L K Knobloch
Biographic Data
| ID | 3856 |
|---|---|
| NAME | L K Knobloch |
| GIVEN NAMES | L K |
| FAMILY NAME | Knobloch |
| SIGNATURE | KNOBLOCH L K |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9300-1536 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 49 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 704 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 49 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1999 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 14 |
Spiritual Care and Trauma Reboot
Spiritual care is in demand among individuals coping with trauma, but the barriers to seeking and providing spiritual care in traditional clinical settings suggest the need for community interventions. Trauma REBOOT is a 12-week, peer-led, Christian-based spiritual care course offered by trained volunteers in locations around the United States and online. We conducted the first study of the Trauma REBOOT program by interviewing 43 course graduate…
The Study of Relational Turbulence Theory in Families
Interpersonal dynamics of traumatic brain injury within romantic relationships described in online forums
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can have serious consequences for people's physical health and the quality of their romantic relationships. Less clear, however, are the interpersonal dynamics of couples navigating the aftermath of TBI. We used data scraping techniques to capture five years of posts submitted to online help-seeking forums, and we analyzed the resulting 349 single-spaced pages of data using codebook thematic analysis. Both TBI survivo…
Traumatic brain injury and relationship distress during military deployment and reunion
Relational uncertainty and dyadic synchrony within the interaction of couples
Relational uncertainty refers to the questions people have about their perceptions of involvement within close relationships. To complement a wealth of research examining the link between relational uncertainty and people's self-reported communication strategies, we investigate relational uncertainty as a predictor of behavioral sequences within interaction. We draw on both seminal and contemporary theorizing to hypothesize that relational uncert…
The Reboot First Responders Program
Relationship maintenance among military couples
A burgeoning body of research on the relationship maintenance of military couples over the past two decades suggests the time is right to organize, assimilate, and critique the literature. We conducted a systematic review informed by the integrative model of relationship maintenance that considered issues of intersectionality. Our literature search identified 81 relevant journal articles representing 62 unique samples. With respect to theory, 59.…
Communication Mediators of the Link Between Depressive Symptoms and Relationship Satisfaction Among Army Soldiers
Objective We evaluated two fundamental communication processes, self‐disclosure and destructive conflict management strategies, as mediators of the link between depressive symptoms and relationship satisfaction among married U.S. soldiers. Background Identifying the communication behaviors underlying why people with depressive symptoms are less satisfied with their romantic relationship is a high priority for research, and pinpointing relevant me…
Trajectories of relational turbulence and affectionate communication across the post-deployment transition
Affectionate communication may play a key role in how military couples navigate the transition from deployment to reintegration. Informed by relational turbulence theory, this study considered how the trajectory of relational turbulence experienced by military couples over time predicted their verbal and nonverbal expressions of affection. Online self-report data were gathered from 268 U.S. military couples across eight months beginning at homeco…
Suspicion about a partner's deception and trust as roots of relational uncertainty during the post-deployment transition
Relational uncertainty is both prominent and pivotal during the transition from deployment to reintegration. Most prior research has considered the outcomes rather than the origins of relational uncertainty, hampering the development of interventions for military couples. We theorize about two predictors of relational uncertainty during the post-deployment transition: suspicion about a partner's deception and trust. Results of an 8-wave longitudi…
Relationship changes of military couples during reintegration
This study drew on the emotional cycle of deployment model to track the content, valence, and sequence of relationship changes experienced by returning service members and at-home partners during the transition from deployment to reintegration. In a longitudinal study, 555 military couples (1,100 individuals) wrote 7,387 comments describing changes that had occurred in their relationship during the past month. A content analysis identified 10 sub…
Relational Turbulence Theory Applied to the Transition from Deployment to Reintegration
The transition from deployment to reintegration can be unexpectedly demanding for military couples as they cope with the changes that arose during separation and identify new patterns of relating. Although the postdeployment transition has important ramifications for the well‐being of military couples, the homecoming process is relatively undertheorized and underresearched within the deployment cycle. We identify relational turbulence theory, and…
