Showing papers on "Interpersonal relationship published in 1994"

Guilt: An interpersonal approach.

Abstract: Multiple sets of empirical research findings on guilt are reviewed to evaluate the view that guilt should be understood as an essentially social phenomenon that happens between people as much as it happens inside them. Guilt appears to arise from interpersonal transactions (including transgressions and positive inequities) and to vary significantly with the interpersonal context. In particular, guilt patterns appear to be strongest, most common, and most consistent in the context of communal relationships, which are characterized by expectations of mutual concern. Guilt serves various relationship-enhancing functions, including motivating people to treat partners well and avoid transgressions, minimizing inequities and enabling less powerful partners to get their way, and redistributing emotional distress.

Sex differences in physical, verbal, and indirect aggression: A review of recent research

Abstract: In the present article, recent research on sex differences in aggressive styles is reviewed. The concept of indirect aggression is particularly presented and discussed. It is argued that it is incorrect, or rather, nonsensical, to claim that males are more aggressive than females. A theory regarding the development of styles of aggressive behavior is presented.

Measuring Friendship Quality During Pre- and Early Adolescence: The Development and Psychometric Properties of the Friendship Qualities Scale:

Abstract: The Friendship Qualities Scale is a theoretically grounded, multidimensional measurement instrument to assess the quality of children's and early adolescents' relationships with their best friends according to five conceptually meaningful aspects of the friendship relation. These dimensions are companionship, conflict, help/aid, security and closeness. A confirmatory factor analysis, used to evaluate the factor structure of this instrument, demonstrated that these scales represented distinct, but related, domains of friendship. Assessments of reliability indicated the high level of internal consistency within each dimension. The validity of the scale was indicated by the observation of higher ratings for (a) mutual friends than for non-mutual friends, and (b) for stable friends than for non-stable friends. These findings are discussed according to the theoretical and practical issues related to the measurement of friendship quality.

Health Education and Community Empowerment: Conceptualizing and Measuring Perceptions of Individual, Organizational, and Community Control

Abstract: The prevailing emphasis in health education is on understanding and changing life-style choices and individual health behaviors related to health status. Although such approaches are appropriate for some health problems, they often ignore the association between increased morbidity and mortality and social, structural, and physical factors in the environment, such as inadequate housing, poor sanitation, unemployment, exposure to toxic chemicals, occupational stress, minority status, powerlessness or alienation, and the lack of supportive interpersonal relationships. A conceptual model of the stress process incorporates the relationships among these environmental factors, powerlessness (or conversely empowerment), social support, and health status. The concept of empowerment has been examined in diverse academic disciplines and professional fields. However, there is still a lack of clarity on the conceptualization of empowerment at different levels of practice, including its measurement, relationship to health, and application to health education. The purpose of this article is to address these issues as they relate to the concept of community empowerment. It provides a definition of community empowerment that includes individual, organizational, and community levels of analysis; describes how empowerment fits within a broader conceptual model of stress and its relationship to health status; and examines a series of scales that measure perceptions of individual, organizational, community, and multiple levels of control. The article concludes with broad guidelines for and barriers to a community empowerment approach for health education practice.

Attachment style, gender, and relationship stability: a longitudinal analysis.

Abstract: Adult attachment styles in 354 heterosexual couples in serious dating relationships were examined. Principal findings included the following: (a) male and female attachment styles were nonrandomly paired, for example, no anxious-anxious or avoidant-avoidant pairs were found; (b) male and female styles related to concurrent relationship ratings of both partners in different but theoretically meaningful ways; (c) male and female styles contributed significantly to longitudinal prediction of relationship stability and status, even when prior duration and commitment to the relationship were statistically controlled; (d) specifically, relationships of avoidant men and of anxious women were surprisingly stable over 3 years, particularly in light of the relatively poor ratings of these relationships by both partners at Time 1. Discussion focuses on the need to integrate gender role considerations and relationship dynamics and processes into theorizing on adult attachment.

Interpersonal conflict during adolescence.

