Love and affectionate touch toward romantic partners all over the world

Touch is the primary way people communicate intimacy in romantic relationships, and affectionate touch behaviors such as stroking, hugging and kissing are universally observed in partnerships all over the world. Here, we explored the association of love and affectionate touch behaviors in romantic partnerships in two studies comprising 7880 participants. In the first study, we used a cross-cultural survey conducted in 37 countries to test whether love was universally associated with affectionate touch behaviors. In the second study, using a more fine-tuned touch behavior scale, we tested whether the frequency of affectionate touch behaviors was related to love in romantic partnerships. As hypothesized, love was significantly and positively associated with affectionate touch behaviors in both studies and this result was replicated regardless of the inclusion of potentially relevant factors as controls. Altogether, our data strongly suggest that affectionate touch is a relatively stable characteristic of human romantic relationships that is robustly and reliably related to the degree of reported love between partners.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Affective interpersonal touch in close relationships: a cross-cultural perspective

Interpersonal touch behavior differs across cultures, yet no study to date has systematically tested for cultural variation in affective touch, nor examined the factors that might account for this variability. Here, over 14,000 individuals from 45 countries were asked whether they embraced, stroked, kissed, or hugged their partner, friends, and youngest child during the week preceding the study. We then examined a range of hypothesized individual-level factors (sex, age, parasitic history, conservatism, religiosity, and preferred interpersonal distance) and cultural-level factors (regional temperature, parasite stress, regional conservatism, collectivism, and religiosity) in predicting these affective-touching behaviors. Our results indicate that affective touch was most prevalent in relationships with partners and children, and its diversity was relatively higher in warmer, less conservative, and religious countries, and among younger, female, and liberal people. This research allows for a broad and integrated view of the bases of cross-cultural variability in affective touch

Sex differences in mate preferences across 45 countries: A large-scale replication

Considerable research has examined human mate preferences across cultures, finding universal sex differences in preferences for attractiveness and resources as well as sources of systematic cultural variation. Two competing perspectives—an evolutionary psychological perspective and a biosocial role perspective—offer alternative explanations for these findings. However, the original data on which each perspective relies are decades old, and the literature is fraught with conflicting methods, analyses, results, and conclusions. Using a new 45-country sample (N = 14,399), we attempted to replicate classic studies and test both the evolutionary and biosocial role perspectives. Support for universal sex differences in preferences remains robust: Men, more than women, prefer attractive, young mates, and women, more than men, prefer older mates with financial prospects. Cross-culturally, both sexes have mates closer to their own ages as gender equality increases. Beyond age of partner, neither pathogen prevalence nor gender equality robustly predicted sex differences or preferences across countries

In good luck: The capitalization process in couple relationship

Il presente progetto di ricerca si è focalizzato sul processo di capitalizzazione, ovvero la condivisione di eventi positivi con il/la partner, da cui ci si aspetta una risposta attiva al fine di prolungare ed aumentare i benefici derivanti dall’evento stesso. L’articolazione in tre studi, di carattere quantitativo, ha permesso di approfondire la conoscenza dell’oggetto di ricerca utilizzando diverse metodologie. Il primo studio ha indagato, attraverso un disegno cross-sectional, la struttura della Perceived Responses to Capitalization Attempts scale (PRCA) e, attraverso un disegno longitudinale, i benefici intrapersonali ed interpersonali che derivano dagli stili di risposta di capitalizzazione nel tempo. Il secondo e il terzo studio, attraverso il diary method, hanno approfondito il processo di capitalizzazione attraverso l’introduzione di due aspetti innovativi nel processo: la differenziazione tra eventi positivi interni ed esterni alla relazione e la distinzione tra modalità di comunicazione più o meno esplicita dell’evento positivo. Nello specifico, il secondo studio si è focalizzato sui primi due elementi del processo di capitalizzazione (gli eventi positivi e i tentativi di capitalizzazione), mentre il terzo studio ha riguardato gli ultimi due elementi del processo (le risposte ai tentativi di capitalizzazione e la percezione di responsività da parte del/della partner).The present research project focused on capitalization, that is the process through which people share good news with the partner, who in turn responds in an “active” way to maximize the benefits of the event. Three different studies approached this research object through different methodologies. The aims of the first study were to investigate, through a cross-sectional design, the structure of the Perceived Responses to Capitalization Attempts (PRCA) scale and to examine, through a longitudinal design, the intrapersonal and interpersonal benefits arising from the capitalization responses over time. The second and the third study, through diary methods, attempted to investigate two unexplored aspects of the capitalization process: the differentiation of the type of positive events (internal vs. external to the couple) and the distinction of the type of communication of the event (implicit vs. explicit). Specifically, the second study focused on the first two elements of the capitalization process (positive events and attempts to capitalization), while the third study concerned the last two elements of the process (responses to capitalization attempts and responsiveness)

La relazione di coppia. Gestire insieme eventi positivi e negativi

Il volume mostra come la relazione di coppia possa essere una risorsa di fronte agli eventi quotidiani positivi e negativi. Si rivolge a coloro che si occupano di coppia a livello di ricerca e intervento, e offre una rassegna completa dei modelli teorici relativi ai processi di condivisione e gestione degli eventi negativi (coping diadico) e positivi (capitalizzazione) all’interno della relazione di coppia, fornendo anche una panoramica delle più recenti ricerche internazionali e nazionali su questi processi

Non perdiamo la serenità. Salute e lavoro: come affrontare i problemi.

