bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Types of supportive intervention sought by visually impaired graduates to assist their transition from education to employment
Authors: Roy Archie W. M. , Dimigen Gisela , Taylor Marcella
Published: March 2007

This was one of several papers given at the RNIB Seminar on The Disability Discrimination Act and Education held at the University of the West of England, Bristol in November 1995. In this study 51 visually impaired graduates were interviewed on issues relating to their studies and the transition from higher education and post- graduation to employment. The study found that 55% of graduates were in employment and that this figure included only a very few who were under-employed. No link was found between the chance of equitable employment and the degree of visual loss but there was a slight tendency for females to succeed post-graduation compared with males. When questioned about the types of supportive intervention they required to assist transition, graduates expressed a need for a range of provision. The nature of the response sometimes depended on whether graduates were unemployed or employed.
MoBIC: An Aid to Increase the Independent Mobility of Blind Travellers
Authors: Petrie Helen , Johnson Valerie , Strothotte Thomas , Raab Andreas , Michel Rainer , Reichert Lars , Schalt Axel
Published: March 2007

This article outlines the research of a multi-national team to develop a new travel aid to increase the independent mobility of blind and partially sighted people. The MoBIC travel aid (MoTA) consists of two inter-related components: the MoBIC Pre-Journey System (MoPS) assists users in exploring maps and planning journeys; and the MoBIC Outdoor System (MoODS) allows them to execute these plans by providing orientation and navigation assistance during journeys. The MoODS is a secondary aid, complementing primary aids such as the long cane or guide dog. The process by which initial prototypes of the system were developed is outlined and the elicitation of user requirements is discussed. Some results of initial evaluations conducted in the United Kingdom and the first field trials conducted in Germany are also presented.
Size Counts: The Significance of Size, Font and Style of Print for Readers with Low Vision Sitting Examinations
Authors: Buultjens Marianna , Aitken Stuart , Ravenscroft John , Carey Kevin
Published: March 2007

This Paper is based on a study commissioned by the Royal National Institute for the Blind (Aitken, S., Ravenscroft, J., Buultjens, M. & Carey, K., 1998)1 which examined the effects of font, size and styles of print for students with low vision undertaking examinations such as GCSE, A Levels and Highers in the UK. It confirmed the importance of individualisation in these matters and identified that font, size and style affect speed and accuracy. The study raised important issues for those presenting students for examinations and for examination boards with respect to adapting and modifying print papers. Helvetica N24 plain text emerged as the most generally accessible font, size and style.
Patient Satisfaction as an Evaluation Measure of Low Vision Services
Authors: Aspinall P.A. , Hill A.R. , Cotton L. , McCloughan C.L.B.
Published: March 2007

Estimates of patient satisfaction are increasingly used as an outcome measure in the evaluation of health care. However, surveys are based on untested and incorrect assumptions about what a patient is reporting. In this paper some of these general concerns are presented. This is followed by results from a study on satisfaction from 195 patlents attending a low vision service. Results indicate complex patterns of association with four different estimations of satisfaction from both visual and non-visual factors. Different combinations of visual and non-visual factors had different predictive values for the satisfaction scales. The results are in line with more general findings on satisfaction and suggest that satisfaction is a multi-faceted concept which may easily be misinterpreted in a typical satisfaction survey.
Distinguishing Mean and Structural Sex Differences in Adolescent Friendship Quality
Authors: Hussong Andrea M.
Published: March 2007

This study examined sex differences in the structural and mean levels of two adolescent friendship qualities (intimacy and peer control). Structural sex differences were identified when the indicators of friendship quality differed for boys and girls. Mean sex differences were noted when boys and girls differed in the frequency of expressing the friendship quality. Characteristics of same-sex friendships were surveyed in 230 male and 221 female high-school students. Structural sex differences were supported such that (i) companionship was more strongly indicated by intimacy in boys than in girls, and (ii) overt behavioral control was more strongly indicated by peer control in girls than in boys. Mean sex differences replicated previous findings in that girls reported more frequent intimate behaviors than did boys, whereas boys reported more frequent peer control behaviors than did girls. These findings suggest that structural and mean sex differences can be independent of one another. The presence of such differences has implications for developing appropriate measures of a variety of psychosocial constructs for both sexes.
The Role of Conflict-Based Communication Responses and Outcomes in Male Domestic Violence toward Female Partners
Authors: Feldman Clyde M. , Ridley Carl A.
Published: March 2007

