Browsing by Subject "Interpersonal relations"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Evaluating Peers in Cyberspace: The Impact of Anonymity
    (2016) Christie, Charlene; Dill, Emily
    This research examined the question of whether the anonymity found in most types of computer-mediated communication (CMC) impacted individual reactions to people who agreed or disagreed with their own opinions. Participants (N = 256) evaluated other respondents who voiced an attitude that was either similar or dissimilar to the one they endorsed. The social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE; Reicher, Spears, & Postmes, 1995), suggests that anonymous group members will experience a heightened sense of social identity and show an increased likelihood of protecting that group by disparaging those who disagree with their beliefs. However, in the absence of a salient ingroup, we fail to find support for this. In contrast, we provide evidence that the impact of anonymity on interpersonal evaluations of peers is moderated by individual difference factors. Only those participants with high self-esteem, low levels of social anxiousness, or an elevated sense of autonomy evaluated targets more negatively when anonymous rather than identifiable. The current research suggests that any models used to understand anonymity's effects in CMC situations will need to carefully consider both social and personal identity characteristics.
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    The Influence of Antenatal Partner Support on Pregnancy Outcomes
    (Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., 2016-07) Cheng, Erika R.; Rifas-Shiman, Sheryl L.; Perkins, Meghan E.; Rich-Edwards, Janet Wilson; Gillman, Matthew W.; Wright, Rosalind; Taveras, Elsie M.; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    BACKGROUND: While there has been considerable attention given to the multitude of maternal factors that contribute to perinatal conditions and poor birth outcomes, few studies have aimed to understand the impact of fathers or partners. We examined associations of antenatal partner support with psychological variables, smoking behavior, and pregnancy outcomes in two socioeconomically distinct prebirth cohorts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were from 1764 women recruited from an urban-suburban group practice (Project Viva) and 877 women from urban community health centers (Project ACCESS), both in the Boston area. Antenatal partner support was assessed by the Turner Support Scale. Multivariable linear and logistic regression analyses determined the impact of low antenatal partner support on the outcomes of interest. RESULTS: In early pregnancy, 6.4% of Viva and 23.0% of ACCESS participants reported low partner support. After adjustment, low partner support was cross-sectionally associated with high pregnancy-related anxiety in both cohorts (Viva AOR 1.8; 95% CI: 1.0-3.4 and ACCESS AOR 1.9; 95% CI: 1.1-3.3) and with depression in ACCESS (AOR 1.9; 95% CI: 1.1-3.3). In Viva, low partner support was also related to depression mid-pregnancy (AOR 3.1; 95% CI: 1.7-5.7) and to smoking (AOR 2.2; 95% CI: 1.3-3.8). Birth weight, gestational age, and fetal growth were not associated with partner support. CONCLUSIONS: This study of two economically and ethnically distinct cohorts in the Boston area highlights higher levels of antenatal anxiety, depression, and smoking among pregnant women who report low partner support. Partner support may be an important and potentially modifiable target for interventions to improve pregnancy outcomes.
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    Moving Beyond Work-Family: Establishing Domains Relevant to Work-Life Conflict
    (2013-03-06) Crask, Erin M.; Boyd, Elizabeth; Williams, Jane R.; Salyers, Michelle P.
    Theoretically, inter-role conflict can occur between any life domains that place competing demands on an individual. However, inter-role conflict research has mainly focused on the conflict between only two domains: work and family. This limited focus is problematic because it has excluded many other potential life domains in which people participate. In order to focus more attention on other life domains, however, it is necessary to understand which life domains people are participating in. As such, the goal of the present qualitative research was to identify and define the full spectrum of life domains by asking two questions: What life domains are relevant to work-life conflict, and how do people value the various life domains in which they are involved? A total of 13 life domains emerged from the data. Participants engaged in an average of 9 of these domains, indicating that people engage in many activities in life outside just work and family.
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    Ready or Not: Planning for Health Declines in Couples with Advanced Multiple Sclerosis
    (Wolters Kluwer, 2013) Chen, Hannah; Habermann, Barbara; School of Nursing
    This study explored how couples living with advanced multiple sclerosis approach planning for health changes together. A qualitative descriptive approach was used, with multiple in-depth interviews. Ten couples were interviewed, consisting of 10 participants with advanced multiple sclerosis and their 10 respective spouses. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed for themes related to dyad decision making. Particular focus was paid to how or if couples planned for worsening health, including advance care planning. Characteristics of couples who had made plans for worsening health included a desire to make decisions ahead of time, work in a healthcare field, and a life-threatening health event for the care-giving partner. Characteristics of couples who had not discussed plans for worsening health included diminished quality of communication between partners and hoping for a cure. Findings suggest that providers may need to assess quality of communication between partners, because strained communication may negatively affect the process of informed healthcare decision making.
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    The Story of Medicine: From Paternalism to Partnership
    (2013-01-09) Marks, Jennifer Lynn; Parrish-Sprowl, John; Sheeler, Kristina K. Horn; Karnick, Kristine Brunovska, 1958-
    Physicians were interviewed and asked about their perspectives on communicating with patients, media, and the ways in which the biomedical and biopsychosocial models function in the practice of medicine. Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm was the primary critical method applied to themes that emerged from the interviews. Those emergent themes included the importance of a team approach to patient care; perspectives on physicians as bad communicators; and successful communication strategies when talking to patients. Physicians rely on nurses and other support staff, but the most important partnership is that between the physician and patient. Narrative fidelity and probability are satisfied by strategies physicians use in communicating with patients: using understandable language when talking to patients; engaging in nonverbal tactics of sitting down with patients, making eye contact with patients, and making appropriate physical contact with them in the form of a handshake or a light touch on the arm. Physicians are frustrated by media’s reporting of preliminary study results that omit details as well as media’s fostering of expectations for quick diagnostic processes and magical cures within the public. Furthermore, physicians see the biomedical and biopsychosocial models becoming increasingly interdependent in the practice of medicine, which carries the story of contemporary medicine further into the realm of partnership, revealing its humanity as well as its fading paternalism.