The Reported Influence of Research Participation on Premarital Relationships

Abstract

We examined the reported influence of participation in research on individuals in premarital relationships. Data were from a larger longitudinal study of 60 dating couples. We designed a questionnaire to evaluate the effects of participation. Responses to open-ended questions revealed 3 major sources of influence: attention to relationship evaluation, effects on relationship activities, and indirect or no influence. Closed-ended items yielded 2 dimensions: relationship-defining influence and relationship-evaluating influence. Relationship-evaluating influence was greater the more respondents participated in the study. The higher were respondents' scores on relationshipevaluating influence, the more their relationship satisfaction increased over the year long study. We conclude that the effects of participating in the research are primarily educational and enriching in nature, rather than therapeutic as suggested in previous research (Rubin & Mitchell, 1976).Researchers who study family relationships examine some of the most private and sensitive as-

Effects of participation in a longitudinal study of dating

“…Theories of cognition in close relationships suggest that individuals who participate in interviews may alter their relational beliefs because interaction with interviewers provides information about relationships in the same way that interactions with partners or third parties do. Interviews may have the power to alter relationship beliefs because, as previous research suggests, respondents tend to perceive interviewers as counselors or experts who have valuable knowledge about relationships (Hughes & Surra, 2000; Rubin & Mitchell, 1976). When combined with findings from previous research, theories of social cognition lead to the hypothesis that participation should have positive effects when the tendency to think or talk with the partner about the relationship is high and negative effects when these tendencies are low.…”

“…Prior research suggested that participation in studies actually increases awareness of relationship qualities and talk about relationships (e.g., Hughes & Surra, 2000; Rubin & Mitchell, 1976). It is unclear from these studies if participation actually prompts more thought or whether it simply reveals features of relationships that previously went unrecognized.…”

“…Spouses reported fears that participation in a laboratory discussion would raise issues that would resurface later, that conflict experiences outside of the laboratory setting would recur in the laboratory, and that the discussion would reveal personal information upsetting to the spouse. Some daters who participated in studies reported negative effects that include increases in conflict and negative exchanges, acquisition of new information that destroyed fantasies, acceleration to a breakup that might have occurred regardless of the study (Hughes & Surra, 2000), and less closeness as the result of the study (Rubin & Mitchell, 1976).…”

“…Respondents' participation in studies of relationships has the potential to change their relationship beliefs by means of gradual accumulation of information or sudden shifts in thinking. In previous research, investigators assessed on multiple occasions respondents' liking for activities and the frequency of doing activities with the partner (Hughes & Surra, 2000). Qualitative analysis showed that reporting on activities made some respondents aware of the lack of diversity in their activities whereas others began to question the compatibility of their own and partners' liking for activities.…”

“…Prior research on the effects of participation in studies is mostly descriptive, focusing on whether participation is a source of benefits or costs for participants and what those benefits and costs might be. For most dating and married individuals, participation appears to provide benefits, including increased awareness of the qualities of the relationship and more discussion between partners about relationship issues (Bradbury, 1994;Hughes & Surra, 2000;Rubin & Mitchell, 1976;Veroff, Hatchett, & Douvan, 1992). Research also has shown that the risks of participation are minimal or nonexistent for roughly 30% to 40% of respondents (Bradbury, 1994;Hughes & Surra, 2000).…”