The effect of uncertainty reducing strategies on young couples' relational repair and intimacy

Relying on uncertainty reduction theory, this study examines the effect of communication strategies on assessments of relational repair and intimacy. Approximately one hundred heterosexual, romantically involved couples nominated unfaithfulness, third party competition, and geographic distance as events most negatively affecting their relationships. These couples also reported that they most often engaged in interactive communication behavior (especially relationship talk) to repair their relationships. In addition, men's passive strategy use and women's active strategy use were associated with self‐reported and partner‐attributed beliefs that the relationship was repaired. Perceptions of relational repair were, in turn, tied to the degree of self‐reported intimacy.     

Partners in Learning: A Grounded Theory Study of Relational Practice between Master’s Students and Professors

Meaningful academic relationships between adult master’s students and their professors can both deepen students’ learning and serve as a regenerating force for professors. This study employed grounded theory methods to explore the question, “What goes on in relational practice between master’s students and professors?” I interviewed 10 matched pairs of recent alumni and professors who identified as having “a meaningful academic relationship”. Dimensional analysis surfaced two core dimensions: reconstructing and regenerating. In reconstructing, the students’ core dimension reveals the student experience of reconstructing, or understanding more deeply, theory or one’s self. In the case of regenerating, the professor’s core dimension identifies the professors’ experience of “giving back” through their teaching and extending their professional reach by training others. These experiences serve to reinvigorate professors over the course of their careers. In addition, findings in this study resonate with sensitizing concepts including relational cultural theory and relational practice. Finally, the analysis surfaced evidence supporting authentic teaching concepts and connected these concepts to faculty and student learning partnerships.     

Relational competence in teacher education. Concept analysis and report from a pilot study

A supportive relationship between teachers and students has been shown to have positive effects on students’ performance and social development. Preservice teachers’ relational competence is, however, an unexplored area. The purpose of this study is to contribute to educational research about relational competence in teacher education by introducing a Swedish project which focuses on interpersonal aspects. The study has three parts. In the theoretical part, a conceptualization of teachers’ relational competence using Thomas Scheff’s theory of interpersonal relationships is outlined. In the empirical (pilot) part, a methodology for prompting preservice teachers’ analyses of teacher–student relationships is described, as well as a thematic analysis of their responses. The theoretical conceptualization is then used together with the empirical data in the third part, in order to identify development needs of preservice teachers in terms of relational competence. According to the conceptualization, relational competence includes three sub-concepts: communicative, differentiation, and socio-emotional competence. From the analysis of preservice students’ texts, the article identifies development needs in relation to the three sub-concepts. The concluding discussion focuses on lessons learned from the study regarding how to promote teacher students’ relational competence.     

Preliminary development of a measure of sibling relational maintenance behaviors: Scale development and initial findings

Two studies were conducted to examine the use of relational maintenance behaviors in the sibling relationship. In the first study, the specific relational maintenance behaviors used by siblings were identified. A principal components factor analysis of 70 previously generated behaviors used by 363 participants revealed six factors: confirmation, humor, social support, family visits, escape, and verbal aggression. In the second study, the link between the six relational maintenance behaviors used by siblings and the relational outcomes of liking, commitment, and trust was explored. Results indicate the confirmation, humor, social support, and family visits relational maintenance behaviors are correlated positively with liking, commitment, and trust, but the verbal aggression relational maintenance behavior failed to correlate with liking, commitment, or trust.     

Exploring the dyad: the relationship establishment between a novice physical education teacher and his mentor

The retention of new teachers is a noteworthy issue among physical education teachers. One way to combat attrition is with the implementation of induction programs that have a strong emphasis on mentoring. Mentoring creates a growth-in-connection for the novice physical education teacher as well as the mentor. The relational cultural theory (RCT) develops relationships based in situational boundaries between the mentor and the mentee. RCT explores the nature of human development based on the individuals involved in these relationships. The purpose of the study was to explore the perception of the relationship between a novice physical education teacher and his mentor and to determine if the mentoring relationship between the participants reflected the RCT model. Observations, interviews, and the researcher’s journal were used as a means for data collection. In this study, meaningful relationships occurred in the working relationship, as well as the personal relationship. It was indicated that when meaningful relationships are established, novice physical education teachers are more confident in their teaching abilities and are more likely stay in the profession.     

