Lover and learner: Exploring relational schema change following relationship dissolution.

Romantic relationships are known to be very influential, but less is known about how these relationships, and particularly the breakup of these relationships, may affect individuals' relational schemas, or their expectations for relationships. Undergraduate students reported on how their views of themselves, romantic partners, and relationships changed after breaking up with a past partner. Results suggest that relational schemas change following relationship dissolution and that there are both positive and negative aspects to this change. There was also some evidence that aspects of the past relationship predicted change and the valence of change, and that change and the valence of change were related to aspects of current relationship quality. These results are an important first step in understanding how past romantic relationships influence people's expectations about relationships and, by extension, their health and wellbeing.

Re-thinking dyadic coping in the context of chronic illness.

In the past two decades scholars have increasingly recognized the importance of viewing chronic illness in a relationship context. However, questions remain regarding how couples make sense of illness, how they negotiate and coordinate coping, and the extent to which viewing the illness as a shared problem is beneficial for individual and relationship outcomes. This article seeks to clarify the role that couple relationships play in chronic illness adaptation by first describing major theoretical frameworks that have guided research in this area. Next, we propose a new model that emphasizes cognitive processes occurring before appraisal begins and throughout the coping process. We conclude by positing future research directions and implications for couple-based psychosocial interventions.

Presenting Different Selves to Different People: Self-Presentation as a Function of Relationship Type and Contingent Self-Esteem.

Past work has established a connection between self-esteem and self-presentation; however, research has not explored how self-esteem that is contingent on one's relationship may influence self-presentational tactics in that relationship. Across two studies, undergraduate students reported on the extent to which their self-esteem depended on their friendship and romantic relationship, as well as the extent to which they engaged in self-presentation behaviors in those relationships. The results suggest that relationship-specific contingent self-esteem predicts relationship-specific self-presentation; however, friendship-contingent self-esteem predicted self-presentation in both friendships and romantic relationships. These results suggest that individuals are keenly and differentially attuned to qualitatively different relationships, and when perceiving potential problems, they attempt to remedy those through their self-presentations. Furthermore, results indicate the possibility that self-esteem tied to a particular relationship may not be as important as self-esteem based more generally on one's relationships.

Exploring the dynamic nature of "us": An integrative approach to relationship cognition.

Most psychiatric disorders are associated with problems in interpersonal relationships. This is not surprising because people's relationships with others are an influential and integral component of their lives. The cognitive representations of these relationships can be important in understanding these relationships, and both the attachment and relational schema approaches have helped to better understand the nature of these cognitions. The attachment approach is widely researched and established, but it struggles to fully assess the content of relationship knowledge. The relational schema approach provides a strong framework for assessing the content of relationship knowledge, but it does not currently have established measures for this content. In this article, the authors suggest that these two approaches may be particularly suited for integration, and they propose a comprehensive model of relationship cognition. Issues involving the measurement of relational knowledge and future research directions are discussed. Finally, the clinical utility of the proposed model is discussed.

Drowning the pain: intimate partner violence and drinking to cope prospectively predict problem drinking.

INTRODUCTION: The present study examined the longitudinal association among drinking problems, drinking to cope, and degree of intimate partner violence (IPV). Two competing models were tested; the first model posited that drinking to cope leads to greater drinking problems and this subsequently leads to more violence in the relationship (an intoxication-violence model). The second model speculated that violence in the relationship leads to drinking to cope, which in turn leads to greater drinking problems (a self-medication model). METHODS: Eight hundred and eighteen undergraduate students at a large north-western university participated in the study over a two year period, completing assessments of IPV, alcohol related problems and drinking to cope at five time points over a two year period as part of a larger social norms intervention study. RESULTS: Analyses examined two competing models; analyses indicated that there was support for the self-mediation model, whereby people who have experienced violence have more drinking problems later, and this association is temporally mediated by drinking to cope. DISCUSSION: The current results are discussed in light of past research on the self-medication model.

When friends make you blue: the role of friendship contingent self-esteem in predicting self-esteem and depressive symptoms.