Abstract: Interpersonal conflict is considered within various frameworks of adolescent development. Conflict, defined as behavioral opposition, is distinguished from related constructs. Differences between adolescent relationships and across age groups are reviewed in the incidence and intensity, resolution, and outcome of conflict. Influences of setting on conflict behaviors and effects are emphasized. The evidence does not reveal dramatic shifts in conflict behavior as a function of age or maturation. Consistent differences do emerge, however, when adolescent relationships and conflict settings are considered. It is argued that a social relational model based on principles of interdependence and equity provides an alternative to psychoanalytic, sociobiological, and cognitive-developmental accounts of conflict behavior during adolescence.

Immediate and long-term impacts of child sexual abuse.

Abstract: Research conducted over the past decade indicates that a wide range of psychological and interpersonal problems are more prevalent among those who have been sexually abused than among individuals with no such experiences. Although a definitive causal relationship between such difficulties and sexual abuse cannot be established using current retrospective research methodologies, the aggregate of consistent findings in this literature has led many to conclude that childhood sexual abuse is a major risk factor for a variety of problems. This article summarizes what is currently known about these potential impacts of child sexual abuse. The various problems and symptoms described in the literature on child sexual abuse are reviewed in a series of broad categories including posttraumatic stress, cognitive distortions, emotional pain, avoidance, an impaired sense of self, and interpersonal difficulties. Research has demonstrated that the extent to which a given individual manifests abuse-related distress is a function of an undetermined number of abuse-specific variables, as well as individual and environmental factors that existed prior to, or occurred subsequent to, the incidents of sexual abuse.

Relations of social goal pursuit to social acceptance, classroom behavior, and perceived social support

Abstract: Relations of social goal pursuit to (a) social acceptance by teachers and peers, (b) prosocial and irresponsible classroom behavior, and (c) perceived support from teachers and peers were examined. Ss were 475 6th and 7th graders. Students' pursuit of academic prosocial goals (to help classmates with academic problems) was related positively to peer acceptance. Pursuit of academic responsibility goals (adhering to classroom rules) was related negatively to peer acceptance but positively to teacher acceptance. These findings reflected in part, significant relations between social goal pursuit and displays of social behavior. Perceived support from teachers and peers was also related positively to social goal pursuit, although findings differed as a function of type and source of support

Close emotional relationships in late life: Further support for proactive aging in the social domain.

Abstract: The idea that age-related reductions in network size are proactively managed by older people is explored by examining the interrelationships among chronological age, network composition, social support, and feelings of social embeddedness (FSE) in a representative sample of 156 community-dwelling and institutionalized adults ages 70-104 years. Comparisons between people with and without nuclear families are made to explore the influence of opportunity structures on network size. Social networks of very old people are nearly half as large as those of old people, but the number of very close relationships does not differentiate age groups. Among Ss without living nuclear family members, the number of emotionally close social partners predicted FSE better than among Ss with nuclear family members. Findings provide evidence for proactive selection, compensation, and optimization toward the goal of emotional enhancement and social functioning in old age.

Do Gestures Communicate? A Review

Abstract: (1994). Do Gestures Communicate? A Review. Research on Language and Social Interaction: Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 175-200.

Individuality and relatedness: Evolution of a fundamental dialectic.

Abstract: Western psychologies have traditionally given greater importance to self-development than to interpersonal relatedness, stressing the development of autonomy, independence, and identity as central factors in the mature personality. In contrast, women, many minority groups, and nonWestern societies have generally placed greater emphasis on issues of relatedness. This article traces the individualistic bias and recent challenges to this view. It is proposed that evolutionary pressures of natural selection result in two basic developmental lines: interpersonal relatedness and self-definition, which interact in a dialectical fashion. An increasingly mature sense of self is contingent on interpersonal relationships; conversely, the continued development of increasingly mature interpersonal relationships is contingent on mature self-definition. Conclusions include implications for social policy and for facilitating more balanced development of both dimensions in all members of society.

Abusive behavior in the workplace: a preliminary investigation.

