bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Plantar pressure distribution in Type 2 diabetic patients without peripheral neuropathy and peripheral vascular disease
Authors: Pataky Z. , Assal J.‐P. , Conne P. , Vuagnat H. , Golay A.
Published: May 2005

Aims To evaluate the distribution of plantar pressure during walking on a level gradient in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus without any microvascular and macrovascular complications and to compare them with non‐diabetic control subjects.

Methods A group of 15 patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus without either peripheral neuropathy or peripheral vascular disease (PVD), as well as without both diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy, was compared with a group of 15 non‐diabetic subjects matched for age, sex, body weight and height. The plantar pressure and duration of plantar pressure were measured on big toe, 1st, 3rd and 5th metatarsal heads, and on the heel of both feet by Force Sensing Resistors sensors. The static contact plantar surface was measured by method of Harris footprints.

Results The diabetic group showed a significant increase in peak plantar pressure at the level of the big toe [right foot 205 ± 94 vs. 101 ± 39 kPa (mean ± sd),P = 0.01; left foot 165 ± 61 vs. 104 ± 43 kPa,P = 0.05] and 5th metatarsal head (right foot 160 ± 68 vs. 97 ± 32 kPa,P = 0.05; left foot 174 ± 65 vs. 91 ± 42 kPa,P = 0.02) with a significantly prolonged duration of plantar pressure at each step. Under the heel, the peak plantar pressure was significantly lower in the diabetic group (right foot 187 ± 54 vs. 321 ± 91 kPa,P = 0.05; left foot 184 ± 63 vs. 298 ± 110 kPa,P = 0.05). No significant differences were noted under 1st and 3rd metatarsal heads. The contact plantar surface was significantly reduced in the diabetic group compared with control subjects (right foot 118.2 ± 10.8 vs. 141.5 ± 12.7 cm2,P = 0.05; left foot 127.5 ± 8.7 vs. 140.0 ± 11.1 cm2,P = 0.05).

Conclusions We observed an anterior displacement of weight‐bearing during walking on a level gradient as well as a reduced static contact plantar surface in diabetic patients without evidence of any complications compared with the non‐diabetic control group. This could be a premature sign of peripheral neuropathy, which is not evaluated on clinical examination or quantitative sensory testing used in clinics.
Human plasma phospholipid transfer protein activity is decreased by acute hyperglycaemia: studies without and with hyperinsulinaemia in Type 1 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Oomen P. H. N. , Van Tol A. , Hattori H. , Smit A. J. , Scheek L. M. , Dullaart R. P. F.
Published: May 2005

Aims  Little is known about the regulation of phospholipid transfer protein (PLTP), that plays a key role in lipoprotein metabolism. PLTP secretion may be up‐regulated by glucose in vitro, whereas plasma PLTP activity is decreased by exogenous hyperinsulinaemia and glucose‐induced hyperinsulinaemia in vivo. In the present study, we evaluated the separate effects of hyperglycaemia and hyperinsulinaemia in C‐peptide‐negative Type 1 diabetic patients.

Methods  The protocol was carried out in 16 patients (eight females). In each individual, plasma PLTP mass and activity (measured by enzyme‐linked immuno‐sorbent assay and liposome‐high density lipoprotein system, respectively) as well as plasma cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) activity, lipids and apolipoprotein levels were determined at the end of four different glucose clamps, each lasting 210 min: standard insulin (30 mU/kg/h) and standard glucose (glucose 5.0 mmol/l) (SI‐SG), standard insulin and high glucose (glucose 12 mmol/l) (SI‐HG), high insulin (150 mU/kg/h) and standard glucose (HI‐SG), and high insulin and high glucose (HI‐HG).

Results  Plasma lipids and (apo)lipoproteins, measured at the end of the SI‐HG, HI‐SG and HI‐HG clamps, were not significantly different compared with the levels obtained at the end of the SI‐SG clamp. Median plasma PLTP mass and activity at the end of the SI‐SG clamp were 12.8 mg/l and 13.2 µmol/ml/h, respectively. Median plasma PLTP mass decreased by 9.1% at the end of the HI‐HG clamp (P < 0.01), whereas the changes at the end of the SI‐HG and HI‐SG clamps were not significant. Median plasma PLTP activity decreased by 5.7, 4.6 and 8.6% at the end of the SI‐HG, HI‐SG and HI‐HG clamps, respectively (all P < 0.05). Median plasma CETP activity was 177 nmol/ml/h at the end of the SI‐SG clamp, and decreased by 4.9% (P < 0.05) and by 8.3% (P < 0.05) at the end of the HI‐SG and the HI‐HG clamps, respectively. Plasma CETP activity did not change significantly at the end of the SI‐HG clamp.

