Showing papers in "Journal of Social and Personal Relationships in 2011"
TL;DR: Current developmental research is integrated to explain why social relationships are generally more positive with age, and literature indicating that older adults engage in strategies that optimize positive social experiences and minimize negative ones by avoiding conflicts.
Abstract: Older adults typically report higher levels of satisfaction with their social relationships than younger adults. The present paper integrates current developmental research to explain why social relationships are generally more positive with age. We discuss actions by older adults that contribute to more positive social experiences. We also include social role changes that may provide advantages for older adults when navigating their relationships. Next, we turn to interactional processes between older adults with their social partners. We review literature indicating that: (a) older adults engage in strategies that optimize positive social experiences and minimize negative ones by avoiding conflicts, and (b) social partners often reciprocate by treating older adults more positively and with greater forgiveness than they do younger adults.
251 citations
TL;DR: The authors reported the results of five meta-analyses of sex differences from 37 manuscripts (36 samples, N = 8825) and detected a small difference favoring females in overall friendship expectations (d =.17).
Abstract: Friendship expectations are prescriptive normative behaviors and highly valued qualities in ideal same-sex friends. This paper reports the results of five meta-analyses of sex differences from 37 manuscripts (36 samples, N = 8825). A small difference favoring females was detected in overall friendship expectations (d = .17). Friendship expectations were higher for females in three of four categories: symmetrical reciprocity (e.g., loyalty, genuineness; d = .17), communion (e.g., self-disclosure, intimacy; d = .39), solidarity (e.g., mutual activities, companionship; d = .03), but agency (e.g., physical fitness, status; d = -.34) was higher in males. Overall expectations and symmetrical reciprocity showed small effect sizes. Medium effect sizes for communion favoring females and for agency favoring males support predictions of evolutionary theory.
211 citations
TL;DR: This article examined multidimensional attitudes toward individuals with intellectual disabilities and found that those with more knowledge and greater quantity and quality of contact with people with disabilities would have more positive attitudes toward this social group.
Abstract: Understanding attitudes that may lead to barriers to equality can help enhance social inclusion and quality of life for individuals with intellectual disabilities. The current study examined multidimensional attitudes toward individuals with intellectual disabilities. We expected that those with more knowledge and greater quantity and quality of contact with people with intellectual disabilities would have more positive attitudes toward this social group. Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that greater knowledge and quantity of contact were unrelated to attitudes. Greater quality of contact, however, was associated with more positive attitudes. These findings add support to previous findings that positive experiences may lead to less intergroup anxiety, less hostility, and less avoidance of outgroups.
145 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the impact of general and sexual communication on couples' overall and sexual satisfaction and found that sexual satisfaction mediated the relationship between open sexual communication and overall satisfaction.
Abstract: This study examined the impact of general and sexual communication on couples’ overall and sexual satisfaction. Data were collected from 116 heterosexual, monogamous couples in relationships of at least three months’ duration. Open sexual communication accounted for unique variance in both sexual and overall relationship satisfaction; general communication effectiveness did so only for overall satisfaction. The relationship between open sexual communication and overall satisfaction was stronger for males, and the relationship between open sexual communication and sexual satisfaction was stronger for couples who had been together longer. The three-way interaction of open sexual communication, relationship length, and gender significantly predicted overall relationship satisfaction but not sexual satisfaction. Sexual satisfaction mediated the relationship between open sexual communication and overall satisfaction.
115 citations
TL;DR: The Relational Maintenance Behavior Measure (RMBM) as mentioned in this paper is a psychometrically superior measure of the original maintenance dimensions identified in earlier research, and it is argued that the RMBM is a better measure of relational characteristics of satisfaction, liking, commitment, and love.
Abstract: The most frequently utilized measures of relational maintenance (i.e., the five-factor relational maintenance strategies measure, or RMSM, and the revised seven-factor RMSM) suffer from fundamental measurement flaws. Therefore, this article describes a series of studies designed to identify weaknesses in these measures and offer an improvement — the Relational Maintenance Behavior Measure (RMBM). When sound item-construction practices are followed, neither prior RMSM is viable. However, the factor structure of the RMBM is stable across three samples. The RMBM and the five-factor RMSM were examined in association with the relational characteristics of satisfaction, liking, commitment, and love. It is argued that the RMBM is a psychometrically superior measure of the original maintenance dimensions identified in earlier research.
