Interpersonal Relationship Functioning Research Articles

Sudden gains in PTSD symptoms and social functioning in cognitive processing therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder

ABSTRACT Objective: Sudden gains (SGs) are rapid symptom improvements between two consecutive therapy sessions that predict treatment outcomes. This study investigated SGs in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, interpersonal relationship functioning, and social role functioning in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). Method: Participants were 121 patients and 81 therapists involved in a parent randomized controlled hybrid implementation-effectiveness trial of CPT. Descriptive analyses examined the frequency and timing of different forms of SGs. Multilevel modeling examined the impact of the three SGs on outcomes. Results: PTSD SGs occurred more often and at different sessions than SGs in facets of social functioning. Most individuals experienced only one form of SG and there were no significant clinical or demographic differences in those who had PTSD only SGs, social functioning only SGs, or both SGs. PTSD SGs and interpersonal relationship functioning SGs both predicted changes in PTSD symptoms and interpersonal difficulties over time, but not changes in social role functioning. SGs in social role functioning predicted all three forms of outcomes. Conclusions: The findings suggest that there are multiple forms of SGs in CPT beyond primary symptom changes that are predictive of patient outcomes. Clinicians should highlight various SGs that patients experience to further enhance outcomes.

Actor and partner effects of PTSD and relationship functioning in a recently traumatized sample.

A robust negative association exists between self-reported posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and self-reported interpersonal relationship functioning. However, the extent to which each member of a dyad's subjective PTSD ratings influence the other's subjective relationship functioning ratings is less understood. The present study tested: (a) associations between self- and partner-PTSD severity ratings and relationship functioning ratings and (b) whether exposure to the index trauma, gender, and relationship type (i.e., intimate vs. nonintimate dyad) moderated these associations in a sample of 104 dyads of individuals with PTSD and a close significant other. Each partners' ratings of PTSD severity were uniquely and positively associated with their own (actor) and their partner's ratings of relationship conflict, but not support or depth. Gender moderated the partner effect; women's (but not men's) subjective PTSD severity were positively associated with their partners' subjective relationship conflict. There was a relationship type by actor effect interaction for relationship support, which indicated that perceptions of PTSD severity were negatively associated with each partner's perceptions of relationship support for intimate but not nonintimate dyads. Results support a dyadic conceptualization of PTSD in which both partners' perception of symptoms are important for relationship functioning. Conjoint therapies may be particularly potent for PTSD and relationship functioning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Longitudinal associations between interpersonal relationship functioning and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in recently traumatized individuals: differential findings by assessment method.

The role of interpersonal relationship functioning in trauma recovery is well-established. However, much of this research has been done with cross-sectional samples, often years after trauma exposure, using self-report methodology only, and is focused on intimate relationship adjustment. The current study investigated the longitudinal associations between interpersonal (intimate and non-intimate) relationship functioning and clinician- and self-reported posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in 151 recently (within the past 6 months) traumatized individuals. Participants were assessed at four time points over 1 year. Approximately 53% of the sample was diagnosed with PTSD at initial assessment, with declining rates of diagnostic status over time to 16%. Latent difference score (LDS) modeling revealed nonlinear declines in both clinician-assessed and self-reported PTSD symptom severity, with faster declines in earlier periods. Likewise, LDS models revealed nonlinear declines in negative (conflict) aspects of interpersonal relationship functioning, but linear declines in positive (support, depth) aspects. The relationship between PTSD and relationship functioning differed for clinician- and self-reported PTSD. Bivariate LDS modeling revealed significant cross-lagged effects from relationship conflict to clinician-assessed PTSD, and significant cross-lagged effects from self-reported PTSD to relationship conflict over time. These results highlight that the variability in prior results may be related to the method of assessing PTSD symptomatology and different relational constructs. Implications for theory and early intervention are discussed.

Polarization and Fluctuations in Signed Social Networks

Much recent research on social networks has focused on the modeling and analysis of how opinions evolve as a function of interpersonal relationships. It is also of great interest to model and understand the implications of friendly and antagonistic relationships. In this article, we propose a new, simple and intuitive model that incorporates the socio-psychological phenomenon of the boomerang effect in opinion dynamics. We establish that, under certain conditions on the structure of the signed network that corresponds to the so-called structural balance property, the opinions in the network polarize. Compared to other models in the literature, our model displays a richer and perhaps more intuitive behavior of the opinions when the social network does not satisfy structural balance. In particular, we analyze signed networks in which the opinions show persistent fluctuations (including the case of the so-called clustering balance).

