TRUE.com's Chief Psychologist Assesses Variables That Determine the Success or
Failure of Celebrity Relationships
DALLAS, March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Hollywood couples are widely known for
their failed relationships and unusually high divorce rates. Most recently,
Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen called it quits after three years of
marriage, which was preceded by the dissolution of Hollywood's fairytale
marriage between Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. Chief psychologist for
TRUE.com(TM), Dr. James Houran, an internationally recognized expert on the
psychology of romance, compatibility, and celebrity worship, examined
21 celebrity couples to determine the leading factors that destroy celebrity
relationships. Out of 11 characteristics of celebrity couples, Dr. Houran
found three to be mathematically linked to celebrity break-ups. He then
further assessed which relationships were very likely to succeed and which
ones were likely to burn out.
"Surprisingly, the TRUE Celebrity Relationship study revealed it didn't
seem to matter if the celebrity couple tested spent significant time together
or had close ties with extended family. These strengths did not suppress the
influence of the key variables that were associated with celebrity break ups,"
said Dr. Houran. "Instead, we found factors like involvement in frequent
romantic movie scenes and an equal share of public popularity to increase
possibilities of break-up among celebrity couples. Also, if the couple has
comparable earning power and no children, their relationship tends to be at
risk."
Dr. Houran considered a set of variables to determine the leading cause of
celebrity break-ups and found that three key factors prove most destructive to
celebrity relationships. They are in order of their impact/ importance:
* Romantic scenes: Acting jobs may offer celebrities a safe way to flirt
or cheat while playing a role, and arguably promote spoken or unspoken
jealousy and worries about infidelity.
* Popularity: Equal popularity sounds like balance, but instead it can
instill unspoken or unconscious feelings of competition and
resentment.
* Earning power and children: Sex and money are the two leading causes
of relationship break-ups for the general public as they are tied to
control and power. But for celebrities, they offer freedom to pursue
impulsive fantasies or other indulges that can undermine a
relationship. Having children is a natural bond between couples.
Thus, it is no surprise that celebrity couples without children in
this sample were more at risk to break up.
Armed with this knowledge and 14 years of clinical experience, Houran
examined the same variables in ten celebrity couples currently making
headlines to predict which ones are most likely to succeed in the long run.
Based on the three characteristics above, Houran implemented a three-strike
policy for each relationship to assess their potential success rate. Listed
below are the eight couples he tested in order of least to most likely to make
it long term (three strikes and you're out!):
* Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz (3 strikes)
* Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony (2.5 strikes)
* Leonardo DiCaprio and Gisele Bundchen (2.5 strikes)
* Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner (2.5 strikes)
* Britney Spears and Kevin Federline (2 strikes)
* Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey (1.5 strikes)
* Drew Barrymore and Fabrizio Moretti (1.5 strikes)
* Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin (1 strike)
* Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z (1 strike)
* Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale (1/2 strike)
See the full results and take the quiz at
http://www.true.com/magazine/index.htm
"There is no hard and fast recipe for a celebrity break-up, but these
results underscore some of the compatibility challenges that are significantly
magnified in the lives of celebrities," said Dr. Houran. "All couples face
challenges, but when you add fame, fortune and extravagant lifestyles it makes
happy, long-term relationships very difficult to maintain." Houran added, "It
all comes down to compatibility, and whether couples -- famous or not -- have
adequately talked through issues that are the basis of compatibility. TRUE's
research shows that couples need to have similarities and dissimilarities in
order to achieve happiness and stability. It would be intriguing for
celebrity couples to take our TRUE(TM) Compatibility Test so we could learn
what other factors most strongly affect celebrity couples."
About TRUE
TRUE is safer, savvy, and the only scientifically-based, online
relationship service whose mission is to help singles find long lasting and
fulfilling relationships. Founded on an advanced, scientific compatibility
test uniquely endorsed by Psychology Today and independently certified by one
of the leading experts in tests and measurements -- Integrated Knowledge
Systems, Inc. -- to meet the Standards for Educational and Psychological
Testing, TRUE is the only online relationship service that actively seeks to
further protect the safety of its communicating members by conducting
extensive criminal background screenings. Moreover, TRUE is the only site to
conduct single verification screening. With the help of proprietary research
and the industry's most extensive team of scientists, relationship experts and
psychologists, TRUE also guides its members step-by-step through all stages of
the relationship-building process. To find out more about how TRUE helps
people around the world Live, Love and Learn(TM), please visit
http://www.true.com .
Houran conducted the study based on standard correlation analyses between
the ratings of relationship status (couples with strong marriages and couples
who have broken up) and a series of 11 psychosocial variables. Dr. Houran did
not know the identities of any of the celebrity couples used in this research
prior to the final outcomes. Characteristics of each couple were coded by
independent raters, and all analyses were completed with the SPSS statistical
software program. The two significant correlations were at the traditional
95 percent confidence level and the two suggestive correlations were at a
96 percent confidence level.
SOURCE TRUE
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Related links:
http://www.true.com
http://www.true.com/magazine/index.htm
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/919610.html
CONTACT:
Milly Navarro of Ogilvy Public Relations
Worldwide, +1-214-704-7504, or Milly.Navarro@ogilvypr.com , for
TRUE; or Taylor L. Cole, APR of TRUE, +1-972-402-4813, or
Taylor.Cole@true.com
NOTE TO EDITORS: Dr. Houran is available for interview upon
request and is co-author of Celebrity Worshippers: Inside the
Minds of Stargazers [2004, PublishAmerica].
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