Thriving,burnout, and coping strategies of early and later career counseling center psychologists in the United States

We interviewed seven early career psychologists (ECPs) and seven later career psychologists (LCPs) employed at university counseling centers in the United States about their experiences with thriving, burnout, and coping. We analyzed the data using Consensual Qualitative Research. Typical factors that contributed to thriving included recognition for achievement and the climate of counseling center and campus, although the latter was more important for ECPs than LCPs. Typical factors that contributed to burnout included challenges with tasks and responsibilities and challenges related to professional relationships. Finally, interpersonal support (general), self-care, cognitive strategies, and behavioral strategies (typical) were coping strategies used by both ECPs and LCPs, but only ECPs identified using personal therapy. Implications for counseling centers and for research are presented.     

Health Implications of Conflict in Close Relationships

We summarize the large body of research conducted over the previous 30 years on the link between interpersonal conflict and physiological outcomes, with a focus on implications for health. Specifically, we review evidence that conflict in close, romantic relationships affects internal bodily processes, including cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune function, as well as objective health indicators. We focus on studies that have utilized standardized, laboratory‐based conflict discussions, as we believe this methodology provides the clearest picture of how conflict affects health. It is our hope that this general overview serves as a useful introduction to the state of the field.     

Interpersonal psychological well-being among coach-athlete-sport psychology practitioner triads

The importance of psychological well-being (PWB) is widely acknowledged in global policy and has important ramifications for health, performance, and engagement among sport performers. Despite this compelling knowledge, little is known about PWB in close sport relationships. We aimed to explore the interpersonal antecedents, transfer mechanisms, and outcomes of PWB within and among athletes, coaches, and sport psychology practitioners (SPPs). Underpinned by an interpretative paradigm, we conducted individual and triadic interviews with three coach-athlete-SPP triads from individual sports and analyzed data using abductive reasoning applied to reflexive thematic analysis. The themes we constructed relating to antecedents of PWB were situational properties of stressors, factors relating to the organization, shared values and characteristics, and interpersonal resilience. PWB was transferred among the triad via interpersonal coping, emotional contagion, and social appraising. PWB was cyclic in nature and, thus, we constructed themes (i.e., psychological safety, meaningful experiences of growth and development, and relational dynamics), which represented those factors that acted as both antecedents and outcomes. Our findings transcend individual understandings of PWB in sport by representing the first interpersonal examination of PWB among coach-athlete-SPP triads. This shift is crucial for informing how performers can collectively evaluate and manage PWB in the context of their close sport relationships. These findings implicate two primary recommendations: first, we recommend that researchers extend conceptual understanding of PWB among those in close sport relationships. Second, organizations and practitioners are encouraged to consider how mentoring and relationship-building schemes can be tailored within wider education and support programs to bolster PWB among athletes, coaches, and practitioners.     

Leaving Room for Complexity in Attempts to Understand Associations between Romantic Relationships and Health: Commentary on Wanic and Kulik

Wanic and Kulik (2011) discuss research addressing links between romantic relationships and health, with a focus on gender differences in response to relationship conflict among couples residing in the U.S. Their subordination-reactivity hypothesis proposes that women??s subordinate role in relationships renders them more vulnerable to relationship conflict and less likely to reap the health benefits of relationships than men. They contrast their hypothesis with the interpersonal orientation hypothesis and provide convincing evidence for further examination of the importance of status in relationships. We add to their commentary by noting the potential importance of considering research examining men??s vulnerability when faced with relationship dissolution, personality traits (e.g., dominance) in addition to social roles within relationships, and by describing preliminary research addressing gay and lesbian partnerships. We conclude by imploring researchers to remain tolerant of ambiguity in this area of research as new findings continue to reveal the significant but complex associations between romantic relationship experiences and health for both men and women.     

