Kelly R. Rossetto

Bio: Kelly R. Rossetto is an academic researcher from Boston College. The author has contributed to research in topics: Coping (psychology) & Grief. The author has an hindex of 12, co-authored 19 publications receiving 855 citations. Previous affiliations of Kelly R. Rossetto include Boise State University & University of Texas at Austin.

A meta-analysis of disclosure of one's HIV-positive status, stigma and social support

Abstract: This study provides an analysis of the relationships among perceived stigma, reported disclosure and perceived social support for those living with HIV. The meta-analytic summary of 21 studies (4,104 participants) showed, as predicted, a positive, heterogeneous correlation between disclosure and social support (ŕ = .159), a negative, heterogeneous correlation between stigma and social support (ŕ = -.344) and a negative, homogenous correlation between stigma and disclosure (ŕ = -.189). The heterogeneity of the first two relationships indicates the presence of moderators, which may include participants' age and publications' year.

Qualitative research interviews Assessing the therapeutic value and challenges

Abstract: This essay explores a question crucial to the role of qualitative researchers: Is there therapeutic value in the research interview process? I use interviewees’ responses to participating in in-depth interviews, along with a discussion of theoretical and empirical research, to build and evidence an argument that the qualitative research interview (QRI) process can be therapeutic and should be acknowledged as such. Challenges to researchers and ideas for strengthening the value of QRIs are discussed.

A qualitative analysis of on-again/off-again romantic relationships: “It’s up and down, all around”

Abstract: Although relational research predominantly conceptualizes romantic relationships as either together or apart, some relationships break up and renew (i.e., on-again/off-again relationships). Partners’ accounts of on-again/off-again relational experiences were qualitatively analyzed to explore both reasons for breakups and reasons for renewals. Themes were interpreted within an interdependence framework to explain why partners dissolved as well as renewed their relationships. The themes in combination suggest renewals occurred due to dissatisfying experiences with alternative relationship partners and an increase in outcomes (i.e., rewards minus costs) after breakups. Partners’ post-dissolution contact and their uncertainty about relational status may have further facilitated renewals. More generally, the themes suggest, for on-again/ off-again partners, breakups did not indicate the end of interdependence but rather a redefinition of the relationship.

The meaning of surviving cancer for Latino adolescents and emerging young adults.

Abstract: Adolescent and young adult (AYA) survivors of cancer are an understudied population with unique developmental and medical needs that extend well beyond their active treatment. Survivors diagnosed as AYAs may experience both physical and emotional late effects. In particular, the experiences of Latino cancer survivors have not been explored. The purpose of this study was to conduct interviews with AYA Latino cancer survivors to inform professionals working with these survivors. A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was selected based on the focus on experiences and meanings of Latino adolescents' cancer survivorship. Phenomenology allows for understanding the subjective meaning and lived experience of populations that are understudied or marginalized. In-depth interviews were conducted with participants. Enrolled in the study were Latino AYAs between the ages of 14 and 21 years, after treatment. Interviews revealed 7 themes regarding the experience and meaning of survivorship for this population: gratitude, humor/positive attitude, empathy for younger children with cancer, God and faith, cancer happens for a reason/cancer changed my life, familial support, and staff relationships. Latino AYA cancer survivors develop meaning out of unique cancer experiences. Programs need to be developed specifically to address Latino adolescents and young adult survivors of cancer.

Death on Facebook: Examining the roles of social media communication for the bereaved

Abstract: Although research has highlighted potential benefits social media sites present for the bereaved (Carroll & Landry, 2010; Sanderson & Cheong, 2010), there is also the potential for problematic effects (Kern, Forman, & Gil-Egui, 2013). This study examines the ways in which the social networking site Facebook was helpful and unhelpful to participants (N = 265) when someone they knew died. Analysis of 454 thought units revealed three themes describing participants’ experiences with communication on Facebook during bereavement: news dissemination, preservation, and community. The results suggest that Facebook communication is both beneficial and challenging for bereaved users, which may produce a coping paradox. Implications of grief-related mediated communication and the coping paradox are explored.

