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The biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat emphasizes how individuals appraise stress. Close relationship theories emphasize the interpersonal context, communication, and outcomes that arise from stress. We integrate these approaches by examining the individual variability surrounding appraisals of sufficient (more challenge, less threat) or insufficient (more threat, less challenge) resources to cope with demands and examining how these appraisals are associated with couples' behavior and feelings toward each other. Across three studies, 459 romantic couples (N = 918), and various potentially stressful in-lab conversations (extra-dyadic problem, dislikes about each other, dependability, and relationship conflict), we found evidence that stress appraisals indicative of more challenge and less threat were associated with more approach- and less avoidance-oriented behaviors within interactions. These approach- and avoidance-oriented behaviors were associated with greater feelings of relationship security and well-being after the conversation. However, whose (actors or partners) appraisals and behaviors were associated with security and well-being varied across the three studies. This work provides theoretical and empirical evidence for an interpersonal emphasis on intraindividual stress appraisal processes through a dyadic and close relationships lens. Our integrative theoretical framework breaks away from the idea that stress is inherently "bad" or "maladaptive" to show that appraising stress as more manageable (more challenge, less threat) is associated with more relationship behaviors that approach incentives and less that avoid threats and enhance feelings of relationship security and well-being. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-024-00235-3.

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Social anxiety (SA) is characterized by anxious symptomology and fear during social situations, but recent work suggests that SA may not necessarily be associated with negative interpersonal and intrapersonal outcomes in support contexts. The current research investigates the discrepancies between self-perceptions, behavior, and physiological responses associated with SA in social support conversations with close friends. Specifically, we examined the associations between SA and positive and negative affect, perceptions of demands and resources, and responsiveness. Additionally, we used the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat to understand the physiological responses associated with SA. Participants (79.9% White, 9.8% Black or African American, 10.3% Multiple races or other; 78.7% Female), totaling 172 undergraduate friend dyads, completed self-report measures and had physiological responses recorded while they discussed a problem unrelated to the friendship. Trained coders rated responsive behaviors exhibited during the conversation. Results revealed that greater SA was associated with greater negative perceptions of social interactions (greater negative affect, fewer perceived resources, and greater perceived demands). However, cardiovascular reactivity and behavioral responses within the conversation, as well as perceptions of partners' behavior after the conversation, contrasted with these negative perceptions. Indeed, greater SA was associated with greater sympathetic arousal (indicative of greater task engagement), but not with greater challenge or threat, and SA was not associated with perceived partner responsiveness or responsive behaviors. These results add to the growing body of research that suggests people with greater SA show inconsistencies between their conscious appraisals of social situations and their physiological responses.

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During times of stress, we look to close others for support. Social support conversations are critical for relationship maintenance and well-being. Yet, certain ways of talking about problems-such as co-ruminating-can exacerbate stress. Since social support and co-rumination are both dyadic processes, it is important to examine physiological responses during these conversations in a dyadic manner. Little research has examined physiological synchrony of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) during social support conversations or co-ruminative conversations. The current research capitalizes on an experimental manipulation of co-rumination using a sample of close friends (147 dyads) and romantic partners (113 dyads) to examine physiological covariation in the context of support. Across both samples, dyads exhibited significant physiological covariation in pre-ejection period reactivity (PEP). Contrary to our hypothesis, dyads in the co-rumination condition did not show more covariation. Close friend dyads did, however, exhibit more covariation as compared to romantic dyads. We also found significant variability in physiological covariation across dyads, with a minority of dyads exhibiting negative covariation of PEP reactivity. The homogeneity of the samples limits the generalizability of the findings and highlights the need for more diverse samples in future work. These findings underline the need for further exploration into the mechanisms that contribute to distinct patterns of physiological synchrony, the conditions in which negative synchrony occurs, and what predicts especially strong positive synchrony. This work extends our understanding of physiological synchrony of the sympathetic nervous system during support conversations and emphasizes the importance of considering heterogeneity in physiological processes.

