Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

Associations between social relationships and well-being are widely documented across the lifespan, including in older age. Older adults increasingly use digital communication technologies. In the present study, we examine the role of social interactions for older adults’ daily well-being with a focus on three interaction modalities (face-to-face, telephone, and digital). Specifically, we examine (a) whether people who are more socially active than others report higher levels of well-being and (b) how day-to-day fluctuations in the number of social interactions are associated with day-to-day fluctuations of well-being, separately by interaction modality. We use data from 115 participants (age: M = 72 years, SD = 5, range = 65–94; 40% women), who documented their social interactions over 21 days and reported their well-being each evening (including positive affect, negative affect, and loneliness). Taken together, our findings show that frequency of face-to-face interactions is more consistently related to well-being than telephone or digital interactions. At the between-person level, those who report more face-to-face social interactions than others across 21 days report higher levels of positive affect than others. At the within-person level, on days where participants report more face-to-face social interactions than their own average, they report higher positive affect, lower negative affect, and lower loneliness than usual. In addition, a higher number of digital interactions is associated with lower negative affect at the between-person level. In summary, our findings suggest that face-to-face social interactions are uniquely relevant to older adults’ daily well-being. We discuss implications of these findings for future research.

Birthe Macdonald

Minxia Luo

Gizem Hülür

Daily social interactions and well-being in older adults: The role of interaction modality

In the current study, I experimentally examined whether close relationship between a sender displaying affect and a receiver observing it fosters concordant affective reactions to the sender’s emotional displays. I recruited participants as pairs of either friends or strangers. One person served as a sender and the other person served as a receiver. The sender watched a happy or sad videotaped man, whereas the receiver observed him/her on the computer screen in a separate room. The results confirmed that the sender caught happiness displayed by the videotaped man and then passed it along to the receiver but only when the pair consisted of friends. When the pair consisted of strangers, this “second-hand” happiness contagion was blocked. The spread of sadness, however, remained unaffected by relationship closeness. This effect was not driven by the receiver’s ability to correctly decode the sender’s emotional expression.

Monika Wróbel

I can see that you’re happy but you’re not my friend

我能看出你很高兴但你不是我的朋友

This research focuses on the relationship between sources of minority stress and the quality of same-sex couples’ relationships. Interdependence theory and the minority stress model are used to examine actor-partner effects of internalized homophobia, discrimination, and perceived stress on perceptions of relationship quality in same-sex couples. Couples were recruited through web-based solicitations (N = 131). Path analysis and Kenny’s (1996) technique for examining interdependent relationships for exchangeable dyad members were used to identify between- and within-couple differences. Internalized homophobia and discrimination were found to impact couple members in unique ways. Higher levels of internalized homophobia and discrimination were predictive of less favorable perceptions of relationship quality. As hypothesized, the impact of perceived discrimination and/or victimization was mediated by perceived stress.

Melanie D. Otis

Sharon S. Rostosky

Ellen D. B. Riggle

Rebecca Hamrin

Stress and relationship quality in same-sex couples

同性伴侣中的压力与关系质量

In the present research, we examined whether attachment anxiety and avoidance in support recipients were related to preferences for specific types of support. In addition, we examined whether stress moderated the relationship between attachment and support needs. Two-hundred and forty-five first-time mothers, currently involved in romantic relationships, participated in study 1, in which support needs and stress were appraised over the previous month using self-reports. High levels of attachment avoidance were related to needing less support, but attachment anxiety was not associated with support needs. There was no hyperactivation or deactivation of the attachment system in response to stress. It is possible that recall bias, associated with cross-sectional methods, may have confounded the results. In study 2, we sought to replicate these hypotheses using an ambulatory method to examine the association between attachment and momentary support needs in the daily life of mothers with babies ( N = 40). Results revealed that attachment anxiety was associated with a preference for high levels of momentary support, but attachment avoidance was not related to any support needs. Stress experienced in the moment was found to moderate the relationships between attachment and support needs, with mothers high in anxiety and avoidance needing more support.

