Relationship course theory: An interdisciplinary integrative proposition to address the complexification of interpersonal relationships

Researchers have been observing a complexification of interpersonal relationships in contemporary societies. However, current theoretical perspectives on relationships fall short of comprehensively grasping increasingly diverse and fluid relationship types (e.g., friends with benefits, polyamory, living-apart-together, coparenting, etc.) and patterns of change. In an attempt to meet the need for more integrative and interdisciplinary theorizing, this paper introduces a first outline of relationship course theory to better comprehend the complexity of relationships. In contrast to previous theoretical perspectives that conceptualize relationships as a single trajectory, I posit that the course of a relationship is composed of multiple intertwined trajectories, each of which stemming from differentiated domains such as sexuality, friendship, love, family, domesticity, and occupation. These relationship domains constitute a metatypology from which to examine the multiple sets of meanings and temporalities that intertwine throughout the course of a relationship. I propose that relationships are defined based on the combination of relationship domains, with different iterations and permutations of these domains producing various relationship configurations. Furthermore, the theory defines three levels of relationship courses: Sociocultural (i.e., stories that circulate about relationships in given sociocultural contexts), interpersonal (i.e., stories that individuals co-construct about the particular relationships they experience), and life courses (i.e., stories that individuals co-construct about themselves as relational beings). This proposition will hopefully stimulate the theoretical conversation on the complexity of relationships and foster dialogue between researchers from different theoretical and disciplinary affiliations.     

The Effects of Participation Rate on the Internal Reliability of Peer Nomination Measures

Although low participation rates have historically been considered problematic in peer nomination research, some researchers have recently argued that small proportions of participants can, in fact, provide adequate sociometric data. The current study used a classical measurement perspective to investigate the internal reliability (Cronbach's α) of peer nomination measures of acceptance, popularity, friendship, prosocial behavior, and overt aggression. Data from 642 participants attending 10 schools were resampled at different participation rates ranging from 5 percent to 100 percent of the original samples. Results indicated that (1) the association between participation rate and Cronbach's α was curvilinear across schools and variables; (2) collecting more data for a given variable (by using unlimited vs. limited nominations, or two vs. one items) was significantly related to higher internal reliability; and (3) certain variables (overt aggression, popularity) were more reliable than others (acceptance, friendship). Implications for future research were discussed.     

Subjective Measures of Well-being: Differences in the Perception of Health and Social Problems

Summary Although the use of subjective measures of well-being (or otherwise)has thus far generally been confined to large scale normativepopulation surveys, the importance of subjective as well asobjective influences on the perceived quality of life has beenclearly demonstrated and some factors bearing upon the relativequality of social dissatisfaction and help seeking behaviourcan be made out. Moreover, the importance of considering positiveas well as negative life perceptions for understanding the determinantsof psychosocial dysfunction emerge clearly from this review.It is concluded that further research using such measures wouldserve to enhance our understanding of the nature and treatmentof social problems.     

Navigating the Transition to Junior High School: The Influence of Pre-Transition Friendship and Self-System Characteristics

The present study examined the influence of pre‐transition friendship and self‐system characteristics on junior high school transition adjustment in a sample of 111 early adolescent girls and boys. Transition adjustment was defined in terms of youth's post‐transition friendship quality, emotional distress, and school adjustment. Pre‐transition friendship characteristics were directly linked with both post‐transition friendship quality and school adjustment, while youth's expected possible selves, a component of youth's self‐system, made additional unique contributions to the prediction of youth's emotional distress and school adjustment. Results suggest the importance of developmentally salient friendship and self‐system characteristics in contributing to individual variability in transition adaptation.     

Interrelation between empathy and friendship development during (pre)adolescence and the moderating effect of developmental language disorder: A longitudinal study

The association between empathy and friendship quality in children and adolescents is well established, but longitudinal studies are lacking. Because social interactions typically involve language, these relations might be moderated by children's communication problems. The current study examined the interrelation of friendship quality (positive and negative) and empathy (affective, cognitive, and prosocial motivation) development of 317 children (8–16 years old) at three time points across 18 months. Of these children 112 had a developmental language disorder (DLD). Results confirmed a bidirectional relation between empathy and friendship quality across time. Cognitive empathy and prosocial motivation contributed to the development of more positive friendship features in children with and without DLD. For children with unstable friendships, more cognitive empathy was related to fewer negative friendship features. Positive friendship features in turn contributed to higher empathy on all three aspects. Negative friendship features were related to higher affective empathy and lower prosocial motivation in both groups, but did not predict empathy development across time. These results imply that positive friendship features are important for development of empathic skills and vice versa that empathy enables children to grow in friendship quality in children with and without DLD.     

