Interpersonal relationship

About: Interpersonal relationship is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 22392 publications have been published within this topic receiving 937957 citations. The topic is also known as: interpersonal status & relationship.

Correlates of social support receipt.

Abstract: Psychological correlates of social support receipt were examined in an investigation of stress and coping among 150 middle-aged community residents. Subjects were interviewed monthly for 6 months, each time concerning a specific stressful situation in the previous month. Social support received and methods of coping were assessed each time, as well as other variables. Factors hypothesized to be associated with support receipt were person predispositions, appraisal patterns with regard to specific stressful encounters, and coping strategies used. Each was most strongly associated with a particular type of social support. Person predispositions related most strongly to emotional support received, appraisal factors related most strongly to aid, and coping strategies related most to informational support received. Furthermore, of the three sets of variables, the individual's ways of coping appeared to be most strongly associated with all types of social support received. Two implications are explored. First, we suggest that the three types of social support studied represent different constructs with different antecedents and consequences. Second, we argue that coping behavior provides interpersonal cues regarding what is wanted or needed in a stressful situation and that the members of the social environment respond accordingly.

Loneliness and Social Internet Use: Pathways to Reconnection in a Digital World?:

Abstract: With the rise of online social networking, social relationships are increasingly developed and maintained in a digital domain. Drawing conclusions about the impact of the digital world on loneliness is difficult because there are contradictory findings, and cross-sectional studies dominate the literature, making causation difficult to establish. In this review, we present our theoretical model and propose that there is a bidirectional and dynamic relationship between loneliness and social Internet use. When the Internet is used as a way station on the route to enhancing existing relationships and forging new social connections, it is a useful tool for reducing loneliness. But when social technologies are used to escape the social world and withdraw from the "social pain" of interaction, feelings of loneliness are increased. We propose that loneliness is also a determinant of how people interact with the digital world. Lonely people express a preference for using the Internet for social interaction and are more likely to use the Internet in a way that displaces time spent in offline social activities. This suggests that lonely people may need support with their social Internet use so that they employ it in a way that enhances existing friendships and/or to forge new ones.

Adult Attachment and Help-Seeking Intent: The Mediating Roles of Psychological Distress and Perceived Social Support.

Abstract: This study examined the mediating roles of perceived social support and psychological distress on the relationship between adult attachment and help-seeking intentions. Participants were 355 college students at a large Midwestern university. The structural equation model results indicated that attachment anxiety in individuals was positively related to acknowledging distress and to seeking help. Conversely, individuals with attachment avoidance denied their distress and were reluctant to seek help. However, both individuals with attachment anxiety and individuals with avoidance also perceived less social support, which negatively contributed to their experience of distress, and their distress then positively contributed to their help-seeking intention. Furthermore, attachment anxiety and avoidance, social support, and distress explained 17% of the variance in intent to seek help.

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

Measuring Social Isolation Among Older Adults Using Multiple Indicators From the NSHAP Study

