The current study assessed the burden associated with secret-keeping from confidants’ perspective. We proposed a cognition-affect-relationship model to explicate the interrelations between intra- and interpersonal consequences of confidants’ secret concealment. A total of 231 participants (Mage = 32.6 years) completed a survey on their experiences in keeping secrets for a close relational partner. A path model was conducted to test all hypotheses simultaneously. Results indicated that secret importance, valence, and negative face threat served as indicators of cognitive burden regarding secret-keeping. As predicted, cognitive burden was positively associated with negative affect. In addition, negative affect mediated the association between cognitive burden and relationship satisfaction, whereas secret characteristics were directly related to relational distancing. Overall, examining confidant burden provides insights on how secret-keeping might affect individuals and their relationships.

Relationship breakups are common (Connolly & McIsaac, 2009), and difficulty adjusting to the breakup can manifest as post-relationship contact and tracking (PRCT; Lee & O'Sullivan, 2014). Emerging adults (n = 271; aged 18–25; 66% female) provided reports of PRCT after their most recent breakup in the previous year. We examined relationship and breakup characteristics to predict the use of and experience of PRCT. Logistic regression analyses revealed that ex-partner initiation of the breakup and a more intense breakup predicted the use of PRCT, and ex-partner's surprise regarding the breakup predicted being a target of PRCT. A between-subjects comparison of participants who either used or experienced PRCT reported similar impact of PRCT on the self or their ex-partner. However, participants who both used and experienced PRCT reported that the impact that an ex-partner's PRCT had on their lives was more negative than their use of PRCT had on their ex-partner's life, likely reflecting an actor-observer bias in reports. Difficulty adjusting to relationship breakup is normal, and predictive of attempts to remain in contact with an ex-partner. However, the seemingly benign form of contact can have a negative impact on individuals. The findings have implications for those counselling individuals in distress following a breakup, and contribute to the discourse around boundaries after a breakup.

Deception research has recently begun to examine its occurrence within parent-child relationships. The use and consequence of parental deception on the parent-child relationship remains unclear. The current study examined the effects of parental lies on the parent-child relationship. Questionnaires were provided to 276 participants that asked them to indicate their satisfaction with their parents, what kinds of lies parents have told, the seriousness of the lies, and how the lies affected their relationship. Findings revealed a negative correlation between parental deception and satisfaction, and parents were rated most likely to use white lies than any other types. The implications of the use of deception within parent-child relationships are discussed.

Research on resilience has shown that resilient individuals possess a variety of internal characteristics (e.g., hardiness and reflectiveness) and a mixture of external characteristics (e.g., social contact and relationship recruiting) that interact to promote resilience. This research examined the relationship between social support of friends, social support of family, and resiliency to further understand the impact of social contact on psychological health and wellbeing. Study 1 showed that in the face of self-reported difficult life circumstances, friend support (but not family support) predicts most aspects of psychological wellbeing. Similarly, Study 2 found that previous reports of friend (but not family) support predicted positive affect for participants in a simulated achievement rejection experimental condition. Taken together, these studies suggest that among adults, perceived social support from friends may be more impactful than social support from family.

The quality of intimate relationships has been found to be a strong negative predictor for individuals’ mental and physical health problems. A significant predictor of relationship quality is adult attachment insecurity, but the mechanism by which attachment insecurity affects relationship quality needs further investigation. This study investigated whether self-compassion and compassion for one's partner mediated this association. Three hundred and forty-two individuals participated in an online survey assessing attachment anxiety and avoidance, compassionate and uncompassionate attitudes towards self and one's partner, as well as relationship quality and relationship satisfaction. The results showed that low self-compassionate attitude mediated the association between attachment anxiety and poor relationship quality. Further, low compassionate and high uncompassionate attitude towards one's partner mediated the association between attachment avoidance and poor relationship quality. No mediating effect was found for relationship satisfaction. Implications for interventions are discussed.