Unfinished business: re-positioning gender on the education equity agenda

The long-standing relationship between social disadvantage and poor educational outcomes continues to preoccupy educational policy-makers, with teachers at the front line of the ongoing struggle. Across the range of equity concerns, gender may be noted as either qualifying disadvantage or compounding it, but the meaning of gender as a simple binary category is rarely challenged. Using data drawn from a study in three disadvantaged urban fringe Australian high schools we argue that the policy-driven gender-as-difference approach can serve to mask educational inequality rather than to challenge it. By demonstrating the ways in which the girls and their teachers respond to, interpret and understand their schooling experience, we suggest the enriched capacity of a relational theory of gender that, while inclusive of earlier theoretical moments and cognisant of progress made, does offer a more coherent and potentially redemptive basis for educational intervention     

The legacy of early attachments

The impact of early close relationships on psychological development is one of the enduring questions of developmental psychology that is addressed by attachment theory and research. This essay evaluates what has been learned, and offers ideas for future research, by examining the origins of continuity and change in the security of attachment early in life, and its prediction of later behavior. The discussion evaluates research on the impact of changing family circumstances and quality of care on changes in attachment security, and offers new hypotheses for future study. Considering the representations (or internal working models) associated with attachment security as developing representations, the discussion proposes that (1) attachment security may be developmentally most influential when the working models with which it is associated have sufficiently matured to influence other emerging features of psychosocial functioning; (2) changes in attachment security are more likely during periods of representational advance; and (3) parent-child discourse and other relational influences shape these developing representations after infancy. Finally, other features of early parent-child relationships that develop concurrently with attachment security, including negotiating conflict and establishing cooperation, also must be considered in understanding the legacy of early attachments.     

Mediating Effects of Relationships With Mentors on College Adjustment

This study examined the relationship between student adjustment to college and relational health with peers, mentors, and the community. Data were collected from 80 undergraduate students completing their first semester of course work at a large university in the mid‐South. A series of simultaneous multiple regression analyses indicated that higher levels of relational health with mentors were the strongest predictors of college student success during the first semester. Suggestions for developing a mentoring program are provided.     

Sex differences in emotional reactions to discovered deception

This study explores sex differences in perceptions of discovered deception, and the subsequent emotional reactions that are experienced by relational partners. Drawing upon research examining deception, relational communication, and gender, several hypotheses were developed and tested in a sample of 190 respondents who had recently discovered the lie of a friend or romantic partner. The data were consistent with the hypotheses. Women were more likely than men to rate lying as an unacceptable form of behavior within both friendship and romantic relationships. In addition, women rated the act of lying (regardless of what was lied about) as more significant, and reported more negative emotional reactions upon discovering deception than did men. Generalized communicative suspicion functioned to enhance the intensity of emotional reactions for women, but not for men. Implications of the current results for the study of deception are discussed.     

Ethnocentrism and trait communication apprehension as predictors of interethnic communication apprehension and use of relational maintenance strategies in interethnic communication

The first of two studies investigated the differences between reported relational maintenance strategy usage by high and low interethnic communication apprehensives (IECAs). An instrument based on Canary and Stafford's (1992) relational maintenance strategies taxonomy and Neuliep and McCroskey's (1997a) Personal Report of Interethnic Communication Apprehension (PRECA) was employed. The results indicated that individuals who were law IECAs reported utilizing significantly more of the task, network, and positivity strategies. Differences in openness and assurance strategies followed the same pattern but were not significant. The participant's reported usage and IECA score were inversely related. The second study replicated the first and explored two theoretical explanations for the results. This study revealed significant differences on all of the dimensions and significant negative correlations. This study also examined whether trait communication apprehension (disregarding ethnicity) and/or ethnocentrism (the presumed foundational components of IECA) could account for the differences in reports of relational communication behavior. The results of the second study indicated that both trait CA and ethnocentrism contributed to the prediction of IECA and to overall reported strategy usage, and that ethnocentrism was the better predictor.     

