The study examined interrelationships between attachment, social self-efficacy, career decision-making self-efficacy, and life satisfaction. Social cognitive career theory and attachment theory were integrated to provide a framework for this study. A conceptual model was proposed and tested to determine if social self-efficacy and career decision self-efficacy were full or partial mediators between attachment and life satisfaction. Structural equation modeling methods were utilized to test the model. Findings indicated that social self-efficacy and career decision self-efficacy partially mediated between attachment and life satisfaction among college students, the majority of whom were Caucasian females. This lends support to the idea that adult attachment is a fundamental source of efficacy information and operates as a critical component in college students’ perceptions of their efficacy in the domains of close relationships and career decisions, both of which impact life satisfaction. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Strategic hope-focused relationship enrichment is a brief, eclectic, research-based program to enhance couples' relationships. Couples (N = 51; 16 married, 24 cohabiting, 11 engaged) completed 5 sessions of enrichment counseling (n -26) or 3 written assessments (n = 25) from 1 of 12 counselors. Couples receiving enrichment counseling had higher relationship satisfaction and quality-of-couple skills at posttest and at the 3-week follow-up than did written-assessment-only (control) couples. Conditions did not differ in terms of quality of overall attraction or 2 measures of commitment. We concluded that relationship enrichment using this program was effective, powerful, and cost-effective. Future research should focus on testing the effectiveness of the program presented in a group format.

The present research builds upon the extant literature as it assesses psychophysiological factors in relation to empathy, conflict resolution, and romantic relationship satisfaction. In this study, we examined physiological reactivity of individuals in the context of emotionally laden interactions with their romantic partners. Participants (N = 31) completed self-report measures and attended in-person data collection sessions with their romantic partners. Participants were guided through discussions of problems and strengths of their relationships in vivo with their partners while we measured participants' skin conductance level (SCL) and interbeat interval (IBI) of the heart. We hypothesized that participants' level of empathy towards their partners would be reflected by physiological arousal (as measured by SCL and IBI) and relationship satisfaction, such that higher levels of empathy would be linked to changes in physiological arousal and higher relationship satisfaction. Further, we hypothesized that differences would be found in physiological arousal (as measured by SCL and IBI) based on the type of conflict resolution strategy used by participants. Finally, we hypothesized that differences would be found in empathy towards partner and relationship satisfaction based on the type of conflict resolution strategies used by participants. Results partially supported hypotheses and were discussed in light of existing knowledge based on empirical and theoretical sources.

The integration of attachment theory with social cognitive career theory provided a clear and comprehensive theoretical framework for this study. Results from structural equation modeling indicated that perceived support and career barriers mediated the relationship between attachment and efficacy in students (N = 486). Participants who were more securely attached perceived greater social supports and fewer career barriers and had higher efficacy in both academic and career domains. Theoretical, practice, and research implications are discussed.