Loneliness is associated with the subjective evaluation of but not daily dynamics in partner relationships

Loneliness describes a perceived deficiency in quantitative or qualitative aspects of individuals’ social relationships. Whereas the health-related consequences of loneliness are well-documented, surprisingly little is known about its interpersonal features and its consequences for relationship outcomes. In the present study, we investigated the association between loneliness and relationship experiences in partner relationships with a sample of 937 individuals from 480 mixed-sex couples. By employing actor-partner interdependence models and dyadic cross-lagged moderated multilevel models, we found higher loneliness to be robustly related to (a) lower relationship satisfaction for both oneself and the partner, (b) more self-reported, but not partner-reported conflicts, (c) lower average levels of one’s own, but not the partner’s closeness, and (d) less own self-disclosure. In contrast, loneliness was not associated with (a) sexual contact frequency, (b) average levels of physical affection, or (c) the daily dynamics between closeness and self-disclosure/physical affection. Thus, the results of the present study indicated that loneliness is primarily associated with the perception of the partner relationship but not its rather objective features or daily dynamics.

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Optimism despite profound uncertainty: school and social relationships in adolescents with single ventricle heart disease

Cardiology in the Young ◽

10.1017/s1047951120003790 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

Jennifer K. Peterson ◽

Ellen F. Olshansky ◽

Yuqing Guo ◽

Lorraine S. Evangelista ◽

Nancy A. Pike

Keyword(s):

Heart Disease ◽

Social Relationships ◽

Single Ventricle ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Psychosocial Sequelae ◽

Health Related ◽

The Face ◽

Phenomenological Methodology ◽

Physical Limitations ◽

Uncertain Future

Abstract Background: Survivors of single ventricle heart disease must cope with the physical, neurodevelopmental, and psychosocial sequelae of their cardiac disease, which may also affect academic achievement and social relationships. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine the experiences of school and social relationships in adolescents with single ventricle heart disease. Methods: A descriptive phenomenological methodology was employed, utilising semi-structured interviews. Demographic and clinical characteristics were obtained via chart review. Results: Fourteen adolescents (aged 14 to 19 years) with single ventricle heart disease participated. Interviews ranged from 25 to 80 minutes in duration. Four themes emerged from the interviews, including “Don’t assume”: Pervasive ableism; “The elephant in the room”: Uncertain future; “Everyone finds something to pick on”: Bullying at school; “They know what I have been through”: Social support. The overall essence generated from the data was “optimism despite profound uncertainty.” Conclusions: Adolescents with single ventricle heart disease identified physical limitations and school challenges in the face of an uncertain health-related future. Despite physical and psychosocial limitations, most remained optimistic for the future and found activities that were congruent with their abilities. These experiences reflect “optimism despite profound uncertainty.”

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Variables associated with health-related quality of life in a Brazilian sample of patients from a tertiary outpatient clinic for depression and anxiety disorders

Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy ◽

10.1590/2237-6089-2015-0013 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 37 (4) ◽

pp. 202-208 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Bianca Schwab ◽

Heloisa Silveira Daniel ◽

Carine Lutkemeyer ◽

João Arthur Lange Lins Neves ◽

Louise Nassif Zilli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Social Relationships ◽

Psychological Health ◽

Linear Regression Analysis ◽

Multiple Linear Regression Analysis ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Brazilian Sample ◽

Related Quality ◽

Health Related

Introduction: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) assessment tools have been broadly used in the medical context. These tools are used to measure the subjective impact of the disease on patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the variables associated with HRQOL in a Brazilian sample of patients followed up in a tertiary outpatient clinic for depression and anxiety disorders. Method: Cross-sectional study. Independent variables were those included in a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) scores. Dependent variables were those included in the short version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) and the scores for its subdomains (overall quality of life and general health, physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment). A multiple linear regression analysis was used to find the variables independently associated with each outcome. Results: Seventy-five adult patients were evaluated. After multiple linear regression analysis, the HADS scores were associated with all outcomes, except social relationships (p = 0.08). Female gender was associated with poor total scores, as well as psychological health and environment. Unemployment was associated with poor physical health. Conclusion: Identifying the factors associated with HRQOL and recognizing that depression and anxiety are major factors are essential to improve the care of patients.

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Loneliness effects on personality

International Journal of Behavioral Development ◽

10.1177/0165025418800224 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 43 (2) ◽

pp. 136-146 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Marcus Mund ◽

Franz J. Neyer

Keyword(s):

Social Relationships ◽

Big Five ◽

Regulatory Focus ◽

Statistical Significance ◽

Negative Events ◽

Birth Cohorts ◽

German Sample ◽

Health Related ◽

Using Data

Individuals feel lonely when they perceive a discrepancy between their desired and their actually experienced quantity and quality of social relationships. Prior research has demonstrated the importance of loneliness for various health-related aspects. In the present article, we extend the existing literature on loneliness by investigating its role for predicting personality traits and their development from late adolescence to early midlife. Using data from a representative German sample ( N = 12,402) sampling individuals from three different birth cohorts, we found loneliness to predict the levels of all Big Five traits except openness five years later. The effects of loneliness on the development of neuroticism and extraversion reached statistical significance but were only marginal in terms of effect size. Furthermore, we found that a self-regulatory focus geared to the prevention of negative events mediated the effects of loneliness on later levels of the Big Five.

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Self-Disclosure and Occupational Stress in Chinese Professionals

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.2000.87.3f.1075 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 87 (3_suppl) ◽

pp. 1075-1082 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

P. Nicholas Hamid

Keyword(s):

Occupational Stress ◽

Social Relationships ◽

Psychological Symptoms ◽

Hong Kong Chinese ◽

Self Disclosure ◽

Stress Buffering ◽

Best Friend ◽

Chinese Adult ◽

Relationship Of ◽

The Relationship

The relationship of self-disclosure with occupational stress and symptoms of stress was examined among 243 Hong Kong Chinese adult professionals. Self-disclosure was negatively correlated with both occupational stress and psychological symptoms of stress for disclosures of personal feelings and social relationships when disclosing to a Best Friend, indicating a stress-buffering effect. There was a positive correlation between occupational stress and psychological symptoms of stress for disclosure of personal feelings and information about social relationships when disclosing to Mother. While both sexes reported similar occupational stress, the total self-disclosure of women was higher than for men, and this was especially true for intimate topics. The implications of the results were discussed.

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Smartphones and Close Relationships: The Case for an Evolutionary Mismatch

10.31234/osf.io/rqu6f ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

David Sbarra ◽

Julia Leah Briskin ◽

Richard Bennett Slatcher

Keyword(s):

Social Interactions ◽

Social Relationships ◽

Close Relationships ◽

Inclusive Fitness ◽

Middle Level ◽

Self Disclosure ◽

Evolutionary Mismatch ◽

The Social ◽

Integrative Study ◽

Smartphone Use

In Press, Perspectives on Psychological Science. Accepted, 11.2.2018This final accepted version may differ from published version as a function of changes that emerge during the copyediting process.This paper introduces and outlines the case for an evolutionary mismatch between smartphones and the social behaviors that help form and maintain close social relationships. As psychological adaptations that enhance human survival and inclusive fitness, self-disclosure and responsiveness evolved in the context of small kin networks to facilitate social bonds, to promote trust, and to enhance cooperation. These adaptations are central to the development of attachment bonds, and attachment theory is middle-level evolutionary theory that provides a robust account of the ways human bonding provides for reproductive and inclusive fitness. Evolutionary mismatches operate when modern contexts cue ancestral adaptations in a manner that does not provide for their adaptive benefits. This paper argues that smartphones and their affordances, while highly beneficial in many circumstances, cue our evolved needs for self-disclosure and responsiveness across broad virtual networks and, in turn, have the potential to undermine immediate interpersonal interactions. We review emerging evidence on the topic of technoference, defined as the ways in which smartphone use may interfere with or intrude into everyday social interactions (either between couples or within families). The paper concludes with an empirical agenda for advancing the integrative study of smartphones, intimacy processes, and close relationships.

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Social relationships, neighbourhood poverty and cumulative biological risk: findings from a multi-racial US urban community

Journal of Biosocial Science ◽

10.1017/s002193201900004x ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 51 (6) ◽

pp. 799-816

Author(s):

Alana M. W. LeBrón ◽

Amy J. Schulz ◽

Graciela B. Mentz ◽

Barbara A. Israel ◽

Carmen A. Stokes

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Social Relationships ◽

Social Cohesion ◽

Multilevel Models ◽

Individual Characteristics ◽

Outcome Variable ◽

Biological Risk ◽

Individual Level ◽

Neighbourhood Satisfaction ◽

Neighbourhood Level

AbstractPrior research has established associations between neighbourhood poverty and cumulative biological risk (CBR). CBR is conceptualized as indicative of the effects of stress on biological functioning, and is linked with increased morbidity and mortality. Studies suggest that supportive social relationships may be health protective, and may erode under conditions of poverty. This study examines whether social relationships are inversely associated with CBR and whether associations between neighbourhood poverty and CBR are mediated through social relationships. Data were from a stratified probability sample community survey (n=919) of residents of Detroit, Michigan, USA (2002–2003) and from the 2000 US Census. The outcome variable, CBR, included anthropometric and clinical measures. Independent variables included four indicators of social relationships: social support, neighbourhood satisfaction, social cohesion and neighbourhood participation. Multilevel models were used to test both research questions, with neighbourhood poverty and social relationships included at the block group level, and social relationships also included at the individual level, to disentangle individual from neighbourhood effects. Findings suggest some associations between social relationships and CBR after accounting for neighbourhood poverty and individual characteristics. In models that accounted for all indicators of social relationships, individual-level social support was associated with greater CBR (β=0.12, p=0.04), while neighbourhood-level social support was marginally significantly protective of CBR (within-neighbourhood: β=−0.36, p=0.06; between-neighbourhood: β=−0.24, p=0.06). In contrast, individual-level neighbourhood satisfaction was protective of CBR (β=−0.10, p=0.02), with no within-neighbourhood (β=0.06, p=0.54) or between-neighbourhood association (β=−0.04, p=0.38). Results indicate no significant association between either social cohesion or neighbourhood participation and CBR. Associations between neighbourhood poverty and CBR were not mediated by social relationships. These findings suggest that neighbourhood-level social support and individual-level neighbourhood satisfaction may be health protective and that neighbourhood poverty, social support and neighbourhood satisfaction are associated with CBR through independent pathways.

