Understanding Romantic Relationships, 2009

53 heterosexual romantic couples (N = 106) from Chapel Hill, North Carolina and the surrounding region (e.g., Durham, NC; U.S.A.) enrolled in a one-month study by attending an initial lab session. (Pre-lab baseline measures were completed by N = 134 people.) Participants were eligible if they were at least 24 years old, cohabiting with the romantic partner, not taking antidepressants or been recently diagnosed with depression or an anxiety disorder; women were ineligible if they were over 40, postmenopausal, pregnant (or planning to become pregnant during the study), within 6 months postpartum (lactating), or have had an oopherectomy; men were ineligible if they were taking steroid medication. On average, participants were 29 years old (range 23 – 53), had been involved in their romantic relationship for more than 5 years; the majority were married (58%) or engaged to be married (11%). Most identified as White/Caucasian (78.4%) and non-Hispanic (99%). Participants independently completed a 30 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 while they independently completed a few well-being measures. Participants were then randomly assigned to have one of two types of structured conversations: express gratitude to the partner for something the partner had done for them, or discussion of their day so far (i.e., mundane things their partner might not have heard about yet; “Events of the day” conversation). The structure of the task was as follows: couple-members independently took a couple of minutes to consider what they would discuss; then one couple-member led a conversation on the assigned topic, which was immediately followed by brief online questionnaires independently completed by each person; the 2nd couple-member then led a conversation and they again independently completed brief online questionnaires about it. Psychophysiology was assessed during each conversation and a small saliva sample was collected after each conversation. At the end of the lab session, the couple learned more about the tasks for the forthcoming month. For the next month (28 nights), couple-members independently completed a brief nightly questionnaire about their day (including personal well-being and interactions with the partner). In addition, they were told they would be randomly signaled a handful of times in the morning (i.e., receive an email) prompting them to set aside time that evening to have a conversation on the general topic they had discussed in the lab (e.g., express gratitude for something new or discuss the events of the day, respectively). (Couples completed 5 such conversations, on average, over the month.) They independently completed brief online questionnaires about those conversations by the next morning. Four weeks after the first lab session, the couple returned to the lab and completed the same measures and procedures as well as compliance, willingness to be recontacted, and consent to use transcripts and videos/images in various contexts in the future. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill IRB #09-0409