The present study investigated avoidant attachment orientation differences in emotion processing biases under different conditions of attachment schema activation (subliminal, supraliminal or no-activation). After completing a dimensional assessment of adult attachment, 97 participants were randomly assigned to one of the three activating conditions and subsequently performed an Emotional Stroop Task including attachment and emotion positive and negative words. Consistently, in the supraliminal activation condition, avoidant participants demonstrated higher interference of attachment-related and emotional stimuli compared to the no-activation condition; they focused on the task-relevant processes (colour naming), ignoring the semantic meaning of the words (lower interference). The results of the present study suggest that avoidant individuals use both pre-emptive and post-emptive strategies under different activating conditions in the processing of emotion information. The results also highlight interpretation of latencies in the Emotional Stroop Task for avoidant participants.

This article presents the development of an instrument measuring relationship satisfaction, based on the theory that separates ‘relationship quality’ from ‘satisfaction’ concerning the semantic meaning of the concepts, and to evaluate psychometric properties of the new measure. Two studies were conducted in order to investigate the psychometric properties of the new scale, with 372 and 1,185 participants taking part in Study 1 and Study 2 respectively. Results revealed that the new scale has two-factor structure, adequate internal consistency reliability, and convergent, discriminant and known-groups validity.

Little is known about the role of affectionate behaviours — factors traditionally understood within the context of romantic relationships — in uncommitted ‘casual sex’ encounters. In a sample of U.S. undergraduate emerging adults aged 18–25 years (N = 639) we conducted a preliminary internet-based questionnaire investigation into the role of affectionate behaviours — operationalised here as cuddling, spending the night and cuddling, foreplay, and eye gazing — across two sexual relationship contexts: (committed) traditional romantic relationships and (uncommitted) casual sex encounters. While affectionate behaviours were desired more often in romantic relationships than in casual sexual encounters, many respondents (both men and women) engaged in these affectionate behaviours during casual sexual encounters as well. This was especially pronounced in those who expressed a preference for casual sex encounters over romantic relationships: in a casual sex context these participants were about 1.5 times as likely to cuddle, 1.5 times as likely to spend the night and cuddle, and nearly 5 times as likely to engage in foreplay with a partner. The current study emphasises the importance of considering relationship context in sexuality and relationship research, and the need for further theoretical and empirical research on dimensions of intimacy, including affection, in people's diverse romantic and sexual lives.

The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) is the most widely used self-report measure of adolescent attachment relationships. This study reports the development of the IPPA-45, a short-form of the IPPA that assesses the quality of mother, father, and peer attachment relationships. A hierarchical measurement model is proposed with three lower-order factors and a higher-order factor. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted using a sample of 1,025 English-speaking adolescents (387 males) aged 13 to 18 years. Results support the hierarchical factor structure, and tests of model invariance demonstrated that the measurement models were similar regardless of age or sex. Differences in mean scores were found with regard to attachment target, gender and age. Overall, the IPPA-45 is supported as a psychometrically sound measure of relationship attachment across the age-range of adolescence.

The attachment system is responsible for emotional-motivational bonding with others and is associated with individual emotion regulation strategies (avoidance-disengagement; anxiety-hypervigilance); however, little is known how these individual differences in emotion regulation strategies influence partners’ interpersonal emotional experiences. Prior research examining the link between individual differences in attachment avoidance and anxiety and emotional connectedness in couples has interestingly shown counter-intuitive effects of individual attachment styles on couples’ shared emotions, such that attachment anxiety was associated with the lowest levels of emotional synchrony (Butner, Diamond, & Hicks, 2007). These results beg for additional research on whether and how individual differences in attachment styles moderate the transmission of emotion between partners. Using daily diaries and second-by-second measures of emotional experience from 30 couples, it was hypothesised that couples high in attachment avoidance (disengagement) would show lower levels, whereas couples high in attachment anxiety (hypervigilance) would show higher levels of emotion transmission. Results were counter to our predictions; attachment avoidance increased — and attachment anxiety decreased — emotion transmission between partners. Findings suggest attachment dynamics may not have the same effect on couples’ joint emotional functioning in a dyadic context as they do on individuals’ emotional functioning.

