Blended families including half siblings (brothers/sisters who share only one biological parent, most likely a product of divorce and remarriage) are becoming increasingly prevalent in Western societies. Studies have determined the negative outcomes of sharing only one biological parent on familial relationships, but less so on how half siblings may be resilient in the wake of restructuration and cultivate positive relationships overtime and into adulthood. This study applied a systems and resilience perspective to understand how blended family structure influences this unique sibling dyad. This research includes two studies. First, seventeen older half siblings who define their current sibling relationship as positive participated in a retrospective turning points interview. The second study required sixteen additional participants to keep a two-week daily diary on their communication with immediate family members, including half siblings. These two studies combined shed light on the typical communication practices between positive half siblings, including which behaviors contribute to prosocial relational sibling maintenance. Results detailed 23 prosocial relational maintenance behaviors. The maintenance behaviors positivity, joint activities, openness, and parental intervention were most significant in contributing to a positive half sibling relationship. Three novel maintenance behaviors (parental intervention, awareness of maturity, and mentoring behavior) were also identified to contribute to existing maintenance literature. Theoretical and practical implications for scholars and practitioners alike are discussed.

As women enter STEM fields they are often presented with chilly climates. The chilly climate refers to incidents of sexism, isolation, and pressure to prove themselves to peers and higher level academics (Callister, 2006; Hall & Sandler, 1982). For women of color, the status of being a double minority can intensify the psychological distress experienced by students (Joseph, 2012; Ong, 2011; Malcom, Hall, & Brown, 1976). For minority populations in STEM, loneliness is experienced due to lack of belonging and social isolation (Morris & Daniel, 2008; Walton & Cohen, 2007). This study sought to investigate whether social support could serve as a protective factor in the negative relationship between loneliness and psychological well-being (Cohen, 2004; Lawson, 2001; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) for those who hold a minority status. In addition, this study explored differences in the associations between loneliness, social support, and psychological well being and whether or not the moderation relationships were different for sub-groups based on gender or ethnic minority status. Cross-sectional data from 205 STEM graduate students was collected through an online study. A hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the buffering effects (Barron & Kenny, 1986) of global social support (total support from friends, family, and significant others) and family social support specifically. Model results suggested that global social support buffers the negative associations between loneliness and psychological well-being for less lonely minority participants in the study. Family social support buffered the associations of loneliness on psychological well-being for men with less loneliness. An unexpected finding in the present study revealed that for men and non –minority participants with high loneliness, psychological well-being decreased as family support increased. These results highlight the need for further research exploring through which mechanisms social support works as a buffer against loneliness in the sub-groups within STEM graduate student populations. The findings of this study could inform practices focused on the recruitment and retention of underrepresented STEM graduate students.

Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) individuals are exposed to specific stressors due to their sexual minority status. One such stressor may result from the negative family reactions to one’s romantic partner. Encountering this stress may be especially harmful for LGB individuals’ emotional well-being, as it could be considered a “double rejection”: that of their partner and possibly their own sexual orientation. The stress surrounding family members’ negative attitudes about their partner may affect how one feels about their partner. Furthermore, there may be individual differences that affect how an individual may perceive and respond to this stress. Specifically, one’s attachment style could either exacerbate (anxious) or weaken (avoidant) the experiences of stress, which may influence the emotions they feel about their partner. Using 14-day daily diary data from 81 same-sex couples, the purpose of this study was to examine whether there was an association between daily perceptions of stress via negative family reactions to partner and negative partner-related emotions, and whether attachment insecurity (anxiety and avoidance) moderated this association. Individuals’ perceptions of stress via negative family reactions was found to be positively associated with their reports of negative emotions about one’s partner. Anxious and avoidant attachment did not moderate the association between perceptions of stress and negative emotions due to one’s partner. The finding suggests this specific stressor on negative emotions due to partner may be an intrapersonal process, in which case couple therapists can increase clients’ awareness of this stress and how it impacts their feelings towards their romantic partner.

Stress in romantic relationships is an all-too-common phenomenon that has detrimental effects on relationship well-being. Specifically, stress can increase partners’ negative interactions, ultimately decreasing effective communication and overall relationship functioning. Positive dyadic coping (DC) occurs when one partner assists the other in coping with stress (e.g. empathizing or helping the partner problem-solve solutions to their stress), and has been proposed as a method of buffering the deleterious effect of stress on interaction quality. One possible mechanism between the positive associations between DC and interaction quality could be how partners verbally express their support (e.g., more we-talk) during discussions about external stress. Using real-time interaction data from 40 heterosexual couples, this project examined whether observed positive and negative DC was associated with greater (or lesser) levels of perceived interaction quality. Further, language use (i.e., pronouns, emotion words, cognition words) was assessed as mediators in the associations between DC and interaction quality. Overall, results suggested that language did not mediate the effect of DC on interaction quality; however, there were several interesting links between DC, language, and interaction quality. Implications of these findings for relationship researchers and mental health clinicians working with couples are discussed.

