Ximena B. Arriaga

Willingness to Sacrifice in Close Relationships

The authors advance an interdependence analysis of willingness to sacrifice. Support for model predictions was revealed in 6 studies (3 cross-sectional survey studies, 1 simulation experiment, 2 longitudinal studies) that used a novel self-report measure and a behavioral measure of willingness to sacrifice. Willingness to sacrifice was associated with strong commitment, high satisfaction, poor alternatives, and high investments; feelings of commitment largely mediated the associations of these variables with willingness to sacrifice. Moreover, willingness to sacrifice was associated with superior couple functioning, operationalized in terms of level of dyadic adjustment and probability of couple persistence. In predicting adjustment, willingness to sacrifice accounted for significant variance beyond commitment, partially mediating the link between commitment and adjustment; such mediation was not significant for persistence.

An evaluation of Safe Dates, an adolescent dating violence prevention program.

OBJECTIVES This study assessed the effects of the Safe Dates program on the primary and secondary prevention of adolescent dating violence. METHODS Fourteen schools were randomly allocated to treatment conditions. Eighty percent (n=1886) of the eighth and ninth graders in a rural county completed baseline questionnaires, and 1700 (90%) completed follow-up questionnaires. RESULTS Treatment and control groups were comparable at baseline. In the full sample at follow-up, less psychological abuse, sexual violence, and violence perpetrated against the current dating partner were reported in treatment than in control schools. In a subsample of adolescents reporting no dating violence at baseline (a primary prevention subsample), there was less initiation of psychological abuse in treatment than in control schools. In a subsample of adolescents reporting dating violence at baseline (a secondary prevention subsample), there was less psychological abuse and sexual violence perpetration reported at follow-up in treatment than in control schools. Most program effects were explained by changes in dating violence norms, gender stereotyping, and awareness of services. CONCLUSIONS The Safe Dates program shows promise for preventing dating violence among adolescents.

Adolescent Dating Violence Do Adolescents Follow in Their Friends’, Or Their Parents’, Footsteps?

Past research suggests that adolescents whose parents are violent toward one another should be more likely to experience dating violence. Having friends in violent relationships also may increase the odds of dating violence. The authors examined which antecedent, friend dating violence or interparental violence, if either, is more strongly predictive of own dating violence perpetration and victimization. Five hundred and twenty-six adolescents (eighth and ninth graders) completed self-report questionnaires on two occasions over a 6-month period. Consistent with hypotheses, friend dating violence and interparental violence each exhibited unique cross-sectional associations with own perpetration and victimization. However, only friend violence consistently predicted later dating violence. The authors explored influence versus selection processes to explain the association between friend and own dating violence.

Being Committed: Affective, Cognitive, and Conative Components of Relationship Commitment

This article presents the first systematic empirical examination of the state of relationship commitment as advanced by Rusbult and her colleagues, defining the state in terms of affective, cognitive, and conative components. From this perspective, the state of commitment is seen as having three distinct components: (a) psychological attachment, (b) long-term orientation, and (c) intention to persist. Two longitudinal studies of individuals in dating relationships revealed that the three components each predict both couple functioning and eventual breakup status. Both studies also provided suggestive evidence that long-term orientation is a particularly important component of commitment in dating relationships.

Standing in My Partner's Shoes: Partner Perspective Taking and Reactions to Accommodative Dilemmas

Four studies examined the role of partner perspective taking in shaping reactions to accommodative dilemmas-situations in which a close partner enacts a potentially destructive behavior. Participants included marital partners (Study 1) and dating partners (Studies 2, 3, and 4). Studies 1, 3, and 4 examined preexisting tendencies toward partner perspective taking, and Studies 2, 3, and 4 included experimental manipulations of perspective. In all four studies, adopting the partners perspective (rather than ones own) during an accommodative dilemma resulted in (a) more positive emotional reactions, more relationship-enhancing attributions, and enhanced inclinations toward constructive responding and (b) less negative emotional reactions, less partner-blaming attributions, and reduced inclinations toward destructive responding. In Studies 2, 3, and 4, analyses examining the simultaneous effects of partner perspective taking, commitment level, and general perspective taking revealed that adopting the partners perspective exerts unique, independent effects on accommodation-relevant emotions, attributions, and behavioral preferences.

