High-quality Relationships Research Articles

Meaningful Work Linking High-Quality Relationships and Commitment: A Conditional Process Study with Career Orientation

This study aimed to examine the relations between high-quality relationships, meaningful work, and affective commitment, and evaluate whether protean career orientation moderates the relationship between meaningful work and affective commitment. We collected survey data from a sample of working adults to test the research hypotheses. The findings provide support for the proposed model. Consistent with the tenets of the work-as-meaning model, high-quality relationships were positively related to meaningful work, which, in turn, predicted affective commitment. Furthermore, the relationship between meaningful work and affective commitment was stronger for those high in protean career orientation. This study extends the literature on meaningful work and relational coordination. It offers practical insight for managers and others who can help foster high-quality relationships and meaningful work.

The use of Cause and Effect Diagram (Fishbone) and its impact on Personal Quality Management: Case Study in a classroom during the pandemic of COVID – 19

Personal quality and total quality management (TQM) are key success factors for organizational performance. The combination of individual and team quality management actions leads to motivated people in the workplace and can create high quality processes, relationships and outputs. The Cause and Effect Diagram (Fishbone) is one of the seven most known quality tools and it provides a systematic way of looking at effects and the causes that create or contribute to those effects. It helps an organization to identify, analyze and improve quality issues.
 This study examines the use of the Cause and Effect Diagram (Fishbone) quality tool in a classroom during the pandemic of COVID – 19. After the use of the tool by the class participants on personal and team level, students were also asked to assess its impact and provide feedback over the connection of this tool application to personal quality development.
 The researchers concluded that on a team basis, the Cause and Effect Diagram helped the team members visually diagram the problems and allowed them to truly diagnose the problem, to separate a problem's content from its history, and facilitated team consensus around its causes. Finally, it is well – known that by team action are cultivated skills such as cooperation, team – thinking, determination, persuasion, creativity, inspiration, fast problem solving, synergy, immediate decision making and direct communication.
 EL Classification: Μ19
 Keywords: Total Quality Management, Personal Quality, Cause and Effect Diagram, Personal and Team Projects

The modernization strategy of constructing teacher-student relationship in the new era of universities

Abstract Teacher-student relationship is the most central relationship in educational activities, and without high-quality teacher-student relationship, there is no high level of educational activities. In the new period of social development, the outstanding problems in teacher-student relationship have attracted wide attention of public opinion. This paper takes a full-time comprehensive higher vocational college formed by the merger of several specialized colleges as the target of the study, from which a valid target sample is selected. Based on the idea of SHIFU algorithm and greedy algorithm to construct the teacher-student relationship recognition model, we use XGBoost (eXtreme Gradient Boosting) for optimization. Based on the four types of teacher-student relationships identified, a systematic strategy for building modern teacher-student relationships is structured from three aspects: society, school, and teachers and students. The following data were obtained by applying the proposed strategy to the target institutions: the values of the number of students answering questions and solving problems in the experimental class were 46.88% and 40.99% of the total number of students, respectively, which were 4.87% and 5.56% higher than those in the control class. The value of the number and frequency of cooperative exchanges between teachers and students in the experimental class is 52.76% of the total number and frequency, and the satisfaction rate between teachers and students is 49.57%. And the control class is only 44.16% vs. 39.77%. The number of students completing their homework in the experimental class was 95.82%, and the average assessment score was 64.16, which was higher than that of the control class. The strategy has a modernist philosophical orientation and a practical quality, which can make the teacher-student relationship in the new era present a state of moral clarity, intimacy and harmony.

Stress and Depression Are Associated with Sexual Function and Satisfaction in Young Men Who Have Sex with Men.

