Attachment styles and other predictors of relationship satisfaction in dating couples

A sample of 186 dating couples completed questionnaires in order to examine the relevance of attachment styles, romantic beliefs, self-esteem, and gender roles to relationship satisfaction. The aim was to assess whether male and female anxiety over abandonment and comfort with closeness, and interactions among them, predicted satisfaction beyond the contribution of the other variables. Using multiple-regression analysis, it was found that attachment styles successfully predicted satisfaction, after controlling for romantic beliers, self-esteem, and gender roles. Both partners were particularly dissatisfied when either partner suffered high anxiety over abandonment or low comfort with closeness. Implications for gender roles, relationship satisfaction, and attachment styles are discussed.     

Relational Individualism and Feminist Therapy

My aim here is to clarify the practice of honoring and validating the relational model of self which plays an important role in feminist therapy. This practice rests on a tangle of psychological claims, moral and political values, and mental health norms which require analysis. Also, severe pathology affects the relative “relationality” of the self. By understanding it we can better understand the senses of autonomy compatible with and even required for a desired relationality.     

Gender,Marital Status,and Alcohol Behavior: The Neglected Role of Religion

Substantial previous research indicates that married persons enjoy better mental and physical health than others. One prominent explanation for these patterns is that married persons practice better health behaviors, including lower levels of alcohol consumption, particularly heavy drinking. However, studies of marital status differences in health behaviors have ignored the role of religious homo/heterogamy and attendance, important potential confounding and moderating factors. Focusing on alcohol behavior, we analyze 1977–1994 General Social Survey data, finding that lower levels of drinking are especially pronounced among homogamous conservative couples, and to a lesser extent among mixed-faith unions with one conservative partner. Controlling for other background characteristics, nonconservatives married to nonconservatives do not consistently consume less alcohol than unmarried persons, suggesting that much of the apparent marital status effect on drinking is actually due to religious factors. Contrary to some prior theory and research, these patterns are broadly consistent for both men and women.     

External Freedom in Kant's Rechtslehre: Political,Metaphysical1

External freedom is the central good protected in Kant's legal and political philosophy. But external freedom is perplexing, being at once freedom of spatio‐temporal movement and a form of noumenal or ‘intelligible’freedom. Moreover, it turns out that identifying impairments to external freedom nearly always involves recourse to an elaborated system of positive law, which seems to compromise external freedom's status as a prior, organizing good. Drawing heavily on Kant's understanding of the role of empirical ‘anthropological’information in constructing a Doctrine of Right, or Rechtslehre, this essay offers an interpretation of external freedom that makes sense of its simultaneous spatio‐temporality, dependence on positive law, intelligibility (or ‘noumenality’), and a priority. The essay suggests that this account of Kantian external freedom has implications both for politics and for the metaphysics of everyday objects and institutions.     

Gender‐Role Orientation,Creative Accomplishments and Cognitive Styles

The present study examined the association of gender‐role orientation to creative accomplishments and cognitive styles. One hundred and twenty‐seven college students completed the Artistic and Scientific Activities Survey (Guastello, 1991), the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (Spence, Helmreich, & Stapp, 1974), and the Bem Sex Role Inventory (Bem, 1974). Three different gender‐role orientations were examined: instrumentality (agenic, stereotypically masculine), expressiveness (communal, stereotypically feminine), and androgynous (high levels of instrumental and expressive characteristics). Results indicated that instrumentality was positively associated with creative accomplishments in the business venture domain and that androgynous, versus nonandrogynous, individuals were more creatively productive in the domains of literature, theater, and video‐photography. Instrumentality was also positively associated with the six hats cognitive style, which is a measure of cognitive flexibility, and the six hats style was marginally significantly associated with androgyny. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed and recommendations for future research are considered.     

Artists' vulnerability to psychopathology: Towards an integrative cognitive perspective

A relationship is commonly reported between high levels of artistic creativity and mental health problems (e.g., depression or psychosis), and it is now becoming clearer that the divergent cognitive style associated with creativity has commonalities with some of the processes involved in the development and maintenance of some psychological difficulties. Our aim was to investigate the nature of this cognitive style. More specifically, we considered the profile of probabilistic reasoning and associated problem solving abilities, as both of these mechanisms have been found to be integral to major forms of clinical dysfunction. We assessed levels of creative potential, mood, probabilistic reasoning, and problem solving abilities in 66 arts and 85 science undergraduate volunteers. As predicted, art students showed higher levels of creative potential and experienced lower levels of mood than their science peers. Differences in probabilistic reasoning were observed which are in keeping with the pattern reported to be present in those suffering with psychosis in that they tended to ‘jump to conclusions’. Art students also displayed both poorer problem solving abilities and self‐appraisal of their problem solving skills. Our results extend previous findings associated with the mediating role of cognitive processes in the relationship between creativity and some forms of psychopathology. Implications for the prevention and treatment of psychological difficulties in the creative are highlighted.     

Multiple Perspectives of Parent-Adolescent Sexuality Communication: Phenomenological Description of a Rashoman Effect∗

Due to methodological limitations, past meta-analytic research was not able to identify which treatment was most effective for specific marital distress levels. By converting pre-and post-test scores from marital research into equivalent Dyadic Adjustment Scale scores, it was possible to isolate mild, moderate, and severe levels of marital distress. Results show that Emotionally Focused Therapy is significantly more effective than isolated Behavioral Marital Therapy interventions for the treatment of moderate marital distress. Future directions of outcome research are also discussed.     

Not Simply “In Their Heads”: Individual Differences Associated With Victimization and Health1

Research has not examined whether victimization predicts health after controlling for personality differences associated with victimization and health. In Study 1, college students (N = 1182) completed surveys assessing victimization, health, and personality. In Study 2, college students (N = 69) participated in a short‐term longitudinal study that examined whether (a) victimization would predict health changes; (b) increases in victimization would lead to increased health problems; and (c) fall health would predict spring victimization when personality was considered. After controlling for individual differences, we found victimization predicted health outcomes (Study 1) and health problems over time (Study 2). These findings suggest the victimization–health link may occur because of physiological changes, rather than personality differences associated with victimization and health.     

Outcome Expectancies and Expectancy Accessibility in Exercise Behavior

Most people do not engage in recommended levels of physical activity. Social cognition research indicates that self‐reported outcome expectancies (OEs) are associated with exercise behavior, but self‐report assessments have limitations. We investigated whether reaction times (RTs) to endorse outcome expectancies would capture unique information about spontaneous cognitive processes associated with exercise behavior. Exercisers and sedentary participants were randomly assigned to complete an exercise test or to rest. Participants completed an OE questionnaire and RT task before and after the test/rest. On the RT task, exercisers endorsed exercise positive outcomes more rapidly than sedentary participants. Furthermore, reported OEs and RTs were independently associated with exercise status. RTs may afford a more comprehensive assessment of the cognitive processes associated with exercise behavior.