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Co-rumination is an interpersonal emotion regulation strategy characterized by extensive, cyclical conversations regarding the causes and consequences of problems and associated negative emotions. Theory posits that over time, interpersonal benefits of co-rumination such as emotional intimacy reinforce the behavior, outweighing the resulting negative impacts on mental health. However, our understanding of how co-rumination is perpetuated within conversations is limited. This study (conducted in 2019-2020) aims to assess perceptions of partner co-rumination and responsiveness as factors that perpetuate co-rumination to better understand the intra- and interpersonal processes that influence how co-rumination unfolds within conversations. To do this, we utilized an observational paradigm with primarily White, female, young adult friendship dyads wherein one individual (the discloser) disclosed and discussed an extradyadic problem with a close friend (the responder). Using an empathic accuracy paradigm, participants reported their own and their partner's co-rumination and responsiveness for every 30-s epoch. Results revealed biased estimations of partner co-rumination that may facilitate reciprocity of co-ruminative conversation within the dyad. Additionally, while greater perceptions of partner co-rumination were perceived as responsive by disclosers and elicited responsive behavior from responders, perceived partner responsiveness did not perpetuate co-rumination within the conversation. Together, these findings enhance our understanding of the intra- and interpersonal processes that influence how co-rumination unfolds within conversations between close friends, but they also draw attention to unanswered questions in the field regarding partner contributions to co-rumination, the nature of problems discussed, and generalizability of these findings as well as those of other extant co-rumination research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

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Power, the capacity to influence others while resisting their attempts at influence, has implications for a wide variety of individual- and relationship-level outcomes. One potential mechanism through which power may be associated with various outcomes is motivation orientation. High power has been linked to greater approach-oriented motivation, whereas low power has been linked to greater avoidance-oriented motivation. However, current research has mostly relied on artificially created relationships (and the power dynamics therein) in the lab to assess the associations between power and motivation orientations. Utilizing the Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat framework, the current study examined how power is related to physiological responses indicative of psychological challenge (i.e., approach) and threat (i.e., avoidance) during discussions of problems outside of the relationship between romantic partners. The primary hypothesis that higher power would be associated with more approach-oriented challenge and less avoidance-oriented threat was supported via self-reports, but not via physiological assessments. Instead, physiological assessments revealed that for those disclosing problems to high-power partners, greater power was associated with reactivity consistent with more avoidance-oriented threat and less approach-oriented challenge. This is the first research to examine associations between power and in vivo indices of challenge and threat during interactions between romantic partners. It advances our understanding of how power elicits motivation orientations and influences the stress response system by highlighting the importance of situational attributes (e.g., role during a conversation) that may undermine power during disclosures with a high-power partner.

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Co-rumination is a form of interpersonal emotion regulation wherein dyads engage in extensive, cyclical conversations regarding the causes and consequences of problems and associated negative emotions. In the present investigation, we leveraged the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat to elucidate the intrapersonal costs and interpersonal benefits of co-rumination. To do so, we developed the first direct experimental manipulation of co-rumination using a multimethod, dyadic approach to test the effects of co-rumination on both dyad members. Friend dyads (N = 172) engaged in conversation during which one dyad member (i.e., the discloser) divulged and discussed their most stressful, extradyadic problem with their friend (i.e., the responder). Dyads either engaged in co-rumination or talked about the problem as they would naturally. Validating the experimental paradigm, results revealed a pattern of intrapersonal costs (stressed/upset feelings and rumination) and interpersonal benefits (perceived partner responsiveness) of co-rumination that replicated and extended past research. Regarding challenge and threat, results indicated that female disclosers in the co-rumination (vs. natural) condition exhibited physiological responses corresponding to greater psychological threat (i.e., greater total peripheral resistance). This research contributes to a growing body of literature identifying co-rumination as a vulnerability factor that exacerbates stress, potentially leading to poor downstream health outcomes. Furthermore, these results highlight the importance of examining co-rumination from a dyadic perspective, as inter- and intrapersonal effects varied as a function of whether individuals were disclosing or responding during the problem talk discussion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

