Dyadic cannabis use, alcohol use and relationship satisfaction: A daily diary study

OBJECTIVE

Intimate relationships are important contexts for understanding individuals' substance use patterns and trajectories. Using a dyadic daily diary design reporting over 14 consecutive days, the present study examined the association between cannabis use, alcohol use, and momentary relationship satisfaction among adult couples METHOD: Eligible individuals on Prolific were invited to participate. We identified 33 couples where both partners participated. Participants completed a baseline survey and a 14-day daily diary study assessing their daily cannabis use, alcohol use, and relationship satisfaction. Multilevel modeling was used, within an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM), to evaluate the individual and interactive effects of one's own use and their partner's use on relationship satisfaction RESULTS: Significant actor and partner effects of alcohol and cannabis use were found using both baseline and daily report data. For individuals who use cannabis more heavily among sampled couples, cannabis and alcohol co-use was associated with reduction in their own next-day relationship satisfaction while alcohol-only use was significantly associated with increased next-day satisfaction. There were no significant effects of one's own or their partner's effects for individuals who use cannabis more lightly.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings replicate and extend prior research by demonstrating the dynamic nature of dyadic substance use and highlighting the unique impact of alcohol and cannabis co-use on daily relationship functioning.

Perceived Emotional Invalidation, Psychological Distress and Relationship Satisfaction in Couples: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Analysis

Research has demonstrated a clear link between perceived emotional invalidation and increased psychological distress. However, available studies have predominantly focused on individual data, and leave the impact on relationship satisfaction largely unexplored. Considering the systemic-transactional model, our study aimed to examine the association between perceived emotional invalidation, psychological distress, and couple relationship satisfaction from a dyadic perspective. We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 240 mixed-gender couples from Portugal employing the Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediational Model to analyse the data to examine actor and partner direct and indirect effects. Results showed that, for both women and men, own perceived emotional invalidation was associated with own psychological distress but not with own relationship satisfaction. Also, own psychological distress was associated with own relationship satisfaction but only for women. Finally, one actor and one partner indirect effects were found. Women perceived emotional invalidation was associated with their own psychological distress which in turn contributed to lower levels of relationship satisfaction for both them and their partners. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the dyadic effects of perceived emotional invalidation on psychological distress and relationship satisfaction within romantic relationships identifying interpersonal emotional dynamics as an important target of interventions.

Associations among Financial Well-Being, Daily Relationship Tension, and Daily Affect in Two Adult Cohorts Separated by the Great Recession

Financial well-being may be an important context for daily emotional reactivity to relationship tension (e.g., arguments) whose salience varies across historical time or as a function of exposure to economic downturns. This study investigated how emotional reactivity, operationalized as daily fluctuations in negative and positive affect associated with the occurrence of daily relationship tension, varied by financial well-being among those who were and were not exposed to the Great Recession of 2008. Two matched, independent subsamples of partnered individuals from the National Study of Daily Experiences completed identical 8-day diary protocols, one before the Great Recession (n = 587) and one after (n = 351). Individuals reported higher negative affect and lower positive affect on days when relationship tension occurred. Further, results indicated that negative affect reactivity, but not positive affect reactivity, was moderated by both financial well-being and cohort status. For the pre-recession cohort, negative affect reactivity was stronger among those with lower financial well-being. However, among the post-recession cohort, financial well-being did not moderate negative affect reactivity to relationship tension. Findings highlight the utility of considering major societal events, such as economic downturns, to understand variability in emotional reactivity to day-to-day relationship tension in the context of financial well-being, as the salience of financial well-being in the ways relationship tension and negative affect are related on a daily basis appears to vary by historical context.

The Relationship Between Partner Phubbing and Life Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Relationship Satisfaction and Perceived Romantic Relationship Quality

This study aims to test the mediating role of relationship satisfaction and perceived romantic relationship quality in the relationship between partner phubbing and life satisfaction. The study included a total of 308 participants, 243 women (78.9%) and 65 men (21.1%). The participants' age ranged from 18 to 60 (mean = 31.10; SD = 7.93). Data were collected through the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), the Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS), the Perceived Romantic Relationship Quality Scale (PRRQS), and the Partner Phubbing Scale (PPS). Descriptive statistics of the data were calculated, and the relationships between the variables were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient (r). Mediation analyses were performed using structural equation modeling. Structural equation analysis indicated that partner phubbing negatively predicted relationship satisfaction and perceived romantic relationship quality. In addition, relationship satisfaction and perceived romantic relationship quality positively predicted life satisfaction. The correlation analysis performed before the mediation analysis indicated no significant relationships between partner phubbing and life satisfaction. However, the results of structural equation analysis and bootstrapping showed that perceived romantic relationship quality and relationship satisfaction had a fully mediating role in the relationship between partner phubbing and life satisfaction. The results of the bootstrap analysis indicate that partner phubbing had a significant indirect effect on life satisfaction through perceived romantic relationship quality and relationship satisfaction. These results reveal that relationship satisfaction and perceived romantic relationship quality decrease in individuals who are exposed to partner phubbing behaviors, and that decreased relationship satisfaction and romantic relationship quality harm life satisfaction.

