| Good life is built with good relationships,according to Harvard University tracked the lives of 724 men life in 75 years.First,the longitudinal study addressed social connections are good for us and that loneliness kills.It was not cholesterol levels in their middle age that predicted how they were going to grow old;it was how satisfied they were in their relationships at age 50 were the healthiest at age 80,and good close relationships seem to buffer us from some of the slings and arrows of getting old,and people who are in unhappy relationships on the days when they reported more physical pain,it was magnified by more emotional pain.Second,the study also stated it is not the number of friends,and not whether or not you are in a committed relationship,but it is the quality of your close relationships that matters your well-being.Third,the research told us good relationship not only just protect our bodies,but also our brains,for being in a securely attached relationship to another person in your 80 s is protective.Intimate Relationship is the core and foundation of various relationships;therefore,it is an important indicator of relationship satisfaction.Satisfying relationships can be sources of individual and mutual comfort,well-being,and fulfillment(Meunier & Baker,2012),while unsatisfying relationships can result in emotional turmoil and ill health(Robles,Slatcher,Trombello,& McGinn,2014).Given the relative benefits and costs of more and less satisfying couple of relationships,respectively,theorists and researchers have attempted to pinpoint factors critical to explaining relationship satisfaction and continuity versus relationship dissatisfaction and dissolution.Over time,romantic relationships can have a wide variety of courses.For example,some romantic relationships seem to thrive over time with high levels of marital satisfaction and commitment,others endure despite high levels of conflict,and still others result in break-ups or divorce.Different theories have been put forward to explain courses of marital satisfaction and dissatisfaction.This paper discusses leading explanations of relationship satisfaction as well as the role of accommodation as a key influence on relationship of outcomes.Competing theories of relationship dissatisfaction have argued that changes in the nature of interactions over the course of a relationship are critical to relationship quality.For example,disillusionment perspectives emphasize losses of relationship idealization,decreases in passion,and increases in disillusionment as an impetus for reduced relationship satisfaction(e.g.,Caughlin & Huston,2006;Huston,Niehuis,& Smith,2001;Miller,Niehuis,& Huston,2006).In early relationship stages,partners tend to stress their own positive attributes and their partner’s good qualities while discounting each other’s faults.Passion and relationship idealization contribute to relationship bliss and a “delusive harmony” in these stages.Unfortunately,passion fades as partners contend with mundane aspects of daily life,expectations are dashed as partner flaws are revealed,and idealized views become difficult to sustain.Losses of idealized expectations are likely to be accompanied by increases in disillusionment with one’s partner and relationship that affect overall satisfaction levels(Huston,Caughlin et al.,2001).In contrast to disillusionment accounts,emergent distress perspectives posits that relationship deteriorations mount over time from increased friction caused by previously overlooked problems(e.g.,Clements,Cordova,Markman,& Laurenceau,1997;Williamson et al.,2016).When partners lack interpersonal skills needed to resolve relationship conflicts and communication difficulties,frustrations accumulate while relationship satisfaction erodes(Gottman,2014).In this light,the degree to which relationship conflicts are successfully managed is a key determinant of relationship quality and sustenance(e.g.,Lambert,Engh,Hasbun,& Holzer,2012;Papp & Witt,2010;Saavedra et al.,2010).From the enduring dynamics perspective,more or less satisfying courtship patterns continue into marriage,with good marriages looking better from the outset.Huston(2009)pointed out,it is Burgess and Wallin,who were the first to articulate this view,argued that newlyweds usually enter marriages aware of each other’s strengths and faults.The model,variously referred to as the perpetual problems model,presumes that certain interpersonal patterns are established during courtship and maintained throughout the course of the marriage.Relationships that are mutually satisfying in early stages are more likely to be mutually satisfying over time while less satisfying relationships will show a complementary course.Relationship Satisfaction is an important indicator of relationship satisfaction;it is closely related to happiness,personal well-being.Researches of marital models and relationship satisfaction,however,is not rich in China,Models summarized above posit that increases in disillusionment or,alternatively,problems managing conflicts are relationship course changes that contribute to marital satisfaction losses.Although such changes may occur,they are not inevitable outcomes of relationships,given that many couples maintain high levels of satisfaction