The Effect of Partner Serostatus and Relationship Duration on HIV Medication Adherence.

High adherence rates to antiretroviral medications are necessary for people living with HIV/AIDS. The current study focuses on relationship-level predictors of HIV medication adherence by testing whether adherence rates differ by dyadic serostatus (seroconcordant vs. serodiscordant couples) among individuals with HIV in romantic relationships.

The ebbs and flows of attachment: Within-person variation in attachment undermine secure individuals' relationship wellbeing across time.

Although attachment security is relatively stable over time, individuals do experience significant within-person variation in their attachment security across time. No research to date, however, has assessed the relational consequences of within-person variation (fluctuations) in attachment security toward a specific attachment figure. Study 1 (N = 409) first examined whether attachment security was associated with individuals' expectations that their current intimate relationship would be stable and consistent over time (vs.

Using actor-partner interdependence modeling to understand HPV vaccine acceptance.

A wealth of scientific literature has been devoted to understanding what factors influence parents and their adolescent children to obtain the HPV vaccine. This literature is relatively uniform in its methodological approach of sampling individuals (i.e.

Inattention and Hyperactivity-Impulsivity: Their Detrimental Effect on Romantic Relationship Maintenance.

Objective: The aim of this study is to understand how ADHD symptoms correlate with romantic relationship maintenance and test theoretical pathways by which symptoms of ADHD lead to relationship difficulties.

Method: This study involved two phases of data collection, which were identical except for the population. Phase 1 ( n = 172) was a nonclinical sample of romantically involved young adults.

Expectations for future relationship satisfaction: Unique sources and critical implications for commitment.

Contemporary perspectives on relationship commitment posit that intimates decide whether or not to maintain a relationship based on their commitment to that relationship, and that they base such commitment partially on their current satisfaction with that relationship. Nevertheless, given that ending a relationship requires knowing about both the current state of the relationship and the likely future state of the relationship, we propose that people base their commitment to a relationship more on their expected future satisfaction with the relationship than on their current satisfaction with that relationship. Six studies provided evidence for these ideas.

Relational underpinnings of condom use: Findings from the project on partner dynamics.

Objective: To examine how relational qualities, including commitment to a sexual partner, are associated with condom use among young heterosexual adults at increased risk for sexually transmitted infections. Guided by the investment model of commitment processes, we hypothesized that sexual partner commitment is a function of satisfaction with, alternatives to, and investments in the relationship. Commitment to a sexual partner is, in turn, associated with reduced perceptions of vulnerability to sexually transmitted infection acquisition, which results in lowered condom use intentions and use.

Partner Support, Willingness to Sacrifice, and HIV Medication Self-Efficacy.

When taken as prescribed, highly active anti-retroviral medications allow individuals with HIV to live long, healthy lives. Nevertheless, poor adherence is common. In the current study, we examined why some people fail to feel efficacious to adhere, focusing on their interpersonal relationships.

Relational consequences of personal goal pursuits.

Individuals balance tasks necessary to fulfill personal goals and to maintain their interpersonal relationships. In the current studies, we examined the impact of personal goal pursuits on how individuals process and respond to events in their romantic relationships. In 5 experiments, we examined consequences of motivationally active personal goals for relationships.

Sexual communication, satisfaction, and condom use behavior in friends with benefits and romantic partners.

Although "friends with benefits" relationships (FWBRs) are common and have been the subject of significant media and research attention, relatively little is known about them, especially in terms of how they differ from other types of relationships. The present research sought to compare the sexual outcomes of FWBRs to those of traditional romantic relationships via an online survey. Results revealed that FWBR partners were less likely to be sexually exclusive, had a lower frequency of sexual interaction, were less sexually satisfied, and generally communicated less about sex than romantic partners did.

Whose intentions predict? Power over condom use within heterosexual dyads.

Unlabelled: According to major theories of behavioral prediction, the most proximal psychological predictor of an individual's behavior is that individual's intention. With respect to interdependent behaviors such as condom use, however, relationship dynamics influence individuals' power to make decisions and to act.

Objective: The current study examines how relationship dynamics impact 3 condom use relevant outcomes: (a) the individual forming his or her own intention to use condoms, (b) the couple forming their joint intention to use condoms, and (c) actual condom use behavior.

Support to aging parents and grown children in Black and White families.

Purpose: Black and White middle-aged adults typically are in a pivot position of providing support to generations above and below. Racial differences in support to each generation in the family remain unclear, however. Different factors may account for racial differences in support of grown children versus aging parents.

Sex differences in approaching friends with benefits relationships.

This research explored differences in how men and women approach "friends with benefits" (FWB) relationships. Specifically, this study examined sex differences in reasons for beginning such involvements, commitment to the friendship versus sexual aspects of the relationship, and partners'; anticipated hopes for the future. To do so, an Internet sample of individuals currently involved in FWB relationships was recruited.

Nonmarital romantic relationship commitment and leave behavior: the mediating role of dissolution consideration.

Two studies investigated the process by which individuals in nonmarital romantic relationships characterized by low commitment move toward enacting leave behaviors. Predictions based on the behavioral, goal, and implementation intention literatures were tested using a measure of dissolution consideration developed for this research. Dissolution consideration assesses how salient relationship termination is for an individual while one's relationship is intact.