Connected or disconnected? Romantic couples' adrenocortical attunement in a

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate how media usage impacts adrenocortical attunement in romantic couples. Prior research has shown that adrenocortical attunement within the stress response system provides information about the connections between individuals within dyadic relationships (Middlemiss, et al., 2012; Papp, Pendry, & Adam, 2009; Ruttle, et al., 2011); however, literature has not examined the influence of modern society on attunement. The present study tests the hypothesis that the amount of time couples spend using media together will moderate the relationship between media usage and cortisol attunement. Adrenocortical attunement was assessed in romantic partners attending a couples' communication workshop. Media usage, communication styles, and adult attachment were also assessed. Results found that couples with high amounts of media usage (regardless of the amount of time they spend using media together) have less synchronized baseline cortisol responses than couples that spend less time using media. In addition increase in media usage was associated with increases in demand/withdraw communication patterns. Exploratory analysis also found that different attachment styles were associated with communication styles. These results assess an evolutionarily novel circumstance that could be impacting connection and satisfaction within relationships.