Actor–Partner Interdependence of Compassion toward Others with Qualities of Marital Relationship and Parent–Child Relationships in Chinese Families

Considering the nature of compassion and cultural and times characteristics of Chinese families, individuals' general dispositional compassion toward others may have potential benefits for relationship qualities in Chinese families. In this study, we explored how men's and women's compassion related to their own (actor effects) and the partners' (partner effects) marital relationship and parent–child relationships, respectively, using the Actor–Partner Interdependent Model. Participants were from a cross-sectional sample of 534 Chinese heterosexual married couples (females' mean age = 37.20, SD = 4.28; males' mean age = 40.29, SD = 5.39) whose biological children were pupils (mean age = 9.28, SD = 1.11). Results revealed that: (a) within marital relationships, couple members' actor effects and partner effects were found both significant; but (b) within parent–child relationships, couple members' actor effects were significant, whereas only mothers' partner effect of compassion on father–child relationship was significant. These findings support the benefits of couple members' individual compassion with respect to family relationship quality in contemporary China. Limitations, implications, and future directions are discussed.     

Suicide as an interpersonal phenomenon: Dyadic methodological and statistical considerations in suicide research

Interpersonal risk and resilience factors are prominent in current conceptual models of suicide. A growing body of empirical evidence links suicidal thoughts and behaviors to a range of interpersonal phenomenon adding further support to the value of this line of inquiry. At present, research on interpersonal phenomenon focuses on assessing individuals' perceptions of interpersonal phenomenon, such as appraisals of burdensomeness, experienced loneliness, and thwarted belongingness. As this line of research continues to develop, we argue that it would be valuable to consider incorporating conceptual models of interpersonal phenomenon and corresponding methodological approaches from closely allied fields. After providing a brief overview of interpersonal models of suicide, we present an introduction to conceptual models of interpersonal phenomenon developed in relationship science, describe how these models can be applied to the study of interpersonal phenomenon in suicide research, and close with a guided tutorial on data collection and statistical analysis methods for testing hypotheses derived from these conceptual approaches. References for additional reading are provided, and the Appendix S1 provides simulated data sets and statistical code for the analyses in the tutorial section.     

Dyadic effects of marital satisfaction on coparenting in Chinese families: Based on the actor‐partner interdependence model

Based on the actor‐partner interdependence model, this study explored the spillover and crossover effects of marital satisfaction on coparenting in Chinese nuclear and extended families. Spillover and crossover effects refer to the transfer of experiences, affects or behaviors, focusing on the intra‐personal and inter‐personal transfer of a marital subsystem to a coparenting subsystem. The participants comprised 279 couples with children ranging in age from 3 to 7 years old. The marital satisfaction and extent of coparenting of both the fathers and the mothers was tested to examine the dyadic interaction. Structural equation modeling results revealed significant intra‐personal and inter‐personal correlations between marital satisfaction and coparenting, indicating spillover and crossover effects in nuclear and extended families, and there were no differences between the two family structures. The results indicated that fathers' marital satisfaction influenced both fathers' and mothers' coparenting practices.     

Using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model to assess maternal and infant contributions to mother-infant affective exchanges during the Still-Face Paradigm

This study describes maternal and infant contributions to dyadic affective exchanges during the Still-Face Paradigm (SFP) in an understudied mostly low-income sample. One hundred eleven mothers and their 7-month-old infants were videotaped during the SFP to analyze how a social stressor affects mother-infant positive and negative affective exchanges during interaction. The SFP includes 3 episodes: baseline, maternal still-face, and reunion. Maternal and infant positive and negative affect were scored by masked reliable coders. Data were analyzed using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model to test the hypotheses that each partner’s affectivity during the baseline episode would predict their own affectivity during the reunion episode (actor effects). We also expected that each partner’s affectivity during the baseline episode would influence the other partner’s affectivity during the reunion episodes (partner effects). After controlling for infant sex and maternal education, results provided evidence for actor effects for maternal and infant positive affect, and for partner effects for maternal baseline positive affect to infant positive affect during the reunion. One significant partner effect was observed for negative affect: Infant negativity during baseline predicted greater maternal negativity during reunion. Findings confirm that both mothers and infants contribute to dyadic affective processes during the SFP but specific findings vary depending on the affective valence in question. Clinical implications and future research are discussed.     

Research note: A motivational perspective on change processes and outcomes

A reengineering process in a chemical plant with technostructural and human-process-oriented interventions was analysed in order to develop and test a generalized expectancy?–?valence-theory model for participation in the change process and effective change. It was assumed that both supervisory support and favourable colleagues' change attitudes enhance one's change motivation, and participation in the change process, by increasing participation opportunities, and positive attitudes toward change. In turn, employee participation should have a positive impact on outcomes of the change process. After 2 years of restructuring, 104 employees participated in the evaluation of the change process. Path analyses revealed results that supported our model by and large. Employee participation in the change process predicts positive organizational effects. Favourable change attitudes as well as perceived participation opportunities, and supervisory support, which were integrated into one scale, predict the degree of employee participation. The latter also showed a direct path to organizational effects.     

Attachment insecurity as a moderator of cardiovascular arousal effects following dyadic support

We examine the cardiovascular arousal effects of emotional support receipt, and the moderation of these by the support recipient’s and provider’s attachment. Seventy couples engaged in a laboratory dyadic supportive interaction, while their ECG was monitored. With more emotional support, men with high attachment anxiety showed greater arousal reduction during the dyadic interaction, whereas men with low attachment anxiety showed less reduction; additionally, women coupled with partners with high attachment anxiety showed greater arousal reduction, whereas women coupled with partners with low attachment anxiety showed less reduction. Men and women with high attachment avoidance showed less arousal reduction, whereas those with low attachment avoidance showed greater reduction. These results highlight the differential ways in which support gets under the skin.