A grounded theory of online coping by parents of military service members
Although parents of adult service members play a pivotal role in the dynamics of military family life, they tend to be overlooked in research on military families. We seek to shed light on their experiences by investigating online discourse about having a son or daughter serving in the U.S. military. We used grounded theory methods to create a model depicting the process by which parents communicated in the online forums. At the heart of the mode…
Relational turbulence among military couples after reunion following deployment
Reintegration following deployment is a pivotal time for returning service members and at‐home partners. We test logic derived from the relational turbulence model about depressive symptoms, relational uncertainty, and interference from a partner as predictors of people's appraisals of turmoil during the post‐deployment transition. Participants were 118 military couples who completed an online questionnaire once per month for the first 3 months a…
Relational Turbulence Theory
This essay extends the relational turbulence model as a framework for understanding communication in romantic relationships. Following the relational turbulence model, relational turbulence theory identifies relational uncertainty and interdependence as parameters that shape subjective experiences, but the theory clarifies the theoretical processes underlying their distinctive effects. In addition, relational turbulence theory articulates causal …
In their own words
This study adopts an inductive and dyadic approach to illuminate how depression affects romantic relationships in people's own words. Depressed couples ( N = 135) responded to an open-ended item about ways that depression influences their romantic relationship. Content analytic results indicated eight categories of negative effects ( emotional toll, romance and sexual intimacy, communication, isolation, lack of energy/motivation, dependence on th…
The Role of Relational Uncertainty in Topic Avoidance among Couples with Depression
To address a key gap in theorizing and research, we consider relational uncertainty as an explanation for why individuals experiencing depressive symptoms may be reluctant to talk about sensitive issues. We report closed-ended online survey data from 126 romantic couples in which one or both partners had been professionally diagnosed with depression. Results indicated that relational uncertainty mediated the positive association between depressiv…
Experiences of Military Youth During a Family Member's Deployment
The deployment of a family member can be very distressing for military children, but it also can supply opportunities for growth. This study addresses calls for research on the changes, challenges, and opportunities facing youth during a family member's tour of duty. It uses the relational turbulence model to frame research questions about how children experience a family member's deployment. Participants were 33 military youth ranging from 10 to…
Communicative Experiences of Military Youth During a Parent’s Return Home from Deployment
The return home of a service member from tour of duty can be stressful for military families (Bowling & Sherman, 2008), but surprisingly little is known about how military youth communicatively experience a parent’s homecoming (MacDermid Wadsworth, 2010). This study draws on the emotional cycle of deployment model (Pincus, House, Christenson, & Adler, 2001) to examine the reunion period in military youth’s own words. Individual interviews were co…
A Relational Turbulence Model of Military Service Members' Relational Communication During Reintegration
This study employed the relational turbulence model to examine features of relational communication and dimensions of relational inferences during the postdeployment transition for military service members. We surveyed 220 military personnel who had recently returned home from deployment about their romantic relationship. Results of a structural equation model indicated that relational uncertainty and interference from partners predicted openness…
Generalized Anxiety and Relational Uncertainty as Predictors of Topic Avoidance During Reintegration Following Military Deployment
For military couples reunited following deployment, discussing or avoiding topics is a central dimension of communication. This paper theorizes about two predictors of topic avoidance that arise from a lack of confidence in social situations: generalized anxiety and relational uncertainty. In Study 1, 220 returning service members described issues they avoid discussing upon reunion. Content analytic findings indicated eight avoided topics. In Stu…
Experiences of U.S. military couples during the post-deployment transition
Although many military couples eagerly await reunion after deployment, the reentry of service members into family life can be challenging. This study employed the relational turbulence model to identify the issues facing military couples during the post-deployment transition. Individuals who had been reunited with their romantic partner during the past six months ( N = 259; 137 service members, 122 partners) completed an online questionnaire. Con…
Depressive symptoms and mechanisms of relational turbulence as predictors of relationship satisfaction among returning service members.