Nella buona e nella cattiva sorte: sappiamo condividere i successi e le difficoltà? La coppia nasce col sogno di vivere insieme ogni passo e di poter superare ogni ostacolo. Ma questo obiettivo non è semplice: occorre fare i conti con se stessi, imparare a gustare i successi e a condividere le fatiche dell'altro. Perché ad amare si impara ogni giorno

Fidarsi è bene! Rappresentazioni sociali dell’affido e fiducia nel sociale

Introduzione. Il tema delle rappresentazioni sociali dell’affido familiare è stato poco indagato e limitati sono gli studi che hanno sondato come l’affido è visto e percepito dalla popolazione generale. Emerge, quindi, l’importanza di approfondire il tema delle rappresentazioni in quanto “guida per l’azione”. Obiettivi. Il presente studio è volto a sondare le rappresentazioni dell’affido e promuovere una cultura dell’accoglienza, indagando quali fattori ne predicano una rappresentazione positiva e realistica. Sono stati presi in considerazione la prosocialità, la visione del mondo sociale come coerente e la generatività sociale, ipotizzando che visioni più positive e realistiche dell’affido siano ad essi connessi favorendo, a loro volta, una potenziale disponibilità all’accoglienza. Metodo. Un questionario self-report contenente variabili socio-demografiche, variabili relative alle rappresentazioni dell’affido, la Scala di Comportamento Prosociale, la Sense of Coherence Scale e la Loyola Generativity Scale è stato somministrato a genitori e insegnanti di nove Istituti Comprensivi del territorio lombardo (N=1285). Risultati. Il comportamento prosociale, l’atteggiamento generativo e la visione del mondo come coerente risultano predittori di una rappresentazione positiva e realistica dell’affido. In particolare, rispetto alla rappresentazione positiva, i tre costrutti sono predittori di sentimenti positivi verso tale pratica e l’atteggiamento generativo predice l’idea che l’affido sia un intervento migliore della comunità. Rispetto alla rappresentazione realistica, la prosocialità è predittore dell’idea dell’importanza del legame tra le famiglie coinvolte, mentre sia la prosocialità che la visione del mondo come coerente predicono l’idea che l’affido presupponga una collaborazione con i servizi. Conclusioni. I soggetti che presentano alti livelli di tali costrutti potrebbero essere maggiormente sensibili a interventi volti a individuare potenziali famiglie affidatarie

Rondine Cittadella della Pace: An open-air laboratory about intergroup conflict and intergroup contact theory

The present chapter aims to propose a psychosocial point of view about the experience at Rondine Cittadella della Pace, and to provide the theoretical background of the evaluation research conducted with the World House's students

Cross-group Friendships, Extended Contact, and Humanity Attributions to Homosexuals

The aim of the present paper was to test whether cross-group friendships and extended contact (knowing that ingroup members have a friendly relationship with outgroup members) are related to reduced outgroup infrahumanization. The relationship between heterosexuals and homosexuals was considered. Participants were university students; all were heterosexual. A questionnaire was used and structural equation models were evaluated. Findings showed that only extended contact was related to reduced infrahumanization and increased outgroup humanization; the key-mediator in these relationships was the mechanism of including the outgroup in the self. Practical implications of findings are discussed

Rugby, Self-Efficacy and Prosocial Behavior: Evidence from the Italian "Rugby Project for Schools"

It is widely acknowledged that sport promotes positive youth development. Among team sports, rugby is believed to convey high educational values and to foster individual and social abilities. However, no scientific attention has been devoted to the investigation of the benefits of playing rugby on developmental outcomes. This study examined the effectiveness of a school-based rugby introductory training course (“Rugby Project For Schools”) in a sample of one hundred and three Italian adolescents, sixty-three attending the program (rugby group), and forty not taking part in the project (control group). Results of a series of one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed that, controlling for initial scores, adolescents in the rugby group had higher post-intervention scores of positive self-perception in terms of perceived self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions, self-efficacy in expressing positive emotions, social self-efficacy, and empathic self-efficacy, and higher scores of pro-social behaviour than adolescents in the control group. This study encourages the spread of rugby programs in schools as a means of enhancing self-efficacy and pro-sociality dimensions