Carolina Couples Study, 2008 ("CC08")

80 romantic couples (N = 160) from Chapel Hill, North Carolina and the surrounding region (e.g., Durham, NC; U. S. A.) enrolled in a two week observational study. 88 people from 55 couples also completed an unplanned follow-up survey in response to an email sent approximately six months after study completion. To be eligible, they must have been at least 18 years old and in a romantic relationship for a minimum of 6 months. On average, participants were in their late 20s (range 18-57), had been involved in their romantic relationship for just more than four years, and the majority identified as White/Caucasian (74.4%). 77 of the 80 couples were heterosexual. Participants independently completed a 45-minute online questionnaire in the days prior to their first lab session. The couple attended the lab session together. There, we took baseline recordings of physiological activity, then the participants participated in a series of structured videorecorded conversations about everyday topics, and privately answered brief questionnaires on a laptop after each conversation. Psychophysiology was also assessed during these conversations. Topics were: - How the couple first met (joint conversation). - Disclosure of a negative personal event (each couple-member disclosed, giving each couple-member a chance to provide support). - Disclosure of a positive personal event (each couple-member disclosed, giving each couple-member a chance to respond to the capitalization situation). For the subsequent two weeks (14 nights), couple-members independently completed a brief nightly questionnaire about their day (including personal well-being and interactions with the partner). Two weeks after the initial lab session, the couple attended a second lab session. There, baseline psychophysiology was again assessed, they participated in two structured videorecorded conversations in which one member of the couple expressed gratitude to the other and privately answered questionnaires after each conversation. Psychophysiology was assessed during these conversations. A final questionnaire assessed compliance, willingness to be recontacted, and consent to use transcripts and videos/images in various contexts in the future. Participants in this study provided saliva samples that were used for genotyping. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill IRB# 07-1988