In contrast to romanticized portrayals of reunion after deployment, U.S. military personnel may contend with the harsh reality of both depressive symptoms and upheaval in their romantic relationships during the postdeployment transition. This study employed the relational turbulence model to evaluate mechanisms linking depressive symptoms with relationship satisfaction. Cross-sectional, self-report data were collected from 220 service members liv…
Relational Uncertainty and Relationship Talk within Courtship
This study investigated the interplay between relational uncertainty and relationship talk for actors and partners over time. Participants were 135 romantic couples who completed an online survey once per week for six weeks. Between-person and within-person results indicated that people experiencing relational uncertainty appraised relationship talk as more threatening to themselves and to their courtship; they also reported avoiding more and ena…
Depressive Symptoms and Relational Uncertainty as Predictors of Reassurance-Seeking and Negative Feedback-Seeking in Conversation
Integrative interpersonal theory implies that relational uncertainty may play a role in the reassurance-seeking and negative feedback-seeking behavior of people with depressive symptoms. We sought to extend the theory by (a) documenting how individuals with depressive symptoms communicate under conditions of relational uncertainty, (b) evaluating actor and partner effects, and (c) utilizing observational measures of reassurance-seeking and negati…
A model of relational turbulence
The development of romantic relationships is a complex process by which previously autonomous individuals come to perceive themselves as a social unit. We propose that the transition from casual dating to serious involvement coincides with relational turbulence in courtship, and we identify relational uncertainty and interference from partners as mechanisms that may explain why this turmoil occurs. We test our model by examining people's appraisa…
Relational Turbulence Theory
This essay extends the relational turbulence model as a framework for understanding communication in romantic relationships. Following the relational turbulence model, relational turbulence theory identifies relational uncertainty and interdependence as parameters that shape subjective experiences, but the theory clarifies the theoretical processes underlying their distinctive effects. In addition, relational turbulence theory articulates causal …
Relationship Uncertainty, Partner Interference, and Intimacy within Dating Relationships
The transition from casual to serious involvement appears to constitute a unique period of relating within courtships. We suggest that the moderate levels of intimacy characterizing this phase correspond with heightened uncertainty about the relationship and greater interference from partners in every-day activities. In a test of these predictions, individuals in dating relationships (N= 341) completed self-report measures of intimacy, relationsh…
The content of relational uncertainty within marriage
Two studies were conducted to examine relational uncertainty within marriage. Study 1 gathered open-ended data from 85 individuals to identify issues spouses are unsure about. Findings indicated 12 content areas, including uncertainty about children, communication, career issues, finances, health, commitment, extended family, sex, retirement, religious beliefs, leisure time, and household chores (RQ1). Only the commitment theme paralleled the dou…
Perceptions of turmoil within courtship
The goal of this article is to test the relational turbulence model's explanation for people's perceptions of turmoil within courtship. It begins by deducing hypotheses about how intimacy, relational uncertainty, and interference from partners may predict perceptions of turmoil. Then, it reports the results of a cross-sectional, self-report investigation of 268 individuals involved in dating relationships. Consistent with the relational turbulenc…
An actor-partner interdependence model of relational turbulence
We extend the relational turbulence model by applying an actor-partner interdependence model to people's experiences of cognitive and emotional turbulence. In the study, 135 dating couples reported on their relationship once per week for six consecutive weeks. People's appraisals of turmoil and feelings of negative emotion were predicted by (i) their own relational uncertainty, (ii) their partner's relational uncertainty, and (iii) their own expe…
Experiences of U.S. military couples during the post-deployment transition
Although many military couples eagerly await reunion after deployment, the reentry of service members into family life can be challenging. This study employed the relational turbulence model to identify the issues facing military couples during the post-deployment transition. Individuals who had been reunited with their romantic partner during the past six months ( N = 259; 137 service members, 122 partners) completed an online questionnaire. Con…
The role of relational uncertainty in depressive symptoms and relationship quality
Individuals suffering from depressive symptoms tend to be dissatisfied with their romantic relationships, but information is lacking about the mechanisms that link depressive symptoms to relationship quality. This paper evaluates the role of relational uncertainty via an actor-partner interdependence model. Self-report data from 170 romantic partners (N = 85 dyads) revealed that depressive symptoms exerted actor effects, but not partner effects, …