Conclusions  The present study demonstrates that plasma PLTP activity is independently decreased by acute hyperglycaemia and hyperinsulinaemia in humans in vivo. These data do not support a direct role of short‐term hyperglycaemia in up‐regulating plasma PLTP levels.
Prevalence of diabetes complications 6 years after diagnosis in an incident cohort of childhood diabetes
Authors: Donaghue K. C. , Craig M. E. , Chan A. K. F. , Fairchild J. M. , Cusumano J. M. , Verge C. F. , Crock P. A. , Hing S. J. , Howard N. J. , Silink M.
Published: May 2005

Aims  To examine the prevalence of early diabetes complications 6 years after diagnosis of diabetes. The hypothesis that initial contact with a multidisciplinary team would be associated with a reduced risk of microvascular complications was tested in this cohort.

Methods  Participants were recruited from an incident cohort of children aged < 15 years diagnosed between 1990 and 1992 in NSW, Australia. Initial management at a teaching hospital was documented at case notification. At 6 years, health care questionnaires and complications were assessed: retinopathy by 7‐field stereoscopic retinal photography and elevated albumin excretion rate (AER) defined as the median of three overnight urine collections ≥ 7.5 µg/min. Case attainment was 58% (209/361) with participants younger than non‐participants and more likely living in an urban than rural location.

Results  Retinopathy was present in 24%, median AER ≥ 7.5 µg/min in 18%, and median AER ≥ 20 µg/min in 2%. In multivariate analysis, initial management at a teaching hospital or consultation with all three allied health professionals combined with pubertal staging and cholesterol or HbA1c were all determinants of risk for retinopathy.

Conclusions  Early retinopathy and elevated AER are common in children 6 years after diagnosis. Initial allied health contact and management at a teaching hospital were associated with a reduced risk of microvascular complications in this cohort.
Avoiding milk is associated with a reduced risk of insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome: findings from the British Women's Heart and Health Study
Authors: Lawlor D. A. , Ebrahim S. , Timpson N. , Davey Smith G.
Published: May 2005

Objective  To examine the association of milk consumption with insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome.

Methods  The association was examined in 4024 British women aged 60–79 who were randomly selected from primary care centres in 23 towns.

Results  Women who never drank milk had lower homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance (HOMA) scores, triglyceride concentrations and body mass indices, and higher high‐density lipoprotein (HDL)‐cholesterol concentrations, than those who drank milk. The age‐adjusted odds ratio for the metabolic syndrome comparing non‐milk drinkers with drinkers was 0.55 (0.33, 0.94), which did not attenuate with adjustment for potential confounders. Diabetes was less common in non‐milk drinkers.

Conclusion  Individuals who do not drink milk may be protected against insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome. However, randomized controlled trials are required to establish whether milk avoidance is causally associated with these outcomes.
Interleukin‐8, monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 and IL‐10 in the vitreous fluid of patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy
Authors: Hernández C. , Segura R. M. , Fonollosa A. , Carrasco E. , Francisco G. , Simó R.
Published: May 2005

Aims  To determine the intra‐vitreous levels of two pro‐inflammatory cytokines [interleukin‐8 (IL‐8), monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 (MCP‐1)] and the anti‐inflammatory cytokine interleukin‐10 (IL‐10) in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). In addition, the relationship between the profile of cytokines and PDR activity has also been evaluated.

Patients and methods  The study included 22 consecutive diabetic patients with PDR (4 Type 1 and 18 Type 2) on whom a vitrectomy was performed. Sixteen age‐matched non‐diabetic patients with other conditions requiring vitrectomy, but in which the retina was not directly affected by neovascularization served as a control group. IL‐8, MCP‐1 and IL‐10 were measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Results  The vitreal levels of both IL‐8 and MCP‐1 were strikingly higher in diabetic patients with PDR in comparison with the control group [173.5 (64–1670) vs. 49 pg/ml (25–145), P < 0.001, and 2171 (388–6155) vs. 438 pg/ml (207–1344), P < 0.001, respectively]. In addition, the vitreous concentrations of IL‐8 and MCP‐1 were higher in patients with active PDR than in those patients with quiescent PDR [324.5 (80–1670) vs. 173.5 pg/ml (64–487), P = 0.06 and 3596 (1670–6155) vs. 1143 pg/ml (388–2500), P = 0.01, respectively]. However, vitreal levels of IL‐10 in diabetic patients were similar to that obtained in the control group [2.89 (1.55–5.50) vs. 2.46 pg/ml (2.2–5.41), P = NS].

Conclusions  The pro‐inflammatory cytokines IL‐8 and MCP‐1 are increased in the vitreous fluid of PDR patients without an increase in the anti‐inflammatory cytokine IL‐10. In addition, both IL‐8 and MCP‐1 intra‐vitreous levels correlated with PDR activity, thus suggesting that these cytokines may be pathogenically important in PDR.
Molecular mechanisms of insulin resistance
Authors: Schinner S. , Scherbaum W. A. , Bornstein S. R. , Barthel A.
Published: May 2005