Prior research suggests that better mental health and higher relationship quality are associated with better sexual function and satisfaction. Such insights can inform intervention development for mental, relationship, and sexual health concerns. This study examined the interactions among these variables in a racially and ethnically diverse group of young men who have sex with men (YMSM) in serious relationships (N = 348). Data were drawn from wave 5 of a longitudinal cohort study. We examined cross-sectional associations between depression and stress (predictors) and sexual function, sexual satisfaction, and anal discomfort (outcomes) and to what extent these associations were moderated by relationship quality. Higher endorsement of depression and stress was associated with worse sexual functioning, lower sexual satisfaction, and more anal discomfort. We also found that fewer negative interactions, stronger commitment, and higher relationship satisfaction were associated with better sexual functioning and higher sexual satisfaction. Higher relationship satisfaction and commitment were found to attenuate the association between stress and sexual satisfaction. Contrary to expectations, higher relationship satisfaction also showed a trend toward exacerbating the association between depression and sexual functioning. These results suggest that, for YMSM, high relationship satisfaction and commitment may protect sexual satisfaction from being negatively impacted by high stress. However, YMSM in highly satisfying relationships may experience poor sexual functioning associated with depression as particularly distressing. This study addressed a major gap in the literature by focusing on mental, relationship, and sexual health in a diverse sample. Future research should examine a wider range of sexual functioning outcomes and include minority stress in study design.

Social distancing and workplace relationships in South Korea: exploring changes in negative and positive affective exchanges at work before and during COVID-19

ABSTRACT Many organisations introduced social distancing to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. However, since social distancing is designed to reduce personal interactions, it can impact workplace relationships. This paper explores how and when social distancing influences workplace relationships. Drawing on the affect theory of social exchange and the social cognition literature, we argue that when employees have more negative affective relationships with their co-workers (before COVID-19), social distancing helps improve such negative affective relationships (during COVID-19), especially when the co-worker is warm and competent. We collected data on relationships that individual employees in South Korea have with their co-workers before and during COVID-19. Our hierarchical linear modelling results show that social distancing indeed reduces the negative affective relationships that employees have with their co-workers when those co-workers are viewed as warm and competent. Conversely, social distancing does not hurt employees’ positive affective relationships. These findings suggest that contrary to view that social distancing and remote work causes misunderstanding and conflict, social distancing helps to improve employees’ workplace relationships. We therefore draw implications for human resource development professionals in facilitating high-quality relationships in remote settings.

Investigating the quality of the relationship, supply risk mitigation on medium and large-sized manufacturing firms' supply chain performance in the developing countries: the moderating effect of supplier involvement

PurposeDue to the current volatile environment and fierce competition, manufacturing firms (MFs) must improve their performance to survive. In this regard, checking and monitoring the suppliers' risk should significantly improve the performance of MFs. In addition, a relation based on not being an opportunist, confidence and reliance are influential factors in reducing the supplier defaults on his/her supply obligations and improving supply chain performance (SCP). Besides, the moderator function of supplier involvement (SI) in the relationship between quality of the relationship (QoR) and supply risk mitigation (SRM) is undeniable.Design/methodology/approachBased on the survey of 148 samples from small to large-sized MFs in Jordan, Turkey and Egypt, empirical evidence has been conducted to support a majority of the authors’ hypotheses. This paper provides a theoretical review of buyer–supplier relationships and supply risk. Hypotheses were tested by using structural equation modeling (SEM)/Smart PLS-4.FindingsAccording to the results, confidence and reliance have statistically significant and positive impacts on SRM, resulting in better SCP. Moreover, the findings show that SI positively affects and moderates the relationship between confidence (C) and SRM, while it has no statistically significant influence on the relationship between reliance (R) and SRM.Practical implicationsThis study provides necessary material for managers and decision-makers in MFs to confirm the importance and understanding of the QoR in building relationships and business dealings with partners in the SC, in addition to limiting and mitigating the risks of an interruption in supply in particular. Therefore, building a high-quality relationship as a practice based on trust and reliability with suppliers positively affects the performance of the SCs of MFs.Originality/valueThis research paper offers empirical evidence for using QoR within SRM resources of MFs' context for enhancing their supply chain performance. This study is one of few studies that examine the QoR and SRM that contribute to enhancing SCP in MFs in developing countries, which also can serve as a reference for many SC managers and practitioners.

