Men say “I love you” before women do : robust across several countries
- Watkins, Christopher, Bovet, Jeanne, Fernandez, Ana, Leongómez, Juan, Żelaźniewicz, Agnieszka, Corrêa Varella, Marco, Wagstaff, Danielle
- Authors: Watkins, Christopher , Bovet, Jeanne , Fernandez, Ana , Leongómez, Juan , Żelaźniewicz, Agnieszka , Corrêa Varella, Marco , Wagstaff, Danielle
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Social and Personal Relationships Vol. 39, no. 7 (2022), p. 2134-2153
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- Description: Feeling and expressing love is at the core of romantic relationships, but individuals differ in their proclivity to worry about their relationships and/or avoid intimacy. Saying “I love you” signals a commitment to a future with our romantic partner. Contrary to gender stereotypes, research in the United States demonstrates that men are more likely to confess love first. We aimed to replicate this sex difference in an online cross-national sample (seven countries, three continents), while testing for variation according to attachment style and environment (the national sex ratio). Men were more likely to confess love first in a relationship, with preliminary evidence that this was more likely when men had more choice (more female-biased sex ratio). Independent of biological sex, highly avoidant respondents were less happy to hear “I love you” than less avoidant respondents, and highly anxious respondents were happier to hear “I love you” than less anxious respondents. Our findings suggest that prior observations generalize beyond an ethnically homogenous sample and incorporate attachment theory into the study of love confessions. Our research suggests a dissociation between initial declarations of love (moderated by biological sex) and emotional responses to love confessions, moderated by attachment style but not by biological sex. © The Author(s) 2022.
- Authors: Watkins, Christopher , Bovet, Jeanne , Fernandez, Ana , Leongómez, Juan , Żelaźniewicz, Agnieszka , Corrêa Varella, Marco , Wagstaff, Danielle
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Social and Personal Relationships Vol. 39, no. 7 (2022), p. 2134-2153
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Feeling and expressing love is at the core of romantic relationships, but individuals differ in their proclivity to worry about their relationships and/or avoid intimacy. Saying “I love you” signals a commitment to a future with our romantic partner. Contrary to gender stereotypes, research in the United States demonstrates that men are more likely to confess love first. We aimed to replicate this sex difference in an online cross-national sample (seven countries, three continents), while testing for variation according to attachment style and environment (the national sex ratio). Men were more likely to confess love first in a relationship, with preliminary evidence that this was more likely when men had more choice (more female-biased sex ratio). Independent of biological sex, highly avoidant respondents were less happy to hear “I love you” than less avoidant respondents, and highly anxious respondents were happier to hear “I love you” than less anxious respondents. Our findings suggest that prior observations generalize beyond an ethnically homogenous sample and incorporate attachment theory into the study of love confessions. Our research suggests a dissociation between initial declarations of love (moderated by biological sex) and emotional responses to love confessions, moderated by attachment style but not by biological sex. © The Author(s) 2022.
Mothering ideology : a qualitative exploration of mothers’ perceptions of navigating motherhood pressures and partner relationships
- Williamson, Tricia, Wagstaff, Danielle, Goodwin, Jane, Smith, Naomi
- Authors: Williamson, Tricia , Wagstaff, Danielle , Goodwin, Jane , Smith, Naomi
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Sex Roles Vol. 88, no. 1-2 (2023), p. 101-117
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- Description: Good mother ideology refers to beliefs that women are only ‘good’ mothers if they adhere to the tenets of dominant parenting discourse, such as intensive mothering ideology, which prioritizes children’s needs and child-raising above all else. Undergirded by this ideology, mothers’ attempts to navigate the transition to motherhood are fraught with pressures, and the transition is associated with negative health outcomes for mothers and children; yet existing research gives little attention to the quality or dynamics of the partner relationship as part of this transition. The current study examined motherhood pressure and the impact on partner relationships through individual, semi-structured interviews with 19 mothers living in Australia who were 18 years or older in a heterosexual relationship with at least one child under the age of five. Thematic analysis revealed four key themes: discourses on motherhood: criticisms of mothers and internalised guilt; transformation of identity; entrenchment of gender roles through childrearing; and positive relationship dynamics: supportive fathers and challenging gender roles. This study contributes to the larger body of literature highlighting the complexity of dominant mothering ideology and its entanglement with and impact on partner relationships. Further, this study includes mothers’ perceptions of how they navigate these pressures within the relationship with their partner and the family unit. These findings have implications for programs to support mothers and other caregivers, as well as challenge unrealistic standards for motherhood. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
- Authors: Williamson, Tricia , Wagstaff, Danielle , Goodwin, Jane , Smith, Naomi
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Sex Roles Vol. 88, no. 1-2 (2023), p. 101-117
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Good mother ideology refers to beliefs that women are only ‘good’ mothers if they adhere to the tenets of dominant parenting discourse, such as intensive mothering ideology, which prioritizes children’s needs and child-raising above all else. Undergirded by this ideology, mothers’ attempts to navigate the transition to motherhood are fraught with pressures, and the transition is associated with negative health outcomes for mothers and children; yet existing research gives little attention to the quality or dynamics of the partner relationship as part of this transition. The current study examined motherhood pressure and the impact on partner relationships through individual, semi-structured interviews with 19 mothers living in Australia who were 18 years or older in a heterosexual relationship with at least one child under the age of five. Thematic analysis revealed four key themes: discourses on motherhood: criticisms of mothers and internalised guilt; transformation of identity; entrenchment of gender roles through childrearing; and positive relationship dynamics: supportive fathers and challenging gender roles. This study contributes to the larger body of literature highlighting the complexity of dominant mothering ideology and its entanglement with and impact on partner relationships. Further, this study includes mothers’ perceptions of how they navigate these pressures within the relationship with their partner and the family unit. These findings have implications for programs to support mothers and other caregivers, as well as challenge unrealistic standards for motherhood. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
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