Abstract: Dealing with hostile interpersonal relationships at work has been the topic of many popular books and workshops. Yet, with the exception of sexual harassment, there is surprisingly little mention in the organizational research literature on the nature, extent, and costs of abusive work interactions. These more frequent, more tolerated, and, thus, more damaging interpersonal interactions involve hostile verbal and nonverbal nonphysical behaviors directed by one or more persons towards another. The primary aim is to undermine the other to ensure compliance. In this study, we examined the extent to which students experienced nonsexual nonphysical abusive behavior on their jobs, the impact of this experience on job satisfaction, the characteristics of the actor and target, and responses to these behaviors, particularly turnover. The results indicate that although most of the students had very positive interactions at work, exposure to abusive behavior was familiar, was relatively frequent, and had a negative impact on the targets. The actors tended to be bosses and older than the targets. The quality of the interpersonal relationships at work was related to job satisfaction and intention to leave. The implications of these results are discussed with respect to individual, situational, and organizational factors that may be related to the presence and impact of abusive interpersonal interactions. Avenues for research on the nature, extent, and impact of these behaviors at both the individual and organizational levels are identified. Language: en

Conflict Resolution Styles in Gay, Lesbian, Heterosexual Nonparent, and Heterosexual Parent Couples

Abstract: Preliminary psychometric data are presented for two inventories that assess conflict in couples. The Ineffective Arguing Inventory (IAI) is a self-report measure that assesses a dysfunctional style of couple conflict resolution. The Conflict Resolution Style Inventory (CRSI) has complementary self-report and partner-report versions that assess four personal conflict resolution styles for each member of the couple. Subjects were both partners of 75 gay, 51 lesbian, 108 married non-parent, and 99 married parent couples. Findings for each inventory are presented regarding the factor structure of items, the internal consistency of composite scores, the 1-year stability of composite scores, the relation between couple members' composite scores, and the link between composite scores and relationship satisfaction, change in satisfaction, and relationship dissolution. Generally, results warrant further examination of the IAI and CRSI as measures of conflict for couples. All couples have to deal with conflict. Further, how that conflict is managed is linked to relationship satisfaction, change in relationship satisfaction, and relationship stability (Gottman, 1994; Heavey, Layne, & Christensen, 1993; Markman, Renick, Floyd, Stanley, & Clements, 1993; Noller & White, 1990). To date, perhaps the most productive method for studying relationship conflict has been to code videotapes of partner conversations for small samples of couples in a laboratory setting (e.g., Gottman, 1994). Without denying the value of these behavioral observations--in particular, for assessing sequences of couples' interactional styles during conflict--the present study is based on the premise that self-report and partner-report methodologies are also valuable ways to study couple conflict and may complement observational methodologies. One of the major limitations of observational studies of couple conflict is that they utilize very small, nonrepresentative samples. In fact, some of the inconsistent findings in observational studies regarding the types of conflict resolution strategies that are linked to declines in relationship satisfaction over time have been attributed to biased samples (Gottman, 1993). The availability of psychometrically sound self-report and partner-report measures of conflict resolution would help address this limitation by providing researchers with one method by which the link between conflict resolution and both relationship maintenance and relationship dissolution could be studied in large, representative samples. Some measures of couple conflict are available, including self-report measures of couple conflict resolution patterns (e.g., the Problem-Solving Communication scale of the Marital Satisfaction Inventory; Snyder, 1981), self-report measures of individual conflict resolution styles (e.g., the Marital Coping Inventory, Bowman, 1990), and self-report and partner-report measures of each partner's conflict resolution styles (e.g., the Interpersonal Communication Skills Inventory; Boyd & Roach, 1977) as well as sequences of partners' conflict resolution styles (e.g., the Communication Patterns Questionnaire; Christensen, 1988). However, no measure of couple conflict resolution could be found that was brief, was based on a coherent conceptual framework, and had comprehensively documented psychometric properties. Documenting psychometric properties include validating the measure against the major relationship outcomes used in behavioral observations in this area of study--relationship satisfaction, change in relationship satisfaction, and relationship stability (Gottman, 1994; Gottman & Krokoff, 1989; Markman et al., 1993). Accordingly, the purpose of this article is to present such preliminary psychometric data for two brief nonobservational measures of couple conflict. The first measure--the Ineffective Arguing Inventory (IAI)--assesses how the couple handles conflict, whereas the second measure the Conflict Resolution Styles Inventory (CRSI)--assesses each partner's individual style of handling conflict. …

