The Parent–Child Relationship as an Archetype for the Relationship Between God and Humanity in Genesis

This article explores the idea that the relationship between a parent and developing child may serve as an archetype for understanding the changing relationship between God and humanity in Genesis. With Adam, Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph representing successive stages of human development, the narrative structure of Genesis is said to portray the relationship between God and humanity as changing in a way that parallels a parent's changing relationship with his or her children across their growth toward psychological integration. This changing relationship with God, which starts out with a symbiotic union with the divine, progresses through separation and individuation, and culminates in reintegration with God, may offer a Biblical approach to psychological growth and healing, as well as a theoretical conceptualization for both the parental and mutable nature of God.     

The Influence of Social Regard on the Customer–Service Firm Relationship: The Moderating Role of Length of Relationship

Purpose  

The authors examine the influence of employees’ social regard toward the customers on customer satisfaction, trust, and word of mouth. In addition, we analyzed the moderating role of length of relationship between the service provider and the customer on the effects of social regard on the customer relationship outcomes.     

Relationship between psychological stress and lymphocytic 5′-ectonucleotidase

The relationship between psychological stress and lymphocytic 5-ectonucleotidase, an enzyme marker for lymphocyte differentiation, was studied. Lymphocytic 5-ectonucleotidase was decreased significantly by about twofold in persons experiencing psychological stress, with a corresponding change in Total Mood Disturbance scores of the Profile of Mood States. Enzyme values were reversible in that they returned to normal once the stress had been reduced. Administration of high doses of ascorbate to severely depressed patients also normalized 5-ectonucleotidase activities, and implied that low enzyme values in stressed persons may be mediated by oxygen radical damage. This finding was consistent with previous reports of heightened inflammatory responses occurring in depressed patients. The primary cause of lowered 5-ectonucleotidase during stress may be the breakdown in the homeostatic mechanisms of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and immune system resulting in lymphoid tissue resistance to corticosteroids. It is suggested that this lowering of lymphocyte 5-ectonucleotidase may contribute to stress-mediated immune suppression by inhibiting lymphocyte maturation.     

Pathways of Growth in the Mother–Daughter Relationship

I focus on two central pathways of growth and change in the mother–daughter relationship—empathic attunement, which promotes a secure and cohesive sense of self, and mutual recognition of separate subjectivities, which advances differentiation of mother and daughter. A continually fluctuating balance between these two pathways of relating provides opportunities for self and mutual enhancement or possibly compromise of the relationship. Two nodal points during the life cycle, that of the daughter's adolescence and the mother's old age, are taken up through the use of film and a clinical vignette to illustrate, from a nonlinear dynamic systems theoretical perspective, movement toward maturity and transformation.     

How Does the Relationship Facilitate Productive Client Thinking?

My thesis is: a) that the primary client activity that facilitates change is their productive thinking, b) that one key way the therapeutic relationship is helpful is that it facilitates this kind of activity, and c) that if we look at the therapist–client dyad as a group, then we can further understand how the therapy dialogue facilitates productive client thinking through recent ideas about socially shared cognition.     

How do Relationship Stability and Quality Affect Wellbeing?: Romantic Relationship Trajectories,Depressive Symptoms,and Life Satisfaction across 30 Years

Lifecourse theory scholars focus on how individuals traverse social roles, such as marriage, parenthood, and employment, in similar and different ways across their lives. This study examined one specific role trajectory: romantic relationships. This study examined men’s and women’s (N?=?3617) relationship status and quality across approximately 30 years. Using second-order latent class analysis, results showed four predominant relationship role trajectories: (a) Multiple Transitions, (b) Stable Marriage with High Conflict, (c) Stable Marriage with High Satisfaction, and (d) Marriage to Divorce/cohabitation. These relationship role trajectories differed on two aspects of quality of life: life satisfaction and depressive symptoms. Individuals in the Multiple Transitions trajectory consistently reported poorest quality of life; however, those in the Multiple Transitions and Stable Marriage with High Conflict trajectories were the only that reported decreases in depressive symptoms over 30 years. Relationship satisfaction poorly differentiated the trajectories compared to relationship conflict and stability.     

