ChatDashboard: A Framework to collect, link, and process donated WhatsApp Chat Log Data

In this paper, we present ChatDashboard, a framework for collecting, linking, and processing donated WhatsApp chat log data. The framework consists of the WhatsR R package for parsing, anonymizing, and preprocessing donated WhatsApp chat logs, the ChatDashboard R Shiny web app for uploading, reviewing, and securely donating WhatsApp chat logs, and DashboardTester, an automated script for testing the correct setup of the framework by simulating participants. With ChatDashboard, researchers can set up their own data collections to gather transparently donated WhatsApp chat log data from consenting participants and link them to survey responses. It enables researchers to retrospectively collect highly granular data on interpersonal interactions and communication without building their own tools from scratch. We briefly discuss the advantages of donated WhatsApp chat log data for investigating social relationships and provide a detailed explanation of the ChatDashboard framework. Additionally, we provide a step-by-step guideline in the supplementary materials for researchers to set up their own data donation pipelines.

Setting Appropriateness and Romantic Relationship Initiation Success

Does the setting in which a relationship initiation attempt occurs matter to its success? Identical initiations could yield differential success if enacted in different settings. Data from five independent samples highlight the role settings play in the perception of (hypothetical) relationship initiation attempts and (expectations of) their success. Study 1a sourced a wide variety of settings for real-world relationship initiations. A separate sample rated the identified settings on initiation appropriateness (Study 1b). Study 2 tested the appropriateness and associated outcomes of initiation settings while varying aspects of the interpersonal context (initiator attractiveness, Study 2a; initiator familiarity, Study 2b; sexual nature of proposition, Study 2c). Irrespective of initiator attractiveness, familiarity, or type of proposal, perceptions of initiations' success were impacted by the settings' appropriateness. This work is the first to empirically test whether perceptions and outcomes of initiation attempts differ as a function of the setting in which they occur.

How Do Invested Partners Become Invested? A Prospective Investigation of Fledgling Relationship Development

Investment-the feeling that one has put considerable resources into a relationship-is theorized to play a key role in relationship persistence. Yet, the development of investment is not well-understood. We recruited 256 individuals in new dating relationships and surveyed them each week for up to 25 weeks. This design allows us to test underlying theoretical assumptions about how people become invested in new dating partners. Some assumptions, such as the idea that investment increases over time, were confirmed. Other assumptions were not supported: Feelings of investment were quite high after only a few weeks of dating and were not strongly shaped by concrete relationship milestones. Rather, feelings of investment were strongly linked to other subjective indicators of relationship development, such as feeling attached to the partner and believing that the relationship had a good future. We discuss the implications of these findings for existing models of investment.

What Happens in Initial Interactions Forecasts Relationship Development: Showcasing the Role of Social Behavior

We do not know what happens in initial interactions to spark platonic or romantic relationships. This requires data on relationships from their inception, tracked over time. Building on theory about relationship promotion, we identified three exemplar behaviors to test novel hypotheses about relationship development. When starting college, a greenhouse for relationship initiation, first-year undergraduates ( N = 143) reported initial interactions with potential friends and romantic partners, and then 129 of them reported back about those 591 people over the semester. As predicted, reports of each behavior—affectionate touch, shared laughter, and partner’s gratitude expression—were associated with immediate interest in affiliating with the new person, beyond their perceived warmth, competence, and attractiveness; theoretically derived social perceptual mechanisms explained these links. Critically, although not all potential connections blossomed into relationships, these behavioral precursors to relationship promotion predicted relationship development via post-interaction interest in affiliating. Findings are contextualized within attraction literature with implications for relationship development.

Individual difference predictors of starting a new romantic relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic

Dramatic social changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic shifted the dating scene and the likelihood of people starting new relationships. What factors make individuals more or less likely to start a new relationship during this period? In a sample of 2285 college students (M_age = 19.36, SD = 1.44; 69.2% women; 66.7% White) collected from October 2020 to April 2021, anxiously attached and extraverted people were 10–26% more likely to start a new relationship. Avoidantly attached and conscientious people were 15–17% less likely to start a new relationship. How people pursued (or avoided) new romantic relationships closely mirrored their broader patterns of health and interpersonal behavior during the global pandemic.

Child Maltreatment and Couples' Sexual Health: A Systematic Review

INTRODUCTION

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is an interpersonal trauma reported by 35% to 40% of individuals in population-based studies in North America. It refers to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, as well as physical and emotional neglect. Although there is a growing body of cross-sectional work focusing on associations between CM and sexual health, most studies have ignored the broader relationship context in which sexuality is experienced.

OBJECTIVES

The current review sought to systematically and critically appraise all studies that reported on the association between CM and couples' sexual health, to inform clinical care and recommendations for research.