The general purpose of this study was to investigate domestic violence within a conflict framework. Specifically, the associations between conflict-based, communication responses and outcome behaviors and the frequency and severity of male domestic violence towards female partners were examined. Participants were 251 male volunteers who reported on a range of communication responses and outcomes for both self and partner. The contribution of relationship distress was controlled for and also examined as a moderator. Relationship distress was not found to be a significant moderator. Results showed that 8 communication response variables and 4 outcome variables were significantly associated with the frequency and/or severity of male domestic violence. Relative to non-violent relationships, relationships with male violence had more male and female unilateral verbal aggression, more mutual verbal aggression, more male demand/partner withdraw, less constructive relative to destructive communication, and less mutual problem-solving. Relationships with male violence also had poorer resolution of problems and more emotional distance after problem arguments and discussions than their non-violent counterparts.
A Meta-Analysis of Time between Maternal Sensitivity and Attachment Assessments: Implications for Internal Working Models in Infancy/Toddlerhood
Authors: Atkinson Leslie , Niccols Alison , Paglia Angela , Coolbear Jennifer , H. Parker Kevin C. , Poulton Lori , Guger Sharon , Sitarenios Gill
Published: March 2007

This meta-analysis of maternal sensitivity and infant/toddler attachment security includes 41 studies with 2243 dyads. Its purpose is to explore the impact of time between assessments of maternal sensitivity and attachment security on the strength of association between these two constructs. We also examined the interrelationships between this moderator variable and other moderators identified in the literature, such as age and risk status of the sample. We found an overall effect size of r = .27 linking sensitivity to security. However, time between assessment of sensitivity and attachment security moderates this effect size, such that: (1) effect sizes decrease dramatically as one moves from concurrent to nonconcurrent assessments, and (2) temporally distant assessments are a sufficient condition for small effect size; that is, if the time between assessments is large, then a relatively small effect size linking sensitivity and attachment is certain. We also found that time between sensitivity and attachment assessments may account for earlier findings indicating that effect sizes linking sensitivity to security differ according to age of child and sample risk status. Findings are discussed in terms of internal working models and environmental stability.
Distinguishing between Passive and Active Prosocial Coping: Bridging Inner-City Women's Mental Health and Aids Risk Behavior
Authors: Hobfoll Stevan E. , Schröder Kerstin E.E.
Published: March 2007

We examined the coping strategies of 1339, mostly African American (n = 666) and European American (n = 626), single, inner-city women in a cross-sectional study. We expected, and found through cluster analysis, four coping strategies: active-prosocial, active-asocial, passive-prosocial, and passive-asocial. It was hypothesized that women who were both active and prosocial in their general coping strategy would also report the most favorable coping correlates in terms of a broad array of variables, including the stressors they experienced, their personal and social resources, their psychological distress, and their safer-sex behavior. Women who were passive and asocial were predicted to have the poorest outcomes on these same variables. Women who were either active and asocial or passive and prosocial were hypothesized to have intermediary outcomes compared with the first two groups. The findings supported the hypotheses. The results suggest that when active and prosocial coping are linked, they lead to a broad array of positive psychological and behavioral outcomes, and that active coping alone is no more advantageous than prosocial coping alone.
Attachment Style in Adjustment to Conjugal Bereavement
Authors: Field Nigel P. , Sundin Eva C.
Published: March 2007

This study examined the role of attachment style in adjustment to bereavement. Midlife bereaved individuals whose spouse had died in the previous year completed the Reciprocal Attachment Questionnaire (RAQ; West & Sheldon-Keller, 1994) and a measure assessing aspects of appraising and coping with the loss. They also were administered repeated symptom measures at 6, 14, 25, and 60 months post-bereavement. Complete symptom measures data over the course of the 5-year period were available for 32 participants. The RAQ compulsive care-seeking measure of anxious attachment was predictive of appraised inability to cope with the loss and of more severe symptomatology over the course of 5 years. Furthermore, appraised inability to cope with the loss was shown to mediate the relationship between compulsive care-seeking and symptoms. The RAQ compulsive self-reliance measure of avoidant attachment was not related to symptomatology, however. Finally, the RAQ angry withdrawal measure of ambivalent attachment was predictive of 6 and 14 months post-loss symptoms, but not of 25-or 60-month symptoms. The differences in the pattern of findings for compulsive care-seeking and angry withdrawal are discussed in the context of previous findings in the bereavement literature on the role of dependency and ambivalence in bereavement-related adjustment.
Reasons for Remaining in a Relationship and Responses to Relational Transgressions
Authors: Roloff Michael E. , Soule Kari P. , Carey Colleen M.
Published: March 2007