Saul McLeod

Katherine Berry

Peter Taylor

Alison Wearden

Romantic attachment and support preferences in new mothers: The moderating role of stress

新妈妈浪漫依恋与支持偏好：压力的调节作用

This explorative study investigated (a) whether social attraction, self-disclosure, interaction quality, intimacy, empathy and communicative competence play a role in getting-acquainted interactions between humans and a chatbot, and (b) whether humans can build a relationship with a chatbot. Although human-machine communication research suggests that humans can develop feelings for computers, this does not automatically imply that humans experience feelings of friendship with a chatbot. In this longitudinal study, 118 participants had seven interactions with chatbot Mitsuku over a 3-week period. After each interaction participants filled out a questionnaire. The results showed that the social processes decreased after each interaction and feelings of friendship were low. In line with the ABCDE model of relationship development, the social processes that aid relationship continuation decrease, leading to deterioration of the relationship. Furthermore, a novelty effect was at play after the first interaction, after which the chatbot became predictable and the interactions less enjoyable.

Emmelyn A. J. Croes

Marjolijn L. Antheunis

Can we be friends with Mitsuku? A longitudinal study on the process of relationship formation between humans and a social chatbot

我们能和Mitsuku做朋友吗？一项关于人类与社交聊天机器人关系形成过程的纵向研究

The present study explores how family relationship quality is associated with psychological and cognitive health among grandparents who had primary responsibility in raising their grandchildren and examines whether co-residence with adult children moderates this relationship. The study uses data from 589 grandparents who completed the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) survey. Latent profile analysis (LPA) is used to identify grandparent-family relationship types. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression models are used to estimate the association between relationship types and psychological and cognitive health (i.e., psychological distress, psychological well-being, episodic memory, and executive function). LPA identified four grandparent-family relationship types: amicable, ambivalent, neutral, and disharmonious. Compared to grandparents with amicable family relationships, those with ambivalent family relationships had significantly higher levels of psychological distress, reduced psychological well-being, and poorer episodic memory. Further, the association between ambivalent relationships and episodic memory was stronger among respondents who co-resided with their adult children. Emotional closeness with family is essential for grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. This study contributes to a more detailed understanding of the role of relationships with family and suggests that emotional and instrumental support from family is important for increasing grandparent caregivers’ psychological and cognitive well-being.

Heejung Jang

Abigail T. Stephan

Lesley A. Ross

Mijin Jeong

Jacqueline Mogle

Family relationship quality and psychological and cognitive health among grandparent caregivers: The moderating role of co-residence with adult children

祖父母照顾者家庭关系质量与心理及认知健康：与成年子女同住的调节作用

As one of the longest-lasting interpersonal connections within the family system, the sibling relationships are an essential foundation for children’s social development. Adolescents’ warm sibling relationships may be of great benefit to promote positive youth development. The present study aimed to explore the indirect mechanisms linking sibling warmth to empathy (i.e., cognitive and affective empathy) through self-worth among adolescents in Chinese context. Participants were N = 165 adolescents ( M = 12.93 years, SD = .29; 55.2% girls) from Shanghai, China. Measures of sibling warmth, self-worth and empathy were collected via self-reports at three time points over 1 year. Results based on a path analysis indicated that: (a) sibling warmth positively predicted self-worth; (b) self-worth positively predicted empathy; and (c) self-worth served as a mediator of the link between sibling warmth and empathy. These findings illustrate the importance of sibling warmth on empathy, which can be used in future interventions aiming at promoting positive youth development in Chinese contexts.