Currently, we observe an epidemic expansion of diabetes mellitus. In subjects with Type 2 diabetes the resistance of fat, muscle and liver to insulin is the central pathophysiological event in the development of this disease. Genetic and environmental factors play a major role in this process, although the precise pathogenesis of insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes is still largely unknown. However, recent studies have contributed to a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying this process. In this review we therefore summarize the current developments in understanding the pathophysiological process of insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes. Among the many molecules involved in the intracellular processing of the signal provided by insulin, insulin receptor substrate (IRS)‐2, the protein kinase B (PKB)‐β isoform and the forkhead transcription factor Foxo1a (FKHR) are of particular interest in this context as recent data have provided strong evidence that dysfunction of these proteins results in insulin resistance in‐vivo. Furthermore, we have now increasing evidence that the adipose tissue not only produces free fatty acids that contribute to insulin resistance, but also acts as a relevant endocrine organ producing mediators (adipokines) that can modulate insulin signalling. The identification of the molecular pathophysiological mechanisms of insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes is essential for the development of novel and more effective therapies to better treat our patients with insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes.
Absorptive Capacity and Productivity Spillovers from FDI: A Threshold Regression Analysis*
Authors: Girma Sourafel
Published: May 2005

This paper explores whether the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on productivity growth is dependent on absorptive capacity using recently developed threshold regression techniques. In manufacturing sectors where technology‐exploiting multinationals are prevalent, the results point to the presence of nonlinear threshold effects: the productivity benefit from FDI increases with absorptive capacity until some threshold level beyond which it becomes less pronounced. But there is also a minimum absorptive capacity threshold level below which productivity spillovers from FDI are negligible or even negative. On the contrary, no evidence of productivity spillovers is found in sectors where FDI appears to be motivated by technology‐sourcing considerations.
The Impact of Short‐ and Long‐run Exchange Rate Uncertainty on Investment: A Panel Study of Industrial Countries*
Authors: Byrne Joseph P. , Philip Davis E.
Published: May 2005

We examine the relationship between aggregate investment and exchange rate uncertainty in the G7, using panel estimation and decomposition of volatility derived from the components generalized autoregressive conditionally heteroscedastic (GARCH) model. Our dynamic panel approach takes account of potential cross‐sectional heterogeneity, which can lead to bias in estimation. We find that for a poolable subsample of European countries, it is the transitory and not the permanent component of volatility which adversely affects investment. To the extent that short‐run uncertainty in the CGARCH model characterizes higher frequency shocks generated by volatile short‐term capital flows, these are most deleterious for investment.
Globalization vs. Europeanization: A Business Cycles Race*
Authors: Bovi Maurizio
Published: May 2005

This paper examines the relative cyclical affiliation in six industrialized economies. While the broad conclusions are consistent with the existing literature, the proposed empirical framework is not based on correlations and permits the analysis of relative groupwise synchronization under very few assumptions. The results allow us to conclude that an English‐speaking club (Canada, UK, USA) is emerging in the last decades, whereas explicit and formal commitments seem to have had a relatively weaker power in determining Euro‐zone (France, Germany, Italy) business cycle comovements. Altogether, the business cycle race is a cause for concern as regards the entry of the UK into the Euro‐zone.
Partial Horizontal Inequity Orderings: A Non‐parametric Approach*
Authors: Rodríguez Juan Gabriel , Salas Rafael , Perrote Irene
Published: May 2005

We provide a partial ordering view of horizontal inequity (HI), based on the Lorenz criterion, associated with different post‐tax income distributions and a (bistochastic) non‐parametric estimated benchmark distribution. As a consequence, several measures consistent with the Lorenz criterion can be rationalized. In addition, we establish the so‐called HI transfer principle, which imposes a normative minimum requirement that any HI measure must satisfy. Our proposed HI ordering is consistent with this principle. Moreover, we adopt a cardinal view to decompose the total effect of a tax system into a welfare gain caused by HI‐free income redistribution and a welfare loss caused by HI, without any additive decomposable restriction on the indices. Hence, more robust tests can be applied. Other decompositions in the literature are seen as particular cases.
Cross‐sectional Dependency and Size Distortion in a Small‐sample Homogeneous Panel Data Unit Root Test*
Authors: Jönsson Kristian
Published: May 2005

In this paper, we investigate the effects of cross‐sectional disturbance correlation in a homogeneous panel data unit root test. As reported by other authors, the unit root test has incorrect size in the presence of cross‐sectional correlation. We suggest that a previously known estimator can be used to reduce the size distortions. We supply response surface estimates for critical values and study the size characteristics of the proposed test. We find that the suggested estimator performs well in small‐sample homogeneous panel data unit root tests. The reduction in size distortion comes at a small cost of lower power against a stationary alternative.
Panel LM Unit‐root Tests with Level Shifts*
Authors: Im Kyung‐So , Lee Junsoo , Tieslau Margie
Published: May 2005

This paper proposes a new panel unit‐root test based on the Lagrangian multiplier (LM) principle. We show that the asymptotic distribution of the new panel LM test is not affected by the presence of structural shifts. This result holds under a mild condition that N/T→k, where k is any finite constant. Our simulation study shows that the panel LM unit‐root test is not only robust to the presence of structural shifts, but is more powerful than the popular Im, Pesaran and Shin (IPS) test. We apply our new test to the purchasing power parity (PPP) hypothesis and find strong evidence for PPP.
Perceived benefits and costs of romantic relationships for women and men: Implications for exchange theory
Authors: SEDIKIDES CONSTANTINE , OLIVER MARY BETH , CAMPBELL W. KEITH
Published: May 2005