Exploring the Association Between Social Media Addiction and Relationship Satisfaction: Psychological Distress as a Mediator

Social media use has become part of daily life for many people. Earlier research showed that problematic social media use is associated with psychological distress and relationship satisfaction. The aim of the present study was to examine the mediating role of psychological distress in the relationship between social media addiction (SMA) and romantic relationship satisfaction (RS). Participants comprised 334 undergraduates from four mid-sized universities in Turkey who completed an offline survey. The survey included the Relationship Assessment Scale, the Social Media Disorder Scale, and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale. According to the results, there were significant correlations between all variables. The results also indicated that depression, anxiety, and stress partially mediated the impact of SMA on RS. Moreover, utilizing the bootstrapping procedure the study found significant associations between SMA and RS via psychological distress. Consequently, reducing social media use may help couples deal with romantic relationship dissatisfaction, thereby mitigating their depression, anxiety, and stress.

The Association Between Relationship Events and Experiences and Partner Evaluations: An Ideal Standards Perspective

Drawing on the Ideal Standards Model, the current study investigated whether the relationship events and experiences that occur on a given day in romantic relationships were associated with partner evaluations. Individuals in a current romantic relationship (N = 104) completed daily measures of positive and negative relationship events and experiences and partner evaluations for seven consecutive days. As hypothesized, findings demonstrated that on a given day negative relationship events and experiences were associated with evaluating partners as falling short of mate ideals, while positive relationship events and experiences were associated with evaluating partners as more closely meeting ideals. The findings demonstrate the importance of the relational context in evaluations of a partner against ideal standards.

Association between Sexual Satisfaction and Depression and Anxiety in Adolescents and Young Adults

The role of sexual satisfaction in adolescents and young adults’ mental health has not been thoroughly investigated. The aim of this work is to study differences in sexual satisfaction and mental health (anxiety and depression) based on romantic relationship status (having a partner vs. not having one) and gender. Likewise, the association between sexual satisfaction and mental health and the moderating effect of romantic relationship status and gender was addressed in this research. A total of 1682 Spanish adolescents (14–17) and young adults (18–29) agreed to participate in this cross-sectional investigation. Two-factor ANOVA and MANOVA, and hierarchical regression models were utilized in this study. In general, results showed more difficulties in sexual satisfaction and mental health for those not in a current relationship and for women. Additionally, higher levels of sexual satisfaction was associated with lower levels of anxiety for adolescents and lower levels of depression for young adults. These associations were stronger for those in a current relationship. This study highlights the importance of sexual satisfaction as a modifying factor against mental health problems, especially in the context of a current romantic relationship.

Experiences of partners of professional nurses venting traumatic information

Background

Professional nurses employed in trauma units encounter numerous stressors in their practice environment. They use different strategies to cope with this stress, including venting traumatic information to their partners and other family members.

Aims

To describe how partners of professional nurses cope with traumatic information being vented to them.

Methods

A qualitative research method with an interpretive descriptive inquiry design was used to explore, interpret and describe the coping experiences of the nurses’ partners. Purposive sampling was used to select a total of 14 partners, but only ten participated in semi-structured interviews. Tesch’s eight steps of open coding were used for data analysis.

Results

Four main themes were identified indicating adaptive and maladaptive coping skills, namely partners’ experiences of traumatic information vented to them; partners’ coping activities; reciprocal communication and relationship support between partners and nurses; and resilience of partners to deal with the nursing profession.

Conclusion

Partners employed different ways to cope with traumatic information. It was essential for partners and nurses to be supported by nurses’ practice environments and to develop resilience to fulfil reciprocal supportive roles in their relationships.

Dyadic Cross-Sectional Associations Between Negative Mood, Marital Idealization, and Relationship Quality

This study aimed to evaluate (a) dyadic associations between relationship quality (RQ) and both depressive and anxious mood (DM and AM), (b) reciprocity hypotheses of negative mood within dyadic interactions, and (c) mediational role of marital idealization between negative mood and relationship quality. Actor-partner interdependence models (APIMs) were performed using data from a sample of 198 dyads. Our results showed that (a) these two facets of negative mood did not have the same weight on RQ and that they had a gender-specific effects pattern, and (b) there was no support for the mood transmission hypothesis. Men's DM displayed direct and indirect (via marital idealization) actor as well as partner effects on RQ, whereas women's DM displayed only a direct actor effect on RQ. There were no significant direct actor effects of AM on RQ, meaning that this link is fully mediated by marital idealization. However, only women's AM showed such indirect effects on RQ.

Casual sexual relationships and mental health in adolescence and emerging adulthood

Casual sexual relationships are relatively common in emerging adulthood. Yet the mental health implications of engaging in these relationships are unclear; past research has found negative associations, positive associations, or no association with mental health. In addition, little research has accounted for mental health status prior to entering casual sexual relationships. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 12,401), we measured mental health prior to engaging in casual sexual relationships and subsequent mental health after engaging in these relationships. We found that suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms in adolescence were associated with entrance into casual sexual relationships in emerging adulthood. Furthermore, casual sexual relationships were associated with an increased likelihood of reporting suicidal ideation in emerging adulthood.

Negative affectivity and educational attainment as predictors of newlyweds' problem solving communication and marital quality

This investigation examines the role of negative affectivity and educational attainment in newlywed couples' mutual problem solving and marital quality (i.e., personal commitment and divorce proneness). The vulnerability-stress-adaptation (VSA) model of marital development was used as a framework to explain the relationships between enduring vulnerabilities, adaptive processes, and marital quality. Dyadic analyses and tests of indirect effects were performed on data from 186 couples who had been married on average for 1.5 years. Spouses' negative affectivity and educational attainment were significantly associated with their own and their partner's mutual problem solving, personal commitment, and propensity to divorce. In addition, there was evidence supporting the assumption that the relationships between enduring vulnerabilities and marital quality can be explained, in part, by mutual problem solving for husbands. This study highlights the important role that enduring vulnerabilities have on mutual problem solving communication and marital quality.