Interactionism in the Twenty‐First Century: A Letter on Being‐in‐a‐Meaningful‐World

Half a century after its crystallization, interactionism faces new challenges. While elements of this theoretical tradition have percolated into the broader field of sociology, some of its most radical promises have been ignored. This essay provides a blueprint for how to approach interactionism today: not as a historical remnant, but as a living tradition with much to offer contemporary scholarship. Yet to do so, we argue, interactionism must develop some of its core tenets, offering more explicit links both to the sociology of culture, and to other areas in sociology. Focusing on our own experiences and writings, we point to ways in which the careful study of interaction can provide a font of ideas for the broader sociological discipline. We address the significance of affordances, situational webs, group commitment, embeddedness, and disruption, and show how such reorientation can help us better analyze oppression and privilege.     

Sexual Satisfaction and Marital Satisfaction During the Early Years of Chinese Marriage: A Three-Wave,Cross-Lagged,Actor–Partner Interdependence Model

Sexuality is an integral component of many intimate relationships, and research has consistently demonstrated a positive association between sexual and marital satisfaction. However, the temporal dynamics of this association remain controversial and understudied with rigorous longitudinal dyadic approaches, and empirical efforts examining this association in non-Western samples remain sparse. Based on three annual waves of data from 268 Chinese couples during the early years of marriage, this study tested a cross-lagged, actor–partner interdependence model examining the association between sexual and marital satisfaction. Results indicated that (a) across three waves, husbands’ earlier sexual satisfaction predicted their later marital satisfaction, rather than the reverse; (b) from Wave 1 to Wave 2, wives’ earlier marital satisfaction predicted their later sexual satisfaction, rather than the reverse, but no association between wives’ sexual and marital satisfaction was found from Wave 2 to Wave 3; and (c) four longitudinal indirect associations linking sexual and marital satisfaction were identified, including three actor associations and one partner association. Such findings shed light on the complexity inherent within the dynamic association between sexual and marital satisfaction over the early years of marriage in the Chinese cultural context.     

Socialization in the Context of Risk and Psychopathology: Maternal Emotion Socialization in Children of Incarcerated Mothers

Children of incarcerated mothers are at increased risk for psychological, social, and emotional maladaptation. This research investigates whether perceived maternal socialization of sadness and anger may moderate these outcomes in a sample of 154 children (53.9 percent boys, 61.7 percent Black, M age = 9.38, range: 6–12), their 118 mothers (64.1 percent Black), and 118 caregivers (74.8 percent female, 61.9 percent grandparents, 63.2 percent Black). Using mother, caregiver, and child report, seven maternal socialization strategies were assessed in their interaction with incarceration‐specific risk experiences predicting children's adjustment. For sadness socialization, the results indicated that among children reporting maternal emotion‐focused responses, incarceration‐specific risk predicted increases in psychological problems, depressive symptoms, increased emotional lability, and poorer emotion regulation. For children who perceived a problem‐focused response, incarceration‐specific risk did not predict outcomes. There were no significant interactions with incarceration‐specific risk and perceived maternal anger socialization strategies. These results indicate a critical need to examine how socialization processes may operate differently for children raised in atypical socializing contexts.     

Twelve-Step Facilitated Versus Mapping-Enhanced Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Pathological Gambling: A Controlled Study

This study examined the efficacy of two group treatments for pathological gambling, a node-link mapping-enhanced cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBGT-mapping) and twelve-step facilitated (TSF) group treatment. Forty-nine participants meeting criteria for pathological gambling were recruited from local newspaper advertisements. These participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: TSF (n = 11), CBGT-mapping (n = 18), and Wait-List control (n = 9); 11 refused treatment prior to randomization. Outcome measures included number of DSM-IV criteria met, perception of control/self-efficacy, desire to gamble, and frequency of gambling episodes. Analyses revealed a significant treatment group × time interaction (η2_partial = .39). Specifically, the group treatments resulted in significant improvements in the dependent measures, while the Wait-List group remained relatively stable. Overall, CBGT-mapping and TSF had no significant differences on any outcome measure at follow-up assessments. Analysis of post-treatment and 6-month follow-up reveal a significant improvement in gambling outcomes (i.e., fewer DSM-IV criteria met, greater self-efficacy, and fewer gambling episodes (η2_partial = .35), with treatment gains maintained at 6 months. These results are consistent with previous research for group treatment for pathological gambling and provide support for the utility of TSF and a mapping-based CBT therapy as viable intervention for pathological gambling.     