over the course of their relationship.Individual differences in supposedly stable characteristics or enduring dynamics may help to explain why some couples are more susceptible to increases in relationship disillusionment or emergent distress and others are not.For example,within romantic relationships,people who have anxious or avoidant attachment styles characterized,respectively,by high needs for reassurance and discomfort with closeness,are more likely to report reduced relationship dissatisfaction(e.g.,Mikulincer & Shaver,2007;Pietromonaco & Beck,2015).High levels of insecure attachment,especially avoidance,may also contribute to elevations in disillusionment or impaired conflict resolution capacities.The overarching purpose of this thesis is to evaluate features of disillusionment perspectives(i.e.,relationship aggrandizement,passionate love,relationship disillusionment)and versus features of emergent distress perspectives(arguing,negotiation,agenda-building)as influences on relationship dissatisfaction within couples and individuals in China.Six studies were conducted to achieve this purpose.In Study 1,structural equation modeling(SEM)was used to evaluate the extent to which features of integrated(1)attachment-disillusionment vs.attachment-emergent distress models accounted for relationship dissatisfaction within dating Chinese couples.Identifying factors that are most relevant to developing fulfilling relationship satisfaction and isolating interventions targets that foster improvements in highly dissatisfied couples.As well,empirical tests of these models have been conducted primarily within samples living in the United States and Europe.Therefore,it is not clear whether features of these accounts are only salient to explaining relationship satisfaction in cultures such as the U.S.,or whether such experiences are potentially universal and apply to couples living in very different cultures around the world.In the study,we assessed how well models based on the integration of key attachment model features and facets of disillusionment versus emergent distress perspectives explain variable marital satisfaction levels within heterosexual dating couples in mainland China.This study provides important empirical underpinnings for the theory of marital models.Study 2 used SEM to evaluate how well each of these models explained relationship dissatisfaction in married Chinese couples,with the application of the actor-partner interdependence model,which permitted the assessment of both participant and partner experiences on relationship dissatisfaction.We want to assess not only the relation between attachment style and relationship satisfaction,but want to know avoidant husbands how to affect wives’ relationship satisfaction.We hypothesized that with respect to an integrated attachment-disillusionment model,relations of less secure attachment styles,especially avoidant attachment were expected to be mediated by experiences reflecting the disillusionment account(i.e.,less relationship aggrandizement and passionate love,more disillusionment).Second,regarding the integrated attachment-emergent distress account,problems in managing conflicts related to agenda-building,arguing,and negotiation,were expected to mediate attachment-satisfaction relations.Within each model,we also explored how insecure attachment styles,particularly high levels of avoidant attachment in one’s spouse affected personal relationship dissatisfaction levels.Given evidence that some facets of the disillusionment perspective(i.e.,relationship idealization)may be less relevant to Chinese couples the integrated attachment-emergent distress model would better explain individual differences in relationship satisfaction in the current sample.In Study 3 we examined effects of relationship status(dating versus married)and gender(male versus female)on relationship dissatisfaction as well as experiences of relationship disillusionment and emergent distress,after controlling for differences in demographic characteristics,particularly relationship duration.This focus was designed to clarify the extent to which relationship status per se dating vs.being married)was related to experiences that contribute to relationship dissatisfaction in Chinese couples.We use the MANCOVA to assess the difference between dating group and married group.Based on previous research,we hypothesized that dating couples would report more relationship satisfaction than their married counterparts would.Second,relationship satisfaction will be unchanged in a same relationship status(e.g.,dating or married).Third drawing upon the disillusionment perspective,we expected that dating couples would report higher levels of positive feeling,relationship aggrandizement,passionate love,and enduring dynamics than married couples would.Fourth,based on the emergent distress perspective,dating couples were expected to score lower on measures of relationship conflict.Finally,we assessed the extent to which features of disillusionment versus emergent distress models could account for relationship status differences in satisfaction.Study 4 evaluated the status of disillusionment perspective features versus emergent distress perspective features as risk factors for changes in