Effect of Korean folk music intervention on schizophrenia inpatients' emotional behavior and interpersonal relationship functioning

Schizophrenia can lead to inappropriate emotional behavior and issues with interpersonal relationship functioning as it becomes chronic. This study aimed to determine the effects of a Korean folk music therapy program on the emotional behavior and interpersonal relationship functioning of patients with schizophrenia. Twenty inpatients with schizophrenia in a psychiatric ward in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province were included in the experimental group, and 24 in the control group. The experimental group participated in a 15-session music therapy program, with two 50-minute sessions per week. For hypothesis testing, Wilks' Lambda based on sphericity testing was used to perform repeated measures ANOVA. The experimental group showed statistically significantly higher levels of emotional behavior (F = 5.814, p < .020) and interpersonal relationship functioning (F = 21.72, p < .001) than the control group, indicating that the Korean folk music therapy program was an effective intervention.

The Effect of Social Networks and Social Constructions on HIV Risk Perceptions

Roughly 1 in 7 people living with HIV in the United States is unaware of their sero-status, signaling that individuals may be underestimating theirrisk forHIV.Few studies have examined the effect of socio-structural and socio-cognitive factors onHIV risk perceptions. This analysis identifies individual, interpersonal and network influences on HIV risk perceptions among high-risk heterosexuals. Data come from the Colorado Springs study, a CDC-funded project focused on HIV transmission among high-risk heterosexuals.Using social network data, analyses were first conducted at the individual-level using a partial proportional odds regression to identify predictors of self-perceived HIV risk. Next, multivariate binary logistic regression using GEE was used to examine predictors of perceptions of network member's HIV risk. Interpersonal characteristics such as perceptions of network member'sHIV risk, racial homophily, and engagement in multiplexity (co-occurrence of drug-use, needle sharing and sex within relationships) were significantly associated with respondents' self-perceived HIV risk. Factors associated with perceptions of network member'sHIV risk include self-perceived HIV risk, emotional closeness within relationships, and density of drug ties. Analyses found HIV risk perception is the product of not only individual-level factors, but also interpersonal and social network processes. We also found a reciprocal relationship between individuals' perceptions of their own risk and the risk of their associates/network members. Findings highlightthe need for understanding risk perception as a function of interpersonal relationships, social constructions, including socio-cognitive processes.

Pawsitively sad: pet-owners are more sensitive to negative emotion in animal distress vocalizations.

Pets have numerous, effective methods to communicate with their human hosts. Perhaps most conspicuous of these are distress vocalizations: in cats, the ‘miaow’ and in dogs, the ‘whine’ or ‘whimper’. We compared a sample of young adults who owned cats and or dogs (‘pet-owners’ n = 264) and who did not (n = 297) on their ratings of the valence of animal distress vocalizations, taken from a standardized database of sounds. We also examined these participants' self-reported symptoms of anxiety and depression, and their scores on a measure of interpersonal relationship functioning. Pet-owners rated the animal distress vocalizations as sadder than adults who did not own a pet. Cat-owners specifically gave the most negative ratings of cat miaows compared with other participants, but were no different in their ratings of other sounds. Dog sounds were rated more negatively overall, in fact as negatively as human baby cries. Pet-owning adults (cat only, dog only, both) were not significantly different from adults with no pets on symptoms of depression, anxiety or on self-reported interpersonal relationship functioning. We suggest that pet ownership is associated with greater sensitivity to negative emotion in cat and dog distress vocalizations.

The Relationships of ‘Nunchi’ Perception and Behavior Factors to Interpersonal Relationship Functioning and Subjective Well-being: Focusing on the Mediating Effect of Social Problem Solving Ability

The Relationships of ‘Nunchi’ Perception and Behavior Factors to Interpersonal Relationship Functioning and Subjective Well-being: Focusing on the Mediating Effect of Social Problem Solving Ability

Protective and acquisitive self-monitoring differences in attachment anxiety and avoidance

ABSTRACTThe purpose of the investigation was to examine how different self-monitoring orientations would manifest in interpersonal relationship functioning. Protective, but not acquisitive, self-monitoring was expected to be associated with greater attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance. Participants completed the Self-Monitoring Scale and the Adult Attachment Questionnaire with respect to romantic partners (Studies 1a, 1b) and the Experiences in Close Relationships – Relationship Structures Scale with respect to mothers, fathers, romantic partners and best friends (Study 2). Across relationship type, those higher in protective self-monitoring expressed more avoidance and anxiety than did those lower in protective self-monitoring. Acquisitive self-monitoring was generally unrelated to attachment anxiety and avoidance. It appears that a self-presentational orientation based on avoiding disapproval contributes to general uneasiness with intimacy and fear of interpersonal rejection.