Relational Uncertainty and Message Processing in Marriage
We theorized that relational uncertainty fosters a pessimism bias that leads spouses to process messages negatively. We conducted a study in which 125 couples engaged in videotaped conversations. Although participants reported modest levels of relational uncertainty, our results were consistent with our predictions. Relational uncertainty predicted individuals’ judgments of the affiliation, dominance, and involvement of their partner's messages (…
Relational Uncertainty and Relationship Talk within Courtship
This study investigated the interplay between relational uncertainty and relationship talk for actors and partners over time. Participants were 135 romantic couples who completed an online survey once per week for six weeks. Between-person and within-person results indicated that people experiencing relational uncertainty appraised relationship talk as more threatening to themselves and to their courtship; they also reported avoiding more and ena…
Relational Uncertainty and Message Production Within Courtship
This paper theorizes about how relational uncertainty may predict features of date request messages within courtship. It reports a study in which 248 individuals role-played leaving a date request voice mail message for their partner. Relational uncertainty was negatively associated with the fluency (H1), affiliativeness (H2), relationship focus (H3), explicitness (H4), and perceived effectiveness (H5) of messages. Also as expected, relational un…
Relationship Characteristics Associated with the Experience of Hurt in Romantic Relationships
Journal Article Relationship Characteristics Associated with the Experience of Hurt in Romantic Relationships: A Test of the Relational Turbulence Model Get access Jennifer A. Theiss, Jennifer A. Theiss 1Department of Communication, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 1Corresponding author: Jennifer A. Theiss; Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Leanne K. Knobloch, Leanne K. Knobloch 2Department of Com…
In their own words
This study adopts an inductive and dyadic approach to illuminate how depression affects romantic relationships in people's own words. Depressed couples ( N = 135) responded to an open-ended item about ways that depression influences their romantic relationship. Content analytic results indicated eight categories of negative effects ( emotional toll, romance and sexual intimacy, communication, isolation, lack of energy/motivation, dependence on th…
Generalized Anxiety and Relational Uncertainty as Predictors of Topic Avoidance During Reintegration Following Military Deployment
For military couples reunited following deployment, discussing or avoiding topics is a central dimension of communication. This paper theorizes about two predictors of topic avoidance that arise from a lack of confidence in social situations: generalized anxiety and relational uncertainty. In Study 1, 220 returning service members described issues they avoid discussing upon reunion. Content analytic findings indicated eight avoided topics. In Stu…
Evaluating a Contextual Model of Responses to Relational Uncertainty Increasing Events
This study formulates and tests a contextual model of communication about events that increase relational uncertainty within courtship (N = 278 participants). Intimacy is examined as a feature of the distal context, and appraisals and emotions are investigated as features of the proximal context. As expected, intimacy coincided with positively-valenced behaviors (Hypothesis 1). Appraisals also explained variance in behaviors (Hypothesis 2), espec…
Depressive Symptoms and Relational Uncertainty as Predictors of Reassurance-Seeking and Negative Feedback-Seeking in Conversation
Integrative interpersonal theory implies that relational uncertainty may play a role in the reassurance-seeking and negative feedback-seeking behavior of people with depressive symptoms. We sought to extend the theory by (a) documenting how individuals with depressive symptoms communicate under conditions of relational uncertainty, (b) evaluating actor and partner effects, and (c) utilizing observational measures of reassurance-seeking and negati…
The Role of Relational Uncertainty in Topic Avoidance among Couples with Depression
To address a key gap in theorizing and research, we consider relational uncertainty as an explanation for why individuals experiencing depressive symptoms may be reluctant to talk about sensitive issues. We report closed-ended online survey data from 126 romantic couples in which one or both partners had been professionally diagnosed with depression. Results indicated that relational uncertainty mediated the positive association between depressiv…
A grounded theory of online coping by parents of military service members
Although parents of adult service members play a pivotal role in the dynamics of military family life, they tend to be overlooked in research on military families. We seek to shed light on their experiences by investigating online discourse about having a son or daughter serving in the U.S. military. We used grounded theory methods to create a model depicting the process by which parents communicated in the online forums. At the heart of the mode…
Using the Emotion-in-Relationships Model to Predict Features of Interpersonal Influence Attempts
