Suchergebnisse

AbstractReconfiguring theoretical approaches is needed as growing numbers of adults are experiencing extended periods of singlehood. There is a central distinction in intentionality, which creates a voluntary or involuntary status. Voluntary individuals have chosen to be marriage‐free. Involuntary individuals wish to be cohabited/married but have been unable to do so. The purpose of this paper is to describe the linkages among characteristics of voluntary/involuntary singlehood and concepts from four theories (social exchange, symbolic interactionism, family development, chaos). These theories were chosen because they are commonly addressed in family science teaching and scholarship. They are used as conceptual lenses to guide relational or familial research, but there has been little attention to their potential linkages to singlehood. Given the voluntary‐involuntary distinction, linkages are drawn to each type. This paper highlights how four traditional theories can be bridged with diverse components of singlehood experiences.

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to provide a summary of microaggressive (MA) and microinclusive (MI) issues in college teaching. In MA communications, individuals/groups are treated as invisible or comparatively less desirable. MA can have a detrimental impact on its targets (to whom comments or behaviors are directed) as well as bystanders who witness the aggression. As part of ethics in family scholarship, it is worthwhile for faculty to consider MA and learn about more prosocial/supportive options, such as MI. This article provides a brief overview of MA, MI teaching, ethical approaches to MA/MI guidance, and MI teaching examples in one family science course. These issues are also relevant to coursework in other HDFS department programs or tracks (e.g., developmental, policy and practice, therapy, community education).

This article summarizes use of a serious online game/simulation (SOGS) and assessment of students' perceptions of the SOGS. In this teaching activity, students assume roles of resource allocators who decide which communities receive assistance during an epidemic. When the simulation ends, students see some consequences of their decisions. such as financial costs and death rates. One week after completing this SOGS, students took an anonymous survey which included open-ended short-answer essay questions. Two coders engaged in emergent content analysis of the essay responses. This analysis revealed two dimensions of positively and negatively-valenced themes. The results highlighted the value of conducting activity-specific assessments. Suggestions for future research and SOGS activities are offered.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the ways in which family formation processes were presented in international children's adoption books. Guided by Pinderhughes' (1996) adoptive family development model, we conducted a content analysis for the representation of two developmental phases (anticipation and accommodation). A total of 24 publicly accessible books (e.g., via libraries, websites, or bookstores) were coded independently by two researchers. The results indicated that adoptive developmental tasks were represented in the books. The books were transparent in the description of positively and negatively valenced events (e.g., adoptive children are withdrawn from new parents). Implications for practice and service provision and research are offered.

AbstractGuided by Bradbury and Fincham's (1988) contextual model, the current study examined the influence of distal factors that reflect orientations toward relationships (relationship standards, attachment motivation, autonomy motivation) and proximal factors that reflect patterns of interaction (self‐disclosure, socioemotional behaviors, conflict tactics) on satisfaction in romantic relationships. Although we expected both types of factors would be associated with satisfaction, we hypothesized that the daily interactional patterns would mediate the relationship between the individual factors and satisfaction. At Time 1, individual factors and satisfaction were measured via questionnaire, and interpersonal factors were measured via a 2‐week daily interaction record. The results indicated the individual factors of attachment motivation and autonomy motivation, and the interpersonal factors of self‐disclosure and positive socioemotional behaviors were related to satisfaction. Regression analysis indicated the proximal factors partially mediated the relationship between the distal factors and Satisfaction. At Time 2 (approximately 6 months later), slightly more than half of the original sample was contacted to assess respondents'relationship status; those respondents whose relationships were stable (continued over time) had significantly higher mean scores on attachment, positive behaviors, and self‐disclosure at Time 1 than did respondents whose relationships had dissolved. Taken together, these results suggest that attachment and prosocial communications are central dimensions contributing to satisfaction and stability in dating relationships.

Structural decreases in access to services and income make women increasingly vulnerable to poverty. Guided by liberal feminist-structural theory, this article reviews three social constraints that uniquely contribute to women's poverty: the confines on the family system, the conditions ofwomen's work world, and the design of support systems. It then examines antipoverty programs in the United States and abroad and presents recommendations for social work practice.

This study was a secondary data analysis of a midlife adults' (40 – 69 years) survey. The sample (N= 3,501) was recruited via telephone and completed an American Association for Retired Persons survey via the Internet. This study explored how sexual attitudes and demographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender, prior marital status) were associated with willingness to date heterogeneous partners (e.g., date partners of a different race, religion, with much less money). Results showed that never‐married singles, men, and sexually permissive individuals were more willing to date such partners. Implications for research and practice are noted.

In this article, we share our challenges and positive experiences of using feminist pedagogy to teach an undergraduate course on gender development. We use a developmental contextual, feminist perspective to address issues related to (a) internalized sexism, (b) contrasts in student's religious beliefs and sexism, (c) students' developmental level, and (d) teaching intersectionality. In response to the challenges, we offer practical applications of integrating feminist pedagogy in the classroom. Finally, we delineate the ways in which our application of feminist pedagogy has benefited us in our growth and offer suggestions for future research.

This study utilized the contextual model to examine the relationship between distal (Five- Factor Model of Personality), proximal (interpersonal competence), and affective outcome (love, liking) factors in women's perception of their dating relationships. Respondents (n=123
females) completed a questionnaire packet to assess each of the factors. Results indicated that women's personality traits made direct and indirect contributions to liking and love for dating partners. Overall, the findings indicated that both distal and proximal factors contributed to
relationship quality, and provided support for the contextual model.

Partner enhancement is an important relational process that has been linked to better relationship outcomes in existing research. However, little is known about variables that might be associated with the practice of partner enhancement. In this study, we utilized an ecosystemic model with a sample of 1,432 couples and an actor/partner interdependence model to explore whether the family of origin, attachment avoidance and anxiety, and social network approval predicted partner enhancement scores. The results indicated that the family of origin was only indirectly associated with partner enhancement through attachment and social network approval. The best predictors of partner enhancement were attachment avoidance and social network approval. Higher scores on actor attachment avoidance were related to higher scores on partner enhancement contrary to expectations. Curiously, partner effects for attachment avoidance were the opposite in that higher scores were associated with lower levels of partner enhancement. Attachment anxiety was associated with lower scores on partner enhancement for both actor and partner effects, and social network approval was associated with higher scores on partner enhancement.