Stigma by Association: The Unintended Interpersonal Consequences of Associating Oneself with an Abusive Supervisor

Extant abusive supervision research has predominantly studied its prevalence and destructive effects through the lens of victims, potential victims, or third-party observers who witness such mistreatments. In the present research, we examine a neglected group of individuals—employees who are able to develop high-quality relationships and are closely associated with their abusive supervisors. Drawing insights from the stigma-by-association literature, we conceptualize abusive supervision as a unique form of moral stigma that might result in unintended spillover effects. Specifically, we found that observers tend to perceive employees who are closely associated with an abusive supervisor to be less moral and trustworthy for seemingly sharing a similar set of unethical values and beliefs, even though this might not necessarily be true in reality. As a downstream consequence, these employees are subject to unintended interpersonal backlashes (i.e., withdrawal from helping behaviors) imposed by their fellow coworkers. Furthermore, we investigate the moderating role of voluntary motive attribution, revealing that those who were attributed to voluntarily associate themselves with abusive supervisors received the highest levels of interpersonal backlashes. Results from one pilot study, one multiwave survey study (Study 2), and three preregistered experiments (Studies 1, 3, 4) supported our full theoretical model. Our research adds new insights to the abusive supervision literature by introducing a new unintended consequence on a previously overlooked group of employees who are presumed to be shielded from the negative impact of abusive supervision. Funding: This work was supported by the Singapore Ministry of Education [Grant R-317-000-164-115]. Supplemental Material: The e-companion is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2023.1678 .

Dynamic evolution of the relationship quality among participants in integrated project delivery: based on supply chain theory

PurposeThe core of the successful implementation of the integrated project delivery (IPD) mode is to establish a high-quality relationship of cooperation, trust and sharing among participants. This paper proposes recommendations to improve the relationship quality of participants from the owner's perspective. The results provide the theoretical basis and practical guidance for the popularization and application of the IPD mode.Design/methodology/approachThis paper analyzes the dynamic relationship among participants in IPD mode based on supply chain theory and similarity theory. A tripartite game model of the owner, designer and the contractor is constructed to obtain the evolutionary equilibrium strategies under different parameter constraints. Then, numerical simulations under various scenarios are conducted to explore the dynamic evolution and the influencing factors of the relationship quality among the participant in the IPD mode.FindingsThe results show that (1) the relationship quality under certain conditions gradually improves as the project progresses until stable and high-quality cooperation is formed and (2) the owner's positive supervision cost, the distribution coefficient of incentive and punishment of participants and the scale of incentive pool are important factors influencing the relationship quality.Originality/valueThis study incorporates the following three innovations. First, analyzing the relationship quality among the participants of IPD mode based on supply chain theory. Second, the evolutionary game theory is applied to the relationship quality analysis. Third, conclusion innovation. The authors conclude that the relationship quality may progress, decrease or cycle with the progress of the project and targeted recommendations are presented based on the results.

Psychosocial determinants of pre-exposure prophylaxis use among pregnant adolescent girls and young women in Cape Town, South Africa: A qualitative study.