This paper considers how the Emotion-in-Relationships Model (ERM), a theory designed to predict people's experience of emotion, might explain persuasive messages. A study was conducted in which 248 individuals simulated leaving a date request voicemail message. Consistent with ERM, people's perceptions of interference from partners were positively associated with appraisals of self threat and relationship threat and negatively associated with the…
Suspicion about a partner's deception and trust as roots of relational uncertainty during the post-deployment transition
Relational uncertainty is both prominent and pivotal during the transition from deployment to reintegration. Most prior research has considered the outcomes rather than the origins of relational uncertainty, hampering the development of interventions for military couples. We theorize about two predictors of relational uncertainty during the post-deployment transition: suspicion about a partner's deception and trust. Results of an 8-wave longitudi…
Relationship changes of military couples during reintegration
This study drew on the emotional cycle of deployment model to track the content, valence, and sequence of relationship changes experienced by returning service members and at-home partners during the transition from deployment to reintegration. In a longitudinal study, 555 military couples (1,100 individuals) wrote 7,387 comments describing changes that had occurred in their relationship during the past month. A content analysis identified 10 sub…
Relationship maintenance among military couples
A burgeoning body of research on the relationship maintenance of military couples over the past two decades suggests the time is right to organize, assimilate, and critique the literature. We conducted a systematic review informed by the integrative model of relationship maintenance that considered issues of intersectionality. Our literature search identified 81 relevant journal articles representing 62 unique samples. With respect to theory, 59.…
Trajectories of relational turbulence and affectionate communication across the post-deployment transition
Affectionate communication may play a key role in how military couples navigate the transition from deployment to reintegration. Informed by relational turbulence theory, this study considered how the trajectory of relational turbulence experienced by military couples over time predicted their verbal and nonverbal expressions of affection. Online self-report data were gathered from 268 U.S. military couples across eight months beginning at homeco…
Relational Turbulence Theory Applied to the Transition from Deployment to Reintegration
The transition from deployment to reintegration can be unexpectedly demanding for military couples as they cope with the changes that arose during separation and identify new patterns of relating. Although the postdeployment transition has important ramifications for the well‐being of military couples, the homecoming process is relatively undertheorized and underresearched within the deployment cycle. We identify relational turbulence theory, and…
Experiences of Military Youth During a Family Member's Deployment
The deployment of a family member can be very distressing for military children, but it also can supply opportunities for growth. This study addresses calls for research on the changes, challenges, and opportunities facing youth during a family member's tour of duty. It uses the relational turbulence model to frame research questions about how children experience a family member's deployment. Participants were 33 military youth ranging from 10 to…
Measuring the sources and content of relational uncertainty
Uncertainty reduction theory suggests that the self, the partner, and the relationship constitute three sources of uncertainty within interpersonal relationships; however, existing operationaliza‐tions of uncertainty focus predominately on partner issues. More recent extensions of the uncertainty construct to developed relationships call for a measure that both captures the range of uncertainty as originally conceptualized and attends to the unce…
The role of relationship development and attachment in the experience of romantic jealousy
We argue that a relationship development perspective is useful for understanding the experience of jealousy in romantic relationships In particular, we highlight relational uncertainty and intimacy as two indicators of relationship development that are likely to coincide with people's propensity to experience cognitive and emotional jealousy. Because recent theoretical insights about jealousy have stemmed from an attachment perspective, we also e…
Relationship Uncertainty, Partner Interference, and Intimacy within Dating Relationships
The transition from casual to serious involvement appears to constitute a unique period of relating within courtships. We suggest that the moderate levels of intimacy characterizing this phase correspond with heightened uncertainty about the relationship and greater interference from partners in every-day activities. In a test of these predictions, individuals in dating relationships (N= 341) completed self-report measures of intimacy, relationsh…
Information Seeking Beyond Initial Interaction
This essay extends previous work on uncertainty and information seeking within close relationships by considering how relationship parameters correspond with the directness of people's information-seeking strategies. Because we believe that assumptions of uncertainty reduction theory (Berger & Calabrese, 1975) have been translated into the context of close relationships without attention to the unique features of that domain, we begin by reframin…
