7 research outputs found

    Relationship-based anxiety: Using a cognitive-behavioral perspective to develop and evaluate a couples' intervention

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    Whereas romantic relationships are commonly a source of pleasure and comfort, for some individuals they can be a source of persistent anxiety. The aim of the present investigations was to explore the construct of relationship-based anxiety using a cognitive-behavioral framework. Common behavioral patterns and cognitive tendencies seen among individuals with relationship-based anxiety were examined, including excessive reassurance-seeking, self-silencing, partner accommodation, and intolerance of uncertainty. These patterns of behaving and thinking were considered within a dyadic context, as partners’ behaviors influence and are influenced by the actions of individuals with relationship-based anxiety. This investigation involved two studies—in the first, relationship-based anxiety and its behavioral correlates were assessed in a sample of 97 couples using online surveys. In the second study, 21 couples from the UNC campus community participated in a brief, couple-based feedback intervention for relationship-based anxiety. This intervention was found to significantly decrease levels of reassurance-seeking and self-silencing among individuals with relationship anxiety, and to significantly decrease levels of maladaptive accommodation behaviors in their partners.Doctor of Philosoph

    Unintended effects of staying positive: investigating the influence of partners' coping style on patients' adjustment to breast cancer

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    Treatment for breast cancer involves both a patient and her family members. Partners may be particularly affected, as they are often the primary source of support for the patient. Some partners want to protect the patient by avoiding discussions of her cancer-related distress. However, research suggests that if partners do this, there may be detrimental effects on patients' well-being. This paper presents findings from 161 couples enrolled in a couples-based intervention for women with early-stage breast cancer. The findings indicate that when partners of breast cancer patients engaged in distancing behavior, the patient experienced more depressive symptoms. Also, patients who had higher marital satisfaction reported more cancer pain when their partners avoided discussing the cancer compared to patients who had lower marital satisfaction. These findings imply that partners' distancing behavior is associated with lower patient well-being, and perhaps functions differently in couples with high marital satisfaction

    Rejection Sensitivity, Perceived Power, and HIV Risk in the Relationships of Low-Income Urban Women

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    The psychological processes associated with HIV infection in long-term relationships differ from those operative in casual sexual encounters, and relatively little research has considered the aspects of personality applicable in the ongoing heterosexual relationships in which women are at greatest risk. Sensitivity to rejection has been linked with efforts to prevent rejection at a cost to the self and, therefore, may be relevant to the health risks that many women incur in relationships. We examined the association of rejection sensitivity with women\u27s sexual risk behavior in a sample of women at heightened risk for HIV exposure. Women in long-term heterosexual relationships (N = 159) were recruited for study participation in the hospital emergency room serving a low-income neighborhood in New York City, in 2001-2003. Rejection sensitivity and known HIV risk factors were assessed using verbally administered questionnaires. Rejection sensitivity was associated with lower perceived relationship power and, in turn, more frequent unprotected sex with a partner perceived to be at risk for HIV. These results held when controlling for other HIV risk factors including partner violence, economic dependence, and substance use. Understanding the association of rejection concerns with lower perceived personal power in relationships may be important for HIV prevention

    Changing Habitat Use Associated with Distributional Shifts of Wintering Raptors

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    There is widespread evidence that multiple drivers of global change, such as habitat degradation, invasive species, and climate change, are influencing wildlife. Understanding how these drivers interact with and affect species may be difficult because outcomes depend on the magnitude and duration of environmental change and the life history of the organism. In addition, various environmental drivers may be evaluated and managed at different spatial scales. We used a historical dataset from 1991 to 1994 and current information from 2010 to 2012 to examine whether occupancy patterns of wintering raptors were consistent with regional changes in distribution or habitat conditions within a local management unit, the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (NCA). We predicted that if local populations reflected regional shifts, then rates of raptor occupancy within the NCA would be higher compared to historical estimates and birds would use different habitats compared to historical use. Alternatively, if local populations were determined by habitat conditions, then we predicted that occupancy rate of raptors within the NCA would be lower compared to historical estimates and current habitat use would be consistent with historical use. Results support the hypothesis that northward distributional shifts influenced wintering raptor populations in southwest Idaho to a greater extent than local habitat conditions. Wintering raptors had higher occupancy rates in 2010–2012 compared to 1991–1994, whereas invasive grasses have increased and native shrubs have decreased suggesting that habitat suitability for raptors has declined over time. On the species level, changes in habitat use were associated with greater increases in occupancy rates in 2010–2012 compared to 1991–1994. Organisms flexible in their habitat use may be better able to respond to continental forces driving distribution shifts. Conversely, habitat or prey specialists may be poorly equipped to handle such rapid, large-scale global change. Further, Grinnellian niche models predicting species response to change by mapping current habitat use to forecasted vegetation maps should consider plasticity in habitat use and changes in the cost-benefits of life-history strategies

    A Bibliography on Polish Americans, 2006–2010

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