Romantic Partner Interference and Psychological Reactance in the Context of Caregiving for an Aging Family Member

Negotiating romantic relational dynamics is inherent to family caregiving situations, which continue to be on the rise in the United States. However, despite evidence that family caregiving duties are linked to a variety of negative relational outcomes, limited research examines communication processes that contribute to or alleviate the burden of caregiver duties on romantic relationships. Guided by psychological reactance theory (PRT), this study examined the link between romantic partner interference with family caregiving duties and the reactance process, as well as directness of communication about irritation as a type of freedom restoration behavior associated with reactance. Adults caring for aging family members recruited from MTurk ( N = 187) completed an online survey as part of a larger study of romantic partner communication surrounding family caregiving. Results using PROCESS serial mediation indicated that greater partner interference was related to heightened perceptions of freedom threat, which was positively associated with the experience of reactance, which in turn was associated with communication about irritation. However, the association between reactance and directness of communication about irritation was negative, the opposite direction of what was hypothesized. Implications for PRT and interventions with caregivers and their romantic partners are discussed.

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A cross-sectional analysis of demographic and behavioral risk factors of SARS-CoV-2 antibody positivity among a sample of U.S. college students

10.1101/2021.01.20.21249905 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sina Kianersi ◽

Christina Ludema ◽

Jonathan T. Macy ◽

Edlin Garcia ◽

Chen Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Online Survey ◽

Control Strategies ◽

The United States ◽

Romantic Partners ◽

Colleges And Universities ◽

Behavioral Risk ◽

Drinking Alcohol ◽

Cross Sectional

AbstractBackgroundColleges and universities across the United States are developing and implementing data-driven prevention and containment measures against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Identifying risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity could help to direct these efforts.ObjectiveTo estimate the associations between demographic factors and social behaviors and SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity and self-reported positive SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic test.MethodsIn September 2020, we randomly sampled Indiana University Bloomington (IUB) undergraduate students. Participants completed a cross-sectional, online survey about demographics, SARS-CoV-2 testing history, relationship status, and risk behaviors. Additionally, during a subsequent appointment, participants were tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies using a fingerstick procedure and SARS-CoV-2 IgM/IgG rapid assay kit. We used unadjusted modified Poisson regression models to evaluate the associations between predictors of both SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity and self-reported positive SARS-CoV-2 infection history.ResultsOverall, 1,076 students were included in the serological testing analysis, and 1,239 students were included in the SARS-CoV-2 infection history analysis. Current seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 was 4.6% (95% CI: 3.3%, 5.8%). Prevalence of self-reported SARS-CoV-2 infection history was 10.3% (95% CI: 8.6%, 12.0%). Greek membership, having multiple romantic partners, knowing someone in one’s immediate environment with SARS-CoV-2 infection, drinking alcohol more than 1 day per week, and hanging out with more than 4 people when drinking alcohol increased both the likelihood of seropositivity and SARS-CoV-2 infection history.ConclusionOur findings have implications for American colleges and universities and could be used to inform SARS-C0V-2 prevention and control strategies on such campuses.

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Character Strengths are Prominent as Mate Preferences of Turkish Students

Journal of International Students ◽

10.32674/jis.v1i2.555 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 64-68

Author(s):

Elizabeth Michelle White ◽

Amy R. Pearce ◽

Irina Khramtsova

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Qualitative Data ◽

Character Strengths ◽

The United States ◽

Romantic Partners ◽

Mate Preferences ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Romantic Partner ◽

Future Studies

This study addressed the traits and characteristics that Turkish students deem most important in a long-term romantic partner. We collected quantitative and qualitative data on characteristics desired in romantic partners from students attending Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi in Istanbul, Turkey. Like our previous cross-cultural studies conducted in Japan, Russia and the United States, results supported dependability and love as the most important traits. Overall, positive internal attributes were rated as highly important and we recommend the traits associated with the positive psychology movement be more fully considered in future studies on mate preferences.