Abstract The current study examined how people perceive three different types of relationships: Sugar Baby/Sugar Daddy (SB/SD) relationships, same-sex relationships, and heterosexual relationships. In an online survey, undergraduate students rated these different types of couplings on overall general view, acceptability and approval. Additionally, survey participants were asked to complete measures of religiosity and socio-sexual orientation to investigate whether these individual measures moderated ratings. Overall, SB/SD relationships were rated the most negatively, least acceptable, and least approved of out of the three relationship types. Following SB/SD relationships are same-sex relationships and then lastly heterosexual relationships. Higher religiosity scores led to lower general views, acceptability, and approval ratings of SB/SD relationships. The opposite pattern emerged for socio-sexuality such that higher socio-sexuality scores correlated to higher general views, acceptability, and approval ratings of SB/SD relationships. The findings suggest that societal views toward alternative relationship types are negative, relative to traditional heterosexual couplings, and these views may be exacerbated in the case of more, as opposed to less novel pairings. Just as cross-race and same-sex relationships have faced adversity in the past (Testa, 1987), newer types of relationships, such as SB/SD, that don't follow traditional conventions are still bound to face negativity. Moreover, these views are not monolithic in that individual differences based on religiosity and socio-sexuality lead to variation in judgments. The data presented herein represent an initial exploration of SB/SD relationships, a phenomenon that is increasing in frequency and about which many questions remain. Keywords: Sugar baby, Sugar daddy, same-sex, relationship, perceptions

With the establishment of the emerging adult developmental period and the rise of helicopter parents, attachment theory provides foundation for conceptualizing the continued involvement of helicopter parents in their emerging adults’ emotion regulation processes. This study utilized dyadic data from 66 emerging adult children and their helicopter parents to examine the association of helicopter parent-emerging adult communication in mitigating the associations between experiences of affect and stress. Specifically, the purpose of the present study was to use dyadic data to examine how communication within the helicopter parent-emerging adult relationship associates with emerging adults’ ability to regulate experiences of negative and positive affect. Both associations within the emerging adult and helicopter parent individually (actor effects) and how helicopter parents impact construct associations for emerging adults’ (partner effects) were considered.

Two multilevel mediation models using Actor-Partner Interdependence Models were conducted to assess the relations between affect, stress, and helicopter parent-emerging adult communication quality for negative and positive affect separately. The positive direct effect between negative affect and stress was statistically significant for emerging adults, but not for helicopter parents, suggesting that, for emerging adults, higher perceptions of negative affect were associated with higher levels of stress. The direct and indirect effects for the mediation model examining actor and partner effects between negative affect, communication quality, and stress were non-significant for both emerging adults and helicopter parents. The direct effect between positive affect and stress was statistically significant for helicopter parents but not for emerging adults; however, the directionality of the significant association was positive and not as hypothesized. Finally, the direct and indirect effects for the mediation model examining actor and partner effects between positive affect, communication quality, and stress were non-significant for emerging adults and helicopter parents. Considerations for future studies examining aspects of attachment within emotion regulation for the helicopter parent-emerging adult relationship and the importance of considering relationship characteristics, such the relational characteristics of social support and conflict, are discussed.

The demands and expectations of graduate school can be stressful for any student. Graduate students in a romantic relationship, in particular, contend with both individual and dyadic effects of graduate school stress, as stress has been found to be negatively associated with both individual and relational well-being. Asymmetrical graduate student couples, wherein one partner is in graduate school and the other is not, may be particularly vulnerable to relationship strain because of differences in their experience of graduate school. However, non-student partners can help the graduate student cope with stress through dyadic coping. This study sought to examine whether: a) there were associations between graduate school stress on individual (life satisfaction) and relational (relationship satisfaction) well-being, and b) whether these associations were moderated by positive and negative dyadic coping behaviors. Cross-sectional data from 62 asymmetrical graduate student couples were gathered using an online survey. Data were analyzed using Actor-Partner Interdependence Models (Kenny, Kashy, & Cook 2006). Separate models were conducted to examine overall associations between graduate stress and well-being, and additional analyses were conducted to examine potential moderation effects of perceptions of partner dyadic coping (actor effects) and partner self-reported dyadic coping (partner effects) on the overall associations between stress and life- and relationship satisfaction mentioned above. Results for the overall model suggested that graduate stress is associated with both individual- and relational well-being. Surprisingly, and against prior literature, positive dyadic coping did not buffer the negative association between graduate stress and well-being, and negative dyadic coping did not exacerbate the association. Implications of the findings for future research and for mental health counselors are discussed.

