A Longitudinal Examination of Caregiving Processes in Adulthood

成年后，恋爱中的伴侣经常被要求在需要的时候互相安慰和帮助。事实上，许多成年人越来越严重地依赖他们的恋人作为支持和关心的重要来源。毫不奇怪，研究表明，社会支持和照顾不仅对个人健康和幸福至关重要，而且对发展和维持健康和令人满意的亲密关系也是必不可少的。然而，尽管社会支持对幸福至关重要，但令人惊讶的是，我们对亲密关系中发生的人际支持过程知之甚少。此外，已开展的研究主要侧重于一种支持类型--在有压力的情况下为另一人提供的舒适和帮助(在本提案中称为“避风港”)--而忽略了另一种重要的支持类型--支持他人的个人成长、为实现目标而奋斗，以及在具有挑战性的情况下进行探索(在此称为提供“安全基础”)。这项调查的主要目的是通过研究成人亲密关系中照顾的“安全基础”功能来解决文献中的这一关键差距。具体地说，这个项目将调查夫妻成员对其伴侣的个人成长、目标奋斗和探索的支持，以及这种支持和缺乏对接受者的影响(例如，对接受者的自我认知、个人成长、心理和身体健康)和对关系(例如，满意度、稳定性)的影响。这项研究的第二个目标是通过(A)在新婚夫妇样本中考察围绕这种类型照料的人际动态以及这种类型照料的长期后果，以及(B)在相同的关系伙伴样本中联合检验安全避难所和安全基础照料的动态和影响，以建立关于“安全港”照看的现有研究。由于社会支持是一种人际现象，这两种类型的照顾都将作为涉及双方互动伙伴的特征和行为的二元过程的一部分进行考察。每对夫妇都将获得关于安全基地和避风港照料活动的每日和每周日记，以及这些动态的实验室观察和自我报告。观察和调查评估将在一年后重复，以检验关于这两种照料的长期后果的假设。由于每种类型的照料具有不同的功能，预计安全的基础照料(伴侣“外出”探险的支持)将产生不同于避风港照料(伴侣在压力时期“进来”时的支持)可能产生的重要的直接和长期后果。例如，接受可靠的基础照料(无论是直接的还是随着时间的推移)的独特结果可能是更高的自尊、感知的能力、自信和自我效能感，以及更愿意/更努力地从事涉及追求目标、接受挑战、尝试学习新事物/做出新发现的探索性活动。因此，自我(个人成长)的长期改善很可能是有保障的基地支持的重要后果。希望这项研究的结果将有助于关于成年后关系的性质、功能和重要性的理论进步，并有助于婚姻文献中令人印象深刻的研究主体，这些研究试图确定预测婚姻满意度和稳定性的复杂的个人和人际因素。研究支助/照料过程在关系伙伴之间的日常互动中展开的根本重要性在于这些互动对个人和关系运作的长期影响。

In adulthood, romantic partners are frequently called upon to provide comfort and assistance to one another in times of need. In fact, many adults come to rely heavily on their romantic partner as an important source of support and care. Not surprisingly, research indicates that social support and caregiving are essential not only to personal health and well being, but also to the development and maintenance of healthy and satisfying intimate relationships. However, despite the fact that social support is so critical for well-being, we know surprisingly little about the interpersonal support processes that occur within close relationships. Moreover, the research that has been conducted has focused primarily on one type of support - the comfort and assistance provided to another in stressful situations (referenced in this proposal as the provision of a "safe haven") - and has overlooked another important type of support - the support of another's personal growth, goal strivings, and explorations in situations that are challenging (referenced here as the provision of a "secure base"). The primary purpose of this investigation is to address this critical gap in the literature by examining the "secure base" function of caregiving in adult intimate relationships. Specifically, this project will investigate couple members' support of their partners' personal growth, goal strivings, and explorations, as well as the effects of this type of support, and lack thereof, on the recipient (e.g., on the recipient's self-perceptions, personal growth, psychological and physical well-being) and on the relationship (e.g., satisfaction, stability). A secondary goal of this research is to build upon existing research on "safe haven" caregiving by (a) examining interpersonal dynamics surrounding, and long-term consequences of, this type of caregiving in a sample of newly married couples and (b) jointly examining the dynamics and effects of both safe haven and secure base caregiving in the same sample of relationship partners. Because social support is an interpersonal phenomenon, both types of caregiving will be examined as part of a dyadic process that involves the characteristics and behavior of both interaction partners. Daily and weekly diaries of events surrounding both secure base and safe haven caregiving, as well laboratory observations and self-reports of these dynamics, will be obtained for each couple. Observational and survey assessments will be repeated one year later in order to test hypotheses regarding long-term consequences of both types of caregiving. Because each type of caregiving serves a different function, it is expected that secure base caregiving (the support of a partner's "going out" for exploration) will have important immediate and long-term consequences that are distinct from those that are likely to be afforded by safe haven caregiving (the support of a partner's "coming in" in times of stress). For example, the unique consequences of receiving secure base caregiving (both immediately and over time) are likely to be higher levels of self-esteem, perceived competency, self-confidence, and self-efficacy, and greater willingness/efforts to engage in exploratory activities involving the pursuit of goals, acceptance of challenges, and attempts to learn new things/make new discoveries. Thus, long-term improvements in the self (personal growth) are likely to be important consequences of secure base support. It is hoped that the results of this research will contribute to theoretical advances regarding the nature, functioning, and importance of relationships in adulthood, and to the impressive body of research in the marital literature that attempts to identify the complex intrapersonal and interpersonal factors that predict marital satisfaction and stability. The fundamental importance of studying support/caregiving processes as they unfold within everyday interactions between relationship partners lies in the long-term consequences of these interactions for individual and relationship functioning.