A skills-based model of healthy relationship functioning-romantic competence (RC)-is described. Its association with relationship and individual well-being was examined in three studies of emerging adults using the Romantic Competence Interview for Emerging Adults (RCI-EA), which measures competence as the interplay of three skill domains. Across studies (women [n = 102], women and men [n = 187], romantic couples [n = 89]), RC was associated with greater security, healthier decision making, greater satisfaction, and fewer internalizing symptoms. The RCI-EA skill domains formed a latent factor and were associated with self-reports reflective of RC, supporting the construct's validity. The RC construct may thus provide a theory-driven, overarching way to characterize healthy romantic functioning that can reduce negative outcomes.Research has consistently documented significant mental and physical health problems associated with romantic relationship dysfunction (Davila,

Background: There has been widespread concern that the COVID-19 pandemic may be a high-risk time for alcohol use among heavy drinking populations such as college students. Initial efforts to evaluate changes in college drinking have not yet accounted for typical drinking patterns within a semester.Methods: To fill this gap, we evaluated how college student drinking patterns changed with the onset of restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic during spring 2020 relative to spring 2018 and 2019. Participants were 1,365 college students aged 19 and older, including 895 students who reported pastmonth alcohol use. Daily drinking data were extracted from an online Timeline Followback survey.Results: Negative binomial hurdle models revealed that, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020, college student drinkers did not increase their drinking frequency as was typical in late spring semester, and the number of drinks per occasion declined substantially (28% reduction), greater than the change observed from early to late spring 2018 (3% reduction) or spring 2019 (8% increase). This reduction in drinking quantity in spring 2020 was larger for college student drinkers who moved residences because of the pandemic (49% reduction) than students who did not move (21% reduction). Perceptions in pandemic-related changes in drinking also revealed that 83.5% of college student drinkers self-reported that their drinking stayed the same or decreased.Conclusions: Findings suggest that, on average, college students drank less-not more-during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight the importance of living situation in college student drinking behavior. More research is needed to assess alcohol use in other universities, as this information could be utilized in norms-based interventions to further reduce drinking in students who remain at risk.

Objective: Academic training programs for mental health professionals rarely include comprehensive instruction on trauma, consequently leaving clinicians inadequately prepared to provide trauma treatment. The present study sought to: (a) ascertain what percentage of participants had received training in complex trauma and dissociation; (b) examine pre-and posttraining differences in knowledge related to complex trauma populations; and (c) investigate changes in participants' competence and empathy in working with survivors. Method: We examined self-reported changes in knowledge, competence, and empathy regarding individuals with complex trauma among mental health professionals who attended a complex trauma training workshop. Participants provided feedback about previous trauma training experience and areas of additional trauma training that they perceived would be beneficial. Results: Prior to completing the program, 68% of participants reported feeling inadequately trained to assess trauma and 75% felt inadequately trained to treat trauma. Ten percent had not received training in complex trauma and 30% had not received training in treating patients with dissociative symptoms. Participants showed significant increases in knowledge and self-reported competence following the training. They suggested that learning about dissociation and dissociative disorders was the most helpful information gained and that learning more techniques and skills for complex trauma populations would improve their ability to treat this group. Conclusions: The majority of participants felt inadequately trained to treat clients who have experienced complex trauma and experienced dissociation. They reported the trauma training as beneficial in that it increased their sense of knowledge and competence about treating trauma-exposed individuals. Clinical Impact StatementMany mental health professionals have not been trained in the assessment and treatment of trauma and feel underprepared for assisting with the range of problems that trauma-exposed individuals experience. Clinicians who participated in a short-term workshop on the treatment of complex trauma and dissociation reported feeling more competent and were more knowledgeable about trauma treatment at the end of the training, which may enable them to provide more beneficial treatment to clients who have experienced complex trauma.

Research has found significant relations between attachment to parents and psychosocial adjustment. This study explored parental attachment and psychosocial adjustment during emerging adulthood with romantic competence and relationship satisfaction as mediators. In a sample of 188 emerging adult college students, results revealed that mother and father attachment uniquely predicted greater life satisfaction and less distress. Regression analyses showed that romantic competence predicted better psychosocial adjustment, controlling for attachment style and mutuality, and significantly mediated, along with relationship satisfaction, the link between mother attachment and psychosocial adjustment. Additionally, patterns of secure parental attachment, when compared with avoidant or ambivalent attachment, were associated with better psychosocial adjustment. Clearly, secure attachment provides a template for successful romantic relationship development and thereby contributes to greater psychosocial adjustment.

Objective: Undergraduate psychology textbooks often present trauma, particularly child maltreatment (CM) and its consequences, inadequately or inaccurately. Adequate education about CM and adult trauma (AT) is crucial because they are prevalent and their health impacts are widespread and enduring. Furthermore, mental health professionals are called upon to treat disorders and problematic behaviors associated with trauma yet have often not received adequate knowledge and training about trauma and its treatment. This is the first study to investigate the adequacy and accuracy of the coverage of CM and AT in graduate psychology psychopathology textbooks. Method: To address this gap, we reviewed and scored 10 graduate psychology psychopathology textbooks to determine the adequacy, completeness, and balance in their coverage of CM and AT. Results: There was a surprisingly wide range of scores, with some textbooks presenting little research on trauma or unbalanced coverage of trauma-related debates. Even the texts that earned the highest scores could more fully address trauma and/or provide more balanced discussion of debates. Conclusions: Graduate textbooks would benefit from increased attention to, and more balanced coverage of, CM and AT.