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Testing relationships between smartphone engagement, romantic partner communication, and relationship satisfaction

Mobile Media & Communication ◽

10.1177/2050157920935163 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 205015792093516

Author(s):

Matthew A. Lapierre ◽

Benjamin E. Custer

Keyword(s):

Romantic Relationships ◽

Relationship Satisfaction ◽

Interpersonal Relationships ◽

Romantic Partners ◽

Romantic Partner ◽

Mediated Communication ◽

Partner Communication ◽

Smartphone Technology ◽

Smartphone Use

As smartphone technology has spread rapidly across the globe, growing concern has spotlighted how these devices can limit the quality of our communication with others and harm interpersonal relationships. The current study examined how self-reported smartphone use and smartphone dependency were associated with romantic partner communication, and how these variables subsequently tied to relationship satisfaction. Working with a sample of 433 American young adults in romantic relationships, the study found that smartphone use was associated with increased communication between romantic partners, and increased mediated communication between partners predicted more affectionate communication. Conversely, increased smartphone dependency was directly associated with less affectionate communication and lower relationship satisfaction. The study offers insights into how smartphones potentially affect how we connect with romantic partners.

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An Analysis of Romantic Partnership Dynamics in Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Case Files

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260520960302 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 088626052096030

Author(s):

Mary K. Twis ◽

Lynzee Gillespie ◽

Don Greenwood

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

At Risk ◽

Sex Trafficking ◽

The United States ◽

Romantic Partners ◽

Romantic Partner ◽

Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking ◽

Gang Involvement ◽

Case Files ◽

At Risk Adolescents

Domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) is the commercial sexual exploitation of a minor citizen or legal resident within the United States. Previous research suggests that although DMST is often discussed as though it is a uniform phenomenon, traffickers may use different tactics and exploit different victim vulnerabilities depending upon their established relationships with those who are at-risk for trafficking. The purpose of this qualitative study, therefore, is to explore the relationship patterns and dynamics that emerge between DMST victims and their romantic partner traffickers. This study utilizes the secondary case files of 38 domestic minors who were trafficked for sex by their romantic partners in one state in the United States between 2012 and 2017. The study is conceptualized according to the principles of directed content analysis and multiple case study design and relies heavily on previous research findings related to victim-trafficker relationship typology. The authors conducted two rounds of coding before applying themes to the case files. The analysis revealed that DMST victims trafficked by romantic partners are often influenced by environmental circumstances, such as gang involvement and family systems involvement. Romantic partner traffickers use specific recruitment tactics to entrap their victims, and exercise methods such as caregiving, sexual violence, and psychological violence to maintain control over their victims. Study results provide a significant extension to the anti-trafficking field’s understanding of DMST and the romantic partner relationships that underpin it. The results suggest that anti-trafficking advocates should screen at-risk adolescents for gang involvement, family involvement in the sex industry. They should also educate at-risk adolescents about DMST as a potential component of teen dating violence.

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Speech-Language Pathologists' Perceptions of Their Preparation and Confidence for Providing Dysphagia Services

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups ◽

10.1044/2020_persp-20-00115 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (6) ◽

pp. 1666-1682

Author(s):

Lena G. Caesar ◽

Merertu Kitila

Keyword(s):

Service Delivery ◽

Graduate School ◽

Online Survey ◽

The United States ◽

Academic Preparation ◽

Speech Language Pathologists ◽

Confidence Levels ◽

Graduate School Preparation ◽

Graduate Preparation ◽

Significant Relationships

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) regarding their academic preparation and current confidence levels for providing dysphagia services, and the relationship between their perceptions of graduate school preparation and their current levels of confidence. Method This study utilized an online survey to gather information from 374 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association–certified SLPs who currently provide dysphagia services in the United States. Surveys were primarily distributed through American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Special Interest Group forums and Facebook groups. The anonymous survey gathered information regarding SLPs' perceptions of academic preparation and current confidence levels for providing dysphagia services in 11 knowledge and skill areas. Results Findings indicated that more than half of respondents did not feel prepared following their graduate academic training in five of the 11 knowledge and skill areas related to dysphagia service delivery. However, about half of respondents indicated they were currently confident about their ability to provide services in eight of the 11 knowledge and skill areas. Findings also indicated that their current confidence levels to provide dysphagia services were significantly higher than their perceptions of preparation immediately following graduate school. However, no significant relationships were found between respondents' self-reported current confidence levels and their perceptions of the adequacy of their academic preparation. Conclusions Despite SLPs' low perceptions of the adequacy of their graduate preparation for providing dysphagia services in specific knowledge and skill areas immediately following graduation, they reported high confidence levels with respect to their actual service delivery. Implications of these findings are discussed.