Abstract: Previous research has identified social isolation as a risk factor for physical and mental health problems (e.g., Berkman, 1995; Cacioppo & Hawkley, 2003; Cacioppo, Hughes, Waite, Hawkley, & Thisted, 2006; House, 2001). Socially disconnected and lonely individuals tend to suffer higher rates of morbidity and mortality (Taylor, Repetti, & Seeman, 1997; Thoits, 1995) as well as infection (Cohen, Doyle, Skoner, Rabin, & Gwaltney, 1997; Pressman et al., 2005), depression (Heikkinen & Kauppinen, 2004), and cognitive decline (Wilson et al., 2007). The mere presence of another individual can alleviate stress (Cohen & Williamson, 1991; Thoits), whereas feelings of loneliness may exacerbate the physiological effects of stress, resulting in elevated cortisol levels (Hawkley, Burleson, Berntson, & Cacioppo, 2003; Steptoe, Owen, Kunz-Ebrecht, & Brydon, 2004) and blood pressure (Hawkley et al). The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the development of scales capturing social disconnectedness and perceived isolation using data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP). We use procedures of scale construction to combine multiple indicators of isolation into a scale assessing social disconnectedness and a scale capturing perceived isolation. We then examine the relationship between disconnectedness and perceived isolation and assess their distributions across age, gender, and self-rated health among older adults. Our aim is not to present these scales as definitive measures but to encourage further work toward elucidating the concept, causes, and consequences of social isolation among older adults. Social Isolation Among Older Adults The examination of social isolation among older adults is particularly important for a number of reasons. First, there is some evidence that social isolation may become more common with increasing age. Older adults tend to have smaller social networks (McPherson, Smith-Lovin, & Brashears, 2006) and are more likely to experience feelings of loneliness (Dykstra, van Tilburg, & de Jong Gierveld, 2005). This may be due, in part, to older adults’ experiences of bereavement and their greater likelihood of living alone (Kramarow, 1995; Li & Ferraro, 2005). The correspondence of these conditions has led to the assumption that diminishing social networks result in lower levels of perceived social support and increased loneliness. However, recent research suggests that changes across the life course in social connectedness and satisfaction may be heterogeneous. For example, data from NSHAP indicate that the oldest old have greater participation than the young old (Cornwell, Laumann, & Schumm, 2008), and other research suggests that loneliness may peak in middle age (Carstensen, Isaacowitz, & Charles, 1999). Accordingly, social connectedness, support, and loneliness may not be inextricably linked, especially among older adults. In the face of shrinking social networks, older adults may develop closer relationships and shift expectations so that decreasing connectedness does not necessarily result in the perception of isolation (Lang & Carstensen, 1994; Schnittker, 2007). Finally, to the extent that social isolation is associated with worse health, it may pose a particularly severe risk for older adults. Older adults are more likely to experience bereavement and develop health problems, both of which may increase their need for social support and companionship. As a result, social isolation may be particularly deleterious for older adults. Indeed, research indicates that older adults who experience one or another aspect of isolation have been found to be at greater risk for all-cause mortality, increased morbidity, depression, and cognitive decline (Brummett et al., 2001; Cacioppo & Hawkley, 2003; House, Landis, & Umberson, 1988; Sherbourne, Meredith, Rogers, & Ware, 1992; Tomaka, Thompson, & Palacios, 2006). Measuring Social Isolation The variety of indicators of isolation and loneliness used across research in different disciplines is both a blessing and a curse. This work has captured an enormous number of facets of individuals’ everyday social worlds. Indicators of isolation in previous research include living alone (Dean, Kolody, Wood, & Matt, 1992; Hughes & Gove, 1981; Waite & Hughes, 1999), being unmarried (Lillard & Waite, 1995; Ross, 1995), having a small social network (Berkman & Syme, 1979; Seeman, Berkman, Blazer, & Rowe, 1994), infrequent contact with network members (Brummett et al., 2001), a lack of social network diversity (Barefoot, Gronbaek, Jensen, Schnohr, & Prescott, 2005), a perceived lack of social support (Blazer, 1982; Krause, 1987; Lin, Ye, & Ensel, 1999; Wethington & Kessler, 1986), low participation in social activities (Benjamins, 2004; Ellison & George, 1994; Thoits & Hewitt, 2001), emotionally distant relationships (Uno, Uchino, & Smith, 2002), and feelings of loneliness or not belonging (Cacioppo et al., 2006; Hawkley et al., 2003). However, most of this work has been limited to the examination of only one or two indicators of isolation (or connectedness), or it has focused on only one conceptual area, such as support, participation, or loneliness. As a result, it is difficult to discern whether multiple features of isolation might combine to create particularly severe situations of social isolation among the oldest old. It is also unclear whether feelings of loneliness and a lack of social support do, in fact, follow the loss of social network ties or if more subjective appraisals of isolation are separate from objective features of isolation. In efforts to consolidate multiple measures of social isolation, several authors have previously identified central components of isolation. For example, van Baarsen, Snijders, Smit, and van Duijn (2001) distinguish between social loneliness, as the lack of integration and companionship, and emotional loneliness, as the lack of an attachment figure. De Jong Gierveld and Hagestad (2006) similarly contrast isolation (as the opposite of integration) with loneliness (as the opposite of embeddedness). Following these distinctions and building from the disciplinary approaches of both sociology and psychology, we suggest two distinct aspects of social isolation. Social disconnectedness can be characterized by a lack of contact with others and indicated by situational factors, such as a small social network, infrequent interaction, and a lack of participation in social activities and groups. Perceived isolation, on the other hand, can be characterized by the subjective experience of a shortfall in one’s social resources such as companionship and support. Individuals who are socially disconnected may have small social networks, interact with network members infrequently, and rarely participate in social activities. On the other hand, individuals who perceive themselves to be isolated may report feelings of loneliness and perceive a lack of social support from friends and family members. Social disconnectedness and perceived isolation are related, but we hypothesize that they are distinct. Some research indicates, for example, that feelings of loneliness are responsive to changes in network size, but other findings indicate only a modest correlation between disconnectedness and perceived isolation (Hawkley et al., 2003; Hughes, Waite, Hawkley, & Cacioppo, 2004; Schnittker, 2007). Although physical separation from others and feelings of loneliness may go hand-in-hand for some individuals, infrequent social interaction may not lead to feelings of loneliness for others. Alternatively, people who are socially active and embedded within an expansive social network may feel socially isolated if their relationships lack emotional closeness and support.