No Matter What: A Qualitative Analysis of How LGBTQ Families and Allies Define Family through an Interactive Art Project

ABSTRACT

The current study solicits individuals’ artistic depictions and written definitions of family and provides comparisons to existing conceptualizations of family in communication research. Attendees of a Midwestern pride festival took part in an interactive art display, creating a visual representation of their own family on one side of a card and writing their definition of family on the other side. Both images and definitions focused on the ways family members’ behaviors construct family. Participants’ written responses describe family as unconditional, particularly in terms of love, support, and acceptance.     

Are mating strategies and mating tactics independent constructs?

This study explored the constructs of mating tactics and mating strategy. These constructs are conceptually related but distinct. In current research, the measurement of one of these constructs is often viewed as being indicative of the other. Therefore, an exploration of these constructs will enhance understanding of study outcomes in this research area. Self-report measures of mating tactics and strategies were administered to 183 female participants, aged 18-45 years. The Escalating Sexual Encounters Questionnaire (ESEQ, Greer & Buss, 1994), the Derogatis' Sexual Experience Scale (Derogatis & Melisaratos, 1979), the Sexual Strategies Measure (SSM, Schmitt, 1996), the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (Simpson & Gangestad, 1991), and two questions assessing age at menarche and total number of sexual partners were administered. Exploratory factor analysis with oblique rotation produced two distinct factors reflecting a "tactic"-based factor and a "strategy"-based factor. This finding is consistent with viewing mating tactics and mating strategies as distinct and varying independently. An important implication of this study is that measurement of mating tactics is not indicative of underlying mating strategies in women. Further, four patterns of female mating style emerged upon review of participant factor scores and are discussed within an evolutionary context.     

Imagined interactions,family money management patterns and coalitions,and attitudes toward money and credit

This study explores the imagined interactions college students have with their parents about money and credit, their attitudes toward credit and money, the ways they say their parents deal with financial decisions, and the communication coalitions regarding finances they perceive existing within their family. Students’ imagined interaction pleasantness is greatest when parents jointly form a plan for paying off credit card debt and lowest when parents argue. When family coalitions exist, students report more frequent imagined interactions. Imagined interaction frequency and pleasantness are related to credit and money attitudes.

Generalized Reflexive Responding and Cross-Modal Tactile Transfer of Stimulus Function in Children with Autism

We sought to evaluate the efficacy of successive matching training for establishing generalized reflexive matching across 4 children with autism. In Experiment 1, differential reinforcement with delay fading was efficacious in establishing “yes” and “no” matching and nonmatching responses in 2 participants when 2 identical or nonidentical picture stimuli were presented. In addition, emergent visual–visual reflexive relational responses were observed using novel picture stimuli in a transfer test phase. In Experiment 2, differential reinforcement alone was efficacious in establishing matching and nonmatching responses in the other 2 participants when 2 identical or nonidentical objects were presented. Transfer to identical objects presented through touch (i.e., tactile discrimination) was additionally observed for both participants. Procedures in the study were adapted from the PEAK Relational Training System to aid in clinical replication, and the translational results have implications for language training with individuals with autism.     

Sources of socialization for interpersonal trust: an exploration of low-income Black adolescents’ experiences

Much of the literature on interpersonal trust is quantitative in nature, using scales developed primarily with White middle-class and upper-class adults. To understand how another racial group of a different socioeconomic background and age views interpersonal trust, we considered the experiences of 22 low-income Black adolescents. The adolescents participated in a relationship education program and were interviewed about their interpersonal trust experiences. Results of a qualitative data analysis revealed that most adolescents defined interpersonal trust based on honesty and fidelity, with a particular emphasis on monogamy in romantic relationships. Adolescents identified direct messages from family members and personal relationship experiences as sources of socialization for interpersonal trust. Although some adolescents reported that the relationship education program enhanced their understanding of and willingness to trust, others maintained that trust can only be learned through personal experiences. Though the adolescents generally trusted family members, they experienced challenges trusting friends and romantic partners. Despite this, adolescents considered interpersonal trust a vital and a necessary part of romantic relationships. We discuss implications of the findings for relationship stability and satisfaction.     

Agency and fatalism in older Appalachian women’s information seeking about gynecological cancer

Researchers consider older women in rural Appalachia to have low levels of agency and high levels of fatalism regarding decision making about cancer treatment. Using the life course perspective, we examined older women’s agency with information seeking about gynecological cancer. Semistructured interviews with 20 White women living in central Appalachia revealed four trajectories: Surrendering Control, Accepting Death, Self-Care, and Advocacy, each with its own forms of agency. Some women experienced personal transformation, increased self-efficacy, and a passion for community empowerment. Fatalism was not understood apart from placing trust in medical expertise. We implore researchers to further explore rural expressions of agency.     

Legal Marriage,Unequal Recognition,and Mental Health Among Same‐Sex Couples

The authors examined whether the perception of unequal relationship recognition ‐ a novel couple‐level minority stressor ‐ has negative consequences for mental health among same‐sex couples. Data were analyzed from a dyadic study of 100 same‐sex couples (200 individuals) in the United States. Being in a legal marriage was associated with lower perceived unequal recognition and better mental health; being in a registered domestic partnership or civil union—but not also legally married—was associated with greater perceived unequal recognition and worse mental health. Actor partner interdependence models tested associations between legal relationship status, unequal relationship recognition, and mental health (nonspecific psychological distress, depressive symptomatology, and problematic drinking), net controls (age, gender, race and ethnicity, education, and income). Unequal recognition was consistently associated with worse mental health, independent of legal relationship status. Legal changes affecting relationship recognition should not be seen as simple remedies for addressing the mental health effects of institutionalized discrimination.