Taking stock of the longitudinal study of romantic couple relationships: The last 20 years

Longitudinal dyadic research provides significant benefits for our understanding of romantic couple relationships. In this systematic review, we begin by providing a broad overview of topical trends and approaches in longitudinal couple relationships research from 2002 through 2021. Then, we narrow our review to dyadic relationship quality articles, highlighting key themes as well as noting important gaps in the research. Using an intersectional perspective that acknowledges multiple ways that disadvantage, power, and oppression may be seen in both research and in couples' lived experience, we note prominent paradigms used in examining couple relationships, what types of questions have been most valued, and what groups and approaches are underrepresented in the literature. Most longitudinal couple relationships research is quantitative, relies on self-report approaches from American couples in the early-to-middle years of their relationships, concentrates more on negative aspects of relationships than positives, and takes a communication-satisfaction paradigm in studying couples. We see a clear need to increase the use of methodologies beyond self-report measures, conduct more studies with within-group minority, older adult, culturally-diverse, and context-specific samples to explore the diversity of relationships, and fully consider both strengths and positive processes in relationships as well as the challenges couples experience.     

Accreditation Standards for University and College Counseling Centers

The accreditation standards outlined in the article are used by the International Association of Counseling Services, Inc., as the basis for the formal accreditation of college and university counseling programs throughout the United States and Canada. They reflect the program elements and practice standards that are deemed essential in a counseling center that provides high-quality services to students.     

The transgender parent: Experiences and constructions of pregnancy and parenthood for transgender men in Australia

Background: Transgender (trans) men are commonly born with the reproductive anatomy that allows them to become pregnant and give birth and many wish to do so. However, little is known about Australian trans men's experiences of desiring parenthood and gestational pregnancy.

Aims: The present study aims to address this gap in the literature through addressing the following research questions: how do Australian trans men construct and experience their desire for parenthood? And, how do Australian trans men construct and experience gestational pregnancy?

Methods: This study aimed to explore these experiences, through a mixed-methods research design using online survey data and one-on-one interviews, with 25 trans men, aged 25–46 years old, who had experienced a gestational pregnancy. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results: For our participants, parenthood was initially described as alienating and complex, however transitioning enabled participants to negotiate and construct their own parenting identity. Pregnancy was positioned as a problematic but “functional sacrifice,” however formal assisted fertility experiences were rife with exclusion. At the same time dysphoria associated with withdrawing from testosterone and the growing fecund body were significantly troubling. Changes to the chest were of particular concern for participants. Exclusion, isolation, and loneliness were the predominant features of trans men's experiences of gestational pregnancies. Healthcare systems are not generally supportive of trans bodies and identities and trans men encounter significant issues when interacting with healthcare providers. As such, the results reinforce the importance of inclusive and specialized health services to support trans men through pregnancy.     

The relationship between reward and probability: Evidence that exploration may be intrinsically rewarding

ABSTRACT

The probability of an event occurring and the reward associated with the event can both modulate behaviour. Response times are decreased to stimuli that are either more rewarding or more likely. These two factors can be combined to give an Expected Value (EV) associated with the event (i.e., probability of the event x reward magnitude). In four experiments we investigate the effect of reward and probability on both saccadic and manual responses. When tested separately we find evidence for both a reward and probability effect across response types. When manipulations of reward magnitude and probability of the event were combined, the probability modulations dominated and these data were not well accounted for by the EV. However, a post-hoc model that included an additional intrinsic reward associated with responding provided an excellent account for the data. We argue that reward consists of both an explicit and intrinsic component. In our task, the saccadic and manual responses are linked to the information provided by the targets and the goals of the task, and successful completion of these is in itself rewarding. As a result, targets associated with a higher probability of being presented have a higher intrinsic reward.     

Job characteristics,well-being and risky behaviour amongst pharmacists

Healthcare practitioners’ fitness to practise has often been linked to their personal and demographic characteristics. It is possible that situational factors, such as the work environment and physical or psychological well-being, also have an influence on an individual’s fitness to practise. However, it is unclear how these factors might be linked to behaviours that risk compromising fitness to practise. The aim of this study was to examine the association between job characteristics, well-being and behaviour reflecting risky practice amongst a sample of registered pharmacists in a region of the United Kingdom. Data were obtained from a cross-sectional self-report survey of 517 pharmacists. These data were subjected to principal component analysis and path analysis, with job characteristics (demand, autonomy and feedback) and well-being (distress and perceived competence) as the predictors and behaviour as the outcome variable. Two aspects of behaviour were found: Overloading (taking on more work than one can comfortably manage) and risk taking (working at or beyond boundaries of safe practice). Separate path models including either job characteristics or well-being as independent variables provided a good fit to the data-set. Of the job characteristics, demand had the strongest association with behaviour, while the association between well-being and risky behaviour differed according to the aspect of behaviour being assessed. The findings suggest that, in general terms, situational factors should be considered alongside personal factors when assessing, judging or remediating fitness to practise. They also suggest the presence of different facets to the relationship between job characteristics, well-being and risky behaviour amongst pharmacists.     

Assessing the quality of child investigative interviewing in the Netherlands

Using evidence‐based guidelines to interview children is an important means to obtain complete and accurate accounts. In the current study, we examined the quality of child investigative interviewing in the Netherlands. To examine this, we compared the Dutch Scenario Model with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Protocol and interviews from countries that did not follow a specific protocol. Our principal result was that Dutch child interviewers rarely asked recommended open prompts that are known to elicit detailed and accurate testimonies from children. Furthermore, we found that the scenario model contained the highest number of directive questions compared with interviews from other countries. Our findings show that the Dutch Scenario Model is not well aligned with current research‐based recommendations for interviewing children.     

Executive function and theory of mind: Predictive relations from ages 2 to 4

Despite robust associations between children's theory of mind (ToM) and executive function (EF) skills, longitudinal studies examining this association remain scarce. In a socially diverse sample of 122 children (seen at ages 2, 3, and 4), this study examined (a) developmental stability of associations between ToM, EF, verbal ability, and social disadvantage; (b) continuity and change in ToM and EF; and (c) predictive relations between ToM and EF. Verbal ability and social disadvantage independently predicted changes in EF (but not ToM). Task scores improved with age and showed stable individual differences. The authors examined predictive relations between ToM and EF using partial correlations (controlling for age and verbal ability) and hierarchical regressions (that also controlled for social disadvantage and initial ToM and EF). The findings provide only partial support for the view that ToM is a prerequisite for EF but stronger support for the proposal that EF facilitates children's performance on ToM tasks.