113 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a child version of the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale-Revised (referred to as the ECR-RC), a self-report questionnaire measuring attachment anxiety and avoidance, was developed and validated.
Abstract: The investigation of attachment processes during middle childhood and early adolescence has been hampered by a relative lack of measures for this age group differentiating between two fundamental attachment dimensions, that is, anxiety and avoidance. The aim of this study is to develop and validate a child version of the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale-Revised (referred to as the ECR-RC), a self-report questionnaire measuring attachment anxiety and avoidance. Two studies were conducted to examine the internal structure (Study 1, N = 514 and Study 2, N = 296) and construct and predictive validity (Study 2) of the ECR-RC. The ECR-RC appears to be a promising instrument to measure the two attachment dimensions in middle childhood and early adolescence.
112 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify the higher-order factors underlying the most popular measures of love in use today through meta-analytic factor analysis and find that love was positively associated with relationship satisfaction and length.
Abstract: The present study identifies the higher-order factors underlying the most popular measures of love in use today through meta-analytic factor analysis. Eighty-one studies representing 103 samples and 19,387 individuals provided data for the meta-analysis. The reported correlations between several commonly-used measures of love were aggregated across studies to form a meta-analytic correlation matrix, which was then subjected to principle components analysis. Factors suggesting general love, romantic obsession, and practical friendship emerged. Love was positively and obsession was negatively associated with relationship satisfaction and length.The results corroborate recent conceptualizations of love and point toward the need for measurement methods other than global self-report in the field of love research.
108 citations
TL;DR: Studying this population of LGB adults expands knowledge about the diversity of care arrangements and needs within a relational context and both the care recipient and the caregiver receive benefits from the friendship.
Abstract: This study examines the relationships between friends; a caregiver who provides care to a care recipient, who is a lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) adult over age 50 in need of assistance due to chronic physical or mental health conditions. Using a sample of 18 care pairs (n = 36), this work examines qualitative interview data. Findings from the study include: (a) both the care recipient and the caregiver receive benefits from the friendship; (b) caregiving alters and challenges the friendship; and (c) friends assume differential levels of commitment and responsibility in providing care. Studying this population of LGB adults expands our knowledge about the diversity of care arrangements and needs within a relational context.
98 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and sympathetic nervous system (salivary alpha-amylase, sAA) react to co-rumination.
Abstract: Young women typically use same-sex friendships as a source of social support during times of stress. However, friendship interactions that are characterized by co-rumination, excessive problem discussion and negative affect focus, while related to quality friendships, are also related to internalizing symptoms. The goal of the current study was to better understand how the hypothalamic—pituitary—adrenal axis (salivary cortisol) and sympathetic nervous system (salivary alpha-amylase, sAA), react to co-rumination. Observed co-rumination predicted increased cortisol responses while negative affect focus during problem discussion predicted increases in both cortisol and sAA. These findings suggest that dual system activation may be at least one physiological pattern that links co-rumination to increased internalizing symptoms, even in the context of a high-quality friendship.
84 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focused on the closetable identities of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered queer (LGBTQ) Jewish Americans through the use of identity narratives and found that the potential for identity gaps to emerge and produce largely negative outcomes was ever present in their lives as they sought supportive communities for one or both identity elements.
Abstract: We focused on the closetable identities of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered queer (LGBTQ) Jewish Americans through the use of identity narratives. Thirty-one people participated in narrative interviews about their identity negotiation decisions. The Communication Theory of Identity framed the inquiry by showing how the interpenetrations of identity layers and critical elements created changes and conflict in participants’ lives that necessitated negotiating their LGBTQ Jewish identity. Analyses revealed conflicts related to self-perception, experiences, perceptions of others, and enactments of being LGBTQ and Jewish, many of which revolved around issues of alienation. The potential for identity gaps to emerge and produce largely negative outcomes was ever present in their lives as they sought supportive communities for one or both identity elements. This study has implications for individual and community support of multiple and stigmatized identities.
79 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored Korean adult adoptees' reports of racial derogation in their youth and the extent to which they avoided discussing these interactions with their White adoptive parents, finding that adoptee participants reported having received a range of racially derogatory messages, including appearance attacks, ethnicity attacks, and physical attacks.
