ICPR Abstracts: Session 5

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Session 5: Papers

Quality of Marital Relationships

5.1
Social Support and Marital Quality in a British-Asian 
Community

Robin Goodwin and Hemlata Sinhal, Bristol University
Duncan Cramer, Loughborough University
Kamal Adatia, Bristol University

Despite considerable media interest in the plight of Asian 
marriages in the UK, we know very little about the 
dynamics of such marriages, the factors that contribute to 
their success, and the role of the wider support network in 
helping or abetting the relationship. Following an 
extensive period of consultation and piloting, 70 couples 
participated in semi-structured interviews exploring the 
strengths and weaknesses of their relationship with 
particular reference to the availability and utility of 
different support networks. Preliminary results indicate 
the significance of age as well as structural factors such as 
housing as determinants of both support seeking and 
relationship quality, and the surprisingly limited usage of 
the extended family in dealing with relationship crises.

5.2
Couples' Concurrent Cognitions: A Protocol Analysis
of the Thoughts Couples Have as They Converse

Anita L. Vangelisti, Susan Corbin,
Anne Lucchetti, and Rhonda J. Sprague
University of Texas

Attribution theorists argue that the thoughts people have 
about their relationships and their partners shape and 
reflect the quality of their relationships. The majority of 
the data collected in support of this argument, however, is 
based on partners' retrospective reports or their responses 
to hypothetical scenarios. The purpose of this study was to 
begin to examine romantic partners' concurrent cognitions-
-the thoughts they have during the course of interaction 
with one another. Data were collected using a modification 
of a method called protocol analysis. Romantic partners 
conversed with one another in "real time" over networked 
computers and, simultaneously, voiced aloud what they 
were thinking. In brief, results indicated that those who 
were dissatisfied with their relationship voiced 
significantly more negative thoughts about their partner 
than positive thoughts. These findings suggest that the 
cognitions partners have about one another while they 
interact may serve as an important indicator of relational 
quality.

5.3
Trust and Power in Close Relationships

John K. Rempel, University of St. Jerome's College
Tracy Cocivera, University of Waterloo

Within close relationships, the relation between trust, 
power- related resources, and power strategies was 
examined. Established heterosexual couples individually 
completed measures of social desirability, trust, and 
power-related resources. Partners were videotaped while 
they discussed two conflict issues and their behavior was 
coded in terms of power strategies. Results indicate that 
the level of trust moderated the extent to which power 
strategies were observed in interactions between partners. 
Partners in high trust relationships displayed fewer power 
strategies than partners in medium or low trust 
relationships. These results are discussed in terms of a 
theory of trust in close relationships. 

5.4
An Exploratory Study of the "Inclusion of Other in 
Self" Scale: Inclusion, Balance, and Satisfaction in 
Romantic Relationships

Louis J. Medvene
Wichita State University

Including the other in self, as measured by Aron's 
Inclusion of Other in Self (IOS) scale, was explored in a 
study of the romantic relationships of 298 university 
undergraduates. As hypothesized, IOS interacted with 
perceived balance so that students with high IOS scores 
reacted less negatively, in terms of relationship 
satisfaction, to perceived imbalance than students with 
low IOS scores. It was concluded that within romantic 
relationships inclusion of other in self measured the 
tendency of students to think of themselves and their 
closest other as a unit, thereby being less concerned about 
imbalances which over-benefited either person.