Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

Negative spousal interaction (e.g., criticism, arguments) can undermine psychosocial and relational well-being. The present research examined whether sense of purpose buffers these effects using two national longitudinal datasets (MIDUS and HRS). In MIDUS, associations between negative spousal interaction and same-wave life satisfaction, depression, relationship satisfaction, and marital strain were weaker among people reporting higher (versus lower) sense of purpose. Using HRS data, we disaggregated between- and within-person effects and found that sense of purpose similarly attenuated two between-person associations (linking average negative spousal interaction with depression and anxiety) and one within-person association (linking wave-to-wave fluctuations in negative spousal interaction with depression). Unexpectedly, between-person and within-person links between negative spousal interaction and relational well-being (enjoyment and closeness) were also moderated by purpose but in the opposite direction. This pattern of results appeared to be driven by purpose enhancing relational well-being among people who report low strain and during low-strain waves. Together, these findings indicate that sense of purpose may protect individuals from corrosive effects of negative partner interaction and enhance relationships during harmonious periods.

Nowadays, adolescents have increasing opportunities to interact with peers of their same and other ethnic groups. Yet, little is known about the implications of having an intragroup or intergroup best friend for the development of interpersonal identity processes (i.e., commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration) and its interplay with subjective, psychological, and social well-being. The current study aims to fill this gap. A total of 984 adolescents (M_age = 14.66; 62.70% females; 24.80% ethnic minority) living in the North-East part of Italy completed questionnaires at three time points reporting on their best friend’s ethnic group, interpersonal identity, and well-being. Results of chi-square test comparisons highlighted that ethnic majority youth had more intragroup while their ethnic minority peers had more intergroup best friendship ties. Further, results of latent growth curve analyses showed that ethnic majority and minority adolescents with intragroup and intergroup best friends displayed unique developmental trajectories of interpersonal identity commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment, as well as their interplay with subjective, psychological, and social well-being. Overall, these findings provide crucial insight into the type and implications of youth friendship patterns highlighting the protective role of a consolidated sense of identity for the well-being of youth in multicultural societies.

This study examines the mediating roles of perceived parental autonomy control and self-efficacy in the association between overparenting and emerging adults’ social media addiction. Emerging adults (ages 18–29) are particularly vulnerable to social media addiction. Theories suggest that overparenting may be a risk factor for social media addiction, but studies examining underlying mechanisms explaining the association are scarce. College students (N = 240) from a large university in the southeastern U.S. participated in a longitudinal study, completing three surveys over 12 weeks. Path models were used to examine the proposed hypotheses. Results revealed a significant positive association between overparenting and social media addiction, with perceived parental autonomy control and self-efficacy serially mediating this association. These findings support the potential role of parental autonomy control and self-efficacy as mechanisms linking overparenting to social media addiction. The study also underscores the importance of addressing overparenting and promoting self-efficacy in emerging adults through targeted interventions by practitioners, educators, and parents to mitigate the risk of social media addiction.

Marital relationships play a central role in psychological well-being across adulthood, yet prior research has rarely integrated personality, motivational, and relational factors as components of a single interpersonal system. To address this gap, this study—guided by social–cognitive and dynamic-systems perspectives—applied network analysis to examine how personality traits, approach–avoidance goals, spousal support and strain, and marital adjustment are interconnected within a dynamic interpersonal system. Flow network analysis was further used to identify how these dispositional, motivational, and relational factors were directly and indirectly linked to life satisfaction and psychological distress. Participants were 502 married South Korean adults (M = 54.43 years; 49.4% male). The resulting network revealed a closely connected triad of approach goals, spousal support, and marital adjustment, suggesting that motivational and relational factors form a cohesive system underlying marital functioning. Marital adjustment and approach goals emerged as the most central and bridging nodes, linking dispositional, motivational, and relational domains. Flow network analysis indicated that life satisfaction was directly associated with marital adjustment, spousal support, approach goals, higher extraversion, and lower neuroticism, whereas psychological distress was directly associated with higher neuroticism, lower marital adjustment, and stronger avoidance goals. Together, these findings indicate that psychological well-being is shaped by structurally differentiated configurations of dispositional, motivational, and relational factors, rather than by additive or dominant-factor effects within any single domain.

We investigated how mental contrasting, a self-regulation strategy, affects relationship problem-solving in 105 mixed-gender couples. Couples were assigned to a mental contrasting (juxtaposing the desired future with the main inner obstacle) or indulging (imagining only the desired future) condition. We reassessed problem resolution 2 weeks later. Actor-partner interdependence model analyses revealed that mental contrasting improved problem resolution over this period for problems perceived as important to resolve. Right after the intervention, we also recorded couples’ problem-solving behavior during a Zoom discussion among the partners. Men in the mental contrasting (vs. indulging) condition showed more self-disclosure, especially of feelings, attitudes, and behaviors. Women in the mental contrasting condition were more selective when suggesting solutions. Mental contrasting appears to foster problem-solving by enabling men to engage in self-disclosure, making women selective about solution suggestions, and enabling both women and men to effectively implement solutions, especially for high-importance problems.

