Ruth Nina-Estrella

La felicidad en el contexto del matrimonio ha sido ampliamente estudiada por la psicología a lo largo de su desarrollo histórico. Este trabajo reflexiona en torno a la pregunta: ¿qué hace feliz a un matrimonio? Se aborda la noción de felicidad marital mediante la revisión de diversas definiciones propuestas en la literatura y sus principales dimensiones teóricas. Asimismo, se presentan algunos estudios recientes realizados en distintos contextos culturales no anglosajones, destacando sus diferencias culturales. Por otra parte, se identifican dos líneas principales de investigación sobre felicidad marital, atributos asociados a este constructo y sus limitaciones. Se concluye que la satisfacción desempeña un papel fundamental en la felicidad marital. Se destaca la necesidad de estudiar el fenómeno considerando a la pareja como unidad de análisis, y no únicamente al individuo. Además, se sugiere desarrollar investigaciones desde diversos enfoques teóricos y metodológicos, así como investigaciones latinoamericanas para una mejor comprensión del fenómeno.

Affectionate touch is a consistent predictor of well-being; however, relevant studies have mostly been conducted in individualistic cultural settings, such as Switzerland and the United States. Moreover, cross-cultural studies on affectionate touch have largely failed to assess the measurement invariance of their measures. The Latin-American cultural context fosters warm exchanges in close relationships, based on “convivial collectivism” values. The present study aimed to investigate the measurement invariance of a self-report measure of affectionate touch frequency in romantic relationships to explore whether its average levels differed across cultural groups, and to assess whether the strength of the association of affectionate touch with psychological well-being differed across cultural groups. Individuals who reported being in a romantic relationship ( N = 581) from Switzerland and multiple regions of Latin America (North and Central America, Spanish-speaking South America, and Brazil) reported on affectionate touch frequency with their partner, and hedonic psychological well-being (indexed by satisfaction with life). Measurement invariance for affectionate touch frequency reached configural and metric levels but not the scalar level. Consequently, it was impossible to accurately test for intergroup differences in affectionate touch frequency. However, we found a significant positive association of affectionate touch frequency with well-being that was unique to the Swiss sample. We discuss the implications of our findings for cross-cultural research on affectionate touch.

Commitment is a fundamental construct in understanding the stability and longevity of romantic relationships. Therefore, identifying the variables that predict commitment is essential for understanding relationship dynamics. This study examines predictive commitment factors, including satisfaction, investment, communication, maintenance strategies and parenthood. Using a cross-sectional, non-experimental quantitative design, data were collected from 81 participants. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the proposed model explained 71 % of the variance in commitment. However, only satisfaction was found to be a significant predictor in the initial model. To account for the small sample size, a bootstrapping analysis was conducted, which highlighted the significance of investment and parenthood, findings that were not observed in the parametric model. The results of this study suggest that higher satisfaction, greater investment, and parenthood significantly strengthen commitment among Puerto Rican couples. These findings underscore the importance of emotional fulfillment, shared investments, and family dynamics in fostering long-term relational stability. Future research should further explore these relationships in more extensive and more diverse samples to deepen the understanding of commitment dynamics in different cultural contexts.

El uso del teléfono celular puede desarrollar la conducta conocida como phubbing. Un fenómeno de la era digital que se define como el acto de ignorar a una persona por brindar atención al celular. El phubbing puede causar malestar en la relación de pareja que provoca conflictos y contribuye a la insatisfacción relacional. No obstante, es un tema escasamente estudiado en la cultura latinoamericana. Por lo que, el presente estudio tuvo el propósito de analizar la relación entre la conducta de phubbing, la comunicación tecnológica y la calidad de la relación en la cultura puertorriqueña. La muestra se compuso de 215 participantes en algún tipo de relación de pareja (noviazgo, matrimonio o en convivencia) con promedio de edad de 33 años. Se aplicaron tres escalas para medir las variables propuestas: comunicación tecnológica, phubbing y calidad diádica. Los datos fueron sometidos a diversos análisis estadísticos: análisis factorial confirmatorio, modelo estructural y análisis post-hoc. Los resultados obtenidos indican que el phubbing está presente en la pareja puertorriqueña. Los hallazgos muestran que el phubbing está relacionado positivamente con la comunicación tecnológica, mientras tiene un efecto negativo en la calidad de la relación de pareja. En contraste, la comunicación tecnológica no evidenció un efecto en la calidad de la relación. Los resultados indicaron la existencia de diferencias generacionales. Se concluye que la comunicación mediada por un celular cumple un rol significativo en el contexto de la pareja puertorriqueña que amerita continuar su estudio en futuras investigaciones.

This study aims to explore attitudes towards age-discrepant relationships and examine the influence of variables such as gender, generation and culture on such attitudes. The sample was made up of 1,510 participants divided into three age groups (18–29, 60–69 and 70 years and over) from eight Latin American countries. Participants’ answers to two incomplete sentences regarding age-discrepant couples were content analyzed and a series of binary logistic regressions were run to test the association of the resulting categories with the independent variables included in the study. Results showed that attitudes towards age-discrepant relationships were fairly evenly split between acceptance (44.8%) and rejection (41.3%). Participants’ attitudes were significantly associated with gender, generation and culture. Findings from this study suggest that negative attitudes towards age-discrepant couples are pervasive, accounting for almost 50% of responses. A broader, more inclusive view of relationships between generations should be promoted, particularly among younger generations.

The purpose of this research was to explore attitudes toward older lesbians and gay men disclosing their sexual preferences in eight Latin American countries. The sample consisted of 1,539 participants belonging to three age groups (18–29 years, 60–69 years, and 70 years and over). Their answers to two open-ended questions were content-analyzed, and binary logistic regressions were run on the extreme attitudinal categories. Results showed that although most attitudes were positive, a solid percentage of participants still expressed different kinds of derogatory attitudes. Men (as compared to women) and participants who were more religious and less educated tended to hold more negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. Both older samples were more prejudiced than the younger one, and attitudes also varied according to country. There was a general trend showing more positive attitudes toward older lesbians and gay men in those countries where sexual minorities’ rights are better assured, which suggests that measures to protect sexual minorities and to make sexual diversity in older age visible could be advisable.