The Social Psychology of Groups

Abstract: The Social Psychology of Groups. J. W Thibaut & H. H. Kelley. New York: alley, 1959. The team of Thibaut and Kelley goes back to 1946 when, after serving in different units of the armed services psychology program, the authors joined the Research Center for Group Dynamics, first at M.LT and then at the University of Michigan. Their continued association eventuated in appointments as fellows at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, 19561957. It is during these years that their collaboration resulted in the publication of The Social Psychology of Groups. The book was designed to "bring order and coherence to present-day research in interpersonal relations and group functioning." To accomplish this aim, the authors introduced, defined, and illustrated basic concepts in an effort to explain the simplest of social phenomena, the two-person relationship. These basic principles and concepts were then employed to illuminate larger problems and more complex social relationships and to examine the significance of such concepts as roles, norm, power, group cohesiveness, and status. The lasting legacy of this book is derived from the fact that the concepts and principles discussed therein serve as a foundation for one of the dominant conceptual frameworks in the field of family studies today-the social exchange framework. Specifically, much of our contemporary thinking about the process of interpersonal attraction and about how individuals evaluate their close relationships has been influenced by the theory and concepts introduced in The Social Psychology of Groups. Today, as a result of Thibaut and Kelley, we think of interpersonal attraction as resulting from the unique valence of driving and restraining forces, rewards and costs, subjectively thought to be available from a specific relationship and its competing alternatives. We understand, as well, that relationships are evaluated through complex and subjectively based comparative processes. As a result, when we think about assessing the degree to which individuals are satisfied with their relationships, we take into consideration the fact that individuals differ in terms of the importance they attribute to different aspects of a relationship (e.g., financial security, sexual fulfillment, companionship). We also take into consideration the fact that individuals differ in terms of the levels of rewards and costs that they believe are realistically obtainable and deserved from a relationship. In addition, as a result of Thibaut and Kelley's theoretical focus on the concept of dependence and the interrelationship between attraction and dependence, there has evolved within the field of family studies a deeper appreciation for the complexities and variability found within relationships. Individuals are dependent on their relationships, according to Thibaut and Kelley, when the outcomes derived from the existing relationship exceed those perceived to be available in competing alternatives. Individuals who are highly dependent on their relationships are less likely to act to end their relationships. This dependence and the stability it engenders may or may not be voluntary, depending on the degree to which individuals are attracted to and satisfied with their relationships. When individuals are both attracted to and dependent on their relationships, they can be thought of as voluntarily participating in their relationship. That is, they are likely to commit themselves to the partner and relationship and actively work for its continuance. Thibaut and Kelley termed those relationships characterized by low levels of satisfaction and high levels of dependence "nonvoluntary relationships. …

A Handbook for the Study of Mental Health: Social Contexts, Theories, and Systems

Abstract: We test whether significant differences in mental illness exist in a matched sample of Mental illness and the criminal justice system. In T. L. Scheid T. N. Brown (Eds.), A handbook for the study of mental health: Social contexts, theories. Find 9780521567633 A Handbook for the Study of Mental Health : Social Contexts, Theories, and Systems by Horwitz et al at over 30 bookstores. Buy, rent. A review of mental health problems in fathers following the birth of a child. for the study of mental health:Social contexts, theories, and systems (2nd ed., pp.

Impact of HIV-related stigma on treatment adherence: systematic review and meta-synthesis

Abstract: Introduction: Adherence to HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a critical determinant of HIV-1 RNA viral suppression and health outcomes. It is generally accepted that HIV-related stigma is correlated with factors that may undermine ART adherence, but its relationship with ART adherence itself is not well established. We therefore undertook this review to systematically assess the relationship between HIV-related stigma and ART adherence. Methods: We searched nine electronic databases for published and unpublished literature, with no language restrictions. First we screened the titles and abstracts for studies that potentially contained data on ARTadherence.Then we reviewed the full text of these studies to identify articles that reported data on the relationship between ARTadherence and either HIV-related stigma or serostatus disclosure. We used the method of meta-synthesis to summarize the findings from the qualitative studies. Results: Our search protocol yielded 14,854 initial records. After eliminating duplicates and screening the titles and abstracts, we retrieved the full text of 960 journal articles, dissertations and unpublished conference abstracts for review. We included 75 studies conducted among 26,715 HIV-positive persons living in 32 countries worldwide, with less representation of work from Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Among the 34 qualitative studies, our meta-synthesis identified five distinct third-order labels through an inductive process that we categorized as themes and organized in a conceptual model spanning intrapersonal, interpersonal and structural levels. HIV-related stigma undermined ART adherence by compromising general psychological processes, such as adaptive coping and social support.We also identified psychological processes specific to HIV-positive persons driven by predominant stigmatizing attitudes and which undermined adherence, such as internalized stigma and concealment. Adaptive coping and social support were critical determinants of participants' ability to overcome the structural and economic barriers associated with poverty in order to successfully adhere to ART. Among the 41 quantitative studies, 24 of 33 cross-sectional studies (71%) reported a positive finding between HIV stigma and ART non-adherence, while 6 of 7 longitudinal studies (86%) reported a null finding (Pearson's x 2 7.7; p0.005). Conclusions: We found that HIV-related stigma compromised participants' abilities to successfully adhere to ART. Interventions to reduce stigma should target multiple levels of influence (intrapersonal, interpersonal and structural) in order to have maximum effectiveness on improving ART adherence.