An Examination of Employee Reactions to Perceived Corporate Citizenship1

There has been little research focus to date on individual level reactions to corporate citizenship. Our study attempted to understand better how corporate citizenship affects job behaviors and employee feelings by examining a hypothesized positive effect of perceived corporate citizenship (PCC) on 3 dependent variables: work‐role definitions, organizational citizenship behavior, and organizational identification. Additionally, the personal value of other‐regarding value orientation was hypothesized to interact with PCC. The findings supported 4 of 6 hypotheses. We consider theoretical and practical implications of how corporate citizenship impacts employees.     

ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES FOR THE COMMUNICATION THEORIST: PROBLEMS IN THE LAWS-RULES-SYSTEMS TRICHOTOMY

This paper argues against the laws-systems-rules trichotomy which Cushman and Pearce use to organize theoretical options in the communication field. This trichotomy of perspectives does reflect the groupings into which scholars have come to classify themselves, but the analytic implications of this division follow strongly and confound the actual levels of choice inherent in theory building. The organization of theoretical alternatives by attempting to identify a type of necessity unique to each obscures fundamental differences among theorists, unprofitably restricts the range of theoretical alternatives, and will not encompass the variety of viable theoretic perspectives now before us. In place of the laws-rules-systems trichotomy this paper offers a multilevel analytic framework for organizing theoretical alternatives in communication.     

Toward a Better Understanding of Psychological Well‐Being in Dementia Caregivers: The Link Between Marital Communication and Depression

To read this article's abstract in both Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, please visit the article's full‐text page on Wiley InterScience ( http://interscience.wiley.com/journal/famp ). Dementia research has frequently documented high rates of caregiver depression and distress in spouses providing care for a partner suffering from dementia. However, the role of marital communication in understanding caregiver distress has not been examined sufficiently. Studies with healthy couples demonstrated an association between marital communication and the partners' psychological well‐being, depressiveness, respectively (e.g., Heene, Buysee, & Van Oost, 2005 ). The current study investigates the relationship between caregiver depression and communication in 37 couples in which the wives care for their partners with dementia. Nonsequential and sequential analyses revealed significant correlations between caregiver depression and marital communication quality. Caregivers whose husbands used more positive communication reported less depression and distress. Additionally, caregiver depression was negatively correlated with rates of positive reciprocal communication indicating dependence between the couples' interaction patterns. This study is one of the first to illustrate the relevance of spousal communication in understanding caregiver distress and depression.     

The theory of resilience and relational load

Resilience is one of the most profound constructs across disciplines. Yet, the largely atheoretical nature of the research on resilience continues to make it elusive. A new theory of stress and resilience in close relationships—the theory of resilience and relational load (TRRL)—is advanced to fill this void in the literature. The theory bridges communicative, perceptual, and physiological aspects of stress within the context of social relationships to explain personal/relational risk, resilience, and thriving. The TRRL examines how relational partners' and family members' communal orientation and maintenance of their relationships on a daily basis influence their communication during stressful moments, as well as their appraisals of the stress. The theory also details how these communication patterns and appraisals influence personal and relational health and adaptation. Finally, the concept of relational load is set forth, which is the wear and tear that chronic stress and depletion of one's emotional, psychological, and relational resources through repeated, stress‐related conversations can have on relationships. Ultimately, people need to continually invest in their relationships to prevent relational load and foster resilience and possible thriving.