Coming to America: Developing Social Support Systems for International Students

Abstract: Increasing numbers of international students are coming to America to pursue their education. College counselors face new challenges to be more culturally sensitive to the unique experience of these students in developing satisfying social relationships.

The effect of child sexual abuse on social, interpersonal and sexual function in adult life.

Abstract: Background The association was examined between reporting child sexual abuse (CSA) and a range of social, interpersonal and sexual difficulties in adult life. Method A random sample of 2250 women were posted a questionnaire exploring a range of abuse experiences. All 248 reporting CSA were invited for interview, together with an equal number of controls. At interview a detailed inquiry was made into the CSA and into current interpersonal, social and sexual function. Results Significant associations emerged between reporting CSA and a decline in socioeconomic status, increased sexual problems, and the disruption of intimate relationships by difficulties with trust as well as a propensity to perceive their partners as uncaring and overcontrolling. CSA was more common in those from disturbed and disrupted families and in those who also reported physical and emotional abuse. This explained part, but not all, of the apparent association between CSA and negative outcomes. Conclusions Those reporting CSA are more likely to suffer social, interpersonal and sexual difficulties in adult life.

Situational influences on gender differences in agency and communion.

Abstract: Gender differences were examined in the context of situational effects. Participants monitored interpersonal behavior for 20 days, using an event-sampling strategy. The monitored behaviors reflected dominance and submissiveness (components of agency) and agreeableness and quarrelsomeness (components of communion). The situations reflected differences in the status of work roles: interactions with boss, co-worker, and supervisee. Status influenced agency. Individuals were most agentic when with a supervisee and least agentic when with a boss. Gender did not influence agency but did influence communal behaviors. Women were more communal regardless of social role status; women were especially communal with other women, compared with men with men. Findings about agency supported a social role theory interpretation of gender differences. Results for communion were consistent with accounts of the influence of sex segregation on interpersonal relationships.

Stressors and problem-solving: The individual as psychological activist.

Abstract: Sociological researchers have tended to deemphasize the degree to which people are conscious, active agents in their own lives, focusing instead on factors which promote vulnerability to stress. But people are often motivated to act deliberately to resolve both acute and chronic role-related stressors. Thus, the relationship between stress experiences and negative psychological outcomes may be attributable primarily to stressors which individuals are unable to resolve. Using panel data on 532 married and divorced respondents in Indianapolis, I illustrate the effects of solved and unsolved problems (in the domains of work and love/marriage) on changes in psychological distress and substance use. People who failed to solve their job or love problems had more psychological symptoms, while the symptoms of successful problem-solvers did not differ from those of individuals whose situations were nonproblematic. Further exploratory analyses showed that the personality characteristics of mastery and self-esteem served to select individuals into--and out of--stressful circumstances, and that individuals were affected by the outcomes of problem-solving efforts in the work domain, or by attempts to solve problems in the love/marriage domain. These illustrative findings suggest that it can be theoretically and empirically fruitful to view individuals as agents making and shaping their lives, rather than primarily as passive subjects overwhelmed by situational stress.

