Introduction

1. Using Humor in Romantic Relationships: Examining Developmental Antecedents Ryan D. Steele1, Jessica E. Salvatore2, Sally I-Chun Kuo2, W. Andrew Collins2, & Jeffry A. Simpson1 1Dept. of Psychology, University of Minnesota; 2Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota • Introduction • In adult relationships, humor use is a highly desirable characteristic in potential friends and romantic partners (Sprecher & Regan, 2002) • There are different types of humor (Martin et al., 2003) : • -Aggressive humor: Humor used to denigrate or “put down” others • -Affiliative humor: Victimless humor used to facilitate interpersonal relationships • Aggressive humor associated with poorer conflict resolution between romantic partners (Campbell, Martin, & Ward, 2008) • Dearth of research taking a developmental perspective on humor in relationships • According to the parental socialization hypothesis (Conger et al., 2000), individuals initially form emotion-behavior patterns within parent-child dyads • Children also form specific emotion-behavior patterns through interactions with peers (Allen, Porter, McFarland, Marsh, & McElhaney, 2005) • Positive humor use (i.e. affiliative humor) is associated with intelligence (IQ; Masten, 1986) • Research Question • Do hostile experiences during childhood and adolescence predict the use of aggressive humor in young adulthood during conflict interactions with romantic partners? Do the same predictors not predict the use of affiliative humor in young adult conflict interactions with romantic partners? • Method • Subsample from Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation (Sroufe, et al., 2005), a study of at-risk children and their families. • N= 74 (50% female) target young adults and their romantic partners who completed a lab assessment at ages 20-21. • Outcomes: • 1) Age 20-21 target aggressive humor use (Martin et al., 2003). Observationally coded, 7-point likert scaled measure (1 = not at all to 7 = very much). ICC high,alpha = .83 (Male), alpha = .76 (Female). • 2) Age 20-21 target affiliativehumor use (Martin et al., 2003).Observationally coded, 7-point likert scaled measure (1 = not at all to 7 = very much). ICC high, alpha = .76 (Male), alpha = .77 (Female). • Predictors: • Age 24 month maternal hostility toward target during tool problem task. Observationally coded, 7-point Likert-scaled measure (1 = very low to 7 = very high). ICC moderately high, alpha = .75. • Age 13 family hostility during planning and discussion tasks. Observationally coded, 7-point Likert-scaled measure (1 = absence of hostility to 7 = high cynical comments; high personal disregard). ICC moderately high, alpha = .70. • Age 16 conflict resolution with target’s best friend Modified version of the Friendship Interview (Grotevant & Cooper, 1981). 7-point Likert-scaled measure (1 = severe victimization of one person; denial of conflict; escalation of conflict to 7 = conflict dealt with directly and appropriately; compromise evident. ICC slightly high, alpha = .64. • Grade 3 IQ Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Revised (WISC-R; Wechsler, 1974) • Results • Maternal hostility at 24 months predicted greater use of aggressive humor with romantic partners. • Only IQ predicted greater use of affiliative humor. • General Discussion • Suggests that early psychological alienation within the parent-child relationship sets the stage for similar alienating tactics (e.g., aggressive humor) when individuals enter adulthood and interact with intimate partners • Suggests that intelligence, while not associated with aggressive humor, is related to the ability to reduce interpersonal tensions with intimate partners in conflict discussion Acknowledgements: This research was sponsored by a grant from the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program at the University of Minnesota to the first author. This research was also supported by a NIMH grant to W. Andrew Collins, Byron Egeland, and L. Alan Sroufe (R01MH40864), by a NICHD grant to W. Andrew Collins (R01HD054850), and by a pre-doctoral training grant to Jessica E. Salvatore (T32MH015755-32). The first author can be contacted at steel141@umn.edu