Personality Traits and Relationship Satisfaction in Intimate Couples: Three Perspectives on Personality

Personality traits are important predictors of relationship satisfaction. However, the majority of previous study findings are based on self‐perceptions of personality. Thus, by means of the self‐, partner‐, and meta‐perceptions of personality, the present study focused on three different perspectives on the Big Five personality traits to examine dyadic associations with relationship satisfaction of intimate couples. The study was based on the first measurement occasion of the Swiss longitudinal study ‘Co‐Development in Personality: Longitudinal Approaches to Personality Development in Dyads across the Life Span’ and included data of 216 couples. The main analyses were based on Actor‐Partner Interdependence Model. Three general findings emerged. First, the three personality perspectives represented related, albeit distinct, constructs, and showed incremental validity with respect to relationship satisfaction. Second, neuroticism was negatively related to relationship satisfaction, whereas agreeableness and conscientiousness were positively related to relationship satisfaction across all perspectives. Third, substantial associations between e xtraversion and relationship satisfaction were exclusively evident in terms of the partner‐ and meta‐perception. The present results contribute to the literature by showing that each perspective is essential for the understanding of the role of personality for relationship satisfaction. Copyright © 2014 European Association of Personality Psychology     

脉理的阴阳和谐观研究--以《濒湖脉学》“缓脉”为中心论证

在《濒湖脉学》的脉理中,把无病的缓脉认为是有神、有胃气的平脉,无病的缓脉是脾胃这一人体后天之本正常运化的脉象。脾脉为缓脉,其余四脏脉以及四季脉也要兼有缓脉,才是阴阳和谐的脉象,脾脉拥有阴阳和谐的缓脉能为其余各脏腑提供精气,从而保证各脏腑的正常运化,只有各脏腑的正常运化才能维护人身体的阴阳和谐。当人身体的阴阳失去和谐出现病变的时候,脉象就会表现为太过或不及或各脏脉俱缓,少有或失去了缓和的脉象以及各脏脉均失去个性的病缓脉。     

以心理学共情理论应对困境中的医患关系

和谐的医患关系是构建人性化医疗的基础,面对当今医患关系紧张的困境,探索如何应对困境中的医患关系迫在眉睫.共情是心理学的一个概念,阐述了人际互动过程中的一种心理现象,是一种站在对方立场上的思考方式.临床实践中医务人员存在共情缺陷,如易产生共情疲劳、缺乏倾听、缺少尊重等,通过心理学干预技术提高其临床共情能力有利于减少共情缺陷、避免医疗纠纷、协调医患关系.良好的共情能力有助于推进新的合作型医患关系的建设,尤其适合于临床一线的医务工作者.     

The way I make you feel: How relatedness and compassionate goals promote partner’s relationship satisfaction

Research has investigated the role of three basic psychological needs as proposed by Self-Determination Theory – autonomy, competence, and relatedness – in explaining relationship satisfaction. Research has also explored how relatedness specifically increases prosocial motivations in the individual but has not focused on the role of relatedness in shaping partners’ relationship functioning over time. This research takes a dyadic perspective that proposes that relatedness fulfillment fosters compassionate goals, which in turn predict increases in partner’s satisfaction. Forty-five heterosexual dating couples were asked about their relatedness need fulfillment, compassionate goals, and relationship satisfaction. Relationship satisfaction was assessed again four weeks later. Results showed that one’s own relatedness fulfillment, but not one’s partner’s relatedness fulfillment at Time 1 uniquely predicts partner’s increased satisfaction at Time 2, and that this is mediated by one’s own higher compassionate goals. These findings highlight the dyadic importance of having one’s needs met in promoting relationship functioning over time.     

Couples' evaluations of fatherhood in different stages of the family life cycle

Fathers' and mothers' views on mothers' satisfaction with paternal behaviour as well as the respective processes of origination were studied in 393 cohabiting couples from three different stages of the family life cycle. Data on paternal competence and the couples' relationship characteristics were included as predictors in multiple regression analyses, and the stages of the family life cycle were taken into account with multigroup regression analyses. Results showed that the mothers were more satisfied with paternal behaviour than the fathers thought the mothers were. Moreover, mothers were satisfied when the fathers were willing to spend time with the child, whereas fathers thought that their partners were satisfied when they were able to establish and maintain a relationship with the child. Couple relationship satisfaction had a consistent impact on fathers' views, whereas it was not relevant to mothers' views unless the oldest child had reached adolescence.     

Organizational social context and psychopathology of youth in residential care: The intervening role of youth–caregiver relationship quality

Drawing on an ecological approach with multiple informants, this study investigated the mediating role of youth–caregiver relationship quality in associations between different features of residential care settings' organizational social context and youth's psychopathology. Participants were 378 youth aged between 12 and 25 years old, and 54 caregivers aged between 24 and 57 years old, from 29 generalist residential youth care settings in Portugal. Given the hierarchical structure of data, analyses were performed using multilevel modeling. Results revealed that organizational social contexts characterized by higher levels of engagement, stress, and centralization, as perceived by the caregivers, were associated with lower levels of youth's externalizing problems (e.g., aggressive behavior and delinquency), reported by the caregivers, via better youth–caregiver relationship quality, perceived by the youth in care. These findings highlight the relevance of creating an organizational social context in residential care settings that supports caregivers in establishing high-quality relationships with the youth in care, thereby promoting their mental health. This study contributes to the clarification of conflicting findings in previous studies of this field, by offering further empirical investigation of these issues.     

Beyond the Frontstage: Trust, Access, and the Relational Context in Research with Refugee Communities

This paper examines the role of trust and the concept of access as they affect the relational context in which community research, and research with refugee communities in particular, is conducted. Sociologist Irving Goffman's metaphor of frontstage and backstage behavior is used to illustrate the complexity and importance of developing of relations of trust, and thereby gaining "backstage" access, in communities that are generally closed to outsiders. It is argued that gaining authentic ("backstage") access to refugee communities, as well as other communities that have developed a self-protective insularity, is essential if we are to gather data that accurately reflect the actual beliefs, feelings, and experiences of community members. The paper then examines the puzzling lack of discussion regarding issues of trust, access, and the relational context in the literature on refugee mental health. Explanations for this apparent inattention are sought in the influence of the prevailing scientific paradigm that guides most research with refugees, and that shapes the values of the field's "gatekeepers," the editors and reviewers of scholarly journals. Throughout the paper, key points are illustrated with examples drawn from the author's research with refugees from Guatemala, Bosnia, and Afghanistan.     

实验性恶心与呕吐——大脑皮层与内脏相关研究的新途径

大脑皮层与内脏关系的脑机制是揭示心身疾病和心理疾病的重要依据。本文综述了经典条件学习与期待性恶心与呕吐的关系以及实验性恶心与呕吐的研究方法。作者认为,实验性恶心与呕吐结合脑成像技术是研究大脑皮层与内脏关系神经机制的重要途径。     

Changes in verbalizations during sandplay: an empirical study

This is a quantitative study of an 11-year-old boy diagnosed with major depression who in all but one session made a sandplay. A computerized system was used to analyse the written verbalizations on four dimensions of positive and negative: emotions, contracts (psychosocial agreements, relationships, etc.), performance (behaviour) and rewards. It was hypothesized that the verbalizations made by the patient (recorded by the therapist) would become more positive and less negative during the course of therapy. The positive and negative values of the four dimensions were correlated with the session number. This was supported on two (performance & contract) of the four positive dimensions (statistically significant). The hypothesis that the negative dimensions would become less negative was supported on all four dimensions (statistically significant). Thus, six of the eight hypotheses were supported. This uninvestigated area of research illustrates verbal interactions between patient and therapist were an important aspect of sandplay therapy. Through reanalysing the sessions for quantitative content, written recording of direct quotes and observation of behaviour, data was entered into a valid and reliable coding system to quantitatively analyze the verbalizations. This analysis of verbalizations of the patient and observations made by the therapist indicates sandplay therapy is multifaceted.