Abstract: Families formed through transracial adoption face communicative challenges not faced by single-race families. Drawing upon communication privacy management theory and research on topic avoidance, this paper explores Korean adult adoptees’ reports of racial derogation in their youth and the extent to which they avoided discussing these interactions with their White adoptive parents. Results from qualitative interviews and surveys suggest that adoptee participants reported having received a range of racially derogatory messages, including appearance attacks, ethnicity attacks, and physical attacks. Most participants reported avoiding discussing these occurrences with their adoptive parents due to parent unresponsiveness and/or self-protection. This study extends the work on topic avoidance by offering sub-themes for parent unresponsiveness and sheds light on privacy management in transracially adoptive families.
TL;DR: This article examined the intrapersonal, dyadic, and mediational relationships underlying romantic attachment (Experiences in Close Relationships), dyadic empathy (Interpersonal Reactivity Index for Couples), and psychological partner aggression in 193 community-based couples.
Abstract: This study examined the intrapersonal, dyadic, and mediational relationships underlying romantic attachment (Experiences in Close Relationships), dyadic empathy (Interpersonal Reactivity Index for Couples), and psychological partner aggression (Revised Conflict Tactics Scales) in 193 community-based couples. In women, attachment insecurity predicted lower dyadic empathy and greater psychological aggression. In men, attachment insecurity predicted lower perspective taking, higher empathic concern, and greater psychological aggression. Partner effects were found for men, with their attachment predicting their female partner’s dyadic empathy and psychological aggression. In women, low perspective taking mediated the relationship between: (1) their anxiety over abandonment and their psychological aggression; and (2) their avoidance of intimacy and their psychological aggression. Findings are consistent with the attachment theory and clinical implications are discussed.
TL;DR: The findings help to clarify when people with a chronic illness are likely to resist and resent, rather than appreciate, spousal control.
Abstract: Spouses often monitor and seek to alter each other’s health behavior, but such social control attempts can provoke behavioral resistance and emotional distress. Expectations regarding spouses’ roles in their partners’ health may influence reactions to spousal social control, with resistance and hostility less likely to occur among people who believe spouses should be involved in their partners’ health. Evidence consistent with this idea emerged in a study of 191 patients with type 2 diabetes. Patients with greater expectations for spousal involvement (particularly females) generally reacted less negatively to spousal control. The findings help to clarify when people with a chronic illness are likely to resist and resent, rather than appreciate, spousal control.
TL;DR: In this paper, an empirical test of a revised version of the Theory of Motivated Information Management (TMIM) with an expanded treatment of the role played by emotion was conducted to predict adult children's decision to discuss caregiving with their parents.
Abstract: Adult children are perhaps the most important source of eldercare for aging parents. Unfortunately, they rarely discuss potential eldercare arrangements with their parents prior to adopting a caregiving role, which may make adapting to the parent’s transition to dependency all the more challenging. The Theory of Motivated Information Management (TMIM) is a social-psychological framework that has had success predicting information-seeking decisions about health issues. As such, it served as the theoretical basis for examining adult children’s pursuit of information from their elderly parents about caregiving preferences. In addition, this study serves as the first empirical test of a revised version of the TMIM, with an expanded treatment of the role played by emotion. The results of an over-time study attest to the utility of the revised TMIM predictions in this context, and offer insight into the factors that predict adult children’s decision to discuss caregiving with their parents.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the process by which romantic relationship partners who report lower self-expansion in their relationship come to show greater interest in their alternatives and found that lacking relationship-derived selfexpansion would lead to failures of motivational bias and perceptual bias to influence perceptions of alternatives.
Abstract: Two studies examined the process by which romantic relationship partners who report lower self-expansion in their relationship come to show greater interest in their alternatives. We tested predictions based on the alternatives literature in which lacking relationship-derived self-expansion would lead to failures of motivational bias (i.e., devaluing attractive alternatives) and perceptual bias (i.e., failing to notice attractive alternatives) to influence perceptions of alternatives. We conducted two cross-sectional studies, one designed to test failure of the motivational bias and one the perceptual bias. Results supported the predictions, indicating that both biases fail to operate in individuals whose current romantic relationship provides insufficient self-expansion. We discuss implications for relationship outcomes, as well as for the theoretical understanding of alternatives.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined whether friendship has become more prevalent in personal networks of older adults and found that the younger cohort had friends more often and retained friends longer than two older cohorts.
