Jennifer S. Priem

Explaining Variation in Contemporaneous Responses to Hurt in Premarital Romantic Relationships: A Relational Turbulence Model Perspective

The authors use the relational turbulence model to derive hypotheses linking characteristics of relationships and reactions to hypothetical hurtful messages from a romantic relationship partner. It was hypothesized that relational uncertainty and perceptions of goal interference and facilitation from a partner predict perceptions of relational turbulence, which in turn predicts the intensity of hurt feelings, negative emotions, and the perceived intentionality of hurt evoked by hypothetical scenarios involving that partner. Participants in a web-based survey ( N = 381) completed measures of relationship qualities and recorded responses to five hypothetical scenarios that described their romantic partner delivering a potentially hurtful message. As anticipated, relationship uncertainty and interference from a partner predicted increased relational turbulence, whereas facilitation from a partner was associated with less turbulence; relational turbulence significantly predicted all three reactions to hurtful messages. The discussion highlights the contribution of the study to an understanding of hurtful messages by revealing the dynamic relational characteristics that influence people’s contemporaneous reactions to hurt.

Emotional Support and Physiological Stress Recovery: The Role of Support Matching, Adequacy, and Invisibility

This study evaluated the effect of support matching, perceived support adequacy, and support invisibility on physiological stress recovery. Participants (N = 103) received supportive messages from a dating partner after completing a series of stressful tasks and receiving negative performance feedback. Participants reported their general preferences for emotional support before the interaction, and afterward they evaluated support adequacy and their partners supportiveness during the interaction. Observers rated the emotional support provided, and salivary cortisol indexed changes in stress. As predicted, the positive association between a partners provision of emotional support and rate of stress recovery was greater for people who reported a greater preference for emotional support, in general, and people who evaluated their partners support during the interaction as more, compared to less, adequate. Contrary to expectations, support invisibility did not attenuate emotional support benefits.

Comforting Apprehensive Communicators: The Effects of Reappraisal and Distraction on Cortisol Levels Among Students in a Public Speaking Class

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of interpersonal communication as a source of comforting on the physiological stress associated with giving an in-class speech. Cortisol was used as an objective measure of stress reactivity, and the effects of distracting or reappraisal messages were examined. Salivary cortisol was collected from 42 students enrolled in an introductory public speaking course, in five intervals. The final collection showed that participants in the distraction condition experienced significantly less stress than participants in the control condition. The discussion highlights the importance of understanding the trajectory of decay to detect the stress-reducing benefits of comforting communication.

Relational Messages, Perceptions of Hurt, and Biological Stress Reactions to a Disconfirming Interaction

This study examines relational messages as predictors of hurt, using both self-report indicators of hurt and biological markers of stress reactivity to a hurtful interaction. Hypotheses predict that perceptions of involvement, composure, and receptivity increase feelings of hurt, whereas perceptions of similarity, affiliation, and informality decrease hurt. Participants (N = 91) engage in two 5-minute conversations with a romantic partner about core traits and values. The partner is coached to be disconfirming and hurtful during the second conversation about the participant’s core traits or values. Following the interaction, participants report their level of hurt and their perceptions of the conversation and give saliva samples to measure cortisol. The hypotheses are partially supported, such that perceptions of affiliation and informality are negatively associated with hurt feelings. Furthermore, self-reported hurt feelings are positively associated with increases in salivary cortisol. Affiliation and receptivity also have direct effects on the stability of cortisol change.

What Is Supportive About Supportive Conversation? Qualities of Interaction That Predict Emotional and Physiological Outcomes

This study assessed how qualities of supportive interactions, operationalized from the perspectives of the support receiver and third-party observers, predict emotional improvement and cortisol recovery following a stressful experience. Participants (N = 103) conversed with a dating partner after completing a series of stressful tasks; partners engaged in either neutral listening or supportive communication. Participants reported their perceptions of the interaction and their emotional improvement, and provided salivary cortisol samples that indexed changes in stress. Trained third-party observers rated the interactions for supportive qualities. Individually, participants’ perceptions of support explicitness, elaboration, and involvement were positively correlated with emotional improvement, but participants’ perceptions of support explicitness and elaboration were associated with slower, rather than faster, cortisol recovery. When study variables were assessed as a set, participants’ perceptions of explicitness of support were associated with greater emotional improvement and third-party ratings of explicitness of support predicted faster cortisol recovery.

The Content of Relational Uncertainty in Non-Engaged Cohabiting Relationships

Cohabitation, or living together without marrying, is a common and potentially problematic part of contemporary dating relationships. Cohabiting partners rarely share the same vision for the future of their relationship, often resulting in an unclear state of commitment. This study used a relational uncertainty lens to examine the nuances of uncertainties in cohabiting partnerships. We conducted a content analysis of open-ended responses from over 103 couples (N = 206). Results suggest that cohabiting partners cope with relational uncertainties that are specific to both marital and dating relationships, as well as several relational uncertainties that are unique to cohabitation. Findings also showed that the majority of partners do not identify similar topics of relational uncertainty. In light of these results, it is recommended that cohabiting couples make a concerted effort to discuss their uncertainties with their partner early and objectively, as well as to consider how their strains in social networks might add to individual and relational stress.

Differentiating declining commitment and breakup using commitment to wed

ABSTRACT The relationship literature describes that declining commitment leads to breakup. The goal of this article is to distinguish declining commitment and breakup to clarify this claim to better understand relationship processes. Data comes from a longitudinal study of heterosexual dating couples (N = 180). Both individuals in the relationship independently graphed changes in commitment to wed their partner and reported reasons for each change monthly for eight consecutive months. Frequency and intensity of decreased interaction, relational uncertainty, and alternative partners were measured across periods of stability (increased or stable levels of commitment to wed) and declining commitment (decreased commitment to wed that was at least one month in duration). Hierarchical linear models revealed that more frequent reports of these characteristics were associated with declining commitment rather than stability. Using survival analyses, intensity of each characteristic predicted breakup versus declining commitment. Implications for relationship processes are discussed.

Sliding Versus Deciding: A Theme Analysis of Deciding Conversations of Non-Engaged Cohabiting Couples

The goal of the study was to examine conversations about living together between cohabiting partners. Survey responses of 103 non-engaged cohabiting couples (206 individuals) were assessed using theme analysis procedures. Results show that 84% of the sample did have a conversation about the transition prior to moving in together. The conversations ranged from relational and logistical issues to justifications for why cohabitation was the right choice. The theme analysis also revealed that for some couples, the decision to cohabit was dependent on having a conversation, while for others the conversation seemed to occur after the decision had been made.