In South Africa, at least 7.5million people (age ≥15years) are living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). In 2020, 220,000 new infections occurred, approximately one-third of which were among cisgender adolescent girls and women (age ≥15years). The perspectives of pregnant adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) as key, targeted end-users of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in this setting are not well known. We purposively recruited participants enrolled in an ongoing cohort study at an urban antenatal clinic in Cape Town, South Africa for in-depth interviews between July-September 2020. We restricted our analysis to pregnant AGYW (age: 16-25years) who initiated daily oral PrEP (Tenofovir/Emtricitabine) antenatally and self-reported either high PrEP persistence (≥25days in the past 30days and no missed PrEP collection), or low PrEP persistence and/or discontinuation (missing >5days in the last 30days or missed PrEP collection). The findings were organized thematically, per the adapted Health Behavior Model (2000), using Nvivo-v.1.5. We interviewed 18 AGYW (mean age = 22years), at a mean of 14weeks postpartum. Higher self-esteem and high-quality study provider-client relationships, including empathic psychosocial support, facilitated PrEP continuation. Reported barriers included unstable social structure characteristics (i.e., financial hardship) and individual factors (i.e., unintended pregnancy, parental rejection, and inadequate peer- and [non-cohabiting] partner support). Participants self-perceived a need for PrEP, feeling susceptible to non-consensual, forced sex, or considering partners' (presumed) sexual risk-taking. Limited community awareness regarding PrEP availability and/or perceived complexity in navigating health system access to PrEP, impede continuation. PrEP-focused healthcare access pathways for pregnant and postpartum AGYW need to be simplified. Further research is needed on health system determinants (i.e., structural barriers, provider-client interactions, and related outcomes) of oral PrEP utilization. In 2022, South Africa announced regulatory approval of long-acting PrEP options (i.e., the dapivirine ring for non-pregnant women and injectable cabotegravir, respectively); these may mitigate implementation barriers reported in this study. However, the safety and efficacy of long-acting PrEP (e.g., injectables, implants) among pregnant or breastfeeding women, specifically, remains to be confirmed in this setting.

Interparental conflict and adolescent emotional security across family structures.

This study investigated whether interparental conflict was differentially related to forms of emotional security (i.e., family, interparental, parent-child) and whether forms of emotional security were differentially associated with mental health problems for adolescents in married versus divorced/separated families. Participants were 1032 adolescents (ages 10-15; 51% male, 49% female; 82% non-Hispanic White, 9% Black/African American, 5% Hispanic, 2% Asian or Pacific Islander, 2% Native American) recruited from a public school in a middle-class suburb of a United States metropolitan area. We used multiple group multivariate path analysis to assess (1) associations between interparental conflict and multiple measures of emotional insecurity (i.e., family, interparental, and parent-child), (2) associations between measures of emotional insecurity and internalizing and externalizing problems, and (3) moderation effects of parent-child relationships. The patterns of association were similar across family structures. A high-quality parent-child relationship did not mitigate the harmful effects of interparental conflict on emotional insecurity or mental health problems. Findings suggest that regardless of family structure, emotional security across multiple family systems may be a critical target for intervention to prevent youth mental health problems, in addition to interventions that reduce conflict and improve parent-child relationships.

VA-Delivered or VA-Purchased Care: Important Factors for Veterans Navigating Care Decisions.

The VA MISSION Act aimed to increase Veterans' access to care by allowing eligible Veterans to use VA-paid care from non-VA providers ("VA-purchased care"). We interviewed Veterans who were eligible for both VA-delivered and VA-purchased care to examine factors they consider when making decisions about whether to use VA-delivered or VA-purchased care. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 28 Veterans across the USA who were eligible for VA-delivered and VA-purchased care, using deductive and inductive analysis to develop themes. Participants were recruited from a survey about healthcare access and decision-making. More than half of participants lived in rural areas, 21 were men, and 25 were > 50years old. Veteran participants identified (1) high-quality relationships with providers based on mutual trust, empathy, authenticity, and continuity of care, and (2) a positive environment or "eco-system of care" characterized by supportive interactions with staff and other Veterans, and exemplary customer service as integral to their decisions about where to receive care. These preferences influenced their engagement with VA and non-VA providers. We discovered corresponding findings related to Veterans' information needs. When making decisions around where to receive care, participants said they would like more information about VA and non-VA providers and services, and about coordination of care and referrals, including understanding processes and implications of utilizing VA-purchased care. Current VA-purchased care eligibility determinations focus on common access metrics (e.g., wait times, distance to care). Yet, Veterans discussed other important factors for navigating care decisions, including patient-provider relationship quality and the larger healthcare environment (e.g., interactions with staff and other Veterans). Our findings point to the need for health systems to collect and provide information on these aspects of care to ensure care decisions reflect what is important to Veterans when navigating where to receive care.

