The intergenerational transmission of relationship instability: A focus on emerging adult on-off relationships.

This study extends prior research on the intergenerational transmission of relationship instability by examining parents' history of on-off relationships as a predictor of emerging adults' own cycling (i.e., breaking up and renewing with the same romantic partner). Data were collected at a large mid-western university from 702 emerging adults (18-25 years old). Multinomial logistic regression was used to predict the likelihood that participants had cycled in a past or current relationship. Results show that parental cycling increased the likelihood of offspring cycling in a past or current relationship relative to never cycling, and greater uncertainty about the future of the relationship was a mechanism through which such transmission occurred. Findings from this study demonstrate that parental relationship instability can even be consequential for the transient relationships within emerging adulthood, making family history a productive area to explore for practitioners working with cyclical partners and/or emerging adults.

The effects of discrimination and psychological distress on U.S. Latino/a young adults' relational uncertainty and relationship instability.

OBJECTIVES: Racial/ethnic discrimination is a common and salient stressor for many individuals. Although discrimination can impair personal and relational well-being, little is known about its influences on the process of considering dissolution (i.e., relationship instability). In two studies of Latino/a young adults, we examined associations among discrimination, psychological distress, relational uncertainty, and relationship instability. METHOD: Study 1 assessed self-reports of 475 participants aged 18-29 (60.2% female, Mage = 24.8, SD = 3.22). Study 2 examined self-reports of 462 participants aged 18-29 (40.9% female, Mage = 25.9, SD = 2.72). Structural equation models evaluated direct and indirect associations among study variables. RESULTS: Discrimination was associated with relationship instability, both directly and indirectly via its associations with psychological distress and, in Study 1, relational uncertainty. CONCLUSIONS: Overall results suggest that racial/ethnic discrimination is associated with romantic relationship instability through its associations with psychological distress and uncertainty about the future of a relationship. Prior research demonstrates the resilience of Latino/a communities, and our findings reinforce the need for policies and clinical resources that reduce discrimination and support mental health and relationships. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

"This Is Not the Hill to Die on. Even if We Literally Could Die on This Hill": Examining Communication Ecologies of Uncertainty and Family Communication About COVID-19.

As information about the public health risks surrounding COVID-19 continues to shift over time, families communicate to navigate this ongoing uncertainty. For example, families must interpret inconsistent media and public health messages about COVID-19, which may in turn have implications for health risk behavior. Adding to this complexity, household structures and routines are adapting in response to COVID-19. Adult family members in some families may suddenly experience extreme physical proximity, while others must coordinate to make decisions about their health and prevention behaviors while maintaining physical distance. Furthermore, members of these families must balance relational maintenance while communicating to assess and avoid health risks. The ongoing ambiguity of information about COVID-19 means that these relational processes must be managed in the midst of chronic uncertainty. The current study uses semistructured interviews and interpretive analysis to understand how adult children (aged 23-51 years) manage chronic uncertainty about COVID-19 in communication with their parents. Findings explore themes of navigating information about COVID-19 risks and protections, managing uncertainty management about media and political messages, and accepting time-related uncertainties.

Is a dyadic stressor experienced as equally distressing by both partners? The case of perceived fertility problems.

Using data from a population survey, this article explores whether perceptions of having a fertility problem among 926 U.S. couples in heterosexual relationships (women aged 25-45 and male partners) are associated with distress. Most couples did not perceive a fertility problem (58%). In almost a third (30%) of the couples, only women perceived a fertility problem; in 4%, only the men; and in nearly a fifth (19%), both perceived a problem. Adjusted for characteristics associated with fertility problems and depressive symptoms, those who perceived a problem exhibited significantly more depressive symptoms than those who did not. Fertility problems are sometimes experienced as individual because in some couples only one partner perceives a problem or has higher distress in response to their own rather than to their partners' perceived problems. For women, fertility problems are experienced as a couple phenomenon because women were more distressed when both partners perceive a problem. The perception of fertility problems is gendered in that women were more likely to perceive a problem than men. Furthermore, men are most distressed when they perceive a problem and their partner does not.