Social interaction effects following a technological change: a longitudinal investigation

Abstract: This study was a longitudinal investigation of alternative sources of social influence and the role of interpersonal relationships in spreading beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors in an organization following a technological change. Network analysis techniques were used to test the relationships of belief, attitude, and behavior difference matrixes with structural matrixes depicting interaction distance and similarity in patterns of interaction (structural equivalence). The majority of the findings show that the individuals with whom a person interacts directly influence beliefs about personal mastery, but attitudes and behaviors are more affected by structurally equivalent co-workers. Self-monitoring moderated the extent to which interaction with others influenced individuals. Technological change has received a wealth of both theoretical and empirical attention. However, longitudinal research examining the processes by which people come to understand the technologies they employ is sparse. Research and theory on social influence may help illuminate these processes. Several authors (Berger & Luckmann, 1967; Festinger, 1954; Salancik & Pfeffer, 1978; Weick, 1969; Zalesny & Ford, 1990) have addressed the impact of social influence on the development of attitudes and behaviors. They have suggested that individuals develop attitudes and behaviors in part as a result of the social information available to them. However, little research has investigated changes in attitudes and behaviors following an organizational change. In addition, although research has established a relationship between attitudes and social influence, there is little evidence to imply causality, or that social context affects attitudes and behaviors. It is just as likely that people with similar attitudes and behaviors come to socialize with one another. Or perhaps the relationship between attitudes and social relations is spurious. Investigating whether social influence processes do indeed occur and determining their role in the development of attitudes and behaviors regarding a technological change requires longitudinal investigation.

Cross-situational generality and the interpersonal circumplex.

Abstract: Four traits of the interpersonal circumplex, dominance, submissiveness, agreeableness, and quarrelsomeness, were measured using experience sampling. Participants monitored their behavior for 20 days. For each social interaction, they recorded behaviors and information about the situation. Two sets of situations, agentic and communal, were defined on the basis of information about the relationship' of the other person with the participant. Results suggested general guidelines for expectations about magnitudes of cross-situational generality. For these broad traits of the interpersonal circumplex, there was modest to low generality across agentic situations in which individuals varied in power and status (supervisor and co-worker)

Negative reactions to depressive behaviors: a communication theories analysis

Abstract: Interpersonal aspects of depression have received considerable research attention in the past 2 decades. This work often has been guided by J. C. Coyne's (1976b) interactional model of depression or P. M. Lewinsohn's (1974) social skill deficit theory of depression. A review of this research indicates that depressed people reliably experience rejection from those in their social environment and that depression generally is associated with impairments in social behavior. However, this research does not explain exactly what depressed people do to elicit rejection, or exactly why others react negatively to them. Research derived from communication theories on responsiveness, politeness, and expectations for nonverbal involvement illuminates the interpersonal cycle in depression. The role of these impairments in the cause, symptoms, course, subtypes, and therapy of depression is discussed.

Gender and social support: Taking the bad with the good?

Abstract: In examining past research, a paradox can be found in the relationships between gender, social support, and depression. Although women report higher levels of depression than men, they also generally report more social support—a factor found to reduce depressive symptoms. In efforts to explain this seeming inconsistency, it was hypothesized that women report both more support and more depression because they are more likely than men to experience both positive and negative aspects of social relationships. Based on a community sample of predominantly Caucasian respondents, findings indicate that greater perceived support among women can be explained by more frequent contact with network members and a tendency to possess relationships characterized by greater intimacy, emotional disclosure, and empathy. However, women also report more frequent negative interactions with network members and are more adversely affected by marital conflict than are men. While negative interactions and conflict cannot account for gender differences in depression, they do help to explain how women can experience both more support and more depression. Among women, the health-enhancing effects of support on depression may be balanced by the detrimental effect of conflict.

Caregiving and Employment: Competing or Complementary Roles?

Abstract: This study examines the potential benefits and costs of having both work and elder care responsibilities, based on interviews with 94 employed caregivers. For the majority of the respondents, the negative aspects of combining work and caregiving roles were outweighed by positive aspects, such as a sense of accomplishment, enhanced interpersonal relationships, and opportunities to compensate for limitations experienced in each of the separate roles. Workplace policies and programs considered most helpful by respondents were those which provided options for adapting work routines to complement caregiving responsibilities.

Exploring the consequences of gender segregation on social relationships

Abstract: Childhood gender segregation may have consequences for the formation of gendered social norms and close relationships in childhood. adolescence, and adulthood, but parents and teachers may be able to encourage cross-gender contacts and the transcendence of traditional gendered social norms.