中美大学生关系型自我构念与亲密关系质量比较研究

本研究随机选取东肯塔基大学、爱荷华大学、杭州师范大学、新疆大学等多所高校的1071名大学生,比较中美大学生关系型自我构念与亲密关系质量的差异,探究大学生关系型自我构念与亲密关系质量间的关系,研究表明:第一,中美两国大学生的关系型自我构念存在差异,虽都偏向独立,中国大学生比美国大学生更倾向于以非亲密关系来构念自我,美国大学生的关系型自我构念存在性别差异;第二,美国大学生的亲密关系质量高于中国大学生,女性大学生的亲密关系质量均高于男性;第三,大学生关系型自我构念与亲密关系质量正向相关,前者对后者有正向影响。     

The development of close relationships in Japan and the United States: paths of symbiotic harmony and generative tension

Findings from research on parent-child and adult mate relationships suggest that there are different paths of development in Japan and the United States. In Japan, the path is one of symbiotic harmony, as seen in the emphasis on union in infancy, others' expectations in childhood, the stability of relationships with parents and peers in adolescence, and assurance about the mate relationship in adulthood. In the United States, the path is one of generative tension, as seen in the tug between separation and reunion in infancy, the emphasis on personal preferences in childhood, the transfer of closeness from parents to peers in adolescence, and the emphasis on trust-a faith and hope in new relationships-in adulthood. The notion that there are different paths of development challenges Western investigators' presumption that certain processes-separation-individuation, use of the relational partner as a secure base for exploration, and conflict between partners-are central in all relationships. The notion of different paths also challenges the assumption of many cross-cultural investigators that relationships in the United States are less valued or weaker than those in Japan; this article highlights cultural differences in the meaning and dynamics, as opposed to the importance and strength, of relationships. The model suggests a need to investigate the processes underlying, and the adaptive consequences of, these two alternative paths.     

高中生亲子沟通质量的结构及特点

亲子沟通是亲子关系的一种重要互动形式,沟通质量直接影响着青少年的社会性与个性发展。本次研究采用Olson亲子沟通量表对武汉市高中生亲子沟通的特点进行了调查,并对量表的信效度进行了检验。结果发现：（1）亲子沟通质量分成三个维度：开放性、防御性和冲突性;（2）高中生亲子沟通从高到低依次呈现出开放性、防御性以及冲突性的特点;（3）母子沟通质量高于父子沟通质量,其中,母亲和女儿的沟通质量更高一些。     

初中生关系性关心的识别与营造

关心是一种关系,关心品质的培养应注重关系的再认识以及再营造。而初中生认识到的关心主要是"单行道式"的付出,对关心意义的理解主要还是"单向度"的树立榜样、传播美德。所以,本研究以诺丁斯的学校关心理论做支撑,采用问卷、访谈、现象学等方法探寻初中生对关心本质的把握。通过调查我们发现,学生以实用的态度对待关心;他们专注与动机替代能力强,但行动能力明显不足;他们接受关心后感触不一,普遍缺失及时反馈的行为。最后,借鉴现象学方法与理论提出营造关系性关心的新策略:借助明见性直观的方法召唤初中生的关心意识;运用描述方法揭示关心中的教育关系;从课程、榜样与媒介三个方面营造关系性关心栖居的生活世界。     

Dialectical tensions in marital partners’ accounts of their relationships

This study identifies contradictions in married partners’ accounts of their relationship and assesses the importance of the tensions at beginning, middle, and present relational turning points. Overall, autonomy‐connection was the most frequently experienced contradiction, however openness‐closedness was perceived as the most important tension. When looking at gender differences, results showed that internal tensions were equally important for both husbands and wives, however external tensions of inclusion‐seclusion and revealment‐concealment were more important for wives than husbands.     