Intimacy and the magnitude and experience of episodic relational uncertainty within romantic relationships
This paper seeks to clarify the association between the intimacy and the magnitude of relational uncertainty generated by specific events within romantic relationships. More specifically, we suggest that episodic relational uncertainty peaks at moderate levels of intimacy. We conducted a cross–sectional study in which 328 romantic relationship participants reported their reactions to a hypothetical relational uncertainty increasing event. Althoug…
Information Seeking Beyond Initial Interaction
Manifestations of Relationship Conceptualizations in Conversation
A question fundamental to the study of interpersonal communication in close relationships is how the characteristics people associate with their relationships are evident in their conversation. We begin by explicating 3 key aspects of relationship conceptualizations: reliance on relational knowledge, interdependence, and mutual commitment. Then we advance hypotheses linking those relationship conceptualizations with features of people's content a…
Manifestations of Relationship Conceptualizations in Conversation
A question fundamental to the study of interpersonal communication in close relationships is how the characteristics people associate with their relationships are evident in their conversation. We begin by explicating 3 key aspects of relationship conceptualizations: reliance on relational knowledge, interdependence, and mutual commitment. Then we advance hypotheses linking those relationship conceptualizations with features of people's content a…
Topic Avoidance in Developing Romantic Relationships
Recent work, recognizing that topic avoidance embodies issues central to the field of interpersonal communication, has called for a better understanding of how topic avoidance corresponds with relationship progression. The authors employ a model of relationship development to deduce predictions about how topic avoidance may coincide with intimacy and relational uncertainty. They attend to topic avoidance in terms of the number of topics people av…
Interference and facilitation from partners in the development of interdependence within romantic relationships
To clarify how interdependence develops, we employ Berscheid's (1983) emotional investment perspective to illuminate the ways intimacy maps onto interference and facilitation from romantic partners. We conducted a cross‐sectional, self‐report study involving 498 individuals. As anticipated, we found a small nonlinear association between intimacy and interference from partners, a positive association between intimacy and facilitation from partners…
A model of relational turbulence
The development of romantic relationships is a complex process by which previously autonomous individuals come to perceive themselves as a social unit. We propose that the transition from casual dating to serious involvement coincides with relational turbulence in courtship, and we identify relational uncertainty and interference from partners as mechanisms that may explain why this turmoil occurs. We test our model by examining people's appraisa…
Relational Uncertainty and Relational Information Processing
This article seeks to understand how relational uncertainty coincides with people’s ability to process relational information. The general premise is that individuals experiencing relational uncertainty should have difficulty deriving inferences because they lack the knowledge necessary to identify and interpret relational cues. The authors use this reasoning to deduce hypotheses about how relational uncertainty may correspond with people’s perce…
Evaluating a Contextual Model of Responses to Relational Uncertainty Increasing Events
This study formulates and tests a contextual model of communication about events that increase relational uncertainty within courtship (N = 278 participants). Intimacy is examined as a feature of the distal context, and appraisals and emotions are investigated as features of the proximal context. As expected, intimacy coincided with positively-valenced behaviors (Hypothesis 1). Appraisals also explained variance in behaviors (Hypothesis 2), espec…
Perceived involvement of network members in courtships
We seek to understand how the climate of courtship predicts people’s appraisals of the behavior of close friends and family members. To that end, we employ the relational turbulence model to examine the associations among intimacy, relational uncertainty, interference and facilitation from partners, and perceived network involvement. We conducted a cross‐sectional study in which 260 participants reported their perceptions of how much network memb…
Relational Uncertainty and Message Production Within Courtship
This paper theorizes about how relational uncertainty may predict features of date request messages within courtship. It reports a study in which 248 individuals role-played leaving a date request voice mail message for their partner. Relational uncertainty was negatively associated with the fluency (H1), affiliativeness (H2), relationship focus (H3), explicitness (H4), and perceived effectiveness (H5) of messages. Also as expected, relational un…
Using the relational turbulence model to understand negative emotion within courtship