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Suppressing the expression of negative emotions tends to undermine individuals' and their partners' wellbeing. However, sometimes expressive suppression may be relatively innocuous given that individuals commonly withhold negative emotions in order to maintain close relationships, and this may be especially the case when expressive suppression is enacted by people who exhibit amplified expressions of negative emotions, such as those high in attachment anxiety. The current research examined when and for whom expressive suppression may be more or less costly by testing whether the curvilinear effect of individuals' expressive suppression on individuals' and partners' outcomes is moderated by individuals' attachment anxiety. Our results across 3 dyadic studies revealed a linear effect of expressive suppression when predicting individuals' outcomes: greater expressive suppression had costs for individuals (lower relationship satisfaction, reported responsiveness and discussion success, and greater discussion threat). Furthermore, in 4 of the 5 models, a moderated curvilinear effect of expressive suppression emerged when predicting partners' outcomes. For individuals low in attachment anxiety, low levels of expressive suppression did not incur costs for their partners' relationship satisfaction, perceptions of individuals' responsiveness, discussion success, and discussion threat. Once expressive suppression surpassed moderate levels, however, greater expressive suppression had a detrimental effect on partners' outcomes. In contrast, for individuals high in attachment anxiety, the negative effect of moderate-to-high levels of expressive suppression on partners' outcomes was attenuated. These novel results demonstrate how considering curvilinear methods can uncover when and for whom expressive suppression may be more or less costly in intimate relationships. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

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Mindfulness includes acceptance and awareness subcomponents, and emerging theories imply that cultivating both acceptance and awareness may benefit health by diminishing stress reactivity. Yet, no prior work has examined the effects of mindful acceptance and awareness on cardiovascular markers of threat and challenge-cardiac output and total peripheral resistance-despite the unique insights these indices yield into stress-related evaluations and motivation. The current research integrates Monitor and Acceptance Theory with the Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat to elucidate how an awareness manipulation and a brief acceptance training are associated with cardiovascular stress responses underlying states of challenge and threat. Healthy young adults (N = 202) were enrolled in a 2 × 2 between-subjects experimental design manipulating both awareness (enhanced awareness vs. no enhanced awareness) and acceptance (acceptance training vs. no acceptance training) of physiological responses to a social-evaluative cold pressor test. Cardiovascular indices were recorded throughout. The combination of enhanced awareness and acceptance training led to higher cardiac output and lower total peripheral resistance (indexing greater challenge, less threat) to the cold pressor test than the combination of enhanced awareness and no acceptance training. However, the combination of no enhanced awareness and no acceptance training also led to higher cardiac output and lower total peripheral resistance than the combination of enhanced awareness and no acceptance training. These results add to a growing body of work suggesting that mindful awareness and acceptance subcomponents interact to influence stress reactivity and imply that enhanced stressor awareness without acceptance may lead to increased threat.

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Retirement can be a turbulent time of life in which people must navigate changes in their identity from ending a career and beginning a new phase of life. However, retirement can also provide opportunities for growth or self-expansion. We examined the benefits of partner support for self-expansion by using longitudinal evidence (at 3 time points) in a sample of 73 couples. We tested a theoretical model proposing that partner support for self-expansion at Time 1 would predict retirement satisfaction and overall health 1 year later and that these effects would be mediated by self-expansion at 6 months. Using structural equation modeling, we found significant indirect effects for both retirement satisfaction and health, supporting all hypotheses. These results suggest that during retirement, partners play an important role in encouraging opportunities for growth as an investment toward future retirement satisfaction and health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

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Restrictiveness, a component of relationship dominance associated with monitoring and regulating partners' behavior, is a risk factor and accelerant of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Few studies, however, have examined in vivo physiological responses associated with restrictiveness. Toward this end, 105 romantic couples (N = 210) completed measures of restrictiveness and had their physiological responses recorded in anticipation of and during a dyadic interaction in which they discussed a hypothetical transitional period in which one person (the discloser) revealed to their partner (the responder) that they had just gotten into their dream school or was offered their dream job. Individuals high (vs. low) in restrictiveness exhibited physiological responses indicative of greater psychological challenge (e.g., elevated cardiac output and lower peripheral resistance) in anticipation of and during the conversation. In contrast, their partners exhibited greater physiological indicators of psychological threat in anticipation of (but not during) the conversation, particularly when assigned to the discloser role. Exploratory analyses of communication behaviors corroborated the physiological data. This research integrates the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat with theories of relationship power and dominance to demonstrate the physiological manifestations of a well-known risk factor for IPV in romantic relationships and interpersonal restrictiveness.

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Trillions of microbes cover the surfaces of our bodies and inhabit our gastrointestinal tract. In the past decade, research efforts examining the role of the microbiome in mental health have moved to the forefront of neuroscience and psychiatry. Based on a foundation of animal studies demonstrating the vital role for microbiota-brain communication in brain development, behavior, and brain function over the life span, clinical studies have started to consider the microbiome in psychiatric disorders. The composition, diversity and function of commensal microbes is influenced by genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. This review provides an overview of the factors contributing to individual differences in the microbiome, reviews recent work in psychiatric disorders, and considers what is needed to advance a better understanding of how the microbiome impacts mental health which may help us understand the heterogeneity observed in clinical psychiatric populations.