This investigation examined the perceived benefits and costs of romantic (i.e., reciprocal dating) relationships. In Study 1, subjects provided open‐ended reports regarding the benefits and costs associated with romantic involvement. Different groups of subjects ranked (Study 2) and rated (Study 3) these benefits and costs for importance. Companionship, happiness, and feeling loved or loving another were among the most important benefits accompanying romantic involvement. The most serious costs included stress and worry about the relationship, social and nonsocial sacrifices, and increased dependence on the partner. Compared to males, females regarded intimacy, self‐growth, self‐understanding, and positive self‐esteem as more important benefits, and regarded loss of identity and innocence about relationships and love as more important costs Alternatively, males regarded sexual gratification as a more important benefit, and monetary losses as a more serious cost than did females Implications for exchange theory are highlighted.
Reliability and stability of adult attachment patterns
Authors: SCHARFE ELAINE , BARTHOLOMEW KIM
Published: May 2005

A basic premise of attachment theory is that internal models of attachment remain relatively stable across the life span. We examined stability and change in adult attachment representations over 8 months in a sample of young adults (N = 144; Mean age = 24.5 years). Attachment patterns were assessed by categorical and continuous ratings across three methods—self‐report ratings, expert ratings based on semi‐structured interviews, and reports of romantic partners—and showed moderate stability. Interview ratings tended to show higher stability than self‐report ratings. Changes in attachment ratings (across methods) were not consistently related to life events that had occurred in the intervening 8 months. The relationship between reliability and stability was discussed, and where the “true” stability could be estimated independent of unreliability, it was found to be very high (r's ranging from .72 to .96). The results highlight the importance of using multiple indicators in assessing adult attachment and using continuous rather than categorical ratings in the assessment of stability.
Gender and working models of attachment: Consequences for perceptions of self and romantic relationships
Authors: PIETROMONACO PAULA R. , CARNELLEY KATHERINE B.
Published: May 2005

Several theorists have proposed that differential socialization experiences lead men and women to differ in the importance they assign to relationships and in how they interpret and respond to relationships. To explore this idea, this study examined whether men and women who reported similar attachment experiences responded differently to information about the same kind of relationship. Men and women with secure, preoccupied, or avoidant models of attachment imagined themselves in a relationship with a hypothetical partner who displayed secure, preoccupied, or avoidant behavior. As predicted, avoidant men and preoccupied women, whose attachment models exaggerated gender‐role stereotypes, expressed the most negativity toward themselves and the relationship. Women also were more likely than men to apply specific information about the imagined relationship to general beliefs about their own relationships. In addition, men and women whose attachment models matched the partner's behavior responded more favorably to the relationship if they both expressed security, but less favorably if they both expressed avoidance. Findings for gender and partner matching closely paralleled those for couples in long‐term relationships and support the idea that the meaning and consequences of attachment models must be considered within the context of gender roles.
Perceptions of marital interaction and change during pregnancy: A typological approach
Authors: FITZPATRICK MARY ANNE , VANGELISTI ANITA L. , FIRMAN SUSAN M.
Published: May 2005

Much of the literature on the transition to parenthood suggests that pregnancy and childbirth arc associated with decreases in marital satisfaction. Recent developments, however, demonstrate that this decrease in couples' satisfaction may be complicated by a number of factors. Among other things, the way couples interact may play a central role in their adjustment to the changes typically associated with pregnancy and childbirth. The purpose of this study was to examine whether couples who espouse varying patterns of interaction also have differing experiences of changes in marital needs and concerns during pregnancy. Couples (N= 190) enrolled in childbirth classes completed a series of questionnaires including Fitzpatrick's Relational Dimensions Instrument and a measure assessing perceived changes in their marital needs and concerns. Results indicated that husbands and wives differed in terms of the amount of nurturance they felt they gave and received, their tendency to worry since pregnancy, and their views concerning their sexual relationship. When changes in needs and concerns were compared across the various couple types, a number of patterns emerged. Wives in Traditional, Separate/Traditional, and Separate/Independent marriages felt they received significantly more nurturance since pregnancy than did wives in Independent marriages. Husbands in Separate/Traditional relationships noted greater increases in worrying than did other husbands. Finally, although couples varied in the frequency of conflict reported, they did not differ with regard to changes in conflict or the influence of such changes on their marriages.
A developmental model of decisions to withhold relational irritations in romantic relationships
Authors: CLOVEN DENISE HAUNANI , ROLOFF MICHAEL E.
Published: May 2005