Patient pretreatment interpersonal problems and therapeutic alliance in short-term cognitive therapy.

Abstract: The growing consensus regarding the importance of interpersonal process in psychotherapy, as well as of interpersonal factors in self-definition, has underscored the relevance of examining patient interpersonal functioning as it relates to the development of the therapeutic alliance. This study examined the relationship of patient pretreatment interpersonal functioning (as measured by the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems and the Million Clinical Multiaxial Inventory) to the therapeutic alliance (as measured early in treatment by a patient self-report version of the Working Alliance Inventory). On the basis of an interpersonal circumplex interpretation, the results generally indicated that friendly-submissive interpersonal problems were positively related to the development of aspects of the alliance and that hostile-dominant problems were negatively related to the development of aspects of the alliance early in short-term cognitive therapy.

Areas of conflict for gay, lesbian, and heterosexual couples: What couples argue about influences relationship satisfaction.

Abstract: Although conflict is an ubiquitous aspect of any close relationship, researchers have paid more attention to how conflict gets resolved (e.g., Gottman, 1994; Heavey, Layne, & Christensen, 1993; Markman, Renick, Floyd, & Stanley, 1993) than to what couples fight about. To redress this imbalance, the focus of the current paper is on identifying the substantive areas in which couples experience conflict and examining whether the frequency of conflict in various content areas is differentially related to relationship satisfaction. Although the eventual research goal is to study how relationship well-being is affected by interactions between the content of what couples argue about and the manner in which couples manage and resolve conflict, the more modest goal of this study was to attend to the link between the content of couple conflict and relationship satisfaction.The conceptual framework used to examine the link between the content of couple conflict and relationship satisfaction was interdependence theory (Kelley & Thibaut, 1978). In this theory, the nature of the interaction between partners is the essence of a close relationship and is viewed in terms of degree of interdependence, that is, the extent to which each partner influences the other partner's positive and negative outcomes derived from the relationship. Generally, a person is satisfied with the relationship to the extent that perceived rewards from the relationship are high, perceived costs to being in the relationship are low, and the relationship is seen as meeting an internalized standard of what a good relationship should be (Rusbult, 1983).Within interdependence theory, frequent conflict between partners generally has been viewed as a cost to being in the relationship (e.g., Duffy & Rusbult, 1986). Indeed, frequency of interpartner conflict consistently has been found to be negatively related to appraisals of relationship satisfaction (e.g., Kurdek, 1991a, 1991b). However, the key issue of concern here is whether interpartner conflict over some areas is more strongly related to relationship satisfaction than is conflict over other areas. Based on interdependence theory (Braiker & Kelley, 1979), one would expect that interpartner conflict in areas that reflect high levels of interdependence would be especially strongly linked to relationship satisfaction because such conflict would directly affect perceived outcomes from the relationship.Surprisingly, few studies have addressed the relation between frequency of relationship conflict in specific content areas and relationship satisfaction. Storaasli and Markman (1990), as part of a larger study, correlated 40 spouses' ratings of the intensity of conflict in 10 problem areas (money, communication, relatives, sex, religion, recreation, friends, alcohol/drugs, children, and jealousy) with their marital adjustment. Spouses were married for about 1 year and did not have children living with them. A key finding from this study was that the relation between marital adjustment and intensity of conflict varied by problem area. In particular, husbands' marital adjustment was most strongly negatively associated with the intensity of conflict over communication and sex. Wives' marital adjustment was most strongly negatively associated with the intensity of conflict over communication and sex as well as over relatives and jealousy.In a study of 168 couples over the first 2 years of marriage, Vangelisti and Huston (1994) related each spouse's satisfaction with eight domains of marriage (communication, influence on making joint decisions, sex, leisure activities, division of household tasks, time together, time with friends/relatives, and finances) to marital satisfaction. Couples were studied shortly after their marriage and then again after their first and second wedding anniversaries. About half of the couples had children at the last assessment. As in the Storaasli and Markman (1990) study, the relation between satisfaction with domains of the marriage and marital satisfaction varied by domains. …

Doing Their Share: Comparing Patterns of Help Given by Older and Younger Adults.

