Emily A. Impett

What Do You Do When Things Go Right? The Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Benefits of Sharing Positive Events

Four studies examined the intrapersonal and interpersonal consequences of seeking out others when good things happen (i.e., capitalization). Two studies showed that communicating personal positive events with others was associated with increased daily positive affect and well-being, above and beyond the impact of the positive event itself and other daily events. Moreover, when others were perceived to respond actively and constructively (and not passively or destructively) to capitalization attempts, the benefits were further enhanced. Two studies found that close relationships in which ones partner typically responds to capitalization attempts enthusiastically were associated with higher relationship well-being (e.g., intimacy, daily marital satisfaction). The results are discussed in terms of the theoretical and empirical importance of understanding how people cope with positive events, cultivate positive emotions, and enhance social bonds.

Sexual compliance: Gender, motivational, and relationship perspectives

This paper provides a systematic review of research on sexual compliance in heterosexual relationships. Three perspectives shed light on which individuals are the most likely to comply with a sexually interested partners desire for sex and why. A gender perspective highlights the common male‐female asymmetry in compliant sexual behavior and identifies factors that contribute to womens greater likelihood of being the sexually compliant partner. A motivational perspective distinguishes between approach and avoidance motives for compliance and considers the possible consequences of these motives for emotional reactions, sexual risk taking, and sexual violence. A relationship maintenance perspective views sexual compliance as illustrative of broader patterns of sacrifice in committed relationships. Each perspective suggests important new directions for empirical research.

Giving up and giving in: The costs and benefits of daily sacrifice in intimate relationships.

This research provided the first empirical investigation of how approach and avoidance motives for sacrifice in intimate relationships are associated with personal well-being and relationship quality. In Study 1, the nature of everyday sacrifices made by dating partners was examined, and a measure of approach and avoidance motives for sacrifice was developed. In Study 2, which was a 2-week daily experience study of college students in dating relationships, specific predictions from the theoretical model were tested and both longitudinal and dyadic components were included. Whereas approach motives for sacrifice were positively associated with personal well-being and relationship quality, avoidance motives for sacrifice were negatively associated with personal well-being and relationship quality. Sacrificing for avoidance motives was particularly detrimental to the maintenance of relationships over time. Perceptions of a partners motives for sacrifice were also associated with well-being and relationship quality. Implications for the conceptualization of relationship maintenance processes along these 2 dimensions are discussed.

Why Some Women Consent to Unwanted Sex with a Dating Partner: Insights from Attachment Theory.

Several studies have shown that many college women engage in unwanted sexual activity with a dating partner. However, little research has examined the differences between women who comply with requests for unwanted sexual activity and women who do not. This study utilized an attachment theory framework to investigate individual differences in womens compliant sexual behavior. An ethnically diverse sample of 125 college women who had consented to unwanted sex with a current dating partner completed measures of their attachment style, commitment to their current relationship, perceptions of their partners commitment, and willingness to consent to unwanted sex in a hypothetical scenario. Results showed that attachment style and commitment perceptions were associated with womens willingness to consent to unwanted sex with a dating partner in the hypothetical scenario and their reasons for this decision. As predicted, anxiously attached women were the most willing to consent to unwanted sex, and they often cited fears that their partner would lose interest in them as reasons for their compliance. Contrary to hypotheses, avoidantly attached women were not the least willing to consent to unwanted sex. They often reported passively complying with a partners sexual request in order to fulfill relationship obligations. The importance of sexuality to attachment formation in dating relationships and the potential consequences of consenting to unwanted sex are discussed.

Maintaining Sexual Desire in Intimate Relationships : The Importance of Approach Goals

Three studies tested whether adopting strong (relative to weak) approach goals in relationships (i.e., goals focused on the pursuit of positive experiences in ones relationship such as fun, growth, and development) predict greater sexual desire. Study 1 was a 6-month longitudinal study with biweekly assessments of sexual desire. Studies 2 and 3 were 2-week daily experience studies with daily assessments of sexual desire. Results showed that approach relationship goals buffered against declines in sexual desire over time and predicted elevated sexual desire during daily sexual interactions. Approach sexual goals mediated the association between approach relationship goals and daily sexual desire. Individuals with strong approach goals experienced even greater desire on days with positive relationship events and experienced less of a decrease in desire on days with negative relationships events than individuals who were low in approach goals. In two of the three studies, the association between approach relationship goals and sexual desire was stronger for women than for men. Implications of these findings for maintaining sexual desire in long-term relationships are discussed.

LOOKING GOOD, SOUNDING GOOD: FEMININITY IDEOLOGY AND ADOLESCENT GIRLS' MENTAL HEALTH

This study used a feminist psychodynamic developmental framework to test the hypothesis that internalizing conventional femininity ideologies in two domains—inauthenticity in relationships and body objectification—is associated with early adolescent girls mental health. One hundred forty-eight eighth-grade girls completed measures of femininity ideology, self-esteem, depression, and demographic characteristics. In the first part of this study, we refined the Adolescent Femininity Ideology Scale originally developed by Tolman and Porche (2000). In the second part, we used structural equation modeling to test models linking femininity ideology to mental health. Results revealed that body objectification, and to a lesser extent, inauthenticity in relationships, accounted for half of the variance in depression and over two-thirds of the variance in self-esteem in a critical period of development for adolescent girls. The importance of a feminist psychodynamic developmental framework for identifying and understanding salient dimensions of female adolescence is discussed.