Interplay between Friends' Aggression and Friendship Quality in the Development of Child Aggression during the Early School Years

The aim of this study was to investigate the unique and combined role of friendship quality and friends' aggression in regard to the persistence of young children's physical aggression from kindergarten to grade 2. The sample included 1555 children (808 girls) assessed annually using teacher ratings. Two theoretical perspectives (i.e., the social learning and the social bonding perspectives) served as frameworks to guide the analyses and interpret the results. In line with the social learning perspective, friends' aggression was related to a significant increase in children's physical aggression. However, in line with the social bonding perspective, good friendship quality played both a compensatory and a protective role, by, respectively, reducing children's initial level of physical aggression and by mitigating, albeit marginally, the associations between friends' and children's physical aggression. These results suggest that fostering a positive relationship between friends in the early school years may decrease physical aggression even if the friends are aggressive.     

相对收入与主观幸福感:检验农民工的多重参照群体

尽管社会经济地位低于城市居民,农民工的主观幸福感却更高。这种客观经济地位与主观福利评判的不一致有两种解释：同质性参照群体假设和向上流动期望假设,暗示农民工在进行社会比较时会选择不同的参照群体。基于一项大规模全国代表性的调查数据,本文通过建构农民工的多个参照群体检验了上述假设,结果验证了同质性参照群体假设：控制个人收入后,同省其他农民的平均收入越高,农民工的生活满意度越低;加入农民的平均收入后,农民工相对于城市就业居民的生活满意度优势消失,甚至转为劣势。向上流动期望假设未获支持：城市就业居民的平均收入对农民工的生活满意度没有显著影响,而且这样的“零效应”可能并非由于向上流动期望的压抑影响造成的。     

Minimizing Social Desirability Bias in Measuring Sensitive Topics: The Use of Forgiving Language in Item Development

Abstract

Social science research has long been concerned with attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that are potentially objectionable, immoral, or illegal. These types of topics include, for example, racism, ableism, cheating, and stealing, among others. Referred to as “sensitive topics,” their investigation usually involves questions that require respondents to admit to attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that violate social norms, making their assessment susceptible to error due to social desirability bias. This article describes an empirical investigation of an approach to minimize this bias, the use of “forgiving language” in survey item development and the effect on item variability. Using secondary data initially collected as part of a measurement development study of mental health providers’ stigmatization of service users, 15 pairs of similar, thematically targeted items, varying with respect to wording approach were tested using a purposive sample of mental health providers (N?=?220). Findings indicate that items crafted in a forgiving manner were not significantly influenced by social desirability bias, in contrast to items developed in more traditional language. Additionally, forgiving language-items produced higher levels of agreement, on average, when compared to those written in more traditional language. More research is indicated, including systematic variation of wording approaches, but these results seem promising.     

Developmental Trajectories of Social Justice Values in Adolescence: Relations with Sympathy and Friendship Quality

This study examined developmental trajectories of social justice values (SJV) in a representative sample of Swiss adolescents (N = 1258) at 15 (Time 1), 18 (Time 2), and 21 years of age (Time 3). SJV and friendship quality were measured via self‐reports. Sympathy was assessed via self‐ and mother‐reports. Latent class growth analysis revealed three developmental trajectories of SJV: high‐stable (80 percent), moderate‐decreasing (17 percent), and low‐increasing (3 percent). Adolescents with low levels of self‐ and mother‐reported sympathy were more likely to be members of the low‐increasing than the high‐stable or moderate decreasing trajectory groups. Adolescents who reported low levels of sympathy and friendship quality at 15 years of age were more likely to be members of the moderate‐decreasing trajectory group than the high‐stable trajectory group. Results are discussed with respect to the potential significance of sympathy and friendship quality for understanding the development of SJV during adolescence.     

Decoding the Miss Daisy Syndrome: An Examination of Subjective Responses to Mobility Change

The subjective responses associated with personal life space and mobility status were explored. Thirty individuals participated in focus groups based on self-rated disability status, current places visited, and availability. Qualitative analyses revealed that most participants equated personal mobility with driving a vehicle. Attitudes concerning mobility status and preparedness for change varied based on disability level and personal experience. Fear of dependence from future mobility loss was prominent in all groups. Few participants acknowledged significant planning for future retirement from driving or other mobility challenges. An understanding of common attitudes, perceptions and meanings can inform professionals who intervene and support older adults experiencing mobility changes.     