Social status,everyday interpersonal processes,and coronary heart disease: A social psychophysiological view

Lower socioeconomic position is associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease. This robust gradient is found across levels of socioeconomic position and after controlling access to health care and traditional biological and behavioral risk factors. Thus, previous theory and research has examined the role of other, relatively static psychosocial factors (e.g., social isolation and negative emotional traits) that may account for this association. Utilizing an interpersonal perspective on psychosocial risk (Smith & Cundiff, 2011 ; Smith, Gallo, & Ruiz, 2003 ; Smith, Glazer, Ruiz, & Gallo, 2004 ), this review examines the role of recurring interpersonal experiences and their physiological effects as a pathway linking socioeconomic position and coronary heart disease. Specifically, we focus on proximal interpersonal experiences that may not only explain the increased prevalence of more chronic psychosocial vulnerabilities in lower socioeconomic environments and individuals but may also link those psychosocial vulnerabilities to the momentary physiological mechanisms (i.e., stress responses) that directly contribute to coronary heart disease. Recurring experiences of reduced support and increased conflict in important personal relationships, work stress, multiple aspects of interactions with higher‐status others, the effects of negative stereotypes about lower socioeconomic groups and individuals, greater use of suppressive strategies for emotion regulation and greater negative consequences for more direct and expressive social behavior, and greater engagement in perseverative cognition all plausibly combine to perpetuate psychosocial risk and produce overall greater physiological burden at lower levels of socioeconomic position.     

Exploring well-being among US Hispanics/Latinos in a church-based institution: a qualitative study

Major theories informing conceptions of psychological well-being draw heavily from Western-centric perspectives, which often neglect culturally bound frameworks. We investigated how US Hispanics/Latinos conceptualize well-being, how psychosocial and behavioral aspects may increase well-being, and how psychosocial stressors may impact positive emotional states. Spanish-speaking Hispanic/Latino adults were recruited from a church in an urban city in the US and invited to participate in focus groups. Two groups of women (n = 19) and one group of men (n = 8) participated. The importance of harmonious social relationships emerged as a theme with the central family unit as the fundamental force influencing long-lasting emotional well-being. Additional correlates of well-being included: faith/religiosity; physical health; self-love and -esteem; effective/open communication with family and friends; and financial security. Programs aimed at increasing well-being may need to be adapted before administration in Hispanics/Latinos to include a heightened focus on interpersonal factors. Delivery in religious institutions may also be particularly beneficial.     

Balancing the power in dating relationships

This paper explores the link between perceived egalitarianism in dating relationships and several social-psychological factors that characterize intimate relationships. Data from a sample of nonmarried college students (N=328) suggest that factors such as trust, commitment, other orientation, and dependency are strongly related to perceived egalitarianism, but that comparative resources generally are not significantly related to perceived egalitarianism in dating relationships. It is suggested here that various interpersonal values that operate in intimate relationships may disguise or counteract inequality in intimate heterosexual relationships. These findings suggest the importance of moving beyond a social-exchange perspective in order to understand interpersonal power and of focusing on the role that interpersonal values play in this process.     

Botswana school child parents: their personal and community relationships contexts for counselling

The study determined personal-socio-contextual influences that predicted the perceived quality of relationships with Batswana early teenage mothers. The participants were 86 Botswana high school students (mean age 18.97, SD = 1.76) with motherhood. They completed a numerical measure of adjustment to teenage motherhood in the context of family, school and community and also culture and social policy. A proportion of the teenagers (10%) participated in focus group discussion on the same aspects. The quantitative data were analysed to predict family, interpersonal, school and community interpersonal relationships from the teenage mothers' age, age of parents and living arrangements. The qualitative focus group discussion data were thematically analysed. Findings suggest that supportive living arrangements were instrumental to perceived quality of interpersonal relationships in the family and the school and community relationships. Gendered roles of the parents were social capital for family and school and community relationships with teenage-hood. Living arrangements and parental social discounting qualities reliably predicted teen mothers' social outcomes important for early parenthood counselling.     