Intimacy in romantic relationships is argued to influence both the outcomes of decisions about whether to withhold relational irritations from partners and the role of various conflict avoidance motives in these decisions. A study of college students involved in dating relationships revealed a curvilinear association between perceptions of intimacy and the frequency of decisions to withhold irritations. Specifically, intimacy was negatively correlated with the proportion of Unexpressed irritations across low and average levels of intimacy; however, intimacy was unrelated to decisions to withhold irritations across higher levels of intimacy. Length of involvement in a relationship was negatively correlated with the proportion of unexpressed irritations within relatively non intimate relationships only. Finally, the effect of three conflict avoidance motives on decisions to withhold irritations varied with the perceived intimacy of relationships. In particular, reporting a lack of intimacy in the relationship as a reason for withholding irritations was positively correlated with the proportion of unexpressed irritations when intimacy was low, but negatively correlated with the proportion of unexpressed irritations when level of emotional commitment was high. In contrast, reporting either fear of consequences or the lack of importance of the problem as motives for withholding irritations was unrelated to the proportion of unexpressed irritations when intimacy was low, but was positively Correlated with withholding when intimacy was high. These results suggest that the phenomenological experience of conflict management decisions changes in substance throughout the life of the romantic relationship.
The measurement of Friendship‐based Love in intimate relationships
Authors: GROTE NANCY KROPP , FRIEZE IRENE HANSON
Published: May 2005

Friendship‐based Love (FBL) in intimate relationships may be defined as a comfortable, affectionate, trusting love for a likable partner, based on a deep sense of friendship and involving companionship and the enjoyment of common activities, mutual interests, and shared laughter. Theoretical derivation of the FBL concept is described, along with two versions of a new scale for its measurement. Two studies of the characteristics of Friendship‐based Love with middle‐aged married adults (N = 622) and dating young adults (N = 201) indicated that this type of love characterized the intimate relationships of both samples and was significantly and positively related to relationship satisfaction and to a variety of relationship characteristics. Discriminating comparisons of the FBL scale (both versions) with a revised measure of erotic love, with a revised measure of ludic or game‐playing love with a variety of partners, and with Passionate Love also were conducted. Both versions of the Friendship‐based Love scale showed substantial convergent and discriminant validity on the basis of correlational evidence (Studies 1 and 2), on multitrait‐monomethod validity criteria (Study l), and via the method of contrasted groups (Studies 1 and 2).
Attachment style, communication patterns, and satisfaction across the life cycle of marriage
Authors: FEENEY JUDITH A.
Published: May 2005

Questionnaire measures of attachment, communication patterns, and relationship satisfaction were administered to 361 married couples, sampled across the life cycle of marriage. Individuals who were secure in attachment (defined in terms of comfort with closeness and low anxiety over relationships) tended to be paired with secure spouses. Security of attachment was associated with one's own relationship satisfaction, although husbands' satisfaction was related primarily to the anxiety dimension. The most consistent effect of partners' attachment was an inverse relationship between wives' anxiety and husbands' satisfaction. The negative effect of wives' anxiety on perceived relationship satisfaction (for both partners) was evident primarily for couples in which husbands were uncomfortable with closeness. The association between attachment dimensions and relationship satisfaction was largely mediated by communication patterns for wives, but only partially mediated by communication patterns for husbands; for both husbands and wives, a measure of mutually constructive communication emerged as the strongest correlate of satisfaction. These findings were generally consistent across the life cycle of marriage, and they are important in clarifying the nature of the link between attachment and satisfaction in a broad sample.
Cultural and ethnic influences on love and attachment
Authors: DOHERTY R. WILLIAM , HATFIELD ELAINE , THOMPSON KARI , CHOO PATRICIA
Published: May 2005

Recently, theorists have begun to speculate about the nature of passionate and companionate love. Evolutionary psychologists have tended to emphasize the pan‐cultural nature of passionate love. Historians have stressed the fact that, in different historical eras, people's attitudes toward love, sex, and intimacy have varied widely. Cross‐cultural researchers contend that, even today, societies differ greatly in their attitudes toward love. In this study, 124 men and 184 women from four ethnic backgrounds were asked if they were currently in love and how passionately and companionately in love they were. The four groups differed, as predicted, in their general orientations toward life. European‐Americans were the most individualistic, Japanese‐Americans and Pacific Islanders were intermediate in individualism/collectivism, and Chinese‐Americans were the most collectivist. Nonetheless, in the specific area of love, the various American ethnic groups did not differ significantly in the likelihood of being in love, nor in the intensity of the passionate love (PL) or companionate love (CL) they felt. In all ethnic groups, men's and women's adult attachment styles predicted romantic feelings and experiences. The anxious were the most likely to be in a love relationship, and they scored the highest on the PL scale; avoidants scored lowest. The secure scored the highest on the CL scale; avoidants scored the lowest.
Attachment style in married couples: Relation to current marital functioning, stability over time, and method of assessment
Authors: FULLER TAMARA L. , FINCHAM FRANK D.
Published: May 2005