Although relational transgressions constitute a potential relational threat, research suggests that some relationships survive them. However, few studies inform as to why individuals try to maintain these relationships, and the impact of their reasons on how they react to transgressions. We report the results of a study among undergraduates in dating relationships that examines staying in a relationship with a transgressor due either to fear of losing a partner or to emotional involvement, and cognitive and communication responses to a transgression. As predicted, staying in such a relationship due to fear of losing one's partner was associated with a variety of negative responses, whereas staying because of emotional involvement was related to positive reactions. Implications of these findings for future research and conflict management are discussed.
Deception in Romantic Relationships: Subjective Estimates of Success at Deceiving and Attitudes toward Deception
Authors: Boon Susan D. , McLeod Beverly A.
Published: March 2007

Participants (N = 97) completed a questionnaire about deceptive communication in romantic relationships. Responses indicated that people generally believe that they are fairly successful in their efforts to deceive their partners and, moreover, that they believe they are more successful in deceiving their partners than their partners are at deceiving them. Results also suggest that attitudes toward dishonesty in romantic relationships are neither as simple nor straightforward as the costs associated with discovery might lead one to expect. In addition, participants' beliefs about the importance of honesty in romantic relationships and their perceptions regarding their own and their partner's success at deceiving one another predicted their use of certain modes of deception (i.e., falsification), as well as their responses to suspected deception (both how they responded when they suspected their partner may be lying and how they reacted to a partner's suspicions that they had been dishonest).
Who will Divorce: A 14-Year Longitudinal Study of Black Couples and White Couples
Authors: Orbuch Terri L. , Veroff Joseph , Hassan Halimah , Horrocks Julie
Published: March 2007

The present study examines the early development of marriage for a representative sample of urban white couples and black couples. We are interested in predicting the stability of these marriages over the first 14 years of marriage. First, we assess whether objective social and economic conditions account for divorce over time. These factors focus on oppressive social conditions, lower status positions in society, and challenges of parenthood and family responsibilities. Next, we concentrate on perceived interactive processes between spouses that are critical for maintaining a relationship over time. We postulate that race, gender, and time act as contexts in which to understand the quality and impact of structure and the perceptions of interaction in predicting divorce. Results indicate that both race and education are critical to the risk of divorce over 14 years. Perceived interactional processes are also important to divorce, but often depend on the contexts of race and gender.
The Role of Power and Authenticity in Relationship Styles Emphasizing Autonomy, Connectedness, or Mutuality among Adult Couples
Authors: Neff Kristin D. , Harter Susan
Published: March 2007

This study examined relationship styles of self-focused autonomy (SFA), other-focused connection (OFC), and mutuality in adult couples, examining the links among relationship style, power, authenticity, and psychological health. Participants included 251 couples in long-term heterosexual relationships, with each partner completing a separate survey questionnaire (N = 502). Most participants reported having a mutual style, and in half of the couples both partners were mutual. No sex differences in style were found. Results showed that styles were related to power in the relationship: SFA was linked to dominance, OFC to subordinance, and mutuality to equality, although power also depended on partners' styles. OFC participants most often described their style as false-self behavior. Inauthenticity was linked to a lack of power and to poorer psychological outcomes. Mutual participants had the best outcomes, especially those with mutual partners.
Supportive Relationships: Fact or Fancy?
Authors: O'Connor Pat , Brown George W.
Published: March 2007

The very close relationships (VCRs) of a sample of married women living in London are described using a new instrument (SESS) measuring self evaluation and social support. Only a third of the women had a `true' relationship (i.e., one characterized by a high level of interaction and intimate confiding) with someone identified as `very close' yet living outside the home. It is argued that recent research has failed to differentiate between those qualities of relationships which are actively supportive and those which simply reflect `a search for attachment' and that this is the source of the failure to find an association between social support and psychiatric state. In the current survey there is an association between- the type of VCR and both the respondents' positive evaluation of themselves and their psychiatric state. Such associations do not emerge when we look at the strength of the respondents' felt attachment. There is some suggestion that early loss of a father is associated with chronic anxiety and an inability to form a true VCR.
The Developmental Course of Conflict in Dissolution of Premarital Relationships
Authors: Uoyd Sally A. , Cate Rodney M.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this study was to outline the developmental course of conflict in premarital relationship dissolution. There were 97 subjects, all of whom had been involved in a serious relationship that had dissolved. They completed a retrospective interview concerning the development and dissolution of their relationships. Levels of conflict, love, maintenance and ambivalence were assessed across five relationship stages (from `casual dating' to `certain the relationship would end'). The developmental trend of conflict was significant. We also examined the interrelations between conflict and love, maintenance and ambivalence during stages of increasing versus decreasing interdependence. Ambivalence was significantly related to conflict at stages of increasing interdependence, while maintenance was significantly positively related (and love was significantly negatively related) to conflict during stages of decreasing interdependence. Discussion centres round the changing role of conflict in the development versus dissolution of relationships.
So Many to Choose from: Decision Strategies in Videodating
Authors: Woll Stanley
Published: March 2007