Interpersonal Goals and Close Relationship Processes: Potential Links to Health

A substantial body of empirical evidence suggests that social relationships buffer people from poor health. We review a program of research demonstrating how interpersonal goals create relationship processes that shape the quality of close relationships, which we argue may have consequences for own and others’ health. Self‐image goals to construct, maintain, and defend desired images of the self create negative interpersonal dynamics that undermine close relationships and mental health, while compassionate goals to support others’ well‐being create positive interpersonal dynamics that promote close relationships and mental health. We discuss the potential implications of social goals and close relationship processes for health. Finally, we suggest that exploring the independent benefits of giving and receiving in close relationships may inform how social relationships affect health and well‐being.     

Explaining Gender Differences in Depression: an Interpersonal Contingent Self-Esteem Perspective

The quality of interpersonal relationships may be a key factor in the etiology of depression. An interpersonal depressive vulnerability has been proposed to interact with interpersonal stressors to predict depressive symptoms. Research examining gender differences in this link has been inconclusive. We propose that research should focus on whether one’s self-esteem is based on the quality of interpersonal relationships. We propose a model of gender differences in depression that examines the role of interpersonal contingent self-esteem (ICSE) in the development of depression. Specifically, we propose that ICSE interacts with gender in the face of interpersonal stress to promote decreases in momentary self-esteem. Decreases in momentary self-esteem, in turn, lead to rumination, maladaptive interpersonal behaviors, and depressive symptoms.     

Embracing Complexity and Seeking Simplicity in Interpersonal Relationships: A Defense of the Subordination-Reactivity Hypothesis

In the target article (Wanic and Kulik 2011), we proposed in the subordination-reactivity hypothesis that women??s (typically) subordinate role in marital relationships renders them physiologically more vulnerable to martial conflict, which may explain partly the finding that marriage generally benefits the health of men more than women. In that article, we noted that our hypothesis should be considered in conjunction with other ??non-mutually exclusive?? relationship processes that also may contribute to the greater health benefit of marriage for men. The accompanying commentaries take issue with our article on the grounds that a) interpersonal relationships and health are multidimensional and complex; b) our subordination-reactivity hypothesis diverges from existing interpersonal theory and research; and c) it is ??almost always?? unwise to ??pit?? one explanation or theory against another. In this response we argue a) the indisputable point regarding the complexity of interpersonal relationships and health does not challenge the validity of our hypothesis; b) our hypothesis, as stated, is not logically inconsistent with the prior interpersonal theory and research cited, and c) there is considerable value to pitting explanations against each other when possible, and arguments to avoid doing so are at odds with fundamental scientific practices.     

Typology and psychological effects of adolescents' interpersonal relationships in Taiwan

The present research explored Taiwanese adolescent students' interpersonal relationships and examined whether teachers' evaluations of these students' health and academic performances varied with the students' interpersonal relationship patterns. Data ( n  = 2310) were based on a panel study conducted by the Taiwan Youth Project in 2001 (eighth grade) and 2002 (ninth grade). Latent class models and hierarchical linear models were used to analyse the data. Adolescent students' interpersonal relationships were categorized as Multiple Contacts, Parents- and Peers-Close, Peers-Close, and Few Contacts. The research results showed that not only adolescents' self-reports of self-esteem and depressed mood but also teachers' evaluations of adolescents' health and academic performances varied with adolescents' interpersonal relationship patterns. An influence of teachers' character and work environment on their evaluations of students was found. Teachers who had more years of teaching and higher job satisfaction rated their students as having better health, and teachers who felt greater respect from their students reported that their students had better academic performance. The connection between adolescents' psychological well-being and the roles of parents, peers and teachers is also discussed.     