In comparison to biological sex differences and mate preferences, differences in sexual orientation and mate preferences have received limited attention in the literature. The aim of the current experiment was to explore the relationship between biological sex and sexual orientation on the necessity of a long-term and short-term mate's physical attractiveness and social level. Three hundred and seven participants recruited from an Australian university and the wider community completed an online questionnaire assessing necessities of mate characteristics. Results of independent-measures ANOVAS showed that heterosexual men considered a long-term mate's physical attractiveness significantly more of a necessity than heterosexual women. Additionally, individuals of a homosexual sexual orientation considered the social level of a long-term mate significantly more of a necessity than individuals with a heterosexual sexual orientation, but not individuals of a bisexual sexual orientation. Finally, results showed that individuals of a heterosexual sexual orientation considered the physical attractiveness of a short-term mate significantly more of a necessity than did individuals of a homosexual sexual orientation and individuals of a bisexual sexual orientation. Results of the current study suggest research should not just assume equivalence of mate preferences between individuals of differing sexual orientations.

A number of studies have described different preference patterns typically found for women and men when selecting a long-term partner. Despite the number of investigations on the topic, one must be careful not to generalise because most studies use samples of North American undergraduates. In this study, heterosexual participants from Brazil and Portugal rated the desirability characteristics in a possible long-term partner. The sample was composed of 402 participants, of whom 187 were Brazilian (92 women and 95 men) from Brasília University, Brazil; and 215 were Portuguese (121 women and 94 men) from Porto University, Portugal. Participants of each culture responded to the same 18 items, measuring four factors: personality, physical attractiveness, resources, and abilities. As predicted, women rated indicators of personality, resources, and abilities significantly higher than men, who rated physical attractiveness higher. Brazilian students rated resources higher than did Portuguese students. The findings are discussed in the context of some evolutionary and sociocultural notions posited in explanations of mating behaviour. Limitations of this methodology are discussed.

Many children on the autism spectrum are dependent on prompts provided by adults for staying on-task, completing activities and transitioning between activities in the home, school and community environments (Bryan & Gast, 2000; Milley & Machalicek, 2012). Yet, prompt dependency beyond childhood has received little attention. This study explored the possibility that prompt dependency also applies to adults diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome (AS) when interacting with their neurotypical partner. In-depth interviews with nine couples (ages ranging from 29 to 69) were used to explore intimate relationships between partners in order to determine whether prompt dependency was evident. A grounded theory research strategy was applied to analyse interview data. Data analysed through constant comparison coding supported the hypothesis that adults with AS in the sample showed prompt dependency in their interactions with their partners. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.

Despite the general belief that sibling relationships are unique in duration across the lifespan and the demonstrated importance of these relationships in childhood, to date, no studies have specifically explored sibling attachment in adulthood. In this study, we examined the sibling relationship from an attachment perspective by exploring the influence of attachment on sibling conflict and cooperation. Results of hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that sibling attachment uniquely influenced conflict and cooperation in the sibling relationship even after controlling for the effects of attachment to mothers, fathers and peers, as well as the reported warmth between siblings. In particular, fearful and dismissing sibling attachment predicted increased conflict and decreased cooperation with siblings. The findings simultaneously highlight the uniqueness of the sibling relationship and contribute important knowledge to the field of attachment, specifically providing some support for the role of siblings as attachment figures.

For the majority of people, two key non-kin figures form part of the central support clique that resides at the centre of their social network. These are the best friend and the romantic partner, and both play distinct roles which are of benefit to the individual concerned. However, while the romantic partner will always have been chosen in the context of the mating market, we do not know whether the selection of a best friend occurs within a similar market of competition and assessment. This study used real self-rated attribute data for participants and their best friends and romantic partners to explore: (1) whether best friendships operate within a mating market; (2) whether, once established, they show evidence for positive illusion, projection or competition; and (3) whether assortative mating is present. Further, we considered whether the sex of the best friend relative to the participant influences these results. We found that same-sex best friends have an acknowledged role linked to social connectedness and behaviour, that for same-sex best friends both male and female participants show evidence for homophily or projection rather than mate competition, that neither male nor female participants appear to view cross-sex best friends as potential mates, and that the evidence for ‘assortative mating’ is stronger within best friendships than romantic partnerships regardless of best friend sex. Our results imply that despite a culture of commitment and monogamy, male participants display behaviours within their romantic partnerships which suggest they are still active within the mating market. In contrast, for both sexes the best friendship is unaffected by the mating market and the stability and contentment that characterises best friendships is underpinned by a degree of similarity stronger than that within the romantic partnership.