Late Adolescent Girls’ Sexual Experiences and Sexual Satisfaction:

This study presented and tested a model of sexual satisfaction for late adolescent girls. In this model, sexual self-concept and approach sexual motives were tested as predictors of adolescent girls’ sexual satisfaction with their most recent experience of sexual intercourse. A total of 116 girls in 12th grade (ages 16-19) completed measures of sexual self-concept and sexual experiences. A smaller number of girls (n = 70) with intercourse experience completed measures of their motives for engaging in sex and their sexual satisfaction with their most recent intercourse experience. Results showed that both sexual self-concept and approach sexual motives were associated with greater sexual experience across a broad range of sexual behaviors. Furthermore, sexual self-concept and approach sex motives predicted higher sexual satisfaction at most recent intercourse. The importance of investigating positive factors in girls’ developing sexuality is discussed.

Girls' Relationship Authenticity and Self-Esteem Across Adolescence

Feminist psychologists have long posited that relationship authenticity (i.e., the congruence between what one thinks and feels and what one does and says in relational contexts) is integral to self-esteem and well-being. Guided by a feminist developmental framework, the authors investigated the role of relationship authenticity in promoting girls self-esteem over the course of adolescence. Latent growth curve modeling was used to test the association between relationship authenticity and self-esteem with data from a 5-year, 3-wave longitudinal study of 183 adolescent girls. Results revealed that both relationship authenticity and self-esteem increased steadily in a linear fashion from the 8th to the 12th grade. Girls who scored high on the measure of relationship authenticity in the 8th grade experienced greater increases in self-esteem over the course of adolescence than girls who scored low on relationship authenticity. Further, girls who increased in authenticity also tended to increase in self-esteem over the course of adolescence. The importance of a feminist developmental framework for identifying and understanding salient dimensions of female adolescence is discussed.

Lesbians in love.

Abstract Lesbians often begin romantic relationships with high hopes that their relationships will be satisfying and long-lasting. Why do some women maintain committed and stable relationships while others do not? This article considers factors that affect commitment and stability among lesbian couples. We begin by reviewing previous empirical research on the topic. Next, we test a leading model of commitment using survey data from 301 lesbian couples who participated in the American Couples Study (Blumstein & Schwartz, 1983). According to Caryl Rusbults model (1983), an individuals commitment to a relationship is affected by three general factors: satisfaction, the quality of alternatives to the current relationship, and investments made in the relationship. In turn, a womans degree of commitment influences relationship stability. Path analysis provided strong support for Rusbults model. Nonetheless, this model did not fully explain the sources of commitment and stability in lesbian relationships. Consequently, we consider unique aspects of the social environment that may affect commitment and stability in lesbian relationships.

The Cambridge Handbook of Personal Relationships: “His” and “Her” Relationships? A Review of the Empirical Evidence

Comparing the experiences of men and women in intimate relationships is a fascination some might say an obsession that has long intrigued laypeople and researchers alike. The public appears to crave information about how men and women differ in their approaches to love and relationships, a point reflected in the continuing popularity of John Grays (1993) best-selling book, Men are from. Mars, Women are from Venus. Social scientists, too, have tackled this topic. Thirty years ago, sociologist Jessie Bernard (1972) proposed that in every marriage there are actually two relationships his and hers. In the intervening years, relationship researchers have energetically investigated the possibility of important gender differences in close relationships, extending their analyses beyond marriage to include cohabiting partners, gay and lesbian couples (see Diamond, this volume), and other intimate relationships. A comprehensive history of theory and research on gender in close relationships has yet to be written, but a few landmarks are illustrative. Early analyses, primarily by sociologists and anthropologists, focused on the family (see review by Glenn, 1987). Working from a functionalist perspective, theorists such as Parsons (1955) suggested that the existence of the traditional nuclear family provided evidence that differentiated male-female roles serve vital functions, including the socialization of children and the stabilization of adult personality. In the 19705, emerging feminist perspectives criticized prevailing theories as justifying the status quo. Instead, feminist scholars urged analyses of male-female relationships that considered gender ideology, power inequalities, the division of labor, and the social context (e.g., Bernard, 1972). Although feminists often argued for the social origins of traditional gender patterns in relationships, the development of sociobiology provided an alternative perspective rooted in human evolution. Symons (1979) influential book, The Evolution of Human Sexuality, laid the groundwork for evolutionary analyses of mate selection, parental investment, and other topics that continue to be studied today. In the 19705, empirical projects such as the Boston Couples Study (e.g., Peplau, Hill, & Rubin, 1993) paid increasing