Longitudinal Associations Between Interpersonal Relationship Functioning and Mood Episode Severity in Youth With Bipolar Disorder

This study examined the longitudinal association between mood episode severity and relationships in youth with bipolar (BP) disorder. Participants were 413 Course and Outcome of Bipolar Youth study youth, aged 12.6 ± 3.3 years. Monthly ratings of relationships (parents, siblings, and friends) and mood episode severity were assessed by the Adolescent Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation Psychosocial Functioning Schedule and Psychiatric Rating Scales, on average, every 8.2 months over 5.1 years. Correlations examined whether participants with increased episode severity also reported poorer relationships and whether fluctuations in episode severity predicted fluctuations in relationships, and vice versa. Results indicated that participants with greater mood episode severity also had worse relationships. Longitudinally, participants had largely stable relationships. To the extent that there were associations, changes in parental relationships may precede changes in episode severity, although the magnitude of this finding was small. Findings have implications for relationship interventions in BP youth.

Longitudinal Associations Between Interpersonal Relationship Functioning and Mood Episode Severity in Youth With Bipolar Disorder

Longitudinal Associations Between Interpersonal Relationship Functioning and Mood Episode Severity in Youth With Bipolar Disorder

648 The Complex Problems of Children and Families with a Child with Disorders of Sexual Development

BackgroundThe diagnose of DSD is a challenge for medical staff, family and society.Material and methodWe study 15 patients with DSD, between 2005–2011. The study protocol included anamnesis, clinical examination: auxiological...

The Biopsychosocial Milieu of Type 2 Diabetes: An Exploratory Study of the Impact of Social Relationships on a Chronic Inflammatory Disease

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between psychosocial variables, biomarker hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C), and immune modulatory cytokine mediators among diabetic patients in marital or committed long-term relationships. This is a cross-sectional study of adult patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) presenting at a university-based ambulatory medical clinic. Social/interpersonal constructs were assessed using measures of dyadic adjustment, interpersonal sensitivity and social functioning, and expressed emotion. HbA1c and cytokines were measured from blood samples using standard laboratory tests. Associations of relational systems constructs with biomarkers were assessed using bivariate tests. Dyadic adjustment was significantly associated with cytokine IL-8. Interpersonal relationship functioning was significantly associated with biomarker HbA1c, and cytokines TNF-alpha, and IL-1ra. Social functioning was significantly correlated with cytokines IL-17, IL-1ra, IL-2r, IL-6, and eotaxin. Depression was significantly correlated with HbA1C. Although preliminary in nature, findings revealed significant relationships between molecular mediators of the inflammatory and immune systems and variables measuring the relational context patients with T2DM. The initial findings suggest a next step in understanding and exploring the complex but important biopsychosocial pathways in Type 2 DM.

Long-term correlates of child sexual abuse: Theory and review of the empirical literature

Since Browne and Finkelhor's (1986) seminal review of the impact of child sexual abuse, there has been a dramatic increase in the child sexual abuse literature. Because of this tremendous growth in the literature, a more current review is warranted. The focus of this paper is a review of the long-term correlates of child sexual abuse published since 1987. Sexually abused subjects report higher levels of general psychological distress and higher rates of both major psychological disorders and personality disorders than nonabused subjects. In addition, child sexual abuse survivors report higher rates of substance abuse, binge eating, somatization, and suicidal behaviors than nonabused subjects. Adult survivors of child sexual abuse report poorer social and interpersonal relationship functioning, greater sexual dissatisfaction, dysfunction and maladjustment including high-risk sexual behavior, and a greater tendency toward revictimization through adult sexual assault and physical partner violence. The long-term correlates of child sexual abuse are conceptualized within a theoretical framework based on a theory of emotional avoidance. Although more recent empirical findings have demonstrated improved designs and methodology, these studies continue to be limited in their generalizability. Recommendations for future research are discussed.

Interpersonal relationships and personal space: Research review and theoretical model

This article reviews research concerning interpersonal distance as a function of interpersonal relationships, attraction, and reactions to spatial invasion. To integrate research findings, we propose a simple model, based on the idea that people seek an optimal distance from others that becomes smaller with friends and larger for individuals who do not expect to interact. The model describes comfort-discomfort as a function of interaction distance in three situations: interacting friends, interacting strangers, and strangers who do not expect interaction. These three personal space profiles are discussed in terms of qualifying variables, such as seated vs. standing interaction, sex composition of the dyad, intimacy of conversation topics, and situational variables.

Test performance as an involuntary function of interpersonal relationships.

Test performance as an involuntary function of interpersonal relationships.