Abstract: Friendship has increased in importance during the last few decades. The study examines whether friendship has become more prevalent in personal networks of older adults. Three cohorts of older persons have been followed since 1992 for 17 years in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. The younger cohort had friends more often and retained friends longer than two older cohorts. The differences are related to personal choice, relational competence and greater structural opportunities for making and keeping friends that were available to the younger cohort. Women retained same-sex friends longer than men. The oldest women lost cross-sex friends more often than did men. This is related to different gender-specific survival rates and to women’s tendency to retain friendships longer.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present results from the assessment of satisfaction in multiple types of close relationships with slight adaptations to the wording of the seven-item Relationship Assessment Scale, which was tested in a series of four research protocols with over 1000 undergraduate students.
Abstract: Several self-report scales of marital satisfaction exist, but many are too lengthy for research protocols, and none allow for parallel assessment of satisfaction in non-romantic relationships. This paper presents results from the assessment of satisfaction in multiple types of close relationships with slight adaptations to the wording of the seven-item Relationship Assessment Scale. This scale was tested in a series of four research protocols with over 1000 undergraduate students. The scale demonstrated good internal consistency, item reliabilities, test—retest reliability, and factorial validity across diverse types of close relationships, with preliminary evidence supporting its convergent and predictive validity as well. These results suggest that the Relationship Assessment Scale can briefly and adequately assess satisfaction in multiple types of relationships.
TL;DR: The authors examined relationships among maternal and paternal parenting styles, patterns of involvement in adolescent sibling conflict, and sibling relationship quality, and identified the existence of a meaningful typology of parental involvement in sibling conflict.
Abstract: This study examined relationships among maternal and paternal parenting styles, patterns of involvement in adolescent sibling conflict, and sibling relationship quality. Students (N = 272) in grades 9 and 11 from a public high school in a metropolitan area of the Northeastern US completed measures of parenting styles, parental sibling conflict intervention styles, sibling closeness, sibling support, and sibling warmth and conflict. An authoritative parenting style was associated with sibling support and closeness. Cluster analyses identified gender-specific patterns of parental involvement. Participants reporting maternal or paternal coaching involvement style reported greater sibling warmth compared with those who did not report such patterns. The results highlight indirect and direct relationships between parental behavior and sibling relationship quality. In addition, the study identifies the existence of a meaningful typology of parental involvement in sibling conflict.
TL;DR: This paper examined how features of online date-finding systems affect the types of message strategies users generate to refuse requests for romantic dates and found that romantic refusals varied as a function of the relationship between the requester and rejector (acquaintance vs stranger) and the type of media (email vs online dating messaging service).
Abstract: This research examined how certain features of online date-finding systems affect the types of message strategies users generate to refuse requests for romantic dates An experiment analyzed how 190 participants rejected a date request from a member of the opposite sex Politeness strategies varied as a function of the relationship between the requester and rejector (acquaintance vs stranger) and the type of media (email vs online dating messaging service) Results illuminate effects of interface characteristics and dyads’ relationship type on date refusal messages Online daters exploited certain communication features provided by dating website messaging services which allow new ways for romantic refusals to be performed that were not previously available in face-to-face communication or earlier forms of computer-mediated communication
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of relationship threat on sexual motivations were examined and the results indicated that relationship threat prompted both enhancement and relationship-based motives, suggesting that people use sex to both feel better and repair the threatened relationship.
Abstract: The authors examined the effects of relationship threat on sexual motivations. In two studies, participants imagined relationship or non-relationship threat scenes and then rated their desire to have sex (Study 1) and the reasons for doing so (Study 2). The results indicated that relationship threat prompted both enhancement and relationship-based motives, suggesting that people use sex to both feel better and repair the threatened relationship. Avoidantly attached individuals were least likely to desire their partner, implying that they use distancing strategies when confronted with relational threat. Anxiously attached individuals were least likely to be motivated by hedonistic reasons, possibly reflecting their difficulties in enjoying sex when flooded with relationship worries. Implications for understanding the functional meaning of sex in romantic relationships are discussed.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the link between spouses' demanding and withdrawing behavior during conflict and their subjective well-being (SWB) in a community sample of 126 couples.