We employ the relational turbulence model to deduce hypotheses about how intimacy, relational uncertainty, and interference and facilitation from partners predict people’s experience of negative emotion. We test our hypotheses using data from a self‐report, cross‐sectional study of 525 individuals involved in dating relationships. Results indicated that intimacy shared very small convex curvilinear associations with anger, sadness, fear, and jeal…
Relational Uncertainty and Message Processing in Marriage
We theorized that relational uncertainty fosters a pessimism bias that leads spouses to process messages negatively. We conducted a study in which 125 couples engaged in videotaped conversations. Although participants reported modest levels of relational uncertainty, our results were consistent with our predictions. Relational uncertainty predicted individuals’ judgments of the affiliation, dominance, and involvement of their partner's messages (…
Perceptions of turmoil within courtship
The goal of this article is to test the relational turbulence model's explanation for people's perceptions of turmoil within courtship. It begins by deducing hypotheses about how intimacy, relational uncertainty, and interference from partners may predict perceptions of turmoil. Then, it reports the results of a cross-sectional, self-report investigation of 268 individuals involved in dating relationships. Consistent with the relational turbulenc…
Using the Emotion-in-Relationships Model to Predict Features of Interpersonal Influence Attempts
This paper considers how the Emotion-in-Relationships Model (ERM), a theory designed to predict people's experience of emotion, might explain persuasive messages. A study was conducted in which 248 individuals simulated leaving a date request voicemail message. Consistent with ERM, people's perceptions of interference from partners were positively associated with appraisals of self threat and relationship threat and negatively associated with the…
The content of relational uncertainty within marriage
Two studies were conducted to examine relational uncertainty within marriage. Study 1 gathered open-ended data from 85 individuals to identify issues spouses are unsure about. Findings indicated 12 content areas, including uncertainty about children, communication, career issues, finances, health, commitment, extended family, sex, retirement, religious beliefs, leisure time, and household chores (RQ1). Only the commitment theme paralleled the dou…
Relationship Characteristics Associated with the Experience of Hurt in Romantic Relationships
Journal Article Relationship Characteristics Associated with the Experience of Hurt in Romantic Relationships: A Test of the Relational Turbulence Model Get access Jennifer A. Theiss, Jennifer A. Theiss 1Department of Communication, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 1Corresponding author: Jennifer A. Theiss; Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Leanne K. Knobloch, Leanne K. Knobloch 2Department of Com…
Relational Uncertainty and Interpersonal Communication
Uncertainty is a pervasive part of human interaction (Berger & Gudykunst, 1991; Brashers, 2001; Kramer, 2004). It echoes through the hallways of hospitals, corporate headquarters, and shopping malls. It softens the claims of meteorologists who forecast the weather on the television news. It surrounds expectant mothers and fathers who assemble to learn about the birthing process. It envelops the trading frenzy on the floor of the stock exchange. I…
The role of relational uncertainty in depressive symptoms and relationship quality
Individuals suffering from depressive symptoms tend to be dissatisfied with their romantic relationships, but information is lacking about the mechanisms that link depressive symptoms to relationship quality. This paper evaluates the role of relational uncertainty via an actor-partner interdependence model. Self-report data from 170 romantic partners (N = 85 dyads) revealed that depressive symptoms exerted actor effects, but not partner effects, …
An actor-partner interdependence model of relational turbulence
We extend the relational turbulence model by applying an actor-partner interdependence model to people's experiences of cognitive and emotional turbulence. In the study, 135 dating couples reported on their relationship once per week for six consecutive weeks. People's appraisals of turmoil and feelings of negative emotion were predicted by (i) their own relational uncertainty, (ii) their partner's relational uncertainty, and (iii) their own expe…
Depressive symptoms and mechanisms of relational turbulence as predictors of relationship satisfaction among returning service members.
In contrast to romanticized portrayals of reunion after deployment, U.S. military personnel may contend with the harsh reality of both depressive symptoms and upheaval in their romantic relationships during the postdeployment transition. This study employed the relational turbulence model to evaluate mechanisms linking depressive symptoms with relationship satisfaction. Cross-sectional, self-report data were collected from 220 service members liv…
Psychology (47 works) · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics (42 works) · Social Psychology (42 works) · Social Psychology (25 works) · Developmental psychology (19 works) · Romance (16 works) · Computer Science (14 works) · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior (14 works) · Interpersonal communication (12 works) · Military personnel (11 works)