Long Term Romantic Relationships
Jocelyn Simmons, jocelynsimmons@nevada.unr.edu
University of Nevada, Reno, with Dr. Clayton Peoples
Sociology
Can Self-love Mitigate Occurrences of Infidelity in Committed Romantic Relationships
Of the possible harmful practices that may occur in a committed romantic relationships, notable among them is infidelity. While there are myriad motivations that may compel someone to engage in infidelity, this study will focus specifically on researching whether behaviors and practices of self-love can potentially mitigate engagement in infidelity. It is my hypothesis that the typology of self-love is foundational to all other typologies of love. I further believe that this hypothesis is critical to better understanding those typologies of love and how they are practiced. The very nature of this hypothesis would suggest that the starting point should be self-love’s effect on other typologies of love, where there would appear to be a lack of research. The objective of this research will be to evaluate how much the independent variable of self-love can reduce an individual’s tendency to engage in the dependent variable of infidelity. To achieve this, a purposive survey will be conducted and analyzed utilizing a sample of local residents with questions meant to determine their disposition towards engaging in infidelity and the likelihood that self-love [Which for the purposes of this study will be defined as acts of self-compassion and self-care practices.] can mitigate an individual’s motivations or propensity to engage in acts of infidelity. The results of this study will be compiled into an academic paper to be presented and ultimately published.
Tamera Bishop, tamebish@ttu.edu
Texas Tech University, with Dr. Stephen Fife
Marriage and Family Therapy, Psychology
Healing from Infidelity: Model Development for Long-Term Couples
Infidelity is a common source of distress in romantic relationships. Oftentimes, couples experiencing infidelity in their relationship will seek therapy to work through the situation. However, there are not many resources for clinicians to use that empirically demonstrate the processes of healing for couples. This presentation will cover two studies: 1. A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews to collect data from 16 heterosexual couples (ages ranged from 19 to 46 years old) with an average relationship length of three years; and 2. A replica of the first study with couples in longer-term relationships with preference for marriage and long-term cohabitation. Data from the first study was analyzed using a grounded theory approach in order to develop a model that represented the healing process of infidelity for couples. The second study’s data will be used to inform and add to the initial model, and if appropriate, provide a comparison between the healing processes for couples in shorter versus longer relationships.
Jake Spurlock, jxs20ry@sulross.edu
Sul Ross State University, with Dr. Joseph Velasco
Communication
The effects of Attachment styles and Family Communication patterns within romantic relationships
Research frequently shows the impact of family communication patterns on individuals' well-being and family functions. However, attachment theory examines the influence of family interactions. Very few studies examine family communication patterns and individuals' attachment orientations. The research instruments used are the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R) Questionnaire, Fraley, Waller, and Brennan (2000). The (ECR-R) first 18 items comprise the attachment-related anxiety scale. Items 19 – 36 comprise the attachment-related avoidance scale, including the Revised Family Communication Pattern Instrument Ritchie and Fitzpatrick (1990). The RFCP consists of 26 Likert-type items measuring two underlying dimensions of family communication patterns: Conversation orientation (15 items) and Conformity orientation (11 items). The method used to gather participants will be through snowball sampling, using social media to gather participants' data. This study plans to examine how family communication patterns pertain to adult attachment orientations toward their parents and romantic partners.
Session Location
- Foster 108
Session Date/Time
- Thursday, 11:15am - 12:15pm
Session Type
- Oral Student Presentations
- Student Presentations