Abstract: This study investigated the link between spouses’ demanding and withdrawing behavior during conflict and their subjective well-being (SWB) in a community sample of 126 couples. Demand and withdrawal were analyzed in combination in the demand/ withdraw pattern, as well as individually. Results showed that the model with the individual conflict behavior provided a better representation of the data than the demand/withdraw pattern model. Women’s, as well as men’s, demands were directly associated with men’s SWB. Furthermore, the individual conflict behavior was indirectly linked with both spouses’ SWB via their own marital satisfaction. Results highlight the potential importance of couple’s conflict behavior for spouses’ SWB.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined older same-sex couples' experiences with legally recognized same sex marriage (SSM) and found that three themes emerged from older same sex couples' descriptions of their experiences with SSM: an increased sense of security, an increase sense of recognition, and misgivings about SSM.
Abstract: This study examines older same-sex couples’ experiences with legally recognized same-sex marriage (SSM). Thirty-six same-sex couples who ranged in age from 56 to 73 (M = 63.75) participated in semi-standardized interviews about their reaction to SSM and the surrounding debates, the impact of SSM on their relationship and social network, and their decision to marry or not. Three themes emerged from older same-sex couples’ descriptions of their experiences with SSM: an increased sense of security, an increased sense of recognition, and misgivings about SSM. Results reflect the unique historical perspective and challenges of older same-sex couples as they negotiate a changing social context.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored adolescents' perceptions of their parents' behaviors that inhibited or facilitated adolescents' self-disclosures to them, and found that adolescents perceive their self disclosure to be influenced by a variety of specific parental actions and reactions in disclosure-related situations.
Abstract: The aim of the study was to explore adolescents’ perceptions of their parents’ behaviors that inhibited or facilitated adolescents’ self-disclosures to them. Four focus groups with 16 girls and 16 boys from Croatia (13—14 year olds) were conducted. Results indicate that adolescents perceive their self-disclosures to be influenced by a variety of specific parental actions and reactions in disclosure-related situations. According to adolescents’ views, not only can parents hinder adolescent’s disclosure by unfavorable reactions, but they can also prompt the adolescent to disclose by behaving in certain manner. Identified parental behaviors and emotional states (labeled as ‘‘inviters’’, ‘‘inhibitors’’, ‘‘negative reactions’’, and ‘‘positive reactions’’) are discussed in terms of contemporary perspectives on optimal parenting based on children’s psychological needs and children’s rights.
TL;DR: In this article, grounded theory methods were used to investigate the role of one such pattern, stayovers, in the development of romantic relationships among 22 college students and college graduates, and the results indicated that some young couples stay overnight between three and seven nights per week while living in separate homes.
Abstract: Rapid and widespread changes in relationship formation and dissolution over the past 50 years have revealed new patterns in romantic and sexual relationships, particularly among emerging adults. In this study, grounded theory methods were used to investigate the role of one such pattern, stayovers, in the development of romantic relationships among 22 college students and college graduates. The results indicated that some young couples stay overnight between three and seven nights per week while living in separate homes. This arrangement functioned as a comfortable and convenient alternative to forming more lasting, and therefore riskier, commitments such as full-time cohabitation and marriage. Stayovers served as a stopgap measure between casual dating and making more formal commitments.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compared the effects of using different reality benchmarks on the strength of positive partner physical attractiveness illusions (n = 70 couples) and found that individuals positively biased both their own and their partner's physical attractiveness.
Abstract: Positive illusions about a partner’s physical attractiveness occur when individuals’ ratings of their partner’s attractiveness are more positive than more objective ratings. Ratings that may serve as a’’reality benchmark’ include ratings by the partner him/herself and observer ratings. The present study compared the effects of using different reality benchmarks on the strength of positive partner physical attractiveness illusions (n = 70 couples). Results showed that individuals positively biased both their own and their partner’s physical attractiveness. As a consequence, using a partner’s self-ratings as a reality benchmark results in an underestimation of positive illusions. Presenting participants with photographs had a small effect on physical attractiveness ratings provided by women, showing that photographs, to some extent, might constrain positive illusions.