A new approach to analyzing the Achilles' heel of multisource feedback programs: Can we really trust ratings of leaders at the group level of analysis?

This research addresses the Achilles’ heel of all multi-source leadership feedback programs regardless of whether they use 360°, 270°, or 180° ratings. Namely, should all feedback be universally aggregated by feedback groups and reported to respondents? A sample of raters from the Center for Creative Leadership (N = 15,500 including subordinates, peers, and others) was grouped to align with each raters’ matching focal subject (J = 1,550). Two scales from CCL’s Benchmarks instrument (Building and Mending Relationships and Career Management) were used to: (1) predict a derailment factor (Problems with Interpersonal Relationships) and (2) determine the operative level of analysis and its aggregation characteristics using Within and Between Analysis (WABA). In many cases, the variables under consideration did not aggregate optimally. Using a technique based upon each group’s coefficient of variation as a measure of internal consensus, between 3% and 25% of groups should not have their averages reported. Alternative approaches are discussed.     

Erotophobia‐erotophilia and sexual behavior during pregnancy and postpartum

This research examined the relation of erotophobia‐erotophilia, the disposition to respond to sexuality with negative‐to‐positive affect, and sexual behavior during pregnancy and postpartum. During late pregnancy, 50 couples responded to questionnaire assessments of their erotophobia‐erotophilia and sexual behavior; during the postpartum period, 25 of these couples responded to a follow‐up assessment of their sexual behavior following the birth of their child. Results indicated that eroto‐philic (versus erotophobic) women showed more sexual interest, activity, and satisfaction during pregnancy; they reported more sexual interest and an earlier resumption of coitus in the postpartum period; and they were more likely to breastfeed their child. Erotophilic (versus erotophobic) men reported more sexual activity both during pregnancy and the postpartum period, and they were more likely to have been present at the delivery of their child. Results are discussed in terms of confirming and broadening the construct validity of erotophobia‐erotophilia and in terms of applications for identifying and assisting those who may be likely to experience sexual difficulties during pregnancy and the postpartum period.     

For-Profit Welfare: Contracts, Conflicts, and the Performance Paradox

This article examines how financial inducements in performancecontracts shape the inner workings of a for-profit welfare-to-worktraining program serving long-term recipients. Our work paysparticular attention to how contract requirements shape relationshipsbetween manager and line staff and their treatment of clients.We argue that contract design, coupled with bottom-level managementefforts to meet contractual obligations, leads to a performanceparadox—the same actions taken to achieve contractualresults ironically produce negative program practice and poorclient outcomes. Thus, rigidly constructed legal agreementsbetween the government and private service providers can distortincentive structures, causing programmatic conflicts betweenmanagement and staff, and do little to reduce long-term welfareuse and diminish recipients' poverty.     

Emotion Situation Knowledge in Elementary School: Models of Longitudinal Growth and Preschool Correlates

We examined individual differences in developmental trajectories of emotion situation knowledge (ESK), at three time points throughout elementary school in a sample of children from economically disadvantaged families. Results showed that ESK and the subscales of joy, fear, anger, shame and interest exhibited positive growth from the first to the fifth grade, whereas scores on the sad subscale declined slightly. Preschool verbal ability predicted first grade scores for joy, fear, and anger, and growth in scores for shame across time. Preschool negative emotional intensity predicted slower growth in overall ESK and the anger and shame subscales. Taken together, these results broaden our basic knowledge of how children's use of situational cues to infer others' emotions develops in middle and late childhood.