流动儿童亲子沟通特点及其与心理健康的关系

为探讨流动儿童亲子沟通的特点及其与心理健康的关系,采用亲子沟通问卷、主观幸福感自我评定量表、自尊问卷和问题行为问卷对北京市1016名流动儿童和446名城市户籍儿童施测.结果发现,与城市儿童相比,流动儿童亲子沟通的频率、时间和主动性较低.在亲子沟通各维度上,城市儿童得分都显著高于流动儿童.在流动儿童与父母沟通的倾听反应维度上,女生得分高于男生.在父子沟通的开放表达、分歧冲突解决和理解性维度和母子沟通的开放表达和倾听反应维度上,存在显著的年级差异,初二年级得分最低.流动儿童亲子沟通的开放表达、理解性和分歧冲突解决维度可正向预测主观幸福感,亲子沟通的四个维度都可正向预测自尊,开放表达和理解性负向预测内化问题行为,理解性、倾听反应和分歧冲突解决负向预测外化问题行为.由此可以得出如下结论,流动儿童与父母的沟通频率低,时间短,主动性不强,沟通质量较低.亲子沟通各维度可显著预测流动儿童的心理健康水平.     

Privacy Recalibration in Personal Relationships: Rule Usage Before and After an Incident of Privacy Turbulence

Although privacy violations can be uncomfortable and disruptive, they have the potential for positive outcomes in relationships if addressed. Using Communication Privacy Management theory as a framework, this study surveyed a community sample of 273 adults to examine their retrospective accounts of privacy violations in personal relationships. Results showed that less than half of the sample offered explicit rules for information management, and the majority of participants blamed the confidant for the privacy turbulence. Findings indicated that people often do not share similar information with the violator in the future, but if they do, less than half offer explicit privacy rules during the privacy recalibration process. Confrontation efficacy was positively associated with initiating a conversation about the privacy turbulence and that people who engaged in privacy recalibration were more likely to report forgiveness and relational improvement and less likely to report relational damage than those individuals who did not.     

Associations between peer victimization and school climate: The impact of form and the moderating role of gender

The purpose of the present study is to examine whether physical and relational victimization negatively impacts indicators of school climate–students’ perceptions of school safety, their attachment to school, and their help‐seeking behavior–and whether gender moderates these associations. Using a sample of 361 third through fifth‐grade students recruited from six public elementary schools, results reveal that relational and physical victimization were both uniquely associated with lower levels of school safety and school attachment, with stronger associations between school attachment and relational victimization. However, only physical victimization was negatively associated with help‐seeking, suggesting that physical victimization is more influential on help seeking as compared with relational victimization. Gender moderated the relationships between victimization and school attachment and help‐seeking with differences by form noted. No gender differences were evident in associations between the forms of peer victimization and school safety. Implications for prevention and intervention in schools are discussed.     

Elaborating the communication theory of identity: Identity gaps and communication outcomes

The Communication Theory of Identity identifies four frames of identity and their interpenetration. This article articulates identity gaps as a way to study interpenetration and selected two of the gaps, between personal and relational frames and between personal and enacted identities, for the study. A survey was administered and, as hypothesized, significant negative correlations were observed between the identity gaps and three communication outcomes. Possible causal directions were suggested by post hoc analyses. The results support the theory and suggest the utility of identity gaps as a means for understanding the role of identity in social relationships.     

Why Might Distance Make the Heart Grow Fonder?: A Relational Turbulence Model Investigation of the Maintenance of Long Distance and Geographically Close Romantic Relationships

Following the relational turbulence model, we examined the extent to which relational uncertainty and partner interference mediate distance and relational maintenance, here assessed as relational continuity constructional units (RCCUs), as predictors of relational turbulence. Results were consistent with and extend the relational turbulence model, with relational uncertainty mediating RCCUs and partner interference mediating distance. In addition to highlighting RCCUs as a communicative buffer against relational uncertainty, the results reveal a complex picture of geographic distance. Addressing mixed findings in previous research, it appears distance may foster relational turbulence yet also predict reduced turbulence when accompanied by diminished partner interference.