Members of a prominent videodating organization were asked to read through a set of autobiographical profiles about prospective dates. These members were also instructed to `think aloud' about what factors (e.g. age, attractiveness, occupation, interests) they were considering in deciding whether or not to view that person's videotape. Age and attractiveness proved to be by far the most frequently mentioned factors in subjects' decision strategies. This result held for both men and women, younger and older members, and for individuals who had been members for either a short or a long period. These results are discussed in terms of the information overload and time constraints facing members of this organization in making their decisions, as well in the context of previous research on interpersonal attraction.
Keeping and Ending Casual, Close and Best Friendships
Authors: Rose Suzanna , Serafica Felicisima C.
Published: March 2007

Strategies for maintaining and ending casual, close and best friendships were investigated using a sample of ninety young adults, aged twenty to twenty-eight. As hypothesized, best friendships were regarded as more self-maintaining, more based on affection and less affected by a decrease in contact than close friendships, which in turn were more dependent on affection and interaction and less dependent on proximity than casual friendships. Best and close levels were more clearly differentiated for hypothetical cases of friendship than for actual ones. Life-stage and sex also affected friendship conceptions. The implications of the friendship level results for friendship research methodology are discussed.
On Becoming Acquainted: A Longitudinal Study of Social Judgement Processes
Authors: VanLear C. Arthur , Trujillo Nick
Published: March 2007

This article reports the findings of a longitudinal study of social judgements made during the acquainting process. A repeated measures design was employed to observe changes in four variables: affective reactions, uncertainty, trust and attraction. Results showed that all four variables and the relationships among these variables changed over time. Results also indicated few unsystematic differences across acquainting dyads; thus the changes over time could best be represented as a uniphasic process. Based upon the findings of this study, a four-stage model of social judgement processes during acquainting was proposed including: (1) uncertainty, (2) exploratory affect, (3) interpersonal growth, and (4) interpersonal stability.
Personal Relationships as an Interface between Social Networks and Social Cognitions
Authors: Morgan David L.
Published: March 2007

The concept of shared knowledge structures is introduced as one way of demonstrating how personal relationships serve as a bridge between collective activity at the level of the social network and cognitive activity at the level of the individual. The field of social cognition has studied how individuals organize information, and social network analysis has studied how information is passed within groups, but both have largely ignored the role that personal relationships play in leading individuals to share the ways they organize and interpret this information. This conceptual framework is applied to two qualitative studies on the production of shared knowledge structures: first, for knowledge about coping with the stresses of recent widowhood, and second, for the organization of knowledge about preventing heart attacks. The results point to the importance of integrating work on social cognition, personal relationships, and social networks.
Friendship as a Voluntary Relationship: Evidence from National Surveys
Authors: Palisi Bartolomeo J. , Ransford H. Edward
Published: March 2007

This paper focuses on voluntary friendships. Drawing from Fischer's (1975) subcultural theory of urbanism, it is hypothesized that voluntary interaction with friends will be characteristic of individuals who live in urban areas. Friendship is also expected to be characteristic of high-SES, young, unmarried and childless individuals. An underlying rationale is that friendship occurs when individuals are relatively free from obligatory ties, duties and other constraints on their free choices. NORC data from 1974-83 are used to test the hypotheses. In the analysis, a distinction is made between involvement with friends outside the neighbourhood and social involvement with neighbours. The findings indicate that income, age, marital status and number of children significantly influence voluntary friendships. In addition, interaction analyses (product term) suggest that combinations of the independent variables produce the greatest effect on friendship.
Marital Satisfaction and Sex Role Perceptions among Dual-Earner Couples
Authors: Yogev Sara
Published: March 2007

This article proposes that traditional expectations regarding the spouse are still positively related to marital satisfaction. Dual-earner couples were asked to compare their intelligence, competence, professional success, and income to their spouse's and to estimate their marital satisfaction. Their responses showed that marital satisfaction is often related to perceptions that spouses fit sex-role stereotypes (i.e., both husbands and wives perceive the husband as superior). The wives showed significant correlations between marital satisfaction and perceiving husbands as superior on all four dimensions chosen for examination. Even women employed in male-dominated occupations seemed to find these traditional expectations important, and there were no differences between them and women employed in traditional female occupations. For the husbands, significant correlations in the predicted direction appeared only on two dimensions, income and professional success (i.e., their marital satisfaction was related to their perceptions of their wives' inferiority on these two dimensions). However, there was a significant positive correlation between marital satisfaction and perceiving themselves as less intelligent than their wives.
Perceptions of Risk in Intimacy
Authors: Pilkington Constance J. , Richardson Deborah R.
Published: March 2007

