Category: Couples / Close Relationships
Jessica Hill, M.A.
Binghamton University
Vestal, New York
Emily Taverna, M.S. (she/her/hers)
Penn State Psychology Department
State College, Pennsylvania
Galena Rhoades, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Research Professor
University of Denver
Denver, Colorado
Jessica Hill, M.A.
Binghamton University
Vestal, New York
Mikhila Wildey, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Associate Professor
Grand Valley State University
Allendale, Michigan
Emily Taverna, M.S. (she/her/hers)
Penn State Psychology Department
State College, Pennsylvania
Tatiana Gray, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Assistant Professor
Springfield College
Springfield, Massachusetts
Intimate relationships are a critical part of many individuals’ lives and have a pivotal influence on overall health. When functioning well, intimate relationships are a key resource that promote individual well-being, including increased life satisfaction, greater positive affect, and resilience in the face of adversity (Kansky, 2018). However, when intimate relationships are in distress, there can be substantial consequences for individuals and their partners, including psychological distress and poor physical health outcomes (Brathwaite & Holt-Lunstad, 2017; Whisman & Baucom, 2012). Thus, it is critical to understand both individual and relationship factors that influence relational well-being. Advancing clinical science research that informs ways to promote joy via relationships represents an important public health endeavor.
This symposium brings together four talks, each addressing different indicators of well-being at the intersection of individual psychological processes (e.g., psychopathology, neuroticism/attachment anxiety, moral distress) and relationship functioning (e.g., communication, jealousy, aggression, relationship satisfaction). These talks represent data from diverse samples, including partnered and newly enlisted military personnel, emerging adult community couples, low-income community couples, and couples facing a breast cancer diagnosis. In addition, all four talks leverage longitudinal data to inform how associations between individual psychological health and relationship functioning may change over time and influence each other. Together, these talks will highlight targetable processes that may be addressed within individual and/or couples-based cognitive behavioral interventions to harness the power of intimate relationships to cultivate joy within individuals and their intimate relationships.
The first presenter will describe results from a study of 972 new Air Force service members, finding that individual psychopathology and relationship distress bidirectionally influence each other across the first two years of military service. The next presenter will discuss findings from a study of 891 individuals documenting the stability of jealousy over a 5-year period, how jealousy differs between people and relationships, and the extent to which jealousy is associated with individual psychological characteristics and dyadic adjustment. The third presenter will present findings from a study of 134 low-income community couples documenting how individuals’ moral psychological responses to their own use of intimate partner aggression influences the reoccurrence of aggression over time, and how these responses distinguish between people who use more aggression overall. The last presenter will review results from a study of couples facing a breast cancer diagnosis and presents the effects of a Relationship Checkup for improving both individual and relationship functioning. Our discussant, an expert on the study of intimate relationship functioning and related outcomes, will discuss the clinical and research implications of these findings for optimizing relationship health, as well as future directions.