This research examines the role of friendship contingent self-esteem (FCSE), or self-esteem that is dependent on the quality of one's friendships, in predicting depressive symptoms. In Study 1, the authors developed a measure of FCSE. Both FCSE and others' approval correlated with self-esteem and depressive symptoms, but when entered simultaneously in a regression equation, only FCSE significantly predicted self-esteem and depressive symptoms. Study 2 showed that dependency and close friendship competence predicted depressive symptoms only for those high in FCSE. In Study 3, a diary study, FCSE predicted self-esteem instability. Self-esteem instability, in turn, predicted depressive symptoms. Furthermore, a three-way interaction of rumination, FCSE, and the valence of the event predicted momentary self-esteem. Findings are discussed with regard to the importance of considering FCSE when investigating interpersonal risk for depression.

Does talking about their relationship affect couples' marital and psychological adjustment to lung cancer?

INTRODUCTION: Relationship talk refers to talking with a partner about the relationship, what one needs from one's partner, and/or the relationship implications of a shared stressor. This prospective study examined the effects of relationship talk on couples' psychosocial adaptation to lung cancer. METHODS: A total of 169 patients (63% male) and 167 of their partners completed a series of questionnaires within 4-weeks of treatment initiation for newly diagnosed lung cancer (baseline). Follow-up questionnaires were administered 3 and 6 months later. RESULTS: Multilevel models using the couple as the unit of analysis showed that patients and partners who reported more frequent relationship talk had less distress (effect size r = 0.16) and greater marital adjustment over time (effect size r = 0.21), regardless of gender. Satisfaction with the frequency of relationship talk was associated with lower baseline distress for patients and partners (effect size r = 0.25). However, over time, greater communication regarding the relationship was related to less distress in the partner (effect size r = 0.15) than in the cancer patient. DISCUSSION: Expanding the study of spousal communication in cancer beyond patient cancer-related disclosures to include the effects of talking about the spousal relationship may help clarify the role of relationship processes in couples' psychosocial adaptation. Patients and partners who begin talking about the relationship implications of lung cancer early on in their cancer experience may be better able to prepare together for the challenges they may face as cancer progresses and the patient moves toward the end-of-life. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: Results of this study underscore the need for couple-focused interventions in lung cancer that address the communication and relationship needs of both partners. Working with couples during the initial diagnosis and treatment period and emphasizing the benefits of discussing relationship issues during this time of major upheaval may facilitate couples' successful adaptation to lung cancer.

Attachment insecurity and perceptions of housework: Associations with marital well-being.

This exploratory study examines the interactive effects of attachment insecurity and perceptions of housework on 2 dimensions of marital well-being--satisfaction and perceptions of fairness. Participants were 148 married couples obtained from an area probability sample as part of a larger study. Multilevel modeling analyses with the couple as the unit of analysis showed that women who scored high and men who scored low on the dimension of attachment anxiety and reported that their spouses performed more routine housework (i.e., prepares meals) also reported being over-benefited. Women who scored high and men who scored low on the dimension of attachment avoidance and reported that their spouses performed more intermittent housework (i.e., yard work) reported greater marital satisfaction. These results highlight the role of attachment orientations in explaining why perceptions of housework may have more or less prominent effects on marital well-being.

Work-to-relationship conflict: crossover effects in dual-earner couples.

To better understand the outcomes for couples whose work interferes with their relationships, with an emphasis on the crossover effects that can occur in close relationships, we examined experienced work-to-relationship conflict and perceptions of partner's work-to-relationship conflict for both members of 113 dual-earner couples. Outcomes of interests included relationship tension, health symptoms, and relationship satisfaction. Results indicate that personal work-to-relationship conflict and perceptions of partner's work-to-family conflict were related to personal as well as partner outcomes; a variety of direct crossover effects were demonstrated. The actor-partner interdependence model was incorporated to account for issues of interdependent data that naturally occur in relationship dyads, a methodological issue not typically addressed and accounted for in the dyadic work-family interface literature.

Dyadic adjustment in chronic illness: does relationship talk matter?

Relationship talk involves talking about the nature and state of one's relationship. To determine the effectiveness of talking about the relationship when one spouse has a chronic illness, the study involved completion of a confidential questionnaire by 182 married couples. Ninety of these were couples in which both partners were healthy, and 92 were couples in which one spouse had a chronic illness. Results of multilevel modeling analyses showed that the association between relationship talk and dyadic adjustment was stronger for women than for men and for couples with an ill spouse than for couples where both spouses were healthy. These findings highlight the importance of taking a relationship perspective and suggest that relationship talk is a potentially useful tool couples can use in their repertoire of relationship-enhancing behaviors during chronic illness.