Summary
Romantic relationships are essential for health and well-being. In fact, a poor-quality relationship is a more powerful predictor of increased mortality than smoking. Yet, divorce rates have more than doubled among the 27 EU countries in the last five decades. One reason why relationships are hard to maintain is because couples face difficulties navigating challenging interactions, such as when one partner sacrifices their preferences for the other. Sacrifice occurs regularly and can fuel resentment, thus putting relationships at risk. Yet, sacrifice also may convey that the sacrificer cares about the recipient, and thus has the potential to strengthen relationships. Given the profound impact of relationships on health and well-being, it is crucial to identify how couples can reduce the costs and reap the benefits of sacrifice to maintain satisfying relationships.
Existing research examining the impact of sacrifice has focused on individuals’ internal feelings and motivations. Prior work, however, overlooks how individuals express their feelings and thoughts about the sacrifice, and neglects the dyadic interaction between the sacrificer and recipient. SAYcrifice aims to address these critical gaps by examining (1) how both partners communicate about sacrifice and (2) how sacrifice communication styles shape personal and relationship outcomes. SAYcrifice will integrate across different fields (relationship science, communication, social cognition) and combine state-of-the-art methods (dyadic, observational, diary, and longitudinal methods; implicit and explicit measures) to provide the first comprehensive investigation of couples’ sacrifice communication in close relationships. The findings will reveal effective ways for couples to communicate about sacrifice, which can be used to develop interventions to promote satisfying relationships. Transforming sacrifice into a catalyst for building happier relationships will in turn improve societal health and well-being.
Existing research examining the impact of sacrifice has focused on individuals’ internal feelings and motivations. Prior work, however, overlooks how individuals express their feelings and thoughts about the sacrifice, and neglects the dyadic interaction between the sacrificer and recipient. SAYcrifice aims to address these critical gaps by examining (1) how both partners communicate about sacrifice and (2) how sacrifice communication styles shape personal and relationship outcomes. SAYcrifice will integrate across different fields (relationship science, communication, social cognition) and combine state-of-the-art methods (dyadic, observational, diary, and longitudinal methods; implicit and explicit measures) to provide the first comprehensive investigation of couples’ sacrifice communication in close relationships. The findings will reveal effective ways for couples to communicate about sacrifice, which can be used to develop interventions to promote satisfying relationships. Transforming sacrifice into a catalyst for building happier relationships will in turn improve societal health and well-being.
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| Web resources: | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101149941 |
| Start date: | 01-11-2024 |
| End date: | 31-10-2026 |
| Total budget - Public funding: | - 203 464,00 Euro |
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Original description
Romantic relationships are essential for health and well-being. In fact, a poor-quality relationship is a more powerful predictor of increased mortality than smoking. Yet, divorce rates have more than doubled among the 27 EU countries in the last five decades. One reason why relationships are hard to maintain is because couples face difficulties navigating challenging interactions, such as when one partner sacrifices their preferences for the other. Sacrifice occurs regularly and can fuel resentment, thus putting relationships at risk. Yet, sacrifice also may convey that the sacrificer cares about the recipient, and thus has the potential to strengthen relationships. Given the profound impact of relationships on health and well-being, it is crucial to identify how couples can reduce the costs and reap the benefits of sacrifice to maintain satisfying relationships.Existing research examining the impact of sacrifice has focused on individuals’ internal feelings and motivations. Prior work, however, overlooks how individuals express their feelings and thoughts about the sacrifice, and neglects the dyadic interaction between the sacrificer and recipient. SAYcrifice aims to address these critical gaps by examining (1) how both partners communicate about sacrifice and (2) how sacrifice communication styles shape personal and relationship outcomes. SAYcrifice will integrate across different fields (relationship science, communication, social cognition) and combine state-of-the-art methods (dyadic, observational, diary, and longitudinal methods; implicit and explicit measures) to provide the first comprehensive investigation of couples’ sacrifice communication in close relationships. The findings will reveal effective ways for couples to communicate about sacrifice, which can be used to develop interventions to promote satisfying relationships. Transforming sacrifice into a catalyst for building happier relationships will in turn improve societal health and well-being.
Status
SIGNEDCall topic
HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01-01Update Date
05-10-2024
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