Research on the Relationship  Between Personality and Types of Relationship Stress

Have you been married or living with your partner in a heterosexual relationship at least 1 year?

Are you and your partner between the ages of 19 and 65?

If so, we would very much appreciate your participation in this study!

 

About the Study:  

This research will help to discover what types of relationship stress seem to be associated with the particular personality characteristics of each partner.  Your participation in this research will help social scientists to better understand the factors that lead to relationship satisfaction and longevity.

The researchers are Dr. Michael Mills,  an Associate Professor of Psychology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA., and his students Victoria Boccanfuso, Shawna Metcalfe, and Lisa Mufson.


To participate, you and your partner will fill out a series of online surveys.  

Note that you will not be given any feedback regarding your answers to the questions, so the results of the study won't provide any immediate tangible benefit to you as a participant.  However, as noted above, your participation in this study may help research scientists discover ways in which couples can work to develop more harmonious relationships.  If you wish, you may request that a summary of the aggregated, statistical findings to be emailed to you when the research is completed.

$100 Cash Draw.   At the end of the study, one couple will be randomly selected and will receive $100 for their participation.

Interested? If you are interested in participating in this study, please read over the rest of this page carefully and then press the "continue" button at the bottom.

What You Have To Do To Participate: To participate in this study, we ask that you and your partner fill out two sets of online questionnaires. The first set should take  about 15 - 20 minutes.   The second set of questions will take about an additional 20 - 35 minutes.   It is important that both you and your partner fill out both surveys.  If you wish, you may finish the second section at a later time.

Important: It is important that you complete your questionnaires alone and in private without consulting with your partner. There are no right or wrong answers, and we encourage you to not to think about the questions too long. Usually the first thing you think of is the best answer for you.   After you are finished with the survey, it is important that you shut down your web browser so that your responses won't be accessible by anyone else who presses the "Back" button of your browser.

Password:  If your partner has not yet completed the survey, please think of a password that both you and your partner can easily remember.   It might be the name of a pet, a postal code, a vacation spot, etc.  It should be a continuous series of letters and/or numbers, with no spaces.  (However, please do not use the word "password" as your password!)  This password will be used to identify each couple.  Write down the password and give it to your partner.  

Both you and your partner should enter the same password at the end of each survey section.  

If your partner has already completed the survey, please ask him or her for the password that they used.

The Study Is Voluntary and Confidential Participation in this study is strictly voluntary. You may choose not to answer any particular questions, and you are free to discontinue at any time. Some of the questions are of a personal nature and ask about how you feel about yourself and your partner. There is a small risk that completing the questionnaires will arouse some negative feelings about yourself, your partner, or about your relationship. We encourage you to talk to a counselor, or someone you feel close to,  if you feel upset afterwards. 

You will not be asked to give your name. Your email address will be used to contact you at some point in the future only to see if you are interested in volunteering to complete a brief follow up survey or to contact you regarding the $100 cash draw.

Your email address will not be disclosed to anyone other than the researchers conducting the study and will be destroyed once the study is completed. Once we receive your responses, they will be assigned a number code and your email address will be kept separately from the completed questionnaires. You will not be identified in connection with the results of the study. No individual responses from this study will be published. In short, every effort has been made to ensure your privacy.

However, if you still have any concerns about your privacy, you may opt to omit your email address (but in this case we will be unable to contact you should you be randomly  selected for the $100 cash draw).

Questions Or Comments? Should you have any concerns about the ethical conduct of the project, they may be addressed to Dr. Michael Mills at mmills@lmu.edu.  Or, you may contact the Chair of the Human Subjects Review Board at Loyola Marymount University:  Dr. Stephen Scheck at sscheck@lmu.edu

Ready? If you are ready to start the questionnaires, please click the icon below.  

Note: If you are returning to complete the 2nd part of the survey, click here.
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