Qiyiru Dong

Bin-Bin Chen

Sibling Warmth, Self-Worth, and Empathy among Chinese Adolescents

中国青少年中的兄弟姐妹温暖、自我价值与同理心

Immigration can create a variety of experiences for individuals and impact their intimate relationships. We conducted two studies to explore how immigration influences people and their intimate relationships. The first study was a qualitative systematic review conducted following the PRISMA statement to explore the perceptions of Iranian immigrants on their intimate relationships. Eighteen studies were included in this review, uncovering four main themes: Women’s Empowerment, Sexual Self-Perception, Marital Conflicts, and Persistence of Patriarchy. The second study involved semi-structured interviews with 12 married Iranian immigrants living in Canada. The analysis revealed five themes related to how immigration influenced marital relationships: Reflection on Gender Norms, Survival to Thriving, Significant Role of the Immediate Family, Differential Experiences of Adaptation Processes, and Paradox of Increased Couple Time. The systematic review provided insights into the experiences of Iranian immigrants abroad and how their intimate relationships can be influenced by the differences between their home and host country. The findings of the empirical study underscored the influence of cultural, social, and structural differences between home and host countries on intimate relationships, aligning with previous findings. Notably, despite facing challenges, participants in Study 2 reported higher relationship satisfaction, in contrast to many studies in the review, highlighting significant difficulties for Iranians in their intimate relationships due to immigration. Findings are contextualized in the discussion.

Fereshteh Rashed

Rachel T. Fouladi

Sheryl C. Fabian

Navigating intimate relationships of Iranians in the context of immigration: Insights from a qualitative systematic review and empirical investigation

在移民背景下探索伊朗人的亲密关系：定性系统综述与实证研究的启示

This interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study aimed to explore the experiences of romantic relationships among nine British Black women who have had Anorexia Nervosa (AN), seeking to develop a greater sensitivity as to how the illness can intersect with the impact of race, culture, and interpersonal factors. The findings highlight that Black women who have had AN can experience strong ambivalence about romantic relationships and that this is linked to several factors, including low self-esteem (LSE), conflicting feelings towards sexual intimacy and one’s body, and wariness of trust. The findings speak to the complexities involved in navigating boundaries in romantic relationships and highlight how AN can be experienced as not only a barrier to, but at times, perhaps more unexpectedly, also a facilitator of, intimacy. The study highlights how race and culture can conflate with the illness and risk isolating Black women in ways quite specific to them. This research can help support ethical practice by demonstrating a greater awareness of the diversity in individuals’ experiences, including those from socially disadvantaged groups whose voices have historically been silenced.

Lauren J. Duncan

Daphne Josselin

“Guys don’t see me as beautiful... I’m too much, too different, not normal”: Romantic relationships through the lens of Black women with experience of anorexia

“男生不觉得我美……我太过了，太与众不同，不正常”：通过患有厌食症的黑人女性的视角看浪漫关系

In response to the rising public and scholarly interest in understanding relational experiences in intercultural relationships, we propose a new concept—relational cultural intelligence (RCI)—to describe an individual’s ability to learn and apply cultural knowledge in intimate relationships. In this article, we outline the theoretical foundation of RCI, introduce the RCI scale, and present initial results on its reliability and validity. We conceptualize RCI as a type of social intelligence with three dimensions: awareness, skills, and knowledge. This study surveyed 186 individuals in the United States who identified as being currently in an intercultural romantic relationship. The results provide evidence for the reliability and validity of the three-factor scale with 12 items. Results also showed that RCI was related to important aspects of relational experiences, such as relational stress and relationship satisfaction, and that it explained variance in relationship satisfaction above and beyond relational stress, commitment, and relationship duration.

Tom Su

Thomas Ledermann

Towards successful intercultural relationships: The initial development and validation of a relational cultural intelligence scale

迈向成功的跨文化关系：关系文化智力量表的初步发展与验证

Abbreviation	J. Soc. Pers. Relatsh.
Journal Impact	2.49
Quartiles(Global)	PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL(Q2)

ISSN	0265-4075, 1460-3608
h-index	102

Publication Information	Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd，Publishing cycle: ，Journal Type: journal，Open Access Journals: No
Basic data	Year of publication: 1984，Proportion of original research papers: 94.66%，Self Citation Rate:4.30%， Gold OA Rate: 25.46%

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

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