Personality and Daily Relationship Processes

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application proposes a set of career development and research experiences facilitating the Candidate's long-term goal of becoming a mental health researcher and focusing on the study of personality processes in intimate relationships. Career development and research activities are designed to facilitate and enhance the Candidate's studying knowledge of a) models of personality and emotion, b) behavioral observation methods for studying interpersonal processes, c) daily-diary methods for studying interpersonal processes, and d) data analytic techniques for the analysis of change within dyadic data. During the majority of the award period, the Candidate's effort will focus on coursework, seminars, workshops, directed readings, individual meetings with the mentor and consultants, and the implementation of the proposed research. The research proposed in this application will be an investigation with multiple objectives within a single, longitudinal data collection procedure. Researchers, theorists, and clinicians have observed that intimate relationships can simultaneously have both positive and negative impacts on mental and physical health. Individual difference factors likely play a role in the course and conduct of close relationships. The overarching goal of the research proposed is to apply basic research methodologies to understand better the role of personality in close relationship processes. Within this broad goal, there are three specific aims: 1) to examine the role of several personality variables on daily stress and intimacy processes within the context of both positive and negative events in marriage; 2) to examine the influence of appetitive and aversive motivational sensitivities during intimate and conflictual interactions; 3) to examine how longitudinal changes in stress and intimacy processes predict changes in relationship satisfaction, depressive symptomatology, and psychological well-being over the first two years of marriage. Findings from this research are intended not only to elucidate the influence of specific individual difference factors in relationship processes, but also ultimately provide implications for intervention with members of intimate relationships. The proposed career development and research experiences will provide the Candidate with training and skills that can be applied toward the development of an R01 application during the latter portion of the requested 5-year award period.