We examined several aspects of attachment in marriage, including the association among attachment style, mental models of the spouse, satisfaction, affect regulation within the marriage, the stability of attachment style, and its operationalization. Fifty‐three married couples completed initial assessments, and 44 participated in a 24‐month follow‐up. Attachment style was related to positive and negative affect immediately preceding a potentially stressful event and to the mental model of the spouse. Approximately 35% of the subjects changed their attachment style rating over a 2‐year period; later attachment style was related to changes in mental models of the spouse. Categorical and dimensional measures of attachment style did not yield equivalent results. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed.
Adult attachment styles and mothers' relationships with their young children
Authors: RHOLES WILLIAM S. , SIMPSON JEFFRY A. , BLAKELY BARBARA S.
Published: May 2005

This research examined the relationship between adult attachment styles and mothers' feelings of closeness to their children, mothers' interaction styles in a teaching situation, individual differences in the desire to have children, and the concerns individuals have about their ability to relate to young children as parents. Investigation 1 revealed that more avoidant mothers did not feel as close to their preschool children as did more secure mothers, and they behaved less supportively toward their children during a laboratory teaching task. Anxious‐ambivalence was also associated with feelings of less closeness, but the level of closeness achieved depended on marital quality. Investigation 2 showed that more avoidant college men and women, compared to secure ones, were more uncertain about their capacity to relate to young children and about whether they wanted to have children. Highly ambivalent men and women reported being more uncertain about their capacity to function well as parents, but ambivalence was not related to the strength of the desire to have children. These findings are discussed in the context of attachment theory.
Gender differences and similarities in sex and love
Authors: HENDRICK SUSAN S. , HENDRICK CLYDE
Published: May 2005

One's attitudes toward love and sexuality are influenced by many factors, including gender. To explore the role of gender (and other variables) in participants' attitudinal orientations toward love and sexuality, data were collected in the United States at three time points (1988, 1992, 1993), resulting in a total sample of 1,090 participants. Data analyses showed gender differences in both sexual attitudes and love. Men were more sexually permissive than women (consistent with previous research), although women and men similarly endorsed other aspects of sexuality, including sex as an emotional experience. Men and women differed on several relationship variables (e.g., women were more oriented to friendship‐based love, and men to game‐playing love). However, correlational analyses showed many similar patterns for women and men. These findings underline the need to consider both gender differences and similarities in sex and love within intimate relationships.
The effect of nonindependence on significance testing in dyadic research
Authors: KENNY DAVID A.
Published: May 2005

Relationship researchers regularly gather data from both members of the dyad, and these two scores are likely to be correlated. This nonindependence of observations can bias p values in significance testing if person is the unit in the statistical analysis. A method for determining how much bias results from dyadic interdependence is presented. Correction factors based on the degree of interdependence, design type, and the number of dyads are used to adjust the F statistic and its degrees of freedom to produce a corrected p value. Bias depends on the type of design and the degree of nonindependence, while the number of dyads in the study ordinarily has only a small effect on bias. Various strategies for controlling for nonindependence are briefly reviewed.
Assessment of relationship thinking in dating relationships
Authors: CATE RODNEY M. , KOVAL JAMES , LLOYD SALLY A. , WILSON GREGORY
Published: May 2005

In a series of five studies a method of assessing relationship thinking and its role in close relationship dynamics was developed. These studies were carried out with college students who responded to questionnaires. Studies 1 and 2 focused on identifying items representing the content and frequency of relationship thinking about participants' present dating relationships. Studies 3 and 4 examined personal characteristics, general relationship schema, and subjective conditions that were related to relationship thinking. Study 5 identified the ability of relationship thinking to predict individuals' perceptions of an interaction with their partners. Results uncovered three types of relationship thinking: partner, positive affect, and network. Relationship thinking was related in expected ways to several personal characteristics, subjective conditions, and general relationship schema. Relationship thinking was predictive of perceptions of distress‐maintaining and relationship‐enhancing interactions with the dating partners. The findings suggest increased attention to the social cognitive aspects of close relationships.
The effects of social support on adjustment to stress: The mediating role of coping
Authors: TERRY DEBORAH J. , RAWLE RICHARD , CALLAN VICTOR J.
Published: May 2005

The present research tested Thoits' (1986) proposal that coping mediates in the relationship between social support and adjustment to stress in two different contexts, namely adjustment to work stress and women's adjustment to the birth of their first child. The research was also designed to examine whether sources of support are more likely to influence coping if they are similar to the support recipient or proximal to the source of stress. In the first study, 137 employees from a large retail organization participated. Measures of social support (from supervisor, work colleagues, nonwork network members) and coping were obtained at Time 1. Two weeks later (Time 2), measures of employee adjustment were obtained. The second study was conducted on 197 expectant mothers. The measures of social support (from partner, family members, nonfamily members) were obtained at Time 1, coping was assessed at Time 2, and adjustment (self‐report and husband ratings) was assessed at Time 3. Results of structural equation analyses revealed, in the first study, that the effects of colleague support on levels of adjustment were mediated through coping responses. In contrast, the effects of supervisor support on adjustment (job satisfaction) were direct. In Study 2, there was evidence that the effects of partner support on women's adjustment to new parenthood were mediated through coping responses. In contrast, levels of family support had direct effects on self‐reported and external measures of adjustment.
Caregiving in the close relationships of cardiac patients: Exchange, power, and attributional perspectives on caregiver resentment
Authors: THOMPSON SUZANNE C. , MEDVENE LOUIS J. , FREEDMAN DEBRA
Published: May 2005

