Fascinating Womanhood as a Regression in the Emotional Maturation of Women

"Fascinating womanhood" (Andelin, 1974) is explored as a response to anxiety generated by awareness of the potential for experiencing the self as a separate, responsible person. Such a response represents regression and offers only temporary reprieval from personal and/or marital distress. Clinical experiences are related to this concept; observations suggest that the solution formalized by Andelin is unsatisfactory.
A therapeutic approach that can be utilized in encouraging optimal individuation is discussed, with group, marital, and individual therapy examples. A sequence of predictable responses to therapeutic confrontation has been identified, along with indicators for evaluating progress or retreat from the process. Precautions in the use of this approach are also discussed.     

Workplace intrusions and employee strain: the interactive effects of extraversion and emotional stability

Background/objectives: Intrusions are a type of workplace interruption defined as unexpected interpersonal contact that disrupts workflow. Drawing from the Job Demands-Resources model of work stress, we examined how two personal resources – extraversion and emotional stability – influence relations among intrusions and strain outcomes.

Design/methodology: Self-reported, online questionnaire data were collected from two samples; 323 faculty and staff from a university (sample 1) and 574 full-time employees recruited from an online crowdsourcing forum (sample 2).

Results: In sample 1 extraversion was positively related to intrusions, whereas in sample 2, extraversion and emotional stability were negatively related to intrusions. There were no interactive effects of personality on relations among intrusions and strain outcomes in sample 1. In sample 2, low emotional stability strengthened relations among intrusions and work tension. Additionally, intrusions were negatively associated with stress for individuals high on emotional stability. Finally, introverts experienced less stress in response to intrusions.

Conclusion: Taking a person-situation interactionist approach, we examined personal resources that may mitigate interruption-related strain. Our findings suggest that for employees high in emotional stability, interruptions may be both less detrimental and, in some cases, beneficial. This study has practical implications for the structuring of work environments to mitigate strain and maximize person-environment fit.     

Dimensions of the severity of a health threat: the persuasive effects of visibility, time of onset, and rate of onset on young women's intentions to prevent osteoporosis

Examined the persuasive effects of information about different aspects of the severity of a health threat. The research participants were 170 young women who were at risk for osteoporosis because they neither consumed an adequate amount of calcium daily nor performed an adequate amount of weight-bearing exercise. A message describing osteoporosis as disfiguring and highly visible increased beliefs in its severity and strengthened intentions to adopt the communicator's recommended preventive responses. In addition, compared with control conditions, describing the threat as likely to occur in the near future, as opposed to the distant future, also strengthened intentions. Furthermore, motivation to prevent osteoporosis remained high regardless of whether subjects believed it might occur to them in the near or distant future if they believed it was highly visible or disfiguring. The rate of onset (sudden or gradual) had no effect on intentions. Several implications for preventive health psychology are discussed. First, health promotion campaigns should, whenever possible, emphasize the immediate onset of a health threat and any visible features. Second, in order to convince people a health threat can be severe, the sudden rate of onset should be emphasized whenever possible.