Understanding Dual Career Couples

The increasing number of clients seeking to maintain a dual career life-style has increased the need for counselors to educate themselves to the unqiue set of concerns, needs, and characteristics particular to dual career partners and their families. This article presents an overview of the published literature delineating the variables associated with this life-style, including the numerous benefits or incentives, the common conflicts and stressors, and the personality dynamics shared by these men and women. In addition, the article will describe dysfunctional coping strategies as well as adaptive strategies employed by individuals attempting to manage the coupling of both career and family.     

Message Planning,Communication Failure,and Cognitive Load Further Explorations of the Hierarchy Principle

The hierarchy principle predicts and research has demonstrated that in response to communication failure, individuals make less cognitively demanding, low-level changes to message plans, such as the vocal intensity at which they are delivered, rather than more demanding alterations to message content and structure. Three experiments examined the effects of different message preparations on cognitive loads associated with high-level message plan alterations. In Experiment 1, individuals who prepared only one highly iconic message before experiencing communication failure demonstrated greater cognitive load when requested to deliver an alternative message than did individuals who prepared three highly iconic alternative messages. No cognitive load differences were found between those who prepared one or three low-iconicity messages. In Experiment 2, individuals who prepared one or six highly iconic message plans demonstrated greater cognitive load after communication failure than those who prepared three alternatives. This U-curve relationship was replicated in Experiment 3.     

Attachment and expectations about future relationships: Moderation by accessibility

This article examined the relationship between internal working models of self and other (Bowlby, 1969) and expectations for satisfaction in a future relationship, and how that relationship is moderated by the accessibility of one's internal models. Study one showed that the model of self was predictive of expected satisfaction, but the model of other was not. In study two, the results of study one were replicated. However, using a reaction time task to measure the chronic accessibility of internal models, it was shown that the relationship between model of self and expected satisfaction existed only for people with highly accessible internal models. The implications of these findings for a more cognitive view of attachment-processes is discussed.     

When does partner devaluation predict emotional distress? Prospective moderating effects of reassurance-seeking and self-esteem

Coyne's (1976b) interpersonal theory of depression asserts that devaluation and rejection by relationship partners may exacerbate depressive symptoms. We tested this assertion empirically and investigated two theoretically based moderators of this effect: reassurance-seeking and self-esteem level. Dating women (N= 134) completed measures of depression, reassurance-seeking, and self-esteem at Time 1 and a measure of depression at Time 2 six weeks later. Male partners completed a measure of devaluation of the women. Partner devaluation was not associated with increased emotional distress for women across the entire sample. However, significant moderating effects of both reassurance-seeking and self-esteem level were found. Partner devaluation predicted increased emotional distress among women who reported high levels of reassurance-seeking and among women who reported low levels of self-esteem. Results are discussed in terms of convergence with Coyne's theory.     

A Multi-Method Investigation of Two Family Constructs

Two family constructs—prominence and interpersonal distance—are examined. Their origins are traced in the experimental and theoretical literature. The validity of each construct is investigated using data obtained from 15 families with a symptom-bearing child. Validity is supported in both cases through the occurrence of significant correlations among different measures of the same construct. It is suggested that the current distress of the families being studied may have increased the clarity of the prominence hierarchies and dyadic distances that emerged.     

Charting as a Multipurpose Treatment Intervention for Family Therapy

This paper discusses the behavior modification technique of charting as a double-bind communication. Though the procedure was initially employed as a step in demonstrating operant conditioning ( 7 ) and later in diagnosis of the antecedents and consequences maintaining undesired behavior ( 8 ), it also proved one of the more powerful therapeutic interventions. Literature reviews on treatment programs for obesity ( 6 ) and behavioral approaches to marital therapy ( 2 ) support this contention. Its efficacy can be explained by integrating the viewpoints of behaviorist and family therapy approaches espoused by Haley ( 4 ) and Weakland et al . ( 9 ). Following are brief case reports in which charting resulted in quick and sometimes dramatic change.     

A Meta-Analysis of Research on Protection Motivation Theory

This article reports the first meta-analysis of the literature on protection motivation theory (Rogers, 1975, 1983; Rogers & Prentice-Dunn, 1997), a model of disease prevention and health promotion that has generated research for over two decades. The literature review included 65 relevant studies ( N = approximately 30,000) that represented over 20 health issues. The mean overall effect size ( d += 0.52) was of moderate magnitude. In general, increases in threat severity, threat vulnerability, response efficacy, and self-efficacy facilitated adaptive intentions or behaviors. Conversely, decreases in maladaptive response rewards and adaptive response costs increased adaptive intentions or behaviors. This held true whether the measures were based on intentions or behaviors, and suggests that PMT components may be useful for individual and community interventions.     

PROGRAM COMMITMENT: A MULTI-STUDY LONGITUDINAL FIELD INVESTIGATION OF ITS IMPACT AND ANTECEDENTS

Increasingly, human resource professionals are being challenged to manage organizational programs that have proliferated in the wake of continual pressure to respond to competition and environmental change. This research examines program commitment, that is, an employee's commitment to an organizational program, and investigates its association with important organizational outcomes and a set of potential antecedents in 2 longitudinal field studies. In the first study, program commitment was positively related to participation in the program and program-related performance. In the second study, organizational commitment, change efficacy, and teamwork orientation were supported as antecedents to program commitment.