Being married as an undergraduate student is uncommon, considering the average age people marry in the U.S. is 28-years-old. Given that the “traditional” undergraduate student is unmarried, being a married undergraduate student may be associated with the anticipation of stigma due to their marital status, which may be a stressful experience (hereafter-anticipated stigma stress) and have harmful effects on one’s well-being, particularly symptoms of anxiety. As such, it is important to identify ways in which romantic partners can help one another cope with this unique stressor by engaging in positive or negative dyadic coping (DC). Using cross-sectional data from 151 married undergraduate students, this project examined whether perceptions of partner’s positive and negative DC moderated the association between anticipated stigma stress and symptoms of anxiety. There was a significant main effect of anticipated stigma stress on anxiety, such that higher anticipated stigma stress was associated with greater symptoms of anxiety. Delegated DC moderated this association, such that when participants reported high levels of anticipated stigma stress, those who reported higher partner’s use of delegated DC also reported higher symptoms of anxiety as compared to those who reported low partner’s use of delegated DC. Implications for future research and mental health counselors are discussed.

Receiving support from intimate others is important to individual well-being across the lifespan. However, the role of support in adolescent romantic relationships has not been investigated extensively. Using two studies, this dissertation utilized data from N = 111 adolescent couples collected as part of the Adolescents, Schools, Peers, and Interpersonal Relationships (ASPIRE) to investigate the implications of support for adolescents’ relationship quality, and positive behavioral adjustment. The first study expanded on existing research by investigating whether support given in response to a partner’s experience of a stressful event, and gauged from the perspective of the support recipient, was associated with the quality of adolescents’ romantic relationships. The study, further investigated whether the association between support and relationship quality changed depending on stress levels experienced due to the stressful event. Results from the dyadic process multilevel model showed that support receipt was associated with increased relationship quality on the same day and that this association was moderated by stress. Results imply that support processes engaged in by adolescents may operate in a similar manner as they do for adults. Implications for the research literature are discussed.

The second study examined the role of parental support in adolescents’ romantic relationships. Although, research indicates parents continue to play an important role in the socialization of their children during the adolescent years, very little is known about the role of parenting practices in the domain of adolescent romantic relationships. Study two used longitudinal data to investigate the influence of parental support of adolescent romantic relationships and parental trust on adolescents’ disclosure of information about romantic relationships and adolescent problem behaviors. Results of the Actor Partner Interdependence Model indicated that parental support of romantic relationships but not parental trust was associated with increases in adolescent romantic relationship disclosure at time one, and decreases in problem behaviors at time two. Furthermore, important sex differences emerged. Sex differences and implications for parents of adolescents are discussed.

The prevalence of chronic illness among children in the United States is on the rise (CDC, 2014). Having a child with a chronic illness can be a substantial source of stress for a couple, including physical, emotional, and financial demands of caregiving as well as difficult decision-making regarding the child’s health (Mayo Clinic, 2015). Coping with such stressors can have a negative effect on the couple’s well-being, and, if not managed within the relationship, can lead to increased negative outcomes for both partners. Partners can, however, learn to cope with stress by engaging in the coping process together with dyadic coping (DC). Couples can engage in positive (i.e., supportive emotion-focused, supportive problem-focused, and delegated) or negative forms of DC. DC has been shown to mitigate stress for couples, while increasing reports of individual well-being (IWB) and relational well-being (RWB), but it has not been examined in the context of couples with a child with a chronic illness.

To bridge this gap, the present study examined how couples cope with general stress as well as stress associated with their child’s diagnosis of a chronic illness (CI-related stress) and whether positive DC and negative DC moderate association between stress (general stress and CI-related stress) and well-being (IWB and RWB). Consistent with hypotheses, there were significant main effects of both types of stress (general and CI-related stress) on both types of well-being (IWB and RWB). Contrary to the hypotheses that DC (positive DC and negative DC) would moderate the associations between both types of stress and both types of well-being, only one significant interaction was found between CI-related stress and negative DC on IWB. Implications of these findings are discussed.