Assessing the Quality of the Parent–Child Relationship: Validity and Reliability of the Child–Parent Relationship Test (ChiP-C)

The ChiP-C is a clinically oriented questionnaire for assessing the quality of the child-parent relationship according to the child’s subjective appraisal. The ChiP-C is based on family systems theory and a cumulative vulnerability model. The questionnaire consists of 36 items representing three resource scales, five risk scales, and one additional scale. This article presents the theoretical framework and main psychometric properties of the ChiP-C. A school-based sample of 1,377 youth (ages 10–20; M = 14.4) and a clinic-referred consecutive sample of 197 patients (ages 10–18, M = 14.0) were surveyed. Construct validity was determined by confirmatory factor analyses. The mean of the internal consistencies was 0.79. Systematic correlations between the ChiP-C scales and the German EMBU confirmed the convergent and discriminant validity of the ChiP-C. Moreover, all ChiP-C scales were shown to be significantly correlated with psychopathological symptoms as measured by parent and youth questionnaires. The ChiP-C can be considered an economical screening instrument for a reliable and valid assessment of strengths and disturbances of the child-parent relationship according to the child’s subjective appraisal.     

Relationship Factors’ Impact on Condom Use Among College Students

Research indicates that a number of college students are at risk for HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, and unplanned pregnancy as a result of their sexual behaviors. Specific behaviors placing college students at risk include having sex with multiple partners, poor communication about safer sex practices with their sexual partners and not using condoms consistently and correctly when engaging in sexual activity. The purpose of this paper is to identify potential differences in safer sex practices and factors that influence condom use among college students. A four-page, 18-item survey was developed to determine participants’ condom use and the impact of relationship status and other demographic factors on condom use. Analyses revealed that the number of lifetime vaginal sexual partners and participants’ sex influenced condom use. There were no significant differences in relationship status, duration, trust, honesty and condom use. These findings should be considered with designing interventions to increase condom use among college students.     

Hooking Up and Emerging Adults’ Relationship Attitudes and Expectations

The dating landscape has changed markedly in recent years, with many emerging adults taking a less committed approach to relationships and sex (e.g., “hooking up”). Delayed marital transitions and declining rates of marriage have led to concerns that the rise of the “hookup culture” is associated with a devaluing of marriage. Previous research on associations between sexual attitudes or overall sexual experience and marital attitudes has produced inconsistent findings and is not representative of modern union formation and sexual norms. Using a sample of 248 emerging adults, we examined associations between engagement in casual sexual behavior (i.e., hooking up) and expectations for future committed relationships and marriage as well as attitudes toward current relationship involvement. Contrary to concerns about the devaluation of marriage, results indicated that level of engagement in hooking up was not associated with expectations for involvement in future committed relationships, including marriage. However, hooking up was associated with less favorable attitudes toward current relationship involvement. These findings suggest that engagement in hooking up is a time-specific behavior that aligns with the self-focused nature of emerging adulthood, rather than indicating a lack of interest in future committed relationships or marriage.     

Counselor Effectiveness and Family-of-Origin Experiences: A Significant Relationship?

In this article, the authors investigate the relationship between family-of-origin experiences and counseling effectiveness of counselors in training.     

Roommate Compatibility: Is There An Ideal Relationship?1

Three theories of interpersonal attraction were tested for their ability to predict roommates' compatibility. The similarity hypothesis (that we are attracted to and compatible with people who are similar to our self-concepts) received moderate support; the social desirability hypothesis (that we are attracted to and compatible with people who possess socially desirable traits) received scant support. The ideal hypothesis (that we are attracted to and compatible with people who are similar to our ideals) received strong support. The utility of these theories in terms of preinteractionally matching students in order to maximize compatibility was found to be minimal because it could not be assumed that students peiceive their roommates in the same manner as their roommates perceive themselves.     