Emotional Attachment in Social E-Commerce: The Role of Social Capital and Peer Influence

As competition in the social e-commerce industry intensifies, building high-quality relationships with users to increase customer loyalty and gain sustainable competitive advantage is important for platforms. Based on the perspective of social capital, this paper constructs a relationship model of “social capital-peer influence-emotional attachment” based on Red Booklet and Poizon users and explores the influence and mechanism of social capital on emotional attachment in the context of social e-commerce. Social capital has a significant positive effect on peer influence and emotional attachment, while peer influence has a significant positive effect on emotional attachment and partially mediates the relationship between social capital and emotional attachment. This study provides practical insights from the perspective of “social capital” for enterprises to improve the users’ emotional attachment to the platform and further develop themselves in the social e-commerce environment.

Using Observational Dyadic Methods in Youth Mentoring Research: Preliminary Evidence of the Role of Actors’ and Partners’ Self-disclosure in Predicting Relationship Quality

Self-disclosure builds high quality relationships, but knowledge of self-disclosure in youth mentoring relationships is limited by a lack of research and reliance on self-reports. To demonstrate the value of observational methods and dyadic modeling of mentoring communication processes, this study examined the associations between behavioral observation of self-disclosure and self-reported relationship quality in 49 mentee-mentor dyads (mentees: 73.5% female; x̄ age = 16.2, range = 12–19; mentors: 69.4% female; x̄ age = 36.2, range = 19–59). Video-recorded observations of disclosure were coded on three dimensions: amount (number of topics and detail of disclosure), intimacy (disclosure of personal or sensitive information), and openness (willingness to disclose). More intimate mentor disclosure was associated with higher mentee relationship quality, whereas higher amount of mentor disclosure combined with low intimacy was associated with lower mentee relationship quality. Greater mentee openness correlated with higher mentor relationship quality, but more intimate mentee disclosures were associated with lower mentee relationship quality. These preliminary findings illustrate the potential of methods that enable in-depth investigation of dyadic processes to advance understanding of how behavioral processes may influence mentoring relationships.

Trajectories of incarcerated coparenting: Examining differences across race and ethnicity.

Emerging research suggests that those coparenting with an incarcerated person experience multiple challenges. Examining incarcerated coparenting among minority fathers is especially salient as their incarceration rates are substantially higher than White males. This study utilized data from the Multi-Site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting and Partnering Study to examine changes in coparenting relationships when the male partner was incarcerated. Theoretically guided by structural family therapy, latent growth models were used to evaluate trajectories of fathers' coparenting reliability and coparenting cohesion across 34 months. Results indicated average declines within incarcerated men's reported coparenting responsibility and coparenting cohesion with their partner. Incarcerated men with higher relationship quality at T1 was significantly associated with higher initial levels of coparenting cohesion and coparenting responsibility-but not with the trajectories of coparenting change. Incarcerated fathers identifying as Hispanic and Other declined at a significantly steeper rate in coparenting responsibility than Black and White incarcerated fathers. Clinical implications and future research directions are provided.

Relationship quality and family formation in Europe.

The increase in cohabitation and nonmarital childbearing across Europe has raised questions about who still marries either before or after having a child. Although prior studies have addressed the sequence of marriage and childbearing, few have examined the role of relationship quality in these transitions. Here we employ a cross-national perspective to study the association between relationship quality and marriage and/or first birth within cohabitation. Using the Generations and Gender Survey and UK Household Longitudinal Study, we study seven European countries (Austria, France, Hungary, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and UK). We employ competing risk hazard models to follow respondents as they 1) transition from cohabitation into marriage or conception (or separation); 2) transition to marriage (or separation) after having a birth within cohabitation. Results show that cohabitors with higher relationship quality are more marriage prone than those in lower quality relationships in Austria, France, Hungary, and the UK, but not in the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Instead, higher relationship quality is associated with higher conception risks in cohabitation in Sweden. After childbearing, we find a positive association between relationship quality and marriage among cohabiting parents in the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. These results suggest that marriage is still important for couples with higher quality relationships; however, in countries where cohabitation is widespread, the timing of marriage may have shifted to after childbearing.

