Transitioning Into and Out of Nonmarital Romances: Health Consequences

描述（由申请人提供）：几乎所有的西方婚姻之前都有一系列的关系转变，从进入新的浪漫开始（即，坠入爱河）并接着是一系列关联深度的变化（例如，增加承诺与分手）。尽管非婚姻浪漫关系的转变无处不在，而且这些纽带在个人生活中更普遍地发挥着强大的作用，但关于这种转变如何塑造参与者的身心健康的科学知识却很少。本申请的总体目标，这代表了这一奋进的重要的第一步，是确定如何过渡到和退出非婚姻浪漫影响从未结婚的新兴成年人的急性应激反应，身体健康和心理健康结果作为过渡的定性性质的函数。这个应用程序的中心假设是，非婚姻关系的转变差异影响个人的身体和心理健康的结果。这个假设将通过追求三个具体目标来检验：（1）检查进入和退出非婚姻恋情对个体急性应激反应、身体健康和心理健康的影响;（2）评估对关系的依赖在多大程度上缓和了关系终止的影响;（3）评估性别在多大程度上缓和了每个转变的影响。处于非婚姻浪漫早期发展阶段的未婚新兴成年人将在他们的关系开始时，结束后或关系持续至少9个月后暴露于标准化的急性压力任务。将在暴露于急性应激任务期间评估皮质醇反应。此外，参与者将在研究开始时以及他们的关系持续或终止后对其当前的身心健康状况进行自我评估。拟议的工作是创新的，因为它突出了在一个单一的调查中进入和退出非婚姻浪漫的身体和精神的影响。这项工作意义重大，因为它扩展了对亲密关系及其健康影响的科学研究，并可以作为干预策略的基础，旨在帮助个人更好地了解他们的浪漫关系体验对他们健康的影响。公共卫生相关性：鉴于个人在整个生命周期中参与非婚姻浪漫关系的普遍性，这是一个重要的话题，有可能显着提高对非婚姻浪漫如何影响个人身心健康结果的认识。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Virtually all Western marriages are preceded by a series of relationship transitions, beginning with movement into new romances (i.e., falling in love) and followed by a series of changes in the depth of association (e.g., increasing commitment versus breaking up). Despite the ubiquitousness of nonmarital romantic relationship transitions, and the powerful role these bonds more generally play in individuals' lives, scientific knowledge regarding how such transitions shape the physical and mental health of those involved is sparse. The overall objective of this application, which represents an important first step in this endeavor, is to determine how transitioning into and out of nonmarital romances affects never-married emerging adults' acute stress reactivity, physical health, and mental health outcomes as a function of the qualitative nature of the transition. The central hypothesis of this application is that nonmarital relationship transitions differentially affect individuals' physical and mental health outcomes. This hypothesis will be tested by pursuing three specific aims: (1) To examine the effect of transitions into and out of nonmarital romances on individuals' acute stress reactivity, physical health, and mental health; (2) To assess the extent to which dependence on a relationship moderates the effects of relationship termination; (3) To assess the extent to which gender moderates the effects of each transition. Never-married emerging adults in the early developmental phase of their nonmarital romances will be exposed to a standardized acute stress task during either the beginning of their relationship, after it ends, or after the relationship has persevered for at least 9 months. Cortisol responses will be assessed during exposure to the acute stress task. Additionally, participants will provide self-assessments of their current physical and mental health at the start of the study and after their relationships has persevered or terminated. The proposed work is innovative because it highlights the physical and mental impact of transitions into and out of nonmarital romances in a single investigation. The work is significant because it expands the scientific study of close relationships and their health impacts and could serve as the foundation for intervention strategies designed to help individuals better understand the impact their romantic relationship experiences have on their health. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Given the prevalence of involvement in nonmarital romantic relationships for individuals across the lifespan, this is an important topic that has the potential to significantly enhance knowledge of how nonmarital romances affect individuals' physical and mental health outcomes.