Two studies were conducted to design and validate a measure of perceptions of risk in intimacy. A 10-item scale with high internal consistency was developed and related to romantic involvement, self-esteem, assertiveness, interpersonal trust, sensation seeking, extraversion and attitudes toward love. Individuals who scored high on this `Risk in Intimacy Inventory' (i.e. who perceived high levels of risk in intimate relationships) reported fewer close relationships, less assertiveness, diminished trust in others, more introverted tendencies, and more hesitant approaches toward love than did individuals who scored lower on the scale. High scoring respondents also reported relatively high levels of thrill and adventure seeking and boredom susceptibility on the Sensation Seeking Scale. Potential applications of the scale are discussed.
`I Love You Too Much to Ever Start Liking You': Redefining Romantic Relationships
Authors: Metts Sandra , Cupach William R. , Bejlovec Richard A.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors affecting the likelihood that a disengaged romantic relationship will be redefined as a friendship rather than completely terminated. College students were surveyed about a recalled romantic relationship that either broke up or evolved into a friendship. Respondents answered questions regarding characteristics of the relationship prior to its decline, strategies used to disengage the relationship, and feelings during the disengaging period. Results indicated that being friends prior to romantic involvement was a significant predictor of friendship, both for people who initiated the disengagement and for those who were recipients of partner's desire for disengagement. In addition, for those who initiated disengagement, withdrawal strategies and feelings of being taken advantage of in the relationship were negatively related to post-disengagement friendship. For persons who were recipients of partner's desire for disengagement, positive tone strategies were positively related to post-disengagement friendship while manipulation strategies were negatively related to post-disengagement friendship.
Attachment in Adult Romantic Relationships: Style of Conflict Resolution and Relationship Satisfaction
Authors: Pistole M. Carole
Published: March 2007

This study considers the issue of adult attachment style in relation to conflict resolution and relationship satisfaction. Subjects selected into one of three styles: secure, anxious/ambivalent, or avoidant. Analyses revealed significant differences among the groups on three styles of conflict resolution (compromising, obliging, and integrating) and on relationship satisfaction. The results are interpreted with regard to attachment theory.
Strategies of Influence in Sex and Dating
Authors: Christopher F. Scott , Frandsen Michela M.
Published: March 2007

This study examined the use of premarital sexual influence strategies and how these strategies were related to the gender and the sexual motivations of single, dating individuals. Participants (n = 366) responded to a 48-item survey that asked about how much they had used specific sexual influence techniques on their most recent date. Principal-components analysis revealed that four general influence strategies, Antisocial Acts, Emotional and Physical Closeness, Logic and Reason and Pressure and Manipulation were used in this interaction. Difference tests revealed multivariate and univariate effects for both gender and motivational state. Further, regression analysis indicated that only the strategies of Emotional and Physical Closeness and Logic and Reason were related to actual sexual behavior. The findings suggest that future investigations may wish to examine the impact of using different strategies on subsequent relationship development.
Jealousy and the `Third' Person in the Love Triangle
Authors: Bringle Robert G. , Boebinger Karen L.G.
Published: March 2007

This questionnaire study compared aspects of jealousy for 282 young adult respondents who had been in one of three different types of relationship: those in a traditional dating relationship, those who had a relationship with someone who was simultaneously dating someone else and those who had a relationship with someone who was married. In comparison with traditional dating relationships, respondents from both types of collateral relationships reported less upset if their partner were to engage in jealousy-evoking behavior with the other person. Furthermore, these respondents characterized their relationships as less involved (for example, less love, commitment, need fulfillment), in comparison with those in traditional dating relationships. There was only limited evidence that the collateral relationships were exploitative or one-sided and this evidence was most prevalent in collateral relationships with a dating partner.
Marital Partners' Perceptions of Marital Maintenance Strategies
Authors: Baxter Leslie A. , Dindia Kathryn
Published: March 2007

The purpose of the present study was to examine marital partners' perceptions of the underlying similarities among the marital maintenance strategies initially reported by Dindia & Baxter (1987). The perceptual judgment sorts of ninety-one married persons were analyzed using individual differences multidimensional scaling, hierarchical cluster analysis and content analysis. Results indicated that husbands and wives sorted the maintenance strategies similarly. Three underlying dimensions organized the perceptual space: constructive/destructive communication styles, ambivalence-based versus satiation-based conditional use and proactivity/passivity. Six cluster neighborhoods were situated in the three-dimensional space: Last Resort Strategies, Satiation Strategies, Inward Withdrawal Strategies, Problem Avoidance Strategies, Destructive Strategies and Constructive Strategies. The findings differ substantially from the a priori classification typology employed by Dindia & Baxter (1987).
Recipients' Perceptions of Support Attempts and Attributions for Support Attempts that Fail
Authors: Lehman Darrin R. , Hemphill Kenneth J.
Published: March 2007

