Self-report scales assessing relationship-specific incentive and threat sensitivity were created. Initial tests of factor structure and associations with relationship quality were conducted in a sample of persons in intimate relationships (Study 1). Associations with conceptually related measures were examined to determine convergent and…

Asking the research question, "What is the lived experience of women whose fathers died in World War II?" led to awareness of the unexplored impact of war loss on children. It was hypothesized that this research would show that women who experienced father-loss due to war would share commonality in certain areas. Areas of exploration including…

Objective: This study examines the relationship between childhood abuse and neglect and sexual risk behavior in middle adulthood and whether psychosocial factors (risky romantic relationships, affective symptoms, drug and alcohol use, and delinquent and criminal behavior) mediate this relationship. Method: Children with documented cases of…

This study investigates how heterosexuality is performed and achieved in everyday language use, specifically in personal ads from the Internet. Within personal ads, it focuses on the metaphors used by ad posters to articulate concepts of love, desire, gender and sexuality. The aim was to determine how the use of certain metaphors reflects ad…

Aging is a complex process that involves factors such as cultural, ethnic, and gender differences and is unique to each individual. Love, sexual intimacy, and sexuality are characteristics that help define individuals and often contribute to how well they will continue to live and age. Enhanced knowledge and healthy attitudes about sexual needs…

This study extends understanding of romantic development in the emerging adult years by using an 8-year longitudinal design in Italy. Peer groups at age 13, interpersonal functioning and emotion regulation at age 17, and romantic styles at age 21 were measured in 388 youth. Early peer groups were shown to be indirectly associated with two romantic…

Recent decades have brought significant social changes in the industrialized West that may influence young adults' attitudes about intimate relationships, including changes in gender expectations and behaviors and changes in sexual attitudes and practices. We used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 14,121) to…

This study examined maternal beliefs about the functions of memory sharing and the relations between these beliefs and mother-child reminiscing behaviors in a cross-cultural context. Sixty-three European American and 47 Chinese mothers completed an open-ended questionnaire concerning their beliefs about the functions of parent-child memory…

This study was designed to explore the acculturation experiences of military-related immigrant wives enrolled in an ESL program in a selected community college. More specifically, the purpose of the study was to understand the personal and structural forces that facilitated or hindered their acculturation process into their community of residence…

In 2008, the Florida state legislature, by a nearly unanimous vote, rushed passage on a statute that allowed sex segregation in public school classrooms. According to the version of the bill that passed through the Florida House, sex-segregated public school classrooms would be an expansion of school choice and would be implemented only…

We argue that pedagogic authority relies on love, which is misunderstood if seen as a matter of actions and subjects. Love is based not on finite subjects and objects existing in Euclidean space and linear time, but, rather, on the non-finite ontology, space and time of relations. Loving authority is a matter of calling and vocation, arising from…

This article presents a multimethod, multi-informant comparison of community samples of committed gay male (n=30) and lesbian (n=30) couples with both committed (n=50 young engaged and n=40 older married) and noncommitted (n=109 exclusively dating) heterosexual pairs. Specifically, in this study the quality of same- and opposite-sex relationships…

Prior nonmarital breakup research has been focused on negative outcomes, rarely examining the personal growth aspects of this experience. In this study, we used a qualitative grounded theory methodology to explore the changes that university students reported experiencing as a result of a heterosexual nonmarital breakup and how those changes…

Romantic relationship involvement has repeatedly been associated with the incidence of externalizing behavior problems, but little is known about the nature and developmental significance of this relation. The current study extends previous research by investigating whether and through what processes romantic relationships distinctively predict…

This study examined the interrelations between parental relationships, romantic relationships, and antisocial behavior among female and male juvenile delinquents. Participants from a diverse sample of 1,354 adolescents (14-17 years) adjudicated of a serious (i.e. felony) offense were matched based on age, race, and committing offense, yielding a…