Individuals with a cardiac condition and their spousal caregivers were recruited from cardiac rehabilitation centers and interviewed separately. Based on exchange theory, it was expected that greater caregiver resentment would be associated with feeling underbenefited in the relationship and with an orientation to relationships that did not focus on the needs of the partner (communal), but did focus on “tit‐for‐tat” reciprocity (exchange). It was also expected that those caregivers who were more likely to get their needs satisfied in the relationship before the cardiac incident would be more resentful at giving care. Finally, based on attributional theory, it was predicted that caregivers who thought that their spouses were not taking responsibility for improving their health would be more resentful. As predicted, more resentful caregivers were those who felt underbenefited, were more exchange oriented, and judged that their partners were not working toward improving their health. In addition, only those with a low communal orientation toward their spouse showed a relationship between feeling underbenefited and resentment. The needs centrality prediction was not supported. The findings illustrate the utility of applying theories developed in the close relationship area to the understanding of caregiving with chronically ill populations.
Adult attachment and emotional control
Authors: FEENEY JUDITH A.
Published: May 2005

The connection between attachment style and affect regulation, proposed by attachment theorists, was explored in the context of long‐term dating relationships. Seventy‐two couples completed questionnaire measures of attachment (using a four‐group forced‐choice item, together with scales tapping Comfort with closeness, and Anxiety over relationships) and emotional control (in which subjects rated own and partner's control of anger, sadness, and anxiety, and the extent to which partners wanted them to control these emotions). Couples in which both partners endorsed insecure attachment styles (using the forced‐choice measure) reported greater emotional control than did couples with two secure partners. Data from the attachment scales also supported the link between insecure attachment and emotional control: Comfort with closeness was negatively related both to one's own emotional control and to perceptions that partners wanted subjects to control their sadness; Anxiety over relationships was associated with perceptions that partners controlled sadness and wanted subjects to control their anger and sadness. The link between insecure attachment and the control of negative emotion remained significant when the frequency of experiencing such emotion was controlled. The association between attachment dimensions and other responses to negative emotions was also explored, and was consistent with attachment theory.
Relations between parent–child affect and synchrony and cognitive outcome at 5 years of age
Authors: KIRSH STEVEN J. , CRNIC KEITH A. , GREENBERG MARK T.
Published: May 2005

This investigation involved the longitudinal assessment of 30 preterm and 39 full‐term infants from 2 to 5 years of age. Measures of cognitive outcome at 2 and 5 years of age and mother‐child dyadic synchrony and affect during free‐play interaction were obtained at 5 years of age. Correlational and regression analyses indicated that 5‐year cognitive outcome was predicted by 2‐year cognitive status, mother education, and 5‐year dyadic interaction. In addition, 5‐year maternal positive affect contributed independently to children's cognitive status at age 5, above and beyond the contributions of early cognitive status and maternal education. Also, affect and synchrony interacted in predicting lower cognitive abilities. Findings are discussed in relation to the importance of maternal affect and synchronous interactions in transactional explanations of development during early childhood.
Gender effects on social support provision and receipt
Authors: MICKELSON KRISTIN D. , HELGESON VICKI S. , WEINER ERICA
Published: May 2005

This study was conducted to examine the influence of gender on social support provision and receipt using both self‐report and observational methodologies. In response to another person sharing a problem, we predicted that men would be more likely than women to provide advice, and women would be more likely than men to provide emotional support. We also predicted women would be more likely than men to receive emotional support, and men would be more likely than women to receive negative support. Sixty‐one pairs of college students, same‐sex and mixed‐sex dyads, shared a problem with each other. Problem‐sharing transactions were audiotaped and transcribed for content analysis. Opposite‐sex providers offered more emotional support than did same‐sex providers, whereas same‐sex providers listened more than did opposite‐sex providers. No gender differences were found for advice‐giving. Men were more likely than women to receive negative support. These results suggest that gender composition of the dyad has a greater influence on support provision and receipt than provider or recipient gender alone.
The effect of relational stage and intimacy on touch: An extension of Guerrero and Andersen
Authors: EMMERS TARA M. , DINDIA KATHRYN
Published: May 2005

The effects of relational stage, intimacy, and gender on touch were examined. Participants were 270 partners from 135 couples involved in a heterosexual romantic relationship. Results indicated that touch varies as a function of relational stage. An examination of relational stage and subjects' perceptions of how much they touched their partner and how much their partner touched them generally indicated an asymptotic relationship. Specifically, men's and women's perceptions of how much they touched their partners, and women's perceptions of how much their partners touched them, increased from the casually dating to the seriously dating stage and then leveled off for seriously dating, engaged, and married couples. Men's perceptions of how much their partners touched them increased from the casually dating to the seriously dating stage then decreased from the seriously dating to the married stage. Relational intimacy was also curvilinearly related to self and partner perceptions of touch. Because there were no significant interaction effects between stage and gender, or intimacy and gender, the curvilinear effects of relational stage and intimacy on touch are generalizable to both men and women.
Gossip in same‐gender and cross‐gender friends' conversations
Authors: LEAPERAND CAMPBELL , HOLLIDAY HEITHRE
Published: May 2005