Abstract: There was a period when I couldn't say no, but I can now. When you get to my age you can do what you want. 72-year-old married woman Two very different images of the elderly emerge from research on aging and recent trends in public policy. Early research on aging viewed the elderly as a potential social problem--as mainly recipients, rather than providers, of care. Shrinking family size and high mobility of kin and neighbors prompted concern that increasing numbers of older people would finish their lives in loneliness and isolation. As a result, the "myth of the isolated elderly" has been a persistent theme in aging research (Shanas, 1979). More recently, concern over the financial and emotional costs involved in caring for aging parents has shifted the emphasis towards research on caregivers to the dependent elderly (Abel, 1991; Schulz, Visintainer, & Williamson, 1990). The large majority of these caregivers are women (Horowitz, 1985), many of whom are caught not only "in the middle" of two generations needing care (Brody, 1990), but in the middle of employment and family as well (Scharlach & Boyd, 1989). Neither image of the elderly--as isolated or dependent recipients of care--is particularly appealing. In contrast is the image of the healthy and involved older person. These are often portrayed as the new volunteers--illustrated in a recent television commercial by a retired, and now loved, IRS agent who helps those struggling to complete their tax forms. This image reflects the development, over the past 12 years, of a renewed emphasis on promoting private, voluntary care--particularly by the elderly (Bush, 1989; Nunn, 1989). Yet we know relatively little about the involvement of older people in providing informal help to family and friends, and even less about help given others through formal volunteer efforts. Moreover, no research to date has examined the relationship between formal volunteerism and informal help given to family and friends. This study examines a number of dimensions of the help older and younger adults provide and how these contribute to our understanding of age, social integration, and public policy regarding the privatization of care. PREVIOUS LITERATURE Contrasting images of the elderly as either isolated and alone, or active volunteers reflect two larger theoretical perspectives on aging. The first, coming out of research on intergenerational relations, argues that, while not isolated, the elderly are involved in shrinking networks of both kin and nonkin (Babchuk & Booth, 1969; Booth, 1972; Smith, 1966). The primary explanation for this process is that of psychological disengagement (Cumming & Henry, 1961). Although the process of disengagement may be affected by a number of social characteristics (Maddox, 1972), its central tenet is that successful aging involves a gradual withdrawal from a range of social relations and obligations. Rather than focusing on the ways in which the elderly disengage from relations with family and friends, more recent research has focused on the continuity of roles into old age. In doing so, it has emphasized the active reconstruction and adaptation of previous roles in maintaining both independence and interdependence (Atchley, 1989). From this perspective, those who have been involved in helping others in the past tend to help others in old age. This supports the image of the healthy and involved older volunteer. Yet there is some evidence that continuity in helping others may vary depending on whether we are considering help given to adult children, other relatives, friends, or strangers in the community. Age and Help to Adult Children A number of recent studies have argued that older parents give adult children significant emotional support and advice in times of difficulty such as divorce (Johnson, 1988) or widowhood (Bankoff, 1983; Greenberg & Becker, 1988), and provide material help, such as housing, during periods of transition (DeVanzo & Goldscheider, 1990). …

Perfectionism in an interpersonal context: A self-regulation analysis of dysphoria and social anxiety.

Abstract: This study examined perfectionism and standard-setting within a self-regulation framework and systematically compared the roles of both factors in dysphoria and social anxiety. Four groups of subjects representing all combinations of social anxiety and dysphoria completed measures of self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism. They then rated three aspects of self-regulation (standard-setting, frequency of self-appraisal, and self-efficacy) in the context of a social task. Socially prescribed perfectionism was associated with frequent self-appraisal during the interaction, but not with standard-setting. Self-oriented perfectionism was associated with establishing goals that exceeded one's perceived social ability and with importance of meeting personal goals. The extent to which either type of perfectionism was associated with dysphoria or social anxiety was dependent on social self-efficacy.

Gender and working models of attachment: Consequences for perceptions of self and romantic relationships

Abstract: 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.