Date of Award

12-31-2017

Document Type

Campus Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Clinical Psychology

First Advisor

Sarah Hayes-Skelton

Second Advisor

David Pantalone

Third Advisor

Alice S. Carter

Abstract

Research on social anxiety and mindfulness demonstrate that these factors have negative and positive effects on romantic relationships, respectively. Moreover, studies on social anxiety and mindfulness examine these factors separately, leaving little to be known about whether mindfulness may moderate the associations between social anxiety and mindfulness. This research, however, has predominantly focused on intra-individual factors, leaving little known about how an individual’s social anxiety and mindfulness may affect their partners. We recruited 66 romantic dyads who reported a relationship length of greater than three months and assessed for each dyad member’s levels of social anxiety, mindfulness, and relationship satisfaction using self-report questionnaires. Using the Actor Partner Interdependence Model (Cook & Kenny, 2005), analyses revealed no actor (social anxiety, b = -.007, p = .394; mindfulness, b = .004, p = .319) nor partner effects (social anxiety, b = .001, p = .865; mindfulness, b = -.002, p = .743) from either social anxiety nor mindfulness on relationship satisfaction. Moreover, no evidence of a moderation effect emerged. Overall, results suggested no significant association from either individual in a dyad of social anxiety and mindfulness to their own or their partner’s relationship satisfaction, indicating that relationship satisfaction among romantic partners may not be related to either individual’s levels of mindfulness and social anxiety.

Comments

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