TL;DR: In this paper, a focus group with 69 adoptive parents with adopted children from either Vietnam or China was examined inductively and the results showed that the metaphors of adoptive parent as protector and adoptive parents as educator manifest in parental discourse, enacting defensive, somewhat reactive, and confrontational, strategic, and toughening discourse.
Abstract: This interpretive study utilized Owen’s ((1985) Thematic metaphors in relational communication: A conceptual framework, The Western Journal of Speech Communication, 49, 1—13) metaphoric approach to identify and understand the cognitive structures undergirding transracial, international adoptive parents’ sense-making and management of familial and personal identities during interactions that challenge familial and personal identities. Twelve focus groups with 69 parents with adopted children from either Vietnam or China were examined inductively. The results found the metaphors of adoptive parent as protector and adoptive parent as educator manifest in parental discourse. Protectors aim to guard identity, enacting defensive, somewhat reactive discourse, meeting invasive remarks straight-on, using confrontational, strategic, and toughening discourse. Seeking to build identity, educators enact less reactive and more intentional discourse through discourses of preparation, modeling, and debriefing. Based on t...
TL;DR: In this article, the functional role of missing a romantic partner during a brief geographic separation was examined from the perspective of interdependence theory and models of relationship maintenance, and participants' self-reported missing their romantic partners.
Abstract: Working from the perspective of interdependence theory and models of relationship maintenance, this study examined the functional role of missing a romantic partner during a brief geographic separation. Eighty-eight undergraduate students involved in romantic relationships completed a measure of commitment prior to separation, and measures of missing a romantic partner, relationship maintenance, and physical infidelity during their winter break. Commitment was associated with participants’ self-reports of missing their romantic partners. Further, commitment predicted participants’ use of relationship maintenance strategies (i.e., positivity, openness, and assurances) and physical infidelity during the separation. These associations were mediated by how much participants missed their romantic partners. Findings are discussed in terms of interdependence theory and the growing literature on geographic distance between relationship partners.
TL;DR: This article examined attachment security as a possible contributor to compassionate love for a romantic partner among young adults and found that attachment may play a role in compassionate love by activating the caregiving system.
Abstract: This study examined attachment security as a possible contributor to compassionate love for a romantic partner among young adults. Attachment was assessed dispositionally and to a specific romantic partner. A secure dispositional attachment style was associated positively with compassionate love for partner, whereas an avoidant— dismissing attachment style was associated negatively with compassionate love. In addition, relationship-specific attachment avoidance was strongly (negatively) associated with compassionate love and mediated the association between dispositional attachment avoidance and compassionate love. Although relationship-specific attachment anxiety was not associated with compassionate love in the total sample or for the subsample in a serious relationship, it was a positive predictor of compassionate love for those in a casual relationship. Attachment may play a role in compassionate love by activating the caregiving system.
TL;DR: The authors examined variables that might identify at-risk individuals following the death of a significant other and found that attachment anxiety is associated with more intense grief, while avoidant individuals seem to cope with loss as well as secure individuals.
Abstract: We examined variables that might identify at-risk individuals following the death of a significant other. Previous research indicates attachment anxiety is associated with more intense grief, while avoidant individuals seem to cope with loss as well as secure individuals. Participants in this study (368 adults aged 17–49) completed an online survey measuring general and relationship-specific attachment insecurities, relationship characteristics, loss circumstances, and typical and prolonged grief symptoms. General attachment anxiety and avoidance were related to prolonged grief symptoms but not to typical symptoms. Relationship-specific anxiety was positively related to grief symptoms, while specific avoidance was negatively related. The results support the distinction between general and specific attachment insecurities and between normative and prolonged grief reactions.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the interplay between friends' rejection sensitivity and attachment security in predicting friendship quality and found that RS moderated the effect of attachment avoidance on friendship quality.
Abstract: We examined the interplay between friends’ rejection sensitivity (RS) and attachment security in predicting friendship quality. Three competing hypotheses were tested concerning friendship quality, the unique effects of attachment anxiety, avoidance, and RS, as well as the moderating and mediating effects of RS. Results from emerging adults in Turkey (N = 407) revealed that unlike attachment anxiety and avoidance, RS had neither a unique nor a mediated effect on friendship quality. However, RS moderated the effect of attachment avoidance on friendship quality. These findings’ implications are discussed considering the role of RS in the link between attachment security and friendship quality.