Diane Holmberg

Two studies were conducted to assess patterns of gender differences in memory for romantic relationship events. Results suggested that people believe that women have better memory for romantic relationship events than men, that better relationship memory predicts higher levels of relationship well-being, and that the association between relationship memory and relationship well-being is somewhat stronger for women than for men. Women did tend to have somewhat better relationship memory than men, as assessed via subjective reports from both partners in mixed-sex relationships, and via the number of details partners provided when asked to recall a specific relationship event (i.e., their first date). Consistent with the lay theories, both own and partner’s better relationship memory predicted higher levels of relationship well-being; however, the association between better relationship memory and higher levels of relationship well-being was equally strong for both genders. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

Individuals in mixed‐sex (n = 248) and same‐sex (n = 159) romantic relationships completed several online questions for each member of their social network, including the member's perceived support for their romantic relationship. Those in same‐sex relationships perceived less support for their relationship, but only from family members, not from friends. Levels of relationship support were lower among subjectively more distant network members than among closer network members. As hypothesized, associations between perceived support for the relationship and relationship, mental, and physical well‐being were weaker for those in same‐sex compared to mixed‐sex relationships. Principles of social network management and attributional ambiguity were used to explain the findings.

Crawford, Shaver, and Goldsmith ((2007) How affect regulation moderates the association between anxious attachment and neuroticism, Attachment & Human Development 9, 95–109) suggested that attachment avoidance and conscientiousness may both serve as affect regulation strategies that allow individuals to down-regulate negative emotions, and thereby attenuate the usually strong association between neuroticism and general attachment anxiety. Their findings partially supported this hypothesis. As predicted, at high levels of neuroticism, both avoidance and conscientiousness were associated with decreased levels of attachment anxiety. Unexpectedly, however, at low levels of neuroticism, avoidance and conscientiousness were actually associated with increased, rather than decreased, attachment anxiety. In the current study, we replicated Crawford et al.’s results in a sample of 160 undergraduate students, and also extended this line of research by considering relationship-specific attachment with mother, father, best friend, and romantic partner. Very different patterns of results emerged in the relationship-specific analyses. We propose a more interpersonal perspective on personality to explain the pattern of results, one that considers how neuroticism, conscientiousness, and attachment avoidance are actually enacted in everyday social contexts.

This study examined the normative temporal sequence of the coping process and whether stressor severity or adult attachment styles moderated that sequence. Participants (N = 75) described a minor or a major stressor. They were given a stack of index cards, representing coping strategies from five different domains. They selected strategies they had employed and sorted them into the order used. Overall, support from partner was one of the first coping techniques used. Adult attachment styles moderated the coping sequence. For major stressors, dismissing attachment predicted later use of support seeking from partner and earlier use of distancing coping, while preoccupied attachment predicted earlier use of emotion‐focused coping.

Structural equation modelling was used to assess the strengths of the links between sexual satisfaction and self-reported (a) relationship well-being, (b) mental health, and (c) physical health for women in same-sex (i.e., homosexual, n = 114) versus mixed-sex (i.e., heterosexual, n = 208) relationships. Participants came from a large-scale Internet study. Sexual satisfaction was found to be an extremely strong predictor of relational well-being, a strong predictor of mental health, and a weak to moderately strong predictor of physical health. A two-group comparison model indicated that the strength of these links was the same, regardless of whether the women were in a sexual relationship with a man or with another woman.

In an online study, measures of subjective sexual experiences in one's current relationship were compared across four groups: Men and women in mixed-sex (i.e., heterosexual) and same-sex (i.e., homosexual) relationships. Results indicated far more similarities than differences across the four groups, with groups reporting almost identical sexual repertoires, and levels of sexual communcation with partner. Men reported experiencing somewhat more sexual desire than women, while women reported slightly higher levels of general sexual satisfaction than men. Those in same-sex relationships reported slightly higher levels of sexual desire than those in mixed-sex relationships. Compared to the other three groups, heterosexual men reported deriving somewhat less satisfaction from the more tender, sensual, or erotic sexual activities. Implications of these findings for sex therapists are discussed.