Gossip initiations and listener responses were examined in conversations between 25 female‐female, 19 male‐male and 24 female‐male pairs of friends. Participants were 18 to 21 years of age (mean age = 19) and had known one another at least 2 months (mean length = 24 months). Transcribed tape recordings of 5–minute unstructured conversations were analyzed for gossip initiations (evalutive comments about a familiar third person) and gossip responses (discouraging, neutral, mildly encouraging, moderately encouraging, highly encouraging). Overall, encouraging responses were more likely than discouraging or neutral responses. Group differences were also observed. Negative gossip was more likely to occur between female pairs than between male pairs or cross‐gender pairs. Also, among female pairs only, negative gossip was more likely than positive gossip. Furthermore, the female pairs tended to respond to evaluative gossip with highly encouraging comments. There were no gender differences within the cross‐gender pairs associated with any behaviors. The findings suggest that women may be more likely than men to use and encourage gossip in same‐gender friendships in order to establish solidarity and make social comparisons.
On the instability of attachment style ratings
Authors: BALDWIN MARK W. , FEHR BEVERLEY
Published: May 2005

We examined the stability of ratings on the Hazan and Shaver (1987) single‐item attachment style scale in a number of data sets, gathered by us and other researchers. Approximately 30% of subjects overall changed their attachment style classifications over a relatively short time span (ranging from 1 week to several months). The highest rate of instability was observed in subjects who classified themselves as anxious‐ambivalent–the majority of whom changed their ratings from one time to the next. Given these findings, we explore the methodological and conceptual implications of instability in attachment style ratings. With regard to the former, we question the current practice of selecting subjects for participation in research based on responses to the attachment style questionnaire administered on a different occasion. Our findings suggest that a substantial proportion would change their style rating in the interim. In terms of conceptualization, we examine a number of different explanations for the observed instability and propose that it may reflect variability in the underlying construct, rather than a lack of continuity in style or unreliability of measurement. From this perspective, an individual's response to an attachment style questionnaire reflects the relational schema that is activated at that moment, rather than an enduring general disposition or trait. Stability in ratings is therefore neither assumed nor expected.
The role of sexual attitude similarity in romantic heterosexual relationships
Authors: CUPACH WILLIAM R. , METTS SANDRA
Published: May 2005

This investigation explored the role of sexual attitude similarity in sexually involved romantic couples. Findings indicate that sexual attitudes of partners are positively correlated, and that partners exhibit significantly greater levels of similarity than randomly generated couples. Similarity in sexual attitudes did not vary as a function of length of relationship or length of sexual involvement. Gender differences were evident in the correlations between certain types of sexual attitudes and the four indicators of relationship quality: sexual satisfaction, relational satisfaction, commitment, and sexual communication satisfaction. In addition, sexual communication satisfaction mediated the effect of sexual attitude similarity on both males' and females' sexual satisfaction.
Sexual jealousy in the relationships of homosexual and heterosexual men: 1980 and 1992
Authors: BRINGLE ROBERT G.
Published: May 2005

Relationship characteristics, levels of anticipated sexual jealousy, and correlates of anticipated sexual jealousy were compared for heterosexual and homosexual men sampled from 1980 and 1992. Homosexual and heterosexual relationships were similar on relationship involvement, but homosexual (vs. heterosexual) respondents indicated lower levels of experiencing and expressing sexual jealousy, less exclusive relationships, higher levels of extradyadic sexual relations by their partners, larger number of relationships, and relationships of shorter duration. Cohort comparisons indicated that both groups of men in 1992 (vs. 1980) had higher levels of experiencing and expressing jealousy caused by the partner's extradyadic sexual behavior, more exclusive romantic relationships, fewer relationships, and relationships of longer duration. These changes suggest a transition in men's relationships that may be related to the increase in sexually transmitted diseases in general and AIDS in particular.
Gender and sexual standards in dating relationships
Authors: BETTOR LAURA , HENDRICK SUSAN S. , HENDRICK CLYDE
Published: May 2005

This study explored the current status of sexual standards for dating relationships. A sample of 148 male and 148 female U.S. college students read a brief vignette describing a couple, Bob and Cathy, who were involved in either a causal or serious romantic/sexual relationship. Subjects then completed several scales as they thought Bob or Cathy would have answered them. The measures included love attitudes, sexual attitudes, and items on dating and marriage desirability. The study was a 2 (gender of subject) × 2 (gender of target) × 2 (casual vs. serious relationship) factorial design. Perception of a casual or serious relationship affected the love attitudes, sexual attitudes, and dating and marriage desirability attributed to the stimulus person. There were few effects for gender of the stimulus person or gender of the subject. The data suggest that relationship context is extremely important in evaluating sexual activity.