'Was it Good for you Darling?' – Intimacy, Sex and Critical Technical Practice

On the basis of forty-two weeks of ethnographic data collected across six pairs of co-habiting partners, we have theorized about the nature of intimacy, developed artifacts for its mediation and explored methods for its study. In this workshop we wish to take this work as our departure point, and reflect on: The importance of problematising intimacy carefully, that is, approaching intimacy critically. The complex and multiple meanings of intimacy in the context of ongoing intimate relationships. The losses and risks attendant on supporting intimacy between distributed couples

The nature of intimacy: a qualitative study of five couples : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University

This study takes a qualitative approach to facilitate five couples describing their experiences of intimacy. Transcribed interviews were analysed for recurring themes and processes. The Waring Intimacy scale was also administered to participants. Athough intimacy is an important goal in contemporary society much is still to be understood about how it is achieved and maintained. Reis and Shaver (1988) have developed a process model of intimacy that describes a single interaction between two individuals and incorporates the properties of a relationship, thus recognising that intimacy is more than the sum of repeated interactions. The general validity of the model was confirmed by the experiences of the couples in this study. Differences were found between those with intimate relationships, who often behaved according to the model and those who reported their relationship as lacking in intimacy, who frequently omitted one or more steps of the model. The model was revised in the light of the data to incorporate such metacognitive factors as the effects of an individuals' expectations and beliefs on his or her motives, fears, needs and goals. Self disclosure was differentiated into direct or indirect, verbal or non-verbal; all of which may play a role in intimacy. The results show that intimacy is both a complex process and a subjective relational experience necessitating a relatively well defined sense of identity and high level communication skills. Analysis of themes and experiences from the interview data reflected the complexity of this construct more adequately than data from the Waring Intimacy Questionnaire

Cultural differences in intimacy: The influence of gender-role ideology and individualism-collectivism

Two studies examined emotional intimacy in European Canadian and Chinese Canadian dating relationships. Cultural differences in gender-role ideology and individualism–collectivism were hypothesized to differentially contribute to selfdisclosure and responsiveness, and in turn, intimacy. Study 1 revealed that Chinese Canadians’ lower intimacy relative to European Canadians was mediated by their greater gender-role traditionalism but not by their individualism or collectivism. Study 2 further linked greater gender-role traditionalism to lower self-disclosure, and in turn, lower intimacy. Results also revealed that Chinese Canadians’ lower intimacy mediated their lower relationship satisfaction and higher rate of relationship termination in Study 1, but that Chinese Canadians were not any more likely to terminate their relationships in Study 2

Does Identity Precede Intimacy? Testing Erikson's Theory on Romantic Development in Emerging Adults of the 21st Century

Erikson stated that healthy identity development during adolescence is a precursor of intimacy in romantic relationships during emerging adulthood. However, from a developmental contextual perspective, there are reasons to question this strict developmental ordering. Using interview and questionnaire data from a longitudinal study on 93 adolescents, the authors tested whether ego development in middle adolescence predicts intimacy in emerging adulthood. Second, the authors examined whether identity achievement at the transition to adulthood mediates this link. Results revealed direct links between early ego development (age 15) and intimacy in romantic relationships (age 25). No paths were found from earlier intimacy to later ego development. No gender differences occurred. Relational identity achievement, an integrative identity construct measured at age 24, fully mediated the association between earlier ego development and later intimacy. This study confirms Erikson's old ideas on the developmental ordering of identity and intimacy for youngsters in the 21st century. Moreover, it highlights the integrative function of relational identity for later mature intimacy

Intimacy as a Concept: Explaining Social Change in the Context of Globalisation or Another Form of Ethnocentricism?

This article focuses on intimacy in terms of its analytical potential for understanding social change without the one-nation blinkers sometimes referred to as 'methodological nationalism' and without Euro-North-American ethnocentrism. Extending from the concept of family practices, practices of intimacy are sketched and examples considered across cultures. The cultural celebration and use of the term 'intimacy' is not universal, but practices of intimacy are present in all cultures. The relationship of intimacy to its conceptual relatives is clarified. A brief discussion of subjectivity and social integration restates the relevance of intimate relationships and practices of intimacy to understanding social change in an era of globalisation, despite the theoretical turn away from embodied face to face relationships. Illustrations concerning intimacy and social change in two areas of personal life, parental authority and gender relations, indicate that practices of intimacy can re-inscribe inequalities such as those of age, class and gender as well as subvert them and that attention to practices of intimacy can assist the need to explain continuity as well as change.Love and Intimacy, Globalization, Ethnocentric, Social Change, Inequality, Discourse, Family Practices

Development of the Occupational Performance Inventory of Sexuality and Intimacy (OPISI): Phase One