Experimental research focusing on consensually non-monogamous relationships is lacking. This study examined perceptions of relationship satisfaction of participants (N = 321) randomly assigned to conditions in which they were presented with either a passage depicting a monogamous, open, or polyamorous couple. Results demonstrated that there was a significant difference between the groups exposed to the various relationship configurations in terms of the perceptions of the hypothetical couples’ relationship satisfaction, F(2,318) = 3.12, p = .045. Specifically, the monogamous couple was rated as having higher relationship satisfaction than the open couple. Such a study has implications for garnering a better understanding of the preconceived notions we hold about the lifestyles of others. As this area warrants further investigation, exploration is still ongoing.

A considerable proportion of the population in post-industrial societies experiences substantial difficulties in the domain of mating. The current research attempted to estimate the prevalence rate of poor mating performance and to identify some of its predictors. Two independent studies, which employed a total of 1,358 Greek-speaking men and women, found that about 40% of the participants experienced poor performance in either starting or keeping an intimate relationship, or in both areas. Furthermore, emotional intelligence, Dark Triad traits, jealousy, and attachment style were found to be significant predictors of mating performance. In particular, higher emotional intelligence and narcissism were associated with higher performance in mating, while higher psychopathy, jealousy and an avoidant attachment style were associated with lower mating performance.

This study aims to investigate the role of marital satisfaction and personality traits (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) in predicting attitudes toward infidelity. The participants of the study were 438 married men and women ranging in age from 22 to 40 years old (M = 31.02, SD = 4.3). The results from the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), Evaluation and Nurturing Relationship Issues, Communication and Happiness (ENRICH) Marital Satisfaction Scale and Attitudes toward Infidelity Scale used in this study indicate that conscientiousness and neuroticism, followed by marital satisfaction and gender, are significant predictors of attitudes toward infidelity. From these results, it can be concluded that attitudes toward infidelity can be predicted by demographic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal factors.

This study examined the factor structure, reliability, and convergent and divergent validity of the Caregiving Questionnaire (CQ; Kunce & Shaver, 1994) with a sample of individuals who identify themselves as gay, lesbian, and bisexual and are currently involved in same-sex couple relationships (N = 143; 114 females). An exploratory factor analysis extracted the CQ's four dimensions, supporting its construct validity. Additionally, the questionnaire demonstrated acceptable internal consistency. Correlations were found among participants’ self-reported romantic attachment patterns, as evaluated by the Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR; Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998), and caregiving patterns, as measured by the CQ. No significant associations were found between the four factors and participants’ age, relationship duration, or gross annual revenue. Results support the use of the CQ with individuals involved in same-sex relationships.

Improved social relationships and connectedness is a frequently cited benefit of retirement community living. However, few studies have prospectively investigated changes in loneliness or social networks following relocation. This study involved 83 Australians (aged 57–90 years) relocating to independent living units within a retirement community. A prospective longitudinal design was employed whereby data was collected prior to relocation, and 1, 6 and 12 months post relocation. Comparisons were made with a sample of community-dwelling (N = 549) residents of the same age. Individual characteristics (e.g., personality characteristics) associated with change were also explored. Results indicated reduced loneliness and increased neighbour support networks following relocation. A reduction in contact with friends was also observed. This study provides an important contribution to our understanding of the initial impact of transitioning into a retirement community on personal relationships. Through exploring factors associated with successful transition, we can begin to understand the characteristics of those individuals most likely to thrive in this type of environment.