Call for Papers: National Conference in Sales Management

This article combines a constructivist grounded theory approach with a focus on structuration theory to propose a new mental model for understanding motivation in the context of solving complex problems in contemporary business-to-business (B2B) settings. This study uses the interpretative tradition of qualitative research to conduct in-depth interviews of 24 B2B sales professionals and subsequently analyze their lived experiences. Findings indicate that intrinsic motivation stems attitudinally from a need to foster an identity of helping customers, introducing a concept called “interpersonal identification” with customers. That identity motivates the development of more cognitively intense sales proposals using a more holistic proposal development process – referred to herein as “systems-savvy selling.” While interpersonal relationships have long been components of B2B relationships, this study challenges laypeople’s stereotypes of salespeople who use interpersonal relationships to improve business outcomes. Instead, systems-savvy selling helps salespeople build interpersonal relationships and use business outcomes as feedback to strengthen interpersonal relationships and their identification with customers. Unexpectedly, it also finds that dual-role sales managers, who have roles both in selling and managing, confront a paradox of self versus others when managing systems-savvy selling processes. By sampling within an industry in which the research team benefits from significant expertise, the constructivist grounded theory approach relying on semistructured, in-depth interviews used herein leverages the research team’s expertise while controlling for industry-level effects.     

Interpersonal control strivings and vulnerability to negative social exchanges in later life

Although negative social exchanges detract from well-being, little is known about the factors that influence older adults' vulnerability to such exchanges. Interpersonal control strivings were examined as predictors of 2 dimensions of vulnerability to negative social exchanges, exposure and reactivity, in a nationally representative sample of older adults (N=916). Interpersonal control strivings refer to people's efforts to maintain harmony in their relationships and, when unsuccessful, to preserve their emotional health. The results revealed that interpersonal control strivings directed toward maintaining harmony were associated with less exposure, whereas interpersonal control strivings directed toward preserving emotional health when harmony is threatened were associated with less reactivity. Thus, complementary control processes play an important role in older adults' vulnerability to negative social exchanges.     

Romantic relationships: do socially anxious individuals benefit?

Psychological health and interpersonal functioning mutually influence each other. Social anxiety has a pervasive effect on interpersonal functioning, resulting in smaller social networks, increased likelihood of being single or divorced, and less intimacy in relationships. However, little is known about how relationships affect socially anxious individuals in return. We utilized a structured interview to assess how romantic relationships were perceived as influencing three aspects of psychological health (well-being, social anxiety and comfort in social situations) and whether these patterns differed as a function of social anxiety in an undergraduate sample. The perceived importance of several reasons for these effects, including those that could be characterized as both protective and harmful, was also assessed. Relationships were perceived as having contributed positively in each domain. However, when positive and negative reasons were examined separately, socially anxious individuals reported benefiting more from the positive reasons and being harmed more by negative reasons. Further, social anxiety was associated with endorsing certain reasons as important.     

The impact of child sexual abuse on adult interpersonal functioning: A review and synthesis of the empirical literature

The many studies that have examined the long-term impact of child sexual abuse (CSA) on adult functioning have primarily focused on the personal distress of survivors, largely ignoring the impact of CSA on interpersonal relationships. This article reviews empirical findings concerning the interpersonal distress of survivors as expressed in their intimate and sexual relationships. First, current conceptualizations of the relationship between CSA and interpersonal relationships are reviewed, with a focus on the theoretical models that appear to have implications for the long-term interpersonal sequelae associated with CSA. This is followed by a review of the research conducted on intimacy within the area of social psychology and a summary of the empirical findings related to intimacy functioning in CSA survivors. A hypothesized typology of intimacy functioning for survivors is suggested. The effects of CSA on three components of sexuality—sexual dysfunctions, underlying psychological components of sexuality, and sexual orientation—are discussed. Finally, the interpersonal issues believed to be most salient for CSA survivors in the therapeutic setting are discussed, along with implications for the client–therapist relationship. Methodological, assessment, and conceptual issues are discussed throughout. Recommendations for future research and clinical endeavors are suggested.     

When Two Heads Aren't Better Than One: AIDS Risk Behavior in College-Age Couples1

Individuals in intimate relationships engage in higher levels of HIV risk behavior than do individuals engaging in casual sex (e.g., Bowen & Michal-Johnson, 1989; Misovich, Fisher, & Fisher, 1996). While there are many possible reasons for this consistent pattern of effects, few studies have focused on identifying the underlying causes. Therefore, same-gender focus groups were conducted with college-age men and women in intimate relationships as participants in order to examine, qualitatively, factors particular to relationships which are associated with HIV risk. Focus-group members indicated that concerns about questioning interpersonal trust and commitment in their relationship through the introduction of condoms or HIV testing were often strong impediments to these practices. Recommendations for future HIV-prevention interventions specific to individuals in relationships are discussed.     