The ups and downs of dating: fluctuations in satisfaction in newly formed romantic relationships.

This research examined the association between relationship satisfaction and later breakup status, focusing on the temporal changes in satisfaction ratings of individuals in newly formed dating relationships. Growth curve analytic techniques were used in 2 longitudinal studies to create 4 predictors: each participants initial level of satisfaction, linear trend in satisfaction over time, degree of fluctuation in satisfaction over time, and mean level of satisfaction. Consistent with hypotheses, individuals who exhibited greater fluctuation in their repeated satisfaction ratings were more likely to be in relationships that eventually ended, even after controlling for overall level of satisfaction. Individuals with fluctuating levels of satisfaction also reported relatively lower commitment. The results are discussed in terms of conditions that promote versus undermine relationship stability.

Relationship Perceptions and Persistence: Do Fluctuations in Perceived Partner Commitment Undermine Dating Relationships?

The authors propose specific temporal profiles that reflect certainty versus doubt about where a partner stands with respect to a dating relationship over time. Two multiwave longitudinal studies focused on within-participant changes in perceived partner commitment. Results from multilevel modeling indicate that individuals whose perceptions of partner commitment fluctuate over time were more likely to be in a relationship that eventually ended than were individuals whose perceptions remained relatively steady. For individuals in recently initiated relationships, the association of fluctuation in perceived partner commitment with later breakup was significant regardless of the initial level of perceived partner commitment or the trend, and for all participants, it remained significant when initial level, trend over time, and fluctuation over time of other meaningful variables were controlled.

Targets of Partner Violence The Importance of Understanding Coping Trajectories

Partner violence causes many negative outcomes for the target of the violence. Preventing negative outcomes in part hinges on altogether preventing the violence from occurring. There have been advances in violence prevention that the authors briefly review. However, some of the most notable advances focus on dealing with partner violence once it occurs. We now have a better understanding of different types of violence, and this has led to better interventions for perpetrators. But preventing the negative consequences of partner violence involves more than ending the violence itself; it also involves helping the targets of violence heal. The authors propose that the next decade of research on partner violence should focus on developing precise models of target coping and appropriate interventions for targets. The authors describe key variables that characterize the coping process but highlight limitations in knowledge of how these variables are related. The authors also outline several benefits of focusing on helping targets.

Joking Violence Among Highly Committed Individuals

Adopting a cognitive consistency framework, this study explores whether targets of physical violence reinterpret severely violent behaviors to be relatively benign. It was suggested that relationship commitment figures prominently in reinterpreting violence. Fifty-four participants who indicated on a measure of partner violence that their current relationship partner had engaged in at least one act of physical violence during a conflict also completed an almost identical measure that assessed the same acts of physical violence in a different context: when playing or joking around with a partner. Participants also completed a measure of relationship commitment. Consistent with hypotheses, only highly committed individuals who experienced substantial violence during a conflict reported severely violent behaviors as comprising mere instances of “joking around.”

Filling the Void Bolstering Attachment Security in Committed Relationships

Attachment security has many salutary effects in adulthood, yet little is known about the specific interpersonal processes that increase attachment security over time. Using data from 134 romantically committed couples in a longitudinal study, we examined trust (whether a partner is perceived as available and dependable) and perceived goal validation (whether a partner is perceived as encouraging one’s personal goal pursuits). In concurrent analyses, trust toward a partner was uniquely associated with lower attachment anxiety, whereas perceiving one’s goal pursuits validated by a partner was uniquely associated with lower attachment avoidance. In longitudinal analyses, however, the inverse occurred: Trust toward a partner uniquely predicting reduced attachment avoidance over time and perceived goal validation uniquely predicting reduced attachment anxiety over time. These findings highlight distinct temporal paths for bolstering the security of attachment anxious versus attachment avoidant individuals.