relationship satisfaction of Chinese dating couples one year later.In addition,Study 4 compared the impact of increases in disillusionment versus increases in emergent distress during one year on corresponding changes in relationship satisfaction.Finally,Study 4 included analyses evaluating the separate contributions of personal versus partner experiences of disillusionment and emergent distress model features on changes in personal relationship satisfaction within each gender.We assessed the impact of baseline levels of passionate love,marital aggrandizement,disillusionment,dysfunctional communication conflict process,and attachment and changes in these experiences over time on relationship satisfaction of heterosexual relationship among dating partners in china.The research designed to clarify links between factors relevant to the enduring dynamics perspective(i.e.,insecure attachment styles),facets of alternative approaches that emphasize changes in the nature of marital relationship interactions,and relationship satisfaction in dating Chinese couples.Study 5 evaluated the status of disillusionment perspective features versus emergent distress perspective features as risk factors for changes in relationship satisfaction in Chinese married couples over one year.We use liner regress method to identify key factors of relationship satisfaction.In this 12-month prospective study,we assessed the impact of baseline levels of passionate love,marital aggrandizement,disillusionment,dysfunctional communication conflict process,and attachment and changes in these experiences over time on relationship satisfaction of heterosexual relationship among 394 married couples in china.The research designed to clarify links between factors relevant to the enduring dynamics perspective(i.e.,insecure attachment styles),facets of alternative approaches that emphasize changes in the nature of marital relationship interactions,and relationship satisfaction in married Chinese couples.Study 6 used experimental designs to evaluate causal effects of partner expressions of disillusionment versus partner expressions of emergent distress versus partner expressions of nonrelationship opportunities(control condition)on reported changes in appraisals,coping preferences and satisfaction levels in responses to inter-related events within relationship vignette paradigms.The research assessed the effects of factors of disillusionment,and emergent distress,and determine how these factors affect relationship satisfaction on appraisal and coping in relation to three,inter-related episodes(ambiguous,negative,and positive)of a romantic relationship narrative.We hypothesized that compared to a control group,disillusionment;conflict group would appraise negative events as more threatening and would endorse more emotion-focused strategies(e.g.,self-blame,denial,substance abuse,disengagement)and less benefit appraisal and support seeking for these events.Women were also expected to appraise ambiguous and negative events as more threatening than men do and to endorse disengagement,and support seeking more frequently as ways of coping with them.In contrast,men were expected to endorse relatively more venting and substance use with these events.In conclusion,the present thesis has several novel findings: the thesis supported the extension of marital satisfaction model features developed in western cultures in understanding relationship satisfaction of dating partners in a Chinese context,the most important of which was testing two integrative models of relationship dissatisfaction among dating partners in an understudied cultural context.Results indicated that plausible links between attachment and dissatisfaction,Avoidant attachment is more significant with satisfaction than anxious attachment.Disillusionment and emergent distress variables played mediation roles in models both in married couples and in dating couples.Avoidant women who are in conflict have less satisfaction with in-law than men do in dating partner and married pairs,avoidant men affect his wife’s satisfaction with their relationship,dating couples often report more relationship satisfaction than their married counterparts do in the thesis.People who are in disillusionment and conflict vignette,they reported higher in threat appraisal and loss appraisal,lower in challenge,and benefit appraisal relative to control group.Those who are in disillusionment reported higher using venting,blame,sarcasms,coping strategies compare to control group.In sum,courses and outcomes of marital relationships have been explained on the basis of enduring relationship dynamics,ideal disillusionment,emerging distress and its management,accommodation capacities,personality,and life events.Because much of the literature has focused on negative influences that contribute to relationship distress,more attention should be paid to role of positive relationship experiences,individual and dyad experiences of growth and resilience,and spirituality in future research.What is more,considering the role of emotions on romantic relationships may increase understanding and practical strategies that facilitate the development of healthy love relationships. |
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