Interpersonal self‐support and attentional bias on negative and positive interpersonal information

Interpersonal self‐support is an indigenous Chinese personality concept. It represents the idealized notion of the kind of personality traits that help individuals deal with interpersonal problems and develop and maintain the harmonic and appropriate social relationships required in China's collectivistic and interdependent culture. It also was assumed to be a protective personality factor with regard to mental health and was found to be negatively related to psychosomatic symptoms. In the current study, cognitive processing of interpersonal information is assumed to be an underlying mechanism that connects interpersonal self‐support with interpersonal relationships and mental health. To test this hypothesis, we conducted two experiments to investigate whether attentional bias on positive and negative interpersonal information was related to high and low interpersonal self‐support. A spatial cueing task and the emotional Stroop task were administered to two samples of high and low interpersonal self‐support Chinese undergraduate students to measure attentional bias. The results from both experiments suggested that high interpersonal self‐support students had an attentional bias toward positive interpersonal information, while low interpersonal self‐support students preferentially attended to negative interpersonal information. Study 1 indicated that attentional bias toward positive interpersonal information was easily engaged in the high interpersonal self‐support group, while attentional bias toward negative interpersonal information was both easy to engage and difficult to disengage in the low interpersonal self‐support students. These results support our hypotheses that high interpersonal self‐support people engage in positive processing of interpersonal information, whereas low interpersonal self‐support people engage in negative processing of interpersonal information. The differential balance between positive and negative processing on interpersonal information may explain why interpersonal self‐support predicts both mental health and interpersonal relationships. In addition, the relational schema may explain why interpersonal self‐support is associated with an attentional bias toward interpersonal information.     

Psychological wellbeing and the diathesis-stress hypothesis model: The role of psychological functioning and quality of relations in promoting subjective well-being in a life events study

Negative life events are associated with poor wellbeing and mental health outcomes. Following a diathesis-stress model, we tested whether psychological functioning and quality of interpersonal relationships moderated the effect of life events on subjective wellbeing. This study comprised data from a young and middle-aged adult sample (n = 364) drawn from an Australian university-student population. Results indicated that life events were associated with negative but not positive wellbeing outcomes. Perceived impact of life events was a stronger predictor of wellbeing than was the number of life events. Psychological functioning and quality of interpersonal relationships were associated with both wellbeing dimensions but only quality of interpersonal relationships moderated the effect of life events on wellbeing. In conclusion, perceived impact of life events was more strongly related to wellbeing than number of life events. Interpersonal relationships moderate the effect of life events with those reporting higher levels of quality of interpersonal relationships reporting less decrement in negative affect following stressful life events.     

Interpersonal predictors of stress generation: Is there a super factor?

Hammen's (1991, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100, 555–561) seminal paper on stress generation highlighted the reciprocal relationship between stress and depression. Not only does stress predict depression, but women with a diagnosis of depression also experienced subsequent increased levels of stress. In the ensuing years, depression researchers have moved beyond clinical predictors and examined whether depression vulnerability factors also contribute to stress generation. This interest has led to a growing focus on interpersonal vulnerability factors that contribute to stress generation. To date, the research examining interpersonal predictors of stress generation has tended to examine vulnerability factors singly and thus potential overlap and unique predictions among vulnerability factors have not been determined. This study examines interpersonal vulnerability factors from various schools of thought (dependency, attachment, and unmitigated communion) as predictors of interpersonal stress generation. Three hundred and sixty-four young adults completed baseline measures of interpersonal vulnerabilities and provided weekly reports of depressive symptoms and stressful life events. Multilevel models were estimated to examine their unique predictions of interpersonal stress generation. Despite converging theories, there does not appear to be a single super factor. Of the interpersonal vulnerability factors tested, anxious attachment emerged as a consistent predictor of interpersonal stress generation both when examined singly and when in combination with related variables.