METHODS

The electronic literature search was conducted using PubMed, PsycNET (PsycINFO, PsychArticles), Medline, CINAHL, and Eric for peer-reviewed journal articles published before September 2021. Eligible studies had to report on the association between any form of CM and any dimension of sexual health in couples or individuals in a romantic relationship.

RESULTS

In total, 13 studies (18 articles) were included in this systematic review: 4 studies pertained to clinical couples and 9, to community couples; 2 studies used a longitudinal design and 11, a cross-sectional design; 3 studies examined CM as a whole, 2 studies examined multiple subtypes of CM separately, 1 study examined both CM as a whole and its subtypes separately, whereas the other 7 studies focused on childhood sexual abuse. Results indicated that studies using valid measures of sexual health outcomes found significant associations between CM and worse outcomes - including declines over time - in both clinical and community samples. Mediators and moderators of these associations were also identified.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings provide preliminary support for the role of CM in couples' sexual health. There is a need for future longitudinal studies involving both members of the couple, valid and multidimensional measures of sexual health, and potential mediators and moderators. Bergeron S, Bigras N, Vaillancourt-Morel M-P. Child Maltreatment and Couples' Sexual Health: A Systematic Review. Sex Med Rev 2022;XX:XXX-XXX.

Predicting romantic interest during early relationship development: A preregistered investigation using machine learning

There are massive literatures on initial attraction and established relationships. But few studies capture early relationship development: the interstitial period in which people experience rising and falling romantic interest for partners who could—but often do not—become sexual or dating partners. In this study, 208 single participants reported on 1,065 potential romantic partners across 7,179 data points over 7 months. In stage 1, we used random forests (a type of machine learning) to estimate how well different classes of variables (e.g., individual differences vs. target-specific constructs) predicted participants’ romantic interest in these potential partners. We also tested (and found only modest support for) the perceiver × target moderation account of compatibility: the meta-theoretical perspective that some types of perceivers experience greater romantic interest for some types of targets. In stage 2, we used multilevel modeling to depict predictors retained by the random-forests models; robust (positive) main effects emerged for many variables, including sociosexuality, sex drive, perceptions of the partner’s positive attributes (e.g., attractive and exciting), attachment features (e.g., proximity seeking), and perceived interest. Finally, we found no support for ideal partner preference-matching effects on romantic interest. The discussion highlights the need for new models to explain the origin of romantic compatibility.

Romantic Attachment and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation on Dyadic Adjustment: A Comprehensive Literature Review

In romantic relationships, individual differences are determinant factors for relational quality. Specifically, romantic attachment (RA) and difficulties in emotional regulation influence each other and may have predictive potential for the perceived dyadic adjustment (DA) level. This paper aims to identify the developmental parallel between behavioral patterns built since childhood and the construction of the emotional regulation skills that characterize them. Our analysis was based on the attachment theory and the concepts of romantic relationship and DA. In this way, we sought to further the understanding of relationship dynamics, beyond the usual focus on a single element and on associative relationships, and by exploring other effects among the different dimensions of relational functioning. In particular, we explored the predictive ability of emotional regulation patterns (more flexible individual characteristics) in discriminating between RA styles (more perennial influences), and their impact on the quality of romantic relationships, in the anticipation of dyadic adjustment variations.

We're Not That Choosy: Emerging Evidence of a Progression Bias in Romantic Relationships

Dating is widely thought of as a test phase for romantic relationships, during which new romantic partners carefully evaluate each other for long-term fit. However, this cultural narrative assumes that people are well equipped to reject poorly suited partners. In this article, we argue that humans are biased toward pro-relationship decisions-decisions that favor the initiation, advancement, and maintenance of romantic relationships. We first review evidence for a progression bias in the context of relationship initiation, investment, and breakup decisions. We next consider possible theoretical underpinnings-both evolutionary and cultural-that may explain why getting into a relationship is often easier than getting out of one, and why being in a less desirable relationship is often preferred over being in no relationship at all. We discuss potential boundary conditions that the phenomenon may have, as well as its implications for existing theoretical models of mate selection and relationship development.

The Friends-to-Lovers Pathway to Romance: Prevalent, Preferred, and Overlooked by Science

There is more than one pathway to romance, but relationship science does not reflect this reality. Our research reveals that relationship initiation studies published in popular journals (Study 1) and cited in popular textbooks (Study 2) overwhelmingly focus on romance that sparks between strangers and largely overlook romance that develops between friends. This limited focus might be justified if friends-first initiation was rare or undesirable, but our research reveals the opposite. In a meta-analysis of seven samples of university students and crowdsourced adults (Study 3; N = 1,897), two thirds reported friends-first initiation, and friends-first initiation was the preferred method of initiation among university students (Study 4). These studies affirm that friends-first initiation is a prevalent and preferred method of romantic relationship initiation that has been overlooked by relationship science. We discuss possible reasons for this oversight and consider the implications for dominant theories of relationship initiation.