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The interpersonal consequences associated with emotional suppression (ES) may indicate that perceivers accurately detect targets' use of ES. However, ES involves hiding emotional experiences and expressions and consequently provides few explicit cues for perceivers. Thus, perceivers may exhibit relatively poor accuracy in detecting targets' ES and instead base perceptions of targets' ES on their own use of ES-a bias called projection. In the current study, participants completed measures of trait ES, engaged in an emotionally relevant discussion with their intimate partner, and then reviewed the discussion to rate their own and their partners' (targets') state ES within each 30s of the discussion. Perceptions of targets' state ES were more strongly predicted by perceivers' own state ES (projection bias) than the targets' reported use of ES (tracking accuracy), particularly for perceivers' high in trait ES. This pattern of projection bias resulted in perceivers overestimating the level of targets' state ES. These results indicate that perceptions of ES are generated more from perceivers' rather than targets' use of ES, suggest informant-based ES assessments have important limitations, and advance understanding of the interpersonal effects of ES. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

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Partners' negative emotions communicate social information necessary for individuals to respond appropriately to important relational events. Yet, there is inconsistent evidence regarding whether partners' emotional expression enhances accurate perceptions of partners' emotions. The current studies make methodological and theoretical extensions to the extant literature by directly assessing whether partners' emotional expression during relationship interactions predicts 2 types of accuracy relevant to the theorized interpersonal functions of negative emotions: tracking accuracy and directional bias. In Studies 1 and 2, both members of recruited couples reported on their own negative emotions, disclosure of emotions, and perceptions of their partners' negative emotions during relationship interactions at the end of each day for 21 days. In Study 3, couples engaged in an emotionally relevant discussion in the laboratory. Participants immediately reviewed their discussions and rated their own negative emotions and perceptions of their partners' negative emotions within each 30-s segment of the discussion. Independent coders rated the degree to which each person expressed their emotions during the discussion. In all three studies, partners' greater emotional expression predicted perceivers more accurately tracking partners' negative emotions (greater tracking accuracy). High levels of partners' emotional expression also predicted perceivers overestimating partners' negative emotions (greater directional bias). This expression-perception pattern should support the interpersonal function of negative emotions by orienting perceivers to important emotional events that would be costly to overlook. The results, considered in the context of prior research, highlight the importance of matching methodological approaches with the theoretical processes under investigation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

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Greater habitual emotional suppression (ES)-assessed by the suppression subscale of the emotion regulation questionnaire (ERQ-ES; Gross & John, 2003) and the Courtauld emotion control scale (CECS; Watson & Greer, 1983)-is associated with a range of negative outcomes, which are assumed to arise because habitual ES measures capture the tendency to use ES in response to emotions. The current studies directly test whether habitual ES measures actually capture the response-focused use of ES when emotions arise within social interactions. We conduct these validation tests by integrating measures of habitual ES with naturalistic assessments of negative emotions and the situational use of ES during emotionally relevant interactions with romantic partners (Study 1, N = 200; Study 3, N = 170) and social interactions with close others in daily life (Study 2, N = 430). Greater ERQ-ES and CECS scores predicted greater average levels of situational ES, but only greater scores on the ERQ-ES consistently predicted greater situational ES in response to negative emotions, including greater situational ES for people who experienced more negative emotions than others and when people experienced greater negative emotions than their own average. These results support that the ERQ-ES captures a response-focused pattern of situational ES that is sensitive to varying negative emotions within specific interactions. The CECS may capture a more pervasive, consistent use of ES across situations. Our novel tests offer an important framework for how to validate emotion regulation assessments to advance both theory and methodology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

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This research examined how situations in which self- and relationship-interests are misaligned can "get under the skin" to negatively impact cardiovascular and relationship processes. Interdependence theory was integrated with the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat to better understand the biological processes that underlie relationship behavior in stressful circumstances. Couples engaged in a discussion in which one person (the discloser) revealed s/he had just gotten into her/his dream job or school and the other person (the responder) reacted to the news. Couples were randomly assigned to discuss living apart (self and relationship interests do not align) or together (self and relationships do align). Both responders and disclosers who discussed long-distance relationships and exhibited greater cardiovascular indexes of threat were behaviorally less responsive to their partners. Analyses also revealed that responders (regardless of conversation topic) who exhibited greater cardiovascular indexes of threat were less responsive. In addition to direct consequences for relationship processes and affective dynamics, these data implicate indirect pathways between relationship wellbeing and cardiovascular functioning.

