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Browsing by Subject "relationships"

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  • More than just friends? : a cross-cultural study on Finnish and American friends with benefits relationships 
    Saarenmaa, Elina (2013)
    Aims The aim for this cross-cultural study was to increase understanding of today's modern relationships by researching the nature of the friends with benefits relationships (FWBRs). The FWBRs are an example of a current type of phenomenon in interpersonal relationships and a new area of investigation in the field of Interpersonal Communication Studies. The FWBR is identified as a friendship where the participants also have sex. The phenomenon was defined and explained through both Finnish and American informants' real life experiences. The research followed the hermeneutic phenomenological tradition with the goal of creating meaning and probing particular features of this kind of relationship. Previous academic research on FWBRs has only concentrated on studying American undergraduate college-students and has mostly been done with quantitative surveys. Unlike the existing academic literature, this study aimed to explore older adults outside of the college surroundings by conducting research with qualitative methods. Methods Half-structured theme interviews were used as a method to gain a deeper understanding of the informants' thoughts, attitudes and experiences. Altogether, 21 interviews were collected for this study. 10 interviews were done in Helsinki, Finland and 11 were done in San Francisco, USA. The participants were heterosexual men and women, aged 24-54. The data was analyzed holistically using the hermeneutical phenomenological approach, combined with qualitative content analysis. Results and Conclusions The FWBR was researched as a complex and ill-defined phenomenon. Certain recurring communication patterns and relationship features were observed to be particular to FWBRs. The biggest differences were observed between different age groups, rather than between the different cultures or genders. The informants agreed that the phenomenon is becoming more acknowledged and popular, and that it should be discussed more openly. FWBRs were seen mainly as experimental relationships that are part of being youth. However, they were observed also as meaningful relationships among older adults. The informants' experiences with FWBRs were mainly positive. However, the participants did not desire to have casual sex. Rather, they were looking for a deeper connection and the possibility for a romantic relationship.
  • Relationship trajectories and their connections to the completed number of children : a sequence analysis for women born between 1924 and 1966 
    von Lerber, Milja (2021)
    Previous studies have indicated that short cohabitation spells are associated with childlessness. However, there is little detailed knowledge of relationship trajectories and their implications to the completed number of children other than childlessness in Finland. In addition, previous studies mainly focused on residential relationships, and non-residential relationships were seldom studied. This study provides an overview of different relationship trajectories for women born in 1924-1966 and explores the connections between the complete trajectories and the number of biological children. The relationship trajectories were established using longitudinal retrospective data. This study utilized sequence analysis that visualizes the relationship stages on the life course forming a relationship trajectory. The trajectories were clustered to reveal prominent patterns in the data, and the connection between the clusters and the number of children was explored. Additionally, the changes that occurred in the different cohorts were investigated to reveal historical patterns. The results indicate that most women born between 1924 and 1966 dated, cohabitated, and married before the age of 30 and stayed with the same partner, resulting in a steady pattern of 2 or more children. If a divorce occurred, the number of children depended on whether the individual married again. Long-term cohabitation was connected with a lower number of children. Lack or postponement of long-term relationships often resulted in a significantly smaller number of children. The connection between the first relationship and the first marriage got weaker over time, and the trajectories marked by more complex partnership histories and long-term cohabitation increased. Relationship trajectories shape childbearing outcomes in distinct ways. The study increases knowledge about the processes of relationships and childbearing in the changing landscape of family formation.

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