We asked 151 people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to describe support attempts that they found especially helpful and unhelpful. These data were compared with findings from prior investigations of bereaved individuals and cancer patients. Across the three samples, expressions of concern, love and understanding were regarded as most helpful. The chronically ill identified two categories as unhelpful: minimization (e.g. challenging the seriousness or existence of the disease) and maximization (e.g. catastrophizing the disease or being overly protective). We propose that support providers assess disease state in a simplistic manner, via physical appearances. The MS respondents were also asked to make attributions for the unhelpful support attempts. Although many of these actions seemed harsh and unsettling, recipients interpreted them benignly. These benign attributions seem to indicate that patients feel vulnerable and, hence, are loath to criticize members of their support network.
The Dissolution of Gay and Lesbian Couples
Authors: Kurdek Lawrence A.
Published: March 2007

This study examined reactions to separation in both partners of gay and lesbian couples whose relationships ended a mean of 5.92 months ago. There were no differences between gay and lesbian respondents on reasons for the separation, emotional adjustment to the separation and problems since the separation. The most common reasons for the dissolution of the relationship, the most common emotional experiences since the separation and the most frequently reported problems since the separation were identified. Information available from respondents during the last year of cohabitation indicated that the person adjusting well to the separation completed many years of education, knew his or her partner for a few months and lived with that partner for a few months, did not pool finances with the ex-partner, reported low love for the partner, placed a low value on attachment to the partner and reported low severity of psychological distress.
Family Background, Recent Life Events and Peer Rejection During Childhood
Authors: Patterson Charlotte J. , Vaden Nancy A. , Kupersmidt Janis B.
Published: March 2007

Although rejection by peers during childhood has been associated with many kinds of adjustment problems, relatively little is known about factors that increase children's vulnerability to peer rejection. In this study, we examined the relations of family background and recent life events to peer status among 949 elementary school children, focusing especially on rejected status. Peer status was assessed using the sociometric methods and techniques for classification described by Coie et al. (1982). Family background variables and life events were assessed by reports of the children's teachers (Study 1) and parents (Study 2). As expected, results showed that children who came from certain family backgrounds and who experienced certain life events were rejected by their peers more often than other children. In particular, chronic family background variables such as low income and acute life stresses such as parental separation or divorce contributed to the probability that a child would be rejected by peers. The probability of rejection by peers was greater for children subjected to relatively high levels of both chronic and acute life stresses.
Intimacy, Passion and Commitment in Adult Romantic Relationships: A Test of the Triangular Theory of Love
Authors: Acker Michele , Davis Mark H.
Published: March 2007

Predictions derived from Sternberg's (1986) Triangular Theory of Love were tested. Two-hundred- and-four adults completed questionnaires assessing several constructs, including each of the three components of the theory: intimacy, passion and commitment. Results indicated mixed support for the Triangular Theory. As expected, self-reported levels of commitment were higher for the respondents in more serious (i.e. married vs unmarried) relationships. The predicted decline over time in passion emerged only for females, and intimacy levels did not generally display the predicted decline for longer relationships. Commitment was the most powerful and consistent predictor of relationship satisfaction, especially for the longest relationships. Other results indicated a need for more psychometrically sound measures of these constructs, and the desirability of using adult, non-student samples for investigations of romantic love.
Loneliness in Marriage
Authors: Tornstam Lars
Published: March 2007

Earlier studies of loneliness have obtained quite confusing results about gender differences. This might be due to the fact that many earlier studies have used very limited and special samples. In the present study of 2795 representative Swedes, 15-80 years of age, it is found that there certainly is a gender difference in loneliness, but that this difference is restricted to married individuals between 20 and 49 years of age. Several possible explanations of this observation are tested, among them the assumption that women more willingly acknowledge their loneliness. This explanation is refuted by the fact that the gender difference in loneliness was not general but was restricted to a certain group of married respondents. Other hypotheses of the causes of the observed gender differences in loneliness are related to assumptions of women having higher expectations for intimacy in a relationship and women having lower self-esteem. Even if gender differences are shown to exist in these respects, they do not explain the observed gender differences in loneliness, neither do differences in the social networks of men and women. The results of the study cannot rule out the remaining explanation, that the observed gender differences in loneliness are due not to social-psychological factors, but to a more basic difference in which men and women react to the stresses and strains in a relationship.
Perception of Lonely and Non-Lonely Persons as a Function of Individual Differences in Loneliness
Authors: Rotenberg Ken J. , Kmill Jane
Published: March 2007