Individuals May Improve Their Intimate Relationship by Improving Attachment, Self-esteem, and Personality

The current study aimed to examine the relationship between romantic relationships and three important factors: attachment, self-esteem and personality. These studies briefly described previous research on attachment, self-esteem and personality and their effects on romantic relationships, and discussed their malleability and application of the intervention. People with insecure attachment, low self-esteem and personality vulnerability have less satisfaction within their romantic relationships. High-quality relationships have a positive impact on the enhancement of those factors. Besides, those factors are malleable in response to social experiences and specific interventions. Attachment styles can shift after completing the process of EFT. CBT treatments are an effective approach to enhancing self-esteem and personality. These findings provide evidence that people could change their attachment, self-esteem and personality, which implies that it is possible that individuals could improve their romantic relationships by changing their attachment, self-esteem and personality.

Does Forgiveness Enhance Or Detract From Relationship Quality Among Sexual Abuse Survivors?

ABSTRACT Many women experience childhood sexual abuse (CSA) during their childhood and CSA often negatively impacts adult’s romantic relationships. Consequently, it is important to understand the protective factors that buffer against the detrimental impact of CSA on the quality of women’s romantic relationships. Forgiveness may be one such factor. The current study looked at trait forgiveness as a moderator of CSA and overall relationship quality, positive relationship quality, and negative relationship quality. A sample of 171 women completed an online survey. Using hierarchical regression, forgiveness was found to moderate the association between CSA and overall relationship quality and negative relationship quality, but not positive relationship quality. Findings indicate that the interaction between CSA and forgiveness was significant, but higher levels of forgiveness actually decreased overall relationship quality and increased negative relationship quality. The relationship between CSA and overall reports of relationship quality and negative relationship quality were stable at low levels of forgiveness, but when forgiveness was high overall relationship quality decreased and negative relationship quality increased. CSA was also directly associated with lower levels of positive relationship quality. Findings from the study indicate continued conceptual refinement when considering CSA, forgiveness, and relationship quality.

The power of example: The relationship between supervisors' and employees' organizational citizenship behavior

This study applied social learning theory to investigate the relationship between supervisors' and employees' organizational citizenship behavior, as well as the moderating role of leader–member exchange (LMX). Through convenience sampling we selected 239 employees from different organizations in China to complete the study in two stages separated by a 1-month interval. Hierarchical regression analysis results indicated that employee OCB was positively influenced by supervisor OCB and that LMX positively moderated this relationship. Hence, organizations should account for the effect of supervisors' OCB, cultivate supervisors' awareness of and ability to conduct OCB, select supervisors with a high OCB tendency, endow them with job autonomy, and encourage them to build high-quality exchange relationships with employees.

Building Work Engagement in Organizations: A Longitudinal Study Combining Social Exchange and Social Identity Theories

Starting from the insights of social identity theory and social exchange theory, the present study aimed to understand how social support and organizational identification relate to work engagement. Moreover, it sought to verify if social support and organizational identification interact with each other to explain work engagement three months later. A longitudinal study was conducted on a sample of 150 employees, in which organizational identification, social support, and work engagement were measured through a questionnaire. The results show that when employees can count on their supervisors' and colleagues' support, they will be more engaged in their work. In addition, when an employee strongly identifies with their organization, the employee's evaluation of the social support received from colleagues and supervisors becomes less critical in determining their work engagement. These results confirm our hypotheses and extend the findings of previous research on withdrawal behaviors. From a practical point of view, it seems important for organizations to invest in increasing identification, as well as in building a high-quality social exchange relationship, especially when levels of organizational identification are low or decreasing.

How video games saved me during the pandemic: A gamer's guide to psychological safety

How video games saved me during the pandemic: A gamer's guide to psychological safety