Given the powerful implications of relationship quality for health and well-being, a central mission of relationship science is explaining why some romantic relationships thrive more than others. This large-scale project used machine learning (i.e., Random Forests) to 1) quantify the extent to which relationship quality is predictable and 2) identify which constructs reliably predict relationship quality. Across 43 dyadic longitudinal datasets from 29 laboratories, the top relationship-specific predictors of relationship quality were perceived-partner commitment, appreciation, sexual satisfaction, perceived-partner satisfaction, and conflict. The top individual-difference predictors were life satisfaction, negative affect, depression, attachment avoidance, and attachment anxiety. Overall, relationship-specific variables predicted up to 45% of variance at baseline, and up to 18% of variance at the end of each study. Individual differences also performed well (21% and 12%, respectively). Actor-reported variables (i.e., own relationship-specific and individual-difference variables) predicted two to four times more variance than partner-reported variables (i.e., the partner’s ratings on those variables). Importantly, individual differences and partner reports had no predictive effects beyond actor-reported relationship-specific variables alone. These findings imply that the sum of all individual differences and partner experiences exert their influence on relationship quality via a person’s own relationship-specific experiences, and effects due to moderation by individual differences and moderation by partner-reports may be quite small. Finally, relationship-quality change (i.e., increases or decreases in relationship quality over the course of a study) was largely unpredictable from any combination of self-report variables. This collective effort should guide future models of relationships.

Relationship maintenance encompasses a broad array of activities that partners may use to preserve their romantic partnerships. For this article, we systematically review the vast literature (N = 1,149 articles) on relationship maintenance in romantic relationships. We first identify the relevant constructs and propose a conceptual model to organize the literature. Then we turn our focus to the empirical research on the processes and social context of relationship maintenance. We conclude by highlighting the lingering questions in the study of relationship maintenance and offering recommendations for future research.

Coercive control is central to distinguishing between Johnson’s (2008) 2 main types of intimate partner violence: (a) coercive controlling violence and (b) situational couple violence. Approaches to assessing coercive control, however, have been inconsistent. Using data from 2 projects involving divorcing mothers (N = 190), the authors compared common analytic strategies for operationalizing coercive control and classifying types of violence. The results establish advantages to measuring coercive control in terms of frequency versus number of tactics, illustrate the use of both hierarchical and k-means clustering methods to identify patterns of coercive control and evaluate clustering solutions, and offer a suggested cutoff for classifying violence types in general samples of separated women using the Dominance–Isolation subscale of the widely used Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory (Tolman, 1992). Finally, the authors demonstrate associations between types of violence and theoretically relevant variables, including frequency and severity of violence, harassment and violence after separation, fear, and perceived threat.

This meta-analysis examines the five factors from the Relational Maintenance Strategies Measure (RMSM, i.e., positivity, openness, assurances, social networks, and sharing tasks) and their associations with satisfaction, commitment, control mutuality, love, liking, and relationship duration. Across 35 studies (N ¼ 12,273 participants), results showed positive correlations between the maintenance factors and the relational correlates except relationship duration, which was negatively associated with positivity and assurances and unassociated with openness, social networks, and sharing tasks. Moderator analyses showed differences in effect sizes depending upon measure (i.e., RMSM or a revision), reporter (i.e., perceptions of partner's maintenance or individuals' own enactment of maintenance), and biological sex. Effect sizes were generally larger for women than men and when studies used the RMSM and perceptions of the partner's maintenance.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health issue impacting millions globally. To frame this decade in review, we organize the research published since 2010 at each of four ecological levels (individual, relational, community, and sociocultural) to demonstrate advances and gaps in each. At the individual and relational level, we review the prevalence, directionality, typologies, predictors, and outcomes of IPV. We attend to postseparation dynamics as well as research on youth exposure. We also discuss key theoretical advances. Our review of individual and relational research is more substantial as most research on IPV focuses on these factors with less attention to community and sociocultural contexts. Reflecting the state of the research within each ecological level, we review men's violence against women and incorporate developing research on men's victimization, reciprocal violence between men and women, and IPV among same‐sex partners. Throughout the review, we address key developments in knowledge as well as gaps and methodological strengths and limitations. We close with an integrated summary and recommendations for rigorous collaborative research across disciplines in the next decade to broaden our knowledge base and inform preventions and interventions.

Objective: In this study, we evaluated the afterschool PAWS (Peer-education About Weight Steadiness) Club program delivered by peer or adult educators to improve food choices, physical activity, and psychosocial variables related to healthy eating. Methods: We had 109 adolescents (53 in adult-led group; 56 in peer-led group) participate in a cluster randomized controlled intervention. The 12-session curriculum framed within Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and Stages of Change addressed mediators of behavior change related to cooking skills, food intake, and physical activity. Anthropometric, dietary intake, physical activity, and SCT mediators were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 6-months post-intervention. Results: Adolescents in the peer-led group significantly improved whole grain intake at post-intervention (p = .017) and 6-months post-intervention (p = .014). Both peer-led and adult-led groups had significant reductions in caloric intake at 6-months post-intervention (p = .047). Only the adult-led group improved self-efficacy (SE) and social/family support (SS) for healthy eating at post-intervention [p = .019 (SE); p = .048 (SS)] and 6-months post-intervention [p = .036 (SE); p = .022 (SS)]. Conclusions: The PAWS Club program promoted lower caloric intake by adolescents. Peer educators were effective at increasing whole grains in adolescents, and adult educators contributed to positive changes in SE and SS related to healthy eating.

In this study, the author compares 2 models: the information‐seeking model, in which perceptions of relationship maintenance predict subsequent commitment, and the motivational model, in which commitment predicts subsequent perceptions of relationship maintenance, by means of a daily, cross‐lagged, dyadic design. The moderating effects of relationship length and global commitment are also tested. A sample of 98 same‐sex couples from the United States completed an Internet daily diary for 14 consecutive days. The results of 2 hierarchical linear models showed that, as predicted, the information‐seeking model was characteristic of couples who had been together for a shorter amount of time whereas the motivational model better characterized couples who had been together longer.

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