Longing to belong: children in residential care and their experiences of peer relationships at school and in the children's home

Resilience literature has stressed the potential of both children's educational experiences and their friendships to act as protective factors against adversity. However, less is known about how children living with adversity navigate these ‘everyday’ aspects of social terrain and the particular challenges that they face. This paper explores the meaning and experience of peer relationships to one group of children living in residential care in Ireland. Drawing on a larger study of school and care, it explores data gathered from 16 children, aged 8 to 18, who were living in eight different children's homes on the east coast of Ireland. The findings suggest that the children were acutely aware of their ‘care’ status and developed a number of strategies to manage this identity in school. It appears that more often than not, children described being left to their own devises to manage friendships and peer relationships. Thus, despite being a crucial source of both stress and support, peer relationships did not appear to be regarded as an issue that adults should be involved with. This raises questions for practice about what children should be supported with and the way in which peer relationships are potentially overlooked by social work, residential and school staff.     

Mainstream Discourse and the Construction of Public Understanding of Women's Employment

1949年后在妇女就业知识上存在着三种主流话语。一是计划经济时代,妇女就业知识以“革命话语”来叙述,实现了对妇女参加公共领域劳动的动员;二是从计划经济向市场经济转型的过程,妇女就业知识是以“素质话语”被叙述的,其在力图将妇女推回家庭领域的过程中压低了女性劳动力的价格;三是市场化时代,妇女就业知识以“男性强势话语”被表述,显示了市场经济与父权制的有机结合。与此同时,有关妇女就业知识的女性主体性也在形成,它显示出女性自主意识及其对人权话语的使用。

关键词: 革命话语素质话语男性强势话语

There have been three types of mainstream discourse relating to public understanding of women's employment since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The first was the “revolutionary discourse” that dominated the era of the planned economy. During this period, knowledge about women's employment was heavily influenced by revolutionary discourse, and women were mobilized to take up positions in virtually all areas of social life. The second occurred in the transition from a planned to a market economy. During this process, knowledge of women's employment was constructed by a so‐called “quality discourse,” which depressed women's wages in the course of driving them back into the home. The third important mode of discourse took place in the era of marketization, and saw knowledge about women's employment constructed by male‐centered hegemonic discourse in an organic union between the market economy and the patriarchal system. Meanwhile, female subjectivity in regard to knowledge about women's employment is taking shape. At the same time, women's sense of autonomy in relation to understanding of employment has started to grow and exhibits self‐awareness and use of the discourse of human rights.     

Friends in high places: A dyadic perspective on peer status as predictor of friendship quality and the mediating role of empathy and prosocial behavior

Friendships and peer status play important roles in the social landscape of adolescents and are related to developmental outcomes. Yet, how peer status is related to friendship quality and what role social skills play in this association remains unclear. In this study, we use Actor–Partner Interdependence (Mediation) Modeling (Ledermann, Macho, & Kenny, 2011 ) to investigate how two forms of peer status, preference and popularity, are related to positive and negative friendship quality in mid‐adolescence. Results show that adolescents who are friends with more preferred (i.e., likeable) and popular adolescents report higher friendship quality. These partner effects were partially mediated by adolescents’ own prosocial behavior and their friends’ empathy levels. Higher levels of empathy of one's friend and one's own lesser preference for equity explained why adolescents were more satisfied in a friendship with highly preferred (i.e., likeable) adolescents. Interestingly, empathy was not a mediator for the link between friendship quality and popularity. These findings promote a better understanding of the interplay between different levels of social complexity (i.e., individual, dyadic and peer group level) in adolescence.     

合肥市低保家庭的主观幸福感与低保政策支持关系研究

城市居民最低生活保障制度的确立保障了城镇贫困家庭的基本生活,同时也催生了低保家庭这一特殊的弱势群体。本研究通过自编的幸福感问卷对合肥城市低保家庭进行幸福感调查,反映了当前合肥市低保家庭的幸福感总体特征、影响因素以及低保政策与其之间的关系。     

合肥市低保家庭的主观幸福感与低保政策支持关系研究

城市居民最低生活保障制度的确立保障了城镇贫困家庭的基本生活,同时也催生了低保家庭这一特殊的弱势群体。本研究通过自编的幸福感问卷对合肥城市低保家庭进行幸福感调查,反映了当前合肥市低保家庭的幸福感总体特征、影响因素以及低保政策与其之间的关系。     

A Small-Scale Study of the Relationship Between Measures of Deprivation and Child-Care Referrals