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School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists' Perceived Self-Efficacy in Conducting Multidimensional Treatment With Children Who Stutter

Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools ◽

10.1044/2020_lshss-20-00044 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 51 (4) ◽

pp. 1172-1186

Author(s):

Carolina Beita-Ell ◽

Michael P. Boyle

Keyword(s):

Self Efficacy ◽

Clinical Training ◽

Online Survey ◽

The United States ◽

Comfort Level ◽

Social Emotional ◽

Speech Language Pathologists ◽

Fluency Disorders ◽

Cognitive Components ◽

School Based

Purpose The purposes of this study were to examine the self-efficacy of school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in conducting multidimensional treatment with children who stutter (CWS) and to identify correlates of self-efficacy in treating speech-related, social, emotional, and cognitive domains of stuttering. Method Three hundred twenty randomly selected school-based SLPs across the United States responded to an online survey that contained self-efficacy scales related to speech, social, emotional, and cognitive components of stuttering. These ratings were analyzed in relation to participants' beliefs about stuttering treatment and their comfort level in treating CWS, perceived success in therapy, and empathy levels, in addition to their academic and clinical training in fluency disorders as well as demographic information. Results Overall, SLPs reported moderate levels of self-efficacy on each self-efficacy scale and on a measure of total self-efficacy. Significant positive associations were observed between SLPs' self-efficacy perceptions and their comfort level in treating CWS, self-reported success in treatment, beliefs about the importance of multidimensional treatment, and self-reported empathy. There were some discrepancies between what SLPs believed was important to address in stuttering therapy and how they measured success in therapy. Conclusions Among school-based SLPs, self-efficacy for treating school-age CWS with a multidimensional approach appears stronger than previously reported; however, more progress in training and experience is needed for SLPs to feel highly self-efficacious in these areas. Continuing to improve clinician self-efficacy for stuttering treatment through improved academic training and increased clinical experiences should remain a high priority in order to enhance outcomes for CWS. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12978194

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Suicide-Bereaved Individuals’ Attitudes Toward Therapists

Crisis ◽

10.1027/0227-5910/a000290 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 36 (2) ◽

pp. 135-141 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Erin F. Ward-Ciesielski ◽

Madeline D. Wielgus ◽

Connor B. Jones

Keyword(s):

Mental Health Treatment ◽

Online Survey ◽

The United States ◽

Limited Attention ◽

Time Of Death ◽

Loved One ◽

Important Group ◽

Positive Attitudes ◽

Suicide Bereaved ◽

Research Domain

Background: Suicide-bereaved individuals represent an important group impacted by suicide. Understanding their experiences following the suicide of a loved one is an important research domain, despite receiving limited attention. Although suicide-bereaved individuals may benefit from mental health treatment, their attitudes toward therapy and therapists are poorly understood. Aims: The present study aimed to understand the extent to which bereaved individuals’ attitudes toward therapy and therapists are impacted by whether their loved one was in therapy at the time of death. Method: Suicide-bereaved individuals (N = 243) from the United States were recruited to complete an online survey about their experience with and attitudes toward therapy and therapists following the suicide of a loved one. Results: Bereaved individuals whose loved one was in therapy at the time of death (N = 48, 19.8%) reported more negative and less positive attitudes toward the treating therapist than those whose loved one was not in therapy at the time of death (N = 81, 33.3%) or whose loved one was never in therapy/the deceased’s therapy status was unknown (N = 114, 46.9%). Conclusion: The deceased’s involvement with a therapist appears to be an important factor impacting the experience of bereaved individuals and should be considered when attempting to engage these individuals in postvention.

