Relationship Difficulties Among U.K. Military Personnel: Impact of Sociodemographic,Military, and Deployment-Related Factors

Military work, especially operational deployments, may impact the romantic relationships of military personnel. Using a subsample of 7,581 participants from a cohort study of U.K. military personnel (data collected between 2007 and 2009), the prevalence of relationship difficulties and associations with sociodemographic, military-, and deployment-related characteristics was examined. Most participants did not report experiencing relationship difficulties. Adjusted regression analyses indicate that childhood adversity, limited support for and from partners, being in unmarried relationships, financial problems, deploying for more than 13 months in 3 years, and work being above trade, ability, and experience were key factors associated with relationship difficulties. The likelihood of U.K. military personnel experiencing relationship difficulties is increased because of personal vulnerabilities that may be exacerbated in the military context.     

Measuring the Effectiveness of Experiential Date Nights: A Qualitative Study

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study examines the experience of 13 couples who attended a relationship education date night in two metropolitan areas in a western state. The intent of these date nights was to reach audiences that may not attend traditional classroom relationship education. Reasons for, benefits of attending, and impacts were explored with participants. Findings indicate that most participants had fun and enjoyed spending time together, learned qualities and skills of healthy relationships, and had positive learning experiences with other couples. Additionally, although most individuals’ reason for attending was to have fun, most experienced a positive impact on their relationships after the event, such as improved communication, increase in affection and gratitude, or spending more time together. This finding may indicate that regardless of the reasons for attending, it is possible to create an environment for learning relationship skills that can, and most likely will, extend beyond the night of the event and could potentially lead to long-term positive impacts in relationships. Based on findings and existing research, activity-based relationship education, such as date nights, needs to be taken seriously as a model for couple education and considered as part of a well-rounded approach to relationship education.     

Evaluation of the What's Real: Myths & Facts about Marriage Curriculum: Differential Impacts of Gender*

ABSTRACT

What’s Real is a high school marriage education curriculum designed to teach students how to develop healthy relationships and marriages. This study evaluated the effectiveness of this curriculum with 206 high school students who were in either the What’s Real group or a control group. Findings suggest that the curriculum increases knowledge of healthy relationship concepts, positively impacts attitudes related to students’ willingness to be involved in pre- and postmarital counseling, and increases students’ attitudes toward cohabitation avoidance. Implications for further development of the curriculum and other implications for practitioners and policymakers are discussed.     

The Diffusion of Home Computers Among Households in Silicon Valley

No abstract available for this article.     

Parent Marital Quality and the Parent–Adolescent Relationship: Profiles of Relationship Quality

Rigorous studies repeatedly have demonstrated the negative effects of parental divorce on outcomes for families. However, very few studies have examined the quality of the marital relationship within intact families or how the quality of the marital relationship interacts with the quality of the parent–adolescent relationship. The present study examines how aspects of parent marital quality, such as marital support and conflict between the couple, existed within married families and examines how patterns of mother–adolescent and father–adolescent relationships quality varied longitudinally from 1997 to 1999. The study uses data from the NLSY97 cohort, a nationally representative sample of adolescents who are being followed into adulthood. Four profiles of parent marital quality were developed using latent class analyses. Four growth profiles for the mother–adolescent relationship and for the father–adolescent relationship were created using latent growth class analysis in Mplus. To examine how the parent marital quality profiles and the parent–adolescent relationship quality interact, we examined how they overlapped. Six distinct groups were evident from this examination: (1) high marital quality and good relationships with both parents, (2) high marital quality and a good relationship with only one parent, (3) high support and high conflict marital quality and a good relationship with at least one parent, (4) low marital quality and a good relationship with at least one parent, (5) high marital quality and bad relationships with both parents, and (6) low marital quality and bad relationships with both parents.     

Merging Relationship Education and Child Abuse Prevention Knowledge: An Evaluation of Effectiveness with Adolescents

Using a quasi-experimental design with sample of 623 high school students, we examined the effectiveness of combining information about child abuse prevention with relationship education, on several outcomes. Findings suggest that adolescents who participated in the classes showed significant increases in their knowledge and understanding of healthy relationships, including more realistic beliefs and attitudes about romance and mate selection, decisions about sex, and decreases in their use of verbal aggression in dating relationships compared with control subjects. Participants also showed increases in their knowledge related to harsh caregiving, spanking, and sudden infant death syndrome. Implications for educators, practitioners, and future programming are discussed.     

The effects of organizational Twitter interactivity on organization–public relationships

Social media sites such as Twitter provide organizations with the ability to interact directly with publics. Previous research has suggested that web-based relationship building is dependent on the level of organizational interactivity with web technology, or how the organization uses the technology to engage with its publics. This study tested if levels of organizational Twitter interactivity affected the quality of organization–public relationships. Findings suggest that an organization's level of Twitter interactivity influences relationship quality.     

Peer Substance Use Associated With the Co-occurrence of Borderline Personality Disorder Features and Drug Use Problems in College Students

Abstract

Objective: To determine if the substance use patterns of one's close friends and romantic partners would be a significant contributor to the co-occurrence of borderline personality disorder (BPD) features and drug use problems above and beyond impulsivity and negative emotionality. Participants: Participants were 2,202 undergraduates who attended a large southeastern university between 2003 and 2006. Methods: All subjects completed measures assessing the presence of BPD symptoms, drug use problems, general personality traits, and the proportion of their friends and partners who had used illicit drugs within the past 12 months. Results: The illicit drug use patterns of one's friends and romantic partners was a significant contributor to the co-occurrence of BPD features and drug use problems even when controlling for levels of impulsivity and negative emotionality. Conclusions: These findings suggest possible additional avenues for treatment focusing on helping students with BPD and drug use problems modify their social group.