Transgender young adults experience a unique and complex set of stressors in romantic relationships. These stressors may be amplified for transgender people with non-transgender partners due to fear of stigmatization or lack of understanding, and therefore might reduce feelings of closeness and satisfaction. The ability of partners to fulfill relational needs may explain any identity-based differences in relationship well-being. This study examined associations between partners’ shared transgender identity and general relational need fulfillment, relationship closeness, and relationship satisfaction among transgender young adults in romantic relationships. This study also assessed the extent to which need fulfillment could mediate the association between shared transgender identity and relationship experiences. We hypothesized that transgender young adults with transgender partners would report higher relationship closeness and satisfaction compared to those with non-transgender partners, mediated by increased need fulfillment. One hundred ninety-seven U.S-based transgender young adults in romantic relationships (M age = 25.7) completed an online, cross-sectional survey. Multivariable linear models were run for associations among variables of interest and causal mediation analyses were conducted. Participants with transgender primary partners reported significantly higher relationship closeness and relationship satisfaction, but not need fulfillment, compared to participants with non-transgender partners. In addition, significant positive associations were observed between need fulfillment and relationship closeness and satisfaction. No mediation was observed. Results provide insight for practitioners working with transgender people in or seeking romantic relationships, and suggest further research to explore the mechanisms that generate potential differences in relationship experiences and that promote relationship well-being regardless of identity differences.

Across many regions of the world, more people are not having children. Non-parents are viewed more negatively than parents, particularly those who deliberately choose to forego parenthood. This systematic review synthesises existing literature on social networks and support among parents and non-parents, attempting to distinguish between different groups of non-parents, namely not-yet-parents, childless, and childfree individuals. Eighty studies were included, sourced from systematic searches of six scientific databases, supplemented by a systematic search of ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, hand searches of Google Scholar, websites of relevant organisations, reference lists from prior reviews and included studies, and contacting authors. Findings are presented using narrative synthesis, supplemented by average effect size estimates for group differences for selected aspects. Parents have larger, more stable, family-centred networks, reliant on children and relatives for support. In contrast, non-parents have smaller, more diverse networks, with closer relationships with friends and siblings, but often rely on formal (i.e. paid) sources of support. The available evidence on differences and distinctions between groups of non-parents is investigated, emphasising a need for appropriate operationalisation of reproductive status groups in future research. Implications of life course-related changes in social networks for those with and without children are discussed.

Interpersonal conflict research has traditionally emphasized cultural determinants of conflict styles while overlooking their context-sensitive nature. Addressing this gap, our study examines how generational differences, cultural values, and socio-demographic factors relate to romantic conflict management among Chinese women. The evolving conflict styles reflect how macro-social changes influence interpersonal relationships, capturing the dynamic interplay between tradition and modernity. Drawing from Rahim and Ting-Toomey’s conflict frameworks, we examined seven conflict styles through a multi-generational online survey (N = 469): dominating, avoiding, obliging, productive integrating, third-party help, emotional expression, and passive-aggressive. Results revealed distinct generational patterns, with Gen X (Chinese women born in 1960–1979) reporting higher use of power-oriented approaches (e.g., dominating and avoiding) compared to younger generations, who indicated greater inclinations toward problem-solving strategies (e.g., third-party help and obliging). Cultural values emerged as significant correlates, with individualism positively associated with both confrontational (dominating) and indirect strategies (passive-aggressive), whereas collectivism was positively related to cooperative approaches (productive integrating and obliging) but negatively related to avoidance. Socio-demographic characteristics, including argument frequency, education, and relationship status, were also significantly related to conflict styles, highlighting the influence of contextual variability in romantic conflict management. Our findings offer both theoretical insights and practical guidance for romantic relationship counseling and conflict resolution interventions.

This study explored the profiles of the congruence and incongruence between adult children’s mate preferences and parents’ in-law preferences, as well as how parenting and parent-child relationship quality predicted these profiles. We recruited 299 Chinese parent-child dyads, with adult children aged 18–29. Participants completed self-reported measures on (perceived) parenting styles, parent-child relationship quality. Adult children reported their mate preferences, while parents reported in-law preferences. We used latent profile analysis to classify profiles based on the combination of adult children’s mate preferences and parents’ in-law preferences, identifying five subgroups: Congruent-Low Standards, Incongruent-Parent Idealist, Congruent-Resource De-emphasis, Congruent-Resource Emphasis, and Incongruent-Child Gene Emphasis. The predictors of both parents’ and children’s (perceived) parenting styles, and parent-child relationship quality differed across the profiles. This study provided initial exploration of the profiles of parent-child congruence and incongruence in adult children’s mate preferences, shedding light on the associations between these profiles and parenting and parent-child relationship quality. We further discussed the practical implications of the findings.

Challenges faced by adult-child caregivers can intensify during calamitous events, potentially resulting in adjustment disorder symptoms. This study examined the contribution of demographic characteristics (age and gender), self-reported number of war-related stressful events, intolerance of uncertainty, and caregiver burden to explaining adjustment symptoms among adult-child caregivers who resided in Israel during the initial months of the Israel-Gaza war. A total of 402 Israeli adult-child caregivers participated in the study. We performed a three-step multiple hierarchical regression analysis. All independent variables included in the regression model had a significant contribution to explaining the variance in the dependent variable. Being female, younger, experiencing a higher number of war-related stressful events, higher reported intolerance of uncertainty, and greater reported caregiver burden were related to higher levels of adjustment disorder symptoms. The findings underscore the complex relationship between caregiving demands, wartime stressors, caregiver characteristics, and adjustment disorder symptoms among adult-child caregivers residing in Israel. Amidst 21st-century uncertainties, the challenges associated with caring for an older parent may intensify, along with their potential negative consequences. These findings lay the groundwork for developing policies and services tailored to provide adapted support to family caregivers during such challenging times.