BGU Couple Diary Study, 2019

Ninety-seven Israeli cohabiting adult couples were recruited and completed an initial background questionnaire. Ten couples dropped out during the study. Mean age for men was 29.9 years (range: 22-65, SD = 8.9) and mean age for women was 29.7 years (range: 22-64, SD = 9.5). All participants had a high-school education, and 67% completed higher education. The average relationship duration was 7.2 years (range: 10 months to 39 years, SD = 8.31 years), and average cohabitation was 4.9 years. Sixty (33.1%) of the couples were married and 30 (17%) had at least one child. Three of the couples were lesbians, all others were heterosexual. At the study initiation, a research assistant introduced the study’s general goal of examining daily processes in intimate relationships. After providing informed consent, participants were asked to complete a background questionnaire. They then receive to their personal email a link to the diary for a period of 3 weeks. The link arrived daily at 8:00 pm, but partners were requested to complete the diary within an hour of going to bed. On average, participants completed 18.4 diaries (SD = 3.38, 87.6% compliance). At the end of the diary couples completed a short follow-up assessment. Couples received no monetary compensation but participated in a raffle for two prizes (vacation vouchers) worth $140.