Background: The occupational therapy profession needs a framework to guide understanding of the occupational nature of sexuality and intimacy, assessment, intervention design, and measurement of outcomes. This study aimed to define the occupational nature of sexuality and intimacy and develop a theoretical and occupation-based screen, in-depth self-assessment, and performance measure. Method: The Occupational Performance Inventory of Sexuality and Intimacy (OPISI) was developed following DeVellis’s (2017) guidelines for scale development that involved mapping the construct, generating an item pool, determining the format for measurement, and reviewing the initial item pool. Results: The Occupational Therapy Sexual Assessment Framework (OTSAF) was developed to define the occupational nature of sexuality and intimacy, depict how the theoretical constructs intertwine with the domain of occupational therapy, and guide scale development. The OPISI includes a self-screen, in-depth self-assessment, and an individualized measure to establish baseline performance and detect self-perceived change in ability, satisfaction, understanding, and confidence in skills and ability to improve occupational performance associated with sexuality and intimacy over time. Conclusion: The OTSAF defines the occupational nature of sexuality and intimacy and informs the occupational therapy scope of practice. The OPISI includes theoretical and occupation-based tools to adequately screen, assess, and measure performance related to the complex occupational nature of sexuality and intimacy. Formal validation is needed prior to releasing the OPISI for clinical use

Macropolyhedral boron-containing cluster chemistry: two-electron variations in intercluster bonding intimacy. Contrasting structures of 19-vertex [(eta(5)-C5Me5)HIrB18H19(PHPh2)] and [(eta(5) -C5Me5)IrB18H18(PH2Ph)]

Fused double-cluster [(5-C5Me5)IrB18H18(PH2Ph)]8, from syn-[(5-C5Me5)IrB18H20] 1 and PH2Ph, retains the three-atoms-in-common cluster fusion intimacy of 1, in contrast to [(5-C5Me5)HIrB18H19(PHPh2)]6, from PHPh2 with 1, which exhibits an opening to a two atoms-in-common cluster fusion intimacy. Compound 8 forms via spontaneous dihydrogen loss from its precursor [(5-C5Me5)HIrB18H19(PH2Ph)]7, which has two-atoms-in-common cluster-fusion intimacy and is structurally analogous to 6

War can harm intimacy: consequences for refugees who escaped Syria.

BackgroundSyrians seeking refuge have been exposed to atrocities and trauma beyond comprehension. This study examines how personal, interpersonal, displacement and war-related factors have impacted married refugees' intimate lives.MethodsData included 158 married Syrian refugee individuals who live in the host communities of Jordan. Refugees reported on their personal, interpersonal, current-displacement and past-war related experiences. Traumatic impacts were assessed using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ), K6 screening scale for serious mental illness (SMI), The War Events Questionnaire (WEQ), and Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationships (PAIR). Stepwise multiple regressions were used to determine the factors associated with refugees' intimacy-total score and its six dimensions.ResultsMost refugees (94.2%) experienced war events, and 34% screened positive on the PTSD-HTQ scale. Overall intimacy scores were low, scoring M (±standard deviation) = 2.4 (±1.1) of a possible five on average. Intimacy scores were lower for refugees who screened positive on the PTSD-HTQ (M = 1.95 ± 65) compared to the ones screening negative, respectively (M = 2.23 ± 66). Furthermore, the higher the PTSD symptoms reported, the lower the couples' intimacy. PTSD and forced marriage were the strongest factors to predict decreased total-intimacy scores (β = -0.23, P = 0.002; β = -0.32, P < 0.001), and decreased scores on four dimensions of intimacy (emotional, sexual, intellectual and recreational). Whereas gender was the second strongest factor associated with decreased total-intimacy scores (β = -0.29, P < 0.001), and decreased scores on three dimensions of intimacy (emotional, social and anger), meaning that women reported suffering more than men from deteriorated intimacy in their marital relationships. Other displacement and war-related factors associated with intimacy were: decreased sexual intimacy associated with having been raped; increased intellectual intimacy associated with escaped from Syria with one's spouse; decreased recreational intimacy associated with the number of family members lived with; decreased sexual, emotional and total-intimacy scores associated with number of children; and years of education as a seemingly personal protective factor associated with increased intellectual and recreational intimacy.ConclusionsAddressing Syrian refugees' intimacy issues in interventions is essential, as well as raising the awareness of stakeholders and community leaders to the negative impacts of PTSD, forced marriage, rape, and displacement difficulties endured by the already challenged and distressed married refugees

Gender and the Sharing Economy

While the sharing economy has been celebrated as a flexible alternative to traditional employment for those with family responsibilities, especially women, it presents challenges for gender equality. Many of the services that are “shared” take place in the context of intimacy, which can have substantial consequences for transacting, particularly by enhancing the importance of identity of both the worker and the customer. Expanding on previous research on intimate work — a critical area that exists largely in limbo between the law of the market and the law of the family — this Article, written for the Cooper-Walsh Colloquium, explores the significance of intimacy in the sharing economy and the implications for its regulation of the sharing economy and for sex equality. It argues that the intimacy of many sharing economy transactions heightens the salience of sex to these transactions, in tension with sex discrimination law’s goal of reducing the salience of sex in the labor market. But even if existing sex discrimination law extends to these transactions, the intimacy of the transactions again limits the law’s ability to promote gender equality in the same transformative way that it has in the traditional economy. The sharing economy thus raises serious concerns for proponents of sex equality