Posttraumatic Growth: Spouses’ Relationship Quality and Psychological Distress

While research links interpersonal processes to posttraumatic growth (PTG; Calhoun &; Tedeschi, 2006a Calhoun, L. G., &; Tedeschi, R. G. (2006a). Expert companions: Posttraumatic growth in clinical practice. In L. G. Calhoun, &; R. G. Tedeschi (Eds.), Handbook of posttraumatic growth: Research &; practice (pp. 291–310). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. [Google Scholar]), little is known about whether partners’ PTG has consequences for people’s (i.e., actors’) relationship functioning and psychological distress. Sixty-one married couples who had experienced severe flooding completed measures of PTG, perceptions of spouses’ PTG, relationship quality, and psychological distress 6 and 12 months following the event. Partners’ increased PTG predicted actors’ increased perceptions of partners’ PTG, which predicted actors’ increased relationship quality, which, in turn, predicted actors’ decreased psychological distress. Thus, partners’ PTG can benefit spouses’ evaluations of their relationship and, ultimately, actors’ psychological well-being.     

Theology's munus triplex? Reconsidering Theology's Relationship to the Sciences

Despite the complicated history of exchange between theology and science, the relation between the two can perhaps be summarized succinctly by Ian Barbour's influential taxonomy: conflict, independence, dialogue or integration. This article explores an alternative route by demonstrating how three recent theologians (Barth, Van Huyssteen and Webster) offer recognizably distinct visions for Christian theology's interdisciplinary encounters which can be characterized respectively as prophetic, priestly and royal. A second section of this article discusses the fruitfulness of adopting a munus triplex approach to the interdisciplinary question, as well as anticipating potential objections to transferring the ‘offices’ of Christ to the task of theology.     

The Rank–Ferenczi Relationship,as Seen from France

Seen from France, where Rank's “American” work is not well known, the Rank–Ferenczi relationship does not allow to state that the two learned colleagues were the best friends. Rank met Ferenczi in 1908, but their most valuable and fruitful working relationship is limited to the 1922–1924 time period. Their working relationship must be read in light of the unique transference links of each to Freud, and in light of the tormented history of the analytic movement, especially after the First World War. The sensible reader will not forget that after the fast extinction of their short collaboration they continued their own works in their own ways, Otto Rank in Paris and in America and Sándor Ferenczi in Budapest. No more friends, nor enemies, but both, in a different style, brave and creative analysts.     

Real Relationship: The “Something More” of Psychotherapy

Although it often operates silently, the personal relationship is a part of everything that transpires between therapist and client. Following the psychoanalyst Ralph Greenson's (1967) early lead, the term Real Relationship is used to capture this personal aspect of psychotherapy. It is divided into two elements, realism and genuineness; and both these elements are further divided into magnitude and valence aspects. Research on the real relationship is almost nonexistent, and to an important extent this is due to the lack of a reliable, valid, and convenient measure. The author is involved in a research project aimed at developing such measures from both the client and therapist perspective. Examples of items are provided.     

The Interface Between Core Affects and the Challenge–Skill Relationship

Different models have been developed to describe human experiences. One of these models is the core affect model, which states that the core of emotional experience is a simple state of feeling good or bad, energized or drowsy. Another model is the experience fluctuation model (EFM), which has been developed to map how emotions and other experiences fluctuate along with the relationship between challenges and skills. In this study, we first mathematically refined the EFM. Second, we tested if fluctuations in core affect could be modeled with a continuous wave-like sine function (Study 1). Third, we applied the sine function to our own experience-sampling data, which we collected via mobile phones from 55 university students, and located each challenge–skill relationship in a two-dimensional core affect space (Study 2). The results were consistent in both studies and showed that fluctuations in core affect dimensions, measured as a function of the relationship between challenges and skills, can be modeled with the sine function. The results also indicated that there is a systematic link between challenge–skill relationships and core affect: High challenge–high skill situations were connected to a very active and pleasant core affect, whereas high challenge–low skill situations were connected to a quite active but unpleasant core affect, low challenge–low skill situations to a very passive and unpleasant core affect, and low challenge–high skill situations to a quite passive and pleasant core affect. Compared to previous studies, this study presents a more fine-grained and comprehensive level of information on the relationship between core affect and challenges and skills.