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Testosterone reactivity has been conceptualized as a marker of social submission at low levels and social dominance at high levels. However, hormonal fluctuations in response to romantic partners remain largely unknown. Towards this end, 88 couples (N=176) discussed an emotional video. Prior to the conversation, one member of the dyad (the "agent") was instructed to regulate affective displays in a specific way (express or suppress). The other dyad member (the "partner") was given no special instruction and was unaware of regulation instructions given to the agent. Agents who regulated affective displays were expected to exhibit decreased testosterone from baseline because they were prevented from tuning their emotional responses to their partners. Furthermore, we expected declines in testosterone would be moderated by partners' authoritativeness: People would be particularly submissive to more dominant partners. Predictions were supported for females and partially supported for males. Agents exhibited decreases in testosterone from baseline relative to partners. For females, this main effect was moderated by partners' trait-level authoritativeness: Females interacting with partners higher in authority exhibited larger decreases in testosterone when instructed to restrict their emotion regulation strategies. This research is the first to document testosterone reactivity in existing romantic relationships and underscores the importance of taking into account social and relational contexts when examining hormonal regulation.

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Emotion suppression is one of the most studied topics in emotion regulation. However, little is known about how response-focused regulation strategies unfold in romantic relationships from the perspectives of both emotion regulators and their interaction partners. Using the biopsychosocial (BPS) model of challenge and threat as an organizing framework, 2 experiments examined effects of expressive suppression (vs. expression) on affective, cognitive, physiological, and behavioral processes in regulators and their romantic partners. In Experiment 1 a crowd-sourced sample of individuals currently in a romantic relationship simulated scenarios in which the self or partner engaged in response-focused emotion regulation (expression or suppression of affective displays). Suppressors expected worse outcomes compared with expressers. However, individuals on the receiving end of suppression (suppression targets) did not differ from expression targets. Experiment 2 then examined romantic couples' responses to suppression/expression in vivo. Regulators were randomly assigned to suppress/express affective displays and partners (targets) were unaware of the manipulation. Suppressors and suppression targets exhibited more malignant physiological responses (increased vascular resistance and elevated cortisol reactivity) during an emotional conversation and reduced intimacy behavior as measured with a novel touch task. Consequences for relationship processes are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

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Engaging in emotional suppression typically has negative consequences. However, relatively little is known about response-focused emotion regulation processes in dyadic interactions. We hypothesized that interacting with suppressive partners would be more threatening than interacting with expressive partners. To test predictions, two participants independently watched a negatively-valenced video and then discussed their emotional responses. One participant (the regulator) was assigned to express/suppress affective signals during the interaction. Their partner was given no special instructions prior to the interaction. Engaging in suppression versus expression elicited physiological responses consistent with threat-sympathetic arousal and increased vasoconstriction-in anticipation of and during dyadic interactions. Partners of emotional suppressors also exhibited more threat responses during the interaction, but not before, compared to partners of emotional expressors. Partner and interaction appraisals mirrored physiological findings. Emotional suppressors found the task more uncomfortable and intense while their partners reported them as being poor communicators. This work broadens our understanding of connections between emotion regulation, physiological responses, and cognitive processes in dyads.

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This study examined the effects of reappraising stress arousal on affective displays, physiological responses, and social performance during an evaluative situation. Participants were sampled from across the social anxiety spectrum and instructed to reappraise arousal as beneficial or received no instructions. Independent raters coded affective displays, nonverbal signaling, and speech performance. Saliva samples collected at baseline and after evaluation were assayed for salivary alpha-amylase (sAA), a protein that indexes sympathetic activation. Arousal reappraisal participants exhibited less shame and anxiety, less avoidant nonverbal signaling, and performed marginally better than no instruction controls. Reappraisal participants also exhibited increased levels of sAA and increased appraisals of coping resources compared with controls. Furthermore, stress appraisals mediated relationships between reappraisal and affective displays. This research indicates that reframing stress arousal can improve behavioral displays of affect during evaluative situations via altering cognitive appraisals.

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