Relationship Maintenance Knowledge and Self-Efficacy

该奖项是作为NSF社会、行为和经济学博士后研究奖学金(SPRF)计划的一部分提供的。SPRF计划的目标是为学术界、工业界或私营部门和政府的科学职业生涯培养有前途的、早期职业博士水平的科学家。SPRF奖项包括在知名科学家的赞助下进行两年的培训，并鼓励博士后研究员进行独立研究。国家科学基金会致力于促进科学界所有阶层的科学家参与其研究方案和活动，包括那些来自代表性不足的群体的科学家；博士后阶段被认为是实现这一目标的专业发展的一个重要水平。每个博士后研究员都必须解决推动各自学科领域向前发展的重要科学问题。在普渡大学克里斯托弗·R·阿格纽博士的赞助下，这一博士后奖学金奖项支持一名早期职业科学家研究一种新颖的、综合的关系维持策略分析。各种各样的想法和行为被证明可以促进关系满意度和承诺，而这反过来又有助于长期稳定。然而，许多成年人并没有意识到这些策略，在获得关系和维持关系之间存在着脱节。该项目调查成年人是否意识到这些关系维持策略，他们是否认为自己能够使用这些策略，以及他们的准备情况如何影响这些感知。传播有效的维护策略和实施方法的信息可以提高关系的成功和长寿。这项研究调查了成年人对关系维持策略的了解，以及他们的知识如何影响他们实现理想的关系状态的努力。本研究的第一个目的是评估和验证成年人对关系维持策略的信念，包括他们对维持关系的策略效能感和自我效能的信念。具体地说，为成年人提供的维持关系的策略在有效性上各不相同，他们报告了他们对(A)特定策略是否有效和(B)他们在实施这些策略时的自我效能的看法。第二个目的是调查从参与者和他们的社交网络成员那里获得的关于关系维持效能和承诺准备情况的报告是否预示着他们未来的关系成功。这一目标涉及一种前瞻性的纵向设计，参与者在开始一段新的关系时会随着时间的推移提供反应，他们的社交网络中的人提供类似的反应，这些因素结合在一起可以预测关系的成功。第三个目标是测试提高对有效维护策略的认识和/或增强维护自我效能感是否会导致后续关系启动和策略使用的可能性更大(S)。该项目改善了对关系稳定性的预测，同时提高了保持关系的可能性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award was provided as part of NSF's Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (SPRF) program. The goal of the SPRF program is to prepare promising, early career doctoral-level scientists for scientific careers in academia, industry or private sector, and government. SPRF awards involve two years of training under the sponsorship of established scientists and encourage Postdoctoral Fellows to perform independent research. NSF seeks to promote the participation of scientists from all segments of the scientific community, including those from underrepresented groups, in its research programs and activities; the postdoctoral period is considered to be an important level of professional development in attaining this goal. Each Postdoctoral Fellow must address important scientific questions that advance their respective disciplinary fields. Under the sponsorship of Dr. Christopher R. Agnew at Purdue University, this postdoctoral fellowship award supports an early career scientist investigating a novel and integrative analysis of relationship maintenance strategies. A variety of thoughts and behaviors have been shown to promote relationship satisfaction and commitment, which, in turn, contribute to long-term stability. However, many adults are unaware of these strategies and there is a disconnect between relationship attainment and relationship sustenance. This project examines whether adults are aware of these relationship maintenance strategies, whether they perceive themselves as able to employ such strategies, and how their readiness affects these perceptions. Disseminating information on effective maintenance strategies and ways to implement them can improve relationship success and longevity. This research examines what it is that adults know about relationship maintenance strategies and how their knowledge affects their efforts to achieve a desired relationship state. The first aim in this research is to assess and validate adults’ beliefs regarding relationship maintenance strategies, including their belief in strategy efficacy and self-efficacy for maintaining relationships. Specifically, adults are provided with strategies that vary in effectiveness for maintaining relationships, and they report on their perceptions of (a) whether a specific strategy is effective and (b) their own self-efficacy in implementing the strategies. The second aim investigates whether reports of relationship maintenance efficacy and commitment readiness obtained from participants and from members of their social network predict their future relationship success. This aim involves a prospective, longitudinal design in which participants provide responses over time as they initiate a new relationships, people in their social network provide similar responses, and these are combined to predict relationship success. The third aim tests whether raising awareness of effective maintenance strategies and/or bolstering maintenance self-efficacy leads to greater likelihood of subsequent relationship initiation(s) and use of strategies. The project improves the prediction of relationship stability in a way that simultaneously improves the probability of relationship maintenance.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.