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Associations of health related behaviour, social relationships, and health status with persistent physical activity and inactivity: a study of Finnish adolescent twins

British Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1136/bjsm.36.5.360 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 36 (5) ◽

pp. 360-364 ◽

Cited By ~ 81

Author(s):

M Aarnio

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Health Status ◽

Social Relationships ◽

Health Related ◽

Adolescent Twins ◽

Health Related Behaviour

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How 15- to 16-year-old Swedish adolescents experience social relationships and health-related behaviours: A qualitative study

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1177/1403494819858230 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 48 (5) ◽

pp. 527-536

Author(s):

Ulrica Paulsson Do ◽

Birgitta Edlund ◽

Christina Stenhammar ◽

Ragnar Westerling

Keyword(s):

Social Relationships ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Well Being ◽

Social Contexts ◽

Social Environments ◽

Personal Management ◽

The Social ◽

Study Results ◽

Old Swedish ◽

Health Related

Aims: Health-related behaviours are associated with social relationships. Adolescence is a time when healthy and unhealthy behaviours are established. There is a need to investigate adolescents’ views on how social relationships are related to health-related behaviours of adolescents in the Scandinavian welfare system. This study aimed to explore Swedish adolescents’ experiences and thoughts of how social relationships in different social environments are related to health-related behaviours. Methods: A total of 36 adolescents aged 15–16 years were interviewed in seven focus-group sessions. Qualitative content analysis was used for analysis of the transcribed interviews. Results: Two themes – social context and personal management – emerged. Swedish adolescents describe that their health-related behaviours as being partly shaped by their own personal management but mainly by the social contexts that surround them. Social contexts were expressed as playing a role in the adolescents’ health-related behaviours, as they provide fellowship, pressure, dependability and engagement. Fellowship with friends and family was expressed as providing healthy behaviours and high levels of well-being. Fellowship with friends was particularly important for physical activity. Close relationships were stated to influence health-related behaviours. Pressure from friends, teachers and social media were described as mainly influencing unhealthy behaviours and, to some extent, low levels of well-being. However, adolescents’ personal ability illustrated how adolescents shaped their own health-related behaviours. Conclusions: The study results contribute to the understanding of Swedish adolescents’ views on how social relationships can shape their health-related behaviours. The findings may be useful to school professionals in supporting adolescents to improve well-being and healthy behaviours.

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Emotional Bonds and Social Support Exchange Between Men Living With HIV Infection and Their Mothers

American Journal of Men s Health ◽

10.1177/1557988311413118 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 97-107 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Constance R. Uphold ◽

Constance L. Shehan ◽

Joyce McDonald Bender ◽

Bradley S. Bender

Keyword(s):

Social Relationships ◽

Emotional Support ◽

White Men ◽

Hiv Positive ◽

Instrumental Support ◽

Adult Sons ◽

Emotional Bonds ◽

Health Related ◽

Living With Hiv

Men infected with HIV are often faced with caregiving responsibilities of aging, ill parents, while simultaneously looking for support from their parents in dealing with their own health problems. Unfortunately, the reciprocal roles of HIV-positive adult sons and aging mothers as caregivers have not been examined. To address this gap in the literature, HIV-positive men ( n = 118) answered open-ended questions about the support they exchanged with their mothers, completed the Depth of Relationships Inventory, and rated the importance of health-related assistance between themselves and their mothers. The men viewed themselves as important providers of both instrumental and emotional support to their mothers. Men perceived their mothers to be significant providers of emotional support but only moderately important in providing instrumental support. About a third of the men responded that the help they provided and received from the mothers in managing each other’s health and staying healthy was extremely important. Men regarded their relationships with their mothers as one of their most important social relationships. Non-White men rated the quality of their mother–son relationships more highly, exchanged more instrumental support, and provided more emotional support to their mothers than White men. Men who disclosed their HIV-positive status to their mothers rated the importance of the help they received from their mothers in managing their illnesses higher than men who had not disclosed.

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