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Simple Relationship Quality Measures

10.31234/osf.io/26ytu ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sylvia Niehuis

Keyword(s):

Convergent Validity ◽

Online Survey ◽

Romantic Partners ◽

Age Dating ◽

Simple Relationship ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Single Item ◽

College Age ◽

Close Relationship ◽

Dating Couples

Issues in applied survey research, including minimizing respondent burden to encourage survey completion and the increasing administration of questionnaires over smartphones, have intensified efforts to create short measures. We conducted two studies to examine the psychometric properties of single-item measures of four close-relationship variables: satisfaction, love, conflict, and commitment. Study 1 was longitudinal, surveying an initial sample of 121 college-age dating couples at three monthly phases. Romantic partners completed single- and multi-item measures of the four constructs, along with other variables, to examine test-retest reliability and convergent (single-item measures with their corresponding multi-item scales), concurrent, and predictive validity. Our single-item measures of satisfaction, love, and commitment exhibited impressive psychometric qualities, but our single-item conflict measure performed somewhat less strongly. Study 2, a cross-sectional online survey (n = 280; mainly through Facebook), showed strong convergent validity of the single-item measures, including a .60 correlation between single- and multi-item conflict measures.

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An Assessment of the Cues College Students Interpret From a Sexual Partner to Determine They Are Refusing

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260521997930 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 088626052199793

Author(s):

Tiffany L. Marcantonio ◽

Danny Valdez ◽

Kristen N. Jozkowski

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

College Students ◽

Sexual Partner ◽

Online Survey ◽

The United States ◽

Sexual Partners ◽

Sexual Scripts ◽

Nonverbal Cues ◽

Sexual Experiences ◽

Verbal Cues

The purpose of this study was to assess the cues college students use to determine a sexual partner is refusing vaginal-penile sex (i.e., refusal interpretations). As a secondary aim, we explored the influence of item wording ( not willing/non-consent vs refusal) on college students’ self-reported refusal interpretations. A sample of 175 college students from Canada and the United States completed an open-ended online survey where they were randomly assigned to one of two wording conditions ( not willing/non-consent vs refusal); students were then prompted to write about the cues they used to interpret their partner was refusing. An inductive coding procedure was used to analyze open-ended data. Themes included explicit and implicit verbal and nonverbal cues. The refusal condition elicited more explicit and implicit nonverbal cues than the not willing/non-consent condition. Frequency results suggested men reported interpreting more explicit and implicit verbal cues. Women reported interpreting more implicit nonverbal cues from their partner. Our findings reflect prior research and appear in line with traditional gender and sexual scripts. We recommend researchers consider using the word refusal when assessing the cues students interpret from their sexual partners as this wording choice may reflect college students’ sexual experiences more accurately.

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Commonalities across computational workflows for uncovering explanatory variants in undiagnosed cases

Genetics in Medicine ◽

10.1038/s41436-020-01084-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Shilpa Nadimpalli Kobren ◽

◽

Dustin Baldridge ◽

Matt Velinder ◽

Joel B. Krier ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Online Survey ◽

Variant Calling ◽

Theoretical Method ◽

The United States ◽

Genomic Sequencing ◽

Biomedical Data ◽

Sequencing Data ◽

Multimodal Data ◽

Undiagnosed Diseases ◽

Undiagnosed Diseases Network

Abstract Purpose Genomic sequencing has become an increasingly powerful and relevant tool to be leveraged for the discovery of genetic aberrations underlying rare, Mendelian conditions. Although the computational tools incorporated into diagnostic workflows for this task are continually evolving and improving, we nevertheless sought to investigate commonalities across sequencing processing workflows to reveal consensus and standard practice tools and highlight exploratory analyses where technical and theoretical method improvements would be most impactful. Methods We collected details regarding the computational approaches used by a genetic testing laboratory and 11 clinical research sites in the United States participating in the Undiagnosed Diseases Network via meetings with bioinformaticians, online survey forms, and analyses of internal protocols. Results We found that tools for processing genomic sequencing data can be grouped into four distinct categories. Whereas well-established practices exist for initial variant calling and quality control steps, there is substantial divergence across sites in later stages for variant prioritization and multimodal data integration, demonstrating a diversity of approaches for solving the most mysterious undiagnosed cases. Conclusion The largest differences across diagnostic workflows suggest that advances in structural variant detection, noncoding variant interpretation, and integration of additional biomedical data may be especially promising for solving chronically undiagnosed cases.

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