Ninety-six male and 179 female undergraduates were administered the UCLA Loneliness Scale and judged as people who were prototypically lonely or non-lonely. Consistent with a `social stigma' view of loneliness, individuals attributed lower psychosocial functioning to and were less accepting of the lonely than the non-lonely person. This provided evidence for the prevailing perception of the lonely person as a negative stereotype and the social tendency to reject him or her. Females attributed lower psychosocial functioning to the lonely person than did males. In contrast to Borys & Perlman's (1985) findings, individuals did not attribute lower psychosocial functioning to nor were less accepting of the lonely person when identified as a male rather than a female. It was found that lonely individuals were less accepting of the non-lonely person than were non-lonely individuals. This latter finding was attributed to the negative effects of upward social comparison and was regarded as a factor that would maintain loneliness.
Friends' and Acquaintances' Conversations I: Perceived Differences
Authors: Planalp Sally , Benson Anne
Published: March 2007

Although interaction and intimacy are widely recognized as key concepts in understanding personal relationships, comprehensive theories of differences between intimate and non-intimate relationships have been grounded primarily in self-reports of general communication patterns rather than in observed interaction. This study was designed to investigate what observable cues in conversations distinguish friends' from acquaintances' conversations. Excerpts from 36 conversations were audio taped and played to observers who judged whether the conversations were between friends or acquaintances and what cues they used to make their judgments. Those cues served as the basis for an inductively derived category system. Major findings were that judges were 80 percent accurate and their judgments were based on a wide variety of cues. About half of the cues that could be coded reliably fell into three categories: mutual knowledge, intimacy of self-disclosure and relaxation. The other half, however, were dispersed across 27 other types of cues. Implications of these findings are then drawn for several existing theories and for further research.
Group Psychotherapy for the Enhancement of Intimate Friendship and Self-Esteem among Troubled Elementary-School Children
Authors: Shechtman Zipora
Published: March 2007

The effect of group psychotherapy on self-esteem and close friendship was examined by a pre/post-test comparison group design. The study included 52 experimental students (in six small therapy groups) from one elementary school and 52 control students matched by age, gender and similarity of problems, from a school in the same neighborhood. Treatment consisted of approximately twenty weekly 45-minute sessions. Results indicate significant gains for the counseling group on two variables studied: intimacy in a close friendship and self-esteem. No significant gender-by-treatment interaction effect was revealed. Intimate friendship and self-esteem were found to be intercorrelated, both in the pre-scores of control and experimental groups, and in the gains of the treated children.
An Integrative Conceptual Framework for Friendship Research
Authors: Adams Rebecca G. , Blieszner Rosemary
Published: March 2007

In light of the increase in the number and rigor of studies on adult friendship and the tendency of kin and neighbor relationships to have become more structurally similar to friendship, this is a crucial juncture at which to pause and assess what we know and do not know about adult friendship, to begin a needed theoretical synthesis, to identify gaps in the literature and to produce guidelines for future research. The purpose of this article is to present an integrative conceptual framework, incorporating both sociological and psychological perspectives, for use in these endeavors. The framework posits that the social structural and psychological aspects of individual characteristics operate together to shape behavioral motifs which, in turn, influence friendship patterns (dyadic and network structure and phases). Furthermore, dyadic and network structure and phases affect one another through interactive friendship processes. The elements of this integrative framework and the relationships among them vary by structural and cultural context.
How Toddlers `do' Friendship: A Descriptive Analysis of Naturally Occurring Friendships in a Group Child Care Setting
Authors: Whaley Kimberlee L. , Rubenstein Tamera S.
Published: March 2007

Researchers examining friendship between peers often begin to study children during the preschool years. While research has indicated that toddlers interact with peers, very little is known about how they negotiate friendships. This study uses qualitative methodology to examine how a group of toddler friends interact with each other-how they `do' friendship. Children were videotaped as they went about their daily interactions in a mixed-age, infant-toddler child care setting. Data were collected over a 10-month period, resulting in 200 hours of videotape. Interaction between four toddler friendship dyads (age 22-36 months) were coded using dimensions of friendship as used by Rizzo (1989). Results indicate that five of eight coded dimensions are present in these toddler friendships. Further, results suggest that toddlers engage in much more complex relationships than has been previously indicated. A developmental theory of friendship is presented.
Play and Communicative Processes within Long- and Short-Term Friendship Dyads
Authors: Howes Carollee , Droege Kristin , Matheson Catherine C.
Published: March 2007

Twenty-four dyads of 4-year-old children participated in this study. Six of the dyads were long-term friends (children who had been friends for three years), 12 dyads were short-term friends (friendships formed within the previous 6 months) and six of the dyads were never-friends. Children's joint play and communications were coded from videotapes. Dyads who more often used communicative behaviors to extend and clarify play also more often played in more complex ways. Long-term friendship dyads were more likely to use communicative behaviors that extended play and to play in a more complex way than either of the other two dyad types.
The Privatization of the Personal? II: Attitudes to the Family and Child-Rearing Values in Modern-Day Russia
Authors: Goodwin Robin , Emelyanova Tatiana
Published: March 2007

The recent and dramatic political and social events in the former Soviet Union have focused interest on the interpersonal lives of the Russian peoples. The two studies reported in this article use the cultural theory of Mary Douglas to examine belief in the family and child-rearing values amongst 792 manual workers, entrepreneurs and students. Analysis at an individual level revealed that individualism and a belief in rules were both negatively related to family commitment. Analysis at an occupational level produced marked, independent occupational effects for child-rearing values, with students and entrepreneurs promoting independence and education as important, whilst manual workers promoted a broader concern for `humanity'. Women were also more family oriented than their male counterparts. The implications of these findings for the future development of the family in Russia are discussed.
Preference for and Fairness of Intervention: Influence of Third-Party Control, Third-Party Status and Conflict Setting
Authors: Keashly Loraleigh , Newberry Jason
Published: March 2007

This study considered three important issues in the conflict intervention literature: (1) the contributions of third-party process control and outcome control to disputants' judgments of intervention procedures; (2) the nature of control prior to a decision being made, i.e. the process-content distinction; and (3) the influence of contextual variables (third-party status relative to disputants and conflict setting) on participants' procedural judgments. Participants were asked to imagine themselves as a party in a dispute between roommates or between co-workers in which a third party was needed. They assessed eight intervention methods (varying in combination of third-party process control, content control and outcome control) in terms of degree of preference for and perceived fairness of each method. Disputants' judgments were related to the over-all balance of control between the third party and the disputants. The status of the third party moderated this relationship such that third-party control over the final decision was more `appropriate' when the third party was in a position of authority relative to disputants. Results are discussed with respect to the contingency model of conflict intervention and the importance of the nature and the social context of the relationship of the third party to the disputants.
Exploratory Study Marital Interdependence and Social Networks
Authors: Burger Edith , Milardo Robert M.
Published: March 2007

In an exploratory study of 25 wives and their husbands we examine the associations of spouses with kin and friends as predictors of four marital qualities: love, maintenance, conflict and ambivalence. For husbands, contact with kin, and especially fathers, is tied to greater marital interdependence and lower conflict. For wives, contact with kin, and especially brothers-in-law, is consistently associated with greater marital distress in the form of lower love for her husband and reports of greater conflict and ambivalence on the part of both spouses. Husbands also report greater conflict and ambivalence when their wives interact frequently with friends. Overall, the findings suggest the effects of kin are heterogeneous, varying substantially by the type of role relation, and that the processes underlying relations with kin are distinctly different for wives and husbands.
Rethinking Family Development: Critical Conceptual Issues in the Study of Diverse Groups
Authors: Dilworth-Anderson Peggye , Burton Linda M.
Published: March 2007

This article discusses conceptual issues that should be considered in re-evaluating family development perspectives as they apply to the study of ethnically diverse populations. Four issues are identified: values and value orientations; hidden or conditioned theoretical assumptions; accepted conceptual frameworks; and limited methodologies used in the study of families. We focus on identifying how these issues have limited ways of thinking about family development among ethnically and racially diverse populations. Suggestions are made to help guide researchers' theoretical and conceptual formulations in developing research agendas that include studying family development among diverse populations.
Behavioural Correlates of Friendship Status among Italian Schoolchildren
Authors: Menesini Ersilia
Published: March 2007

The purpose of the present study is to examine whether friendship status, in terms of reciprocity and perceived quality of the relationship, is related to behavioural characteristics of school-aged children, as evaluated by themselves and their teachers. Children's nominations for `best friends', a questionnaire on children's perception of friendship quality and self-evaluation of social behaviour were administered to middle-class Italian primary school children, aged 9-10 years. Teachers' ratings of each pupil's social behaviour were also obtained. Partners in reciprocal friendships (both boys and girls) estimated their own prosocial behaviour higher than children who did not have any reciprocal friends in their classes. Higher scores for perceived friendship quality were positively related with higher scores on self-perceptions of prosocial behaviour. Furthermore, the teachers' ratings depict children with reciprocal friends as more prosocial, less aggressive and less emotionally unstable than others.