ABSTRACT
This article reflects on a new kind of registered report (RR) that replicated the work of an early career researcher. The research items targeted in this RR were peer-reviewed, cross-sectional, dyadic studies to which the first author of this RR had contributed. The findings being replicated are not noteworthy for their prestige or representativeness of the wider field. Instead, this method of replication may have several benefits and less desirable qualities for the researcher and research team whose work is being replicated, for science more broadly, and for relationship science specifically, reviewed herein. The authors hope that this reflection inspires researchers to improve upon their methodology by incorporating replication of their work early and often into their own research process.
ABSTRACT
The loss of a spouse is associated with a host of negative health outcomes. While bereaved individuals commonly report somatic symptoms, no investigations exist of the association between reactivation of latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and somatic symptoms among this population. Further, how an individual perceives the quality of their lost relationship in retrospect may impact loss outcomes. Among 99 bereaved spouses, elevated EBV antibody titers were associated with somatic symptoms for those who retrospectively reported high or mean levels of relationship satisfaction (RS), but not among those less satisfied. Further, higher RS was associated with greater grief symptoms. This study identifies higher retrospective RS as a possible risk factor for negative physical and mental health outcomes during bereavement.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Literature has consistently shown a positive relationship between young adults' social media alcohol-related posts and drinking outcomes; however, the reasons for this association and the psychosocial influences behind students' posting of alcohol-related content are still unclear. Peer influences have been robustly shown to predict students' drinking such that students' perceptions of their friends' drinking is positively associated with their own drinking. OBJECTIVE: Although research has demonstrated that online and offline peer influences are robust predictors of drinking among college students, perceptions of friends' approval and students' drinking in relation to alcohol-related posting have yet to be explored longitudinally. METHODS: The current multi-site, multi-method study examined students (N=316; 58.7% female) from a Midwest (58.8%) and Northwest university over a 4-year period. All Facebook alcohol-related posts were coded each academic calendar year and perceived friends' approval of drinking and students' alcohol use were assessed annually. A lagged, random coefficients negative binomial model was specified to examine between- and within-person effects. RESULTS: After controlling for perceptions of friends' alcohol-related posts, results revealed that time, drinking more, and perceiving friends as more approving of drinking were significantly and positively associated with posting alcohol-related content at the between-person level. Moreover, a significant interaction of Time X Drinking, with drinking at the between-person level, emerged such that heavier drinkers tended to post less often over time. CONCLUSIONS: Increases in alcohol-related content posts are likely to over-inflate students' drinking norms and their drinking. Thus, it is plausible that social media networks containing more alcohol-related content may contribute to cyclical increases in drinking for individuals within that network.
