Examining Couple Recreation and Oxytocin via the Ecology of Family Experiences Framework

Abstract

Objective:To evaluate the release of oxytocin as a biomarker of romantic-partner attachment during couple recreation. Background: To date, no studies have examined the impact of distinct types of recreation activities on the release of oxytocin. The Ecology for Family Experience framework, which highlights the divergent experience of family members, guided the experimental design. Method: A total of 20 cohabitating or married couples were randomly assigned to one of the following two experimental groups: board games or art class. Urinary oxytocin was measured before and after the recreational activity. Analysis of covariance was used to determine group differences in oxytocin levels. Results All groups released oxytocin during couple activities. Men in the art class demonstrated oxytocin response twice the level than other groups. Couples in the art class reported more partner touching than couples playing board games. A significant environmental impact was also identified.

Parent–Child Leisure and Parent Affect: The Role of Family Structure

“…Using the EFE framework and previous research as a guide, we would suggest future research focus on indicators of leisure quality in addition to quantity (Hodge et al, 2017). Quality may be extrapolated from multiple indicators such as social interactions, meeting psychological needs, or environmental factors more specific than location (Melton et al, 2019). ATUS data do not provide refined indicators of the quality of social interactions during leisure, thus, the impact of high- vs. low-interaction parent–child leisure on parents’ affect remains unexplored.…”

“…The EFE framework (Melton et al, 2019(Melton et al, , 2020 positions outcomes of leisure experiences in families as the product of factors within multiple domains: Family, Activity, and Time. These three domains interact to produce three hierarchical levels of Individual and Family Outcomes: (a) proximal physiological or psychological responses, (b) medial meaning, and (c) distal human and family development.…”

“…Additionally, this article will identify differences in parent–child leisure and parent affect by family structure (two-parent families compared to single-parent families). We frame American Time Use Survey (ATUS) (Hofferth et al, 2020) data in the Ecology of Family Experiences (EFE) framework (Melton et al, 2019, 2020) to identify (a) differences in structural measures of parent–child leisure (quantity and location of leisure), and (b) subjective measures of parent–child leisure (parents’ affect).…”