Lack Of Intimacy Research Articles

Interpersonal relatedness and self‐definition in the experience of loneliness during the transition to university

AbstractBlatt's (1900) theory on the two primary dimensions in personality—interpersonal relatedness and self—definition—was applied to the study of loneliness during the transition to university. Participants were 176 students (84 males and 92 females) who completed the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) at the beginning of First‐year university (time 1) and the UCLA Loneliness Scale (trait and state versions) at the beginning and at the middle of first‐year university (time 2). A subsample of students (n= 74) also completed Sharabany's Intimacy Scale at time 2. Trait loneliness was accounted for by higher levels of Self‐Criticism (SC) and lower levels of Efficacy (E). Change in state loneliness from time t to time 2 (i.e., overcoming state loneliness) was predicted by lower Self‐Criticism and higher Efficacy. In the relationship with an intimate partner, