influence the properties that emerge in the pairs interaction. The environment includes both physical forces (e.g., proximity, physical setting) and social networks. The focus of this chapter is on social networks of family and friends and their influences on change and stability in intimate relationships. Social scientists interested in relationship development, satisfaction, commitment, stability, and other relationship phenomena have generally neglected social environmental explanations, as noted many years ago (e.g., Ridley & Avery, 1979) and also more recently (Berscheid, 1999; Berscheid & Reis, 1998). However, theoretical and empirical contributions on the influence of social networks on intimate relationships have been growing. In the first section of this chapter, we provide a synthesis of previous theoretical statements linking social networks with personal relationships and highlight what we believe to be the network processes and attributes most likely to influence relationships. Next we discuss how these network processes and attributes are related to the formation, development, and stability versus dissolution of premarital relationships. The third section provides a review of the influence of social networks on marriage and other committed relationships.

The Principle of Least Interest: Inequality in Emotional Involvement in Romantic Relationships

Data from a longitudinal sample of dating couples (some of whom married) were analyzed to test the aspect of Waller’s (1938) principle of least interest that states that unequal emotional involvement between romantic partners has implications for relationship quality and stability. Both members of the couples were asked multiple times over several years which partner, if either, was more emotionally involved. Perceptions of unequal emotional involvement were common and tended to remain stable over time. Less emotionally involved partners perceived themselves as having more control over the continuation of their relationships. Equal emotional involvement was associated with greater relationship satisfaction and stability. Concurrent and retrospective perceptions of relative emotional involvement were associated with several aspects of relationship breakup within the subsample of those who broke up during the study. Perceptions of emotional involvement have many implications for dating couples, including being linked to relationship satisfaction and other outcomes.