There now exists an extensive literature on the causes of childabuse. Within the UK, individualistic and inter-personal approacheshave predominated in terms of their influence on social worktheory, research and practice. However, much less emphasis hasbeen given to structuralist explanations. Indeed, of the structuralistwork that currently exists with its emphasis on the relationshipbetween deprivation and child abuse, this relationship has yetto be empirically tested within the UK. This is the focus forthe present article. Drawing upon data relating to all referralsmade to a short-term intake family and child-care team for athree-year period in Northern Ireland (1998–2000), thearticle confirms the strong relationship that exists, at wardlevel, between measures of deprivation and referrals to theteam. In discussing the implications of the findings, it isargued that more use needs to be made of quantitative methodsin social work research in order to identify and understandmore fully the influence of structural factors on issues relatingto family and childcare. The article concludes with a considerationof the implications of the findings for further research andfor social work practice.     

Good Jobs,Bad Jobs?: Understanding The Quality of Aged Care Jobs,and Why It Matters

Much research on paid care work focuses on this work as care. An equally important issue is its characteristic as paid work. This paper focuses on the characteristics of jobs in Australian aged care facilities, using data from a comprehensive 2003 national survey of direct care workers in Australian aged care facilities. It shows that, on a range of characteristics including pay, aged care jobs compare quite well with other jobs held by Australians who have similar characteristics to aged care workers. Aged care jobs are certainly not unequivocally ‘bad’ jobs. Yet turnover rates amongst these workers are quite high. The paper shows that workers' expectations about remaining in the aged care sector depend largely on their experience of work, particularly their job satisfaction. Job satisfaction, in turn, is affected most by their experience of the work of caring. As in most workplaces, the ability to use their skills without hindrance is important. But care work offers distinctive rewards not captured by notions of professional identity and commitment. The paper concludes by suggesting that a focus on these distinctive rewards will be important in fully understanding paid care work as paid work.     

Links between friends’ behaviors and the emergence of leadership in childhood: A genetically informed study of twins

Using a genetically informed design, this study examined whether children's leadership behavior varied as a function of their reciprocal friends’ behavioral characteristics. Specifically, we tested (a) whether friends’ use of a dual strategy (specifically, indirect aggression with prosocial behavior) was associated with children's leadership behavior and (b) whether, in line with a gene‐environment interaction (GxE), the predictive association between friends’ behaviors and children's leadership behavior varied depending on the child's genetic likelihood for leadership. The sample comprised 239 Monozygotic and same‐sex Dizygotic twin pairs (50% boys) assessed in grade 4 (mean age = 10.4 years, SD = 0.26). Reciprocal friendship and children's and their friends’ prosocial, indirectly aggressive, and physically aggressive behaviors were measured via peer nominations. Children's and friends’ leadership was measured through teacher ratings. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that children's genetic likelihood for leadership was positively associated with their leadership behavior. Moreover, the higher their genetic likelihood for leadership, the more children displayed increased leadership behavior when friends showed a combination of indirect aggression and prosocial behavior (GxE). These results underline the role of friends’ behaviors in explaining children's leadership. Socializing with bistrategic friends seems to foster leadership skills especially in children with a genetic likelihood for leadership.     

Simplifying Second‐order Belief Attribution: What Facilitates Children’s Performance on Measures of Conceptual Understanding?

This study investigated how 4‐ to 7‐year‐old children’s second‐order belief attribution might be facilitated by either reducing information processing or varying the sequence of task questions. In Experiment 1, compared with Perner and Wimmer’s (1985 ) original second‐order false‐belief task, a new task with reduced information‐processing demands promoted better second‐order reasoning. In Experiment 2, half the stories included a second‐order ignorance question before a second‐order belief question. The ignorance question promoted second‐order belief understanding, superseding the improvement induced by lowered processing demands. Together, the findings suggest that second‐order belief performance can be facilitated if children focus on the concept of ignorance during the sequence of questioning.     

Simplifying Second‐order Belief Attribution: What Facilitates Children’s Performance on Measures of Conceptual Understanding?

This study investigated how 4‐ to 7‐year‐old children’s second‐order belief attribution might be facilitated by either reducing information processing or varying the sequence of task questions. In Experiment 1, compared with Perner and Wimmer’s (1985 ) original second‐order false‐belief task, a new task with reduced information‐processing demands promoted better second‐order reasoning. In Experiment 2, half the stories included a second‐order ignorance question before a second‐order belief question. The ignorance question promoted second‐order belief understanding, superseding the improvement induced by lowered processing demands. Together, the findings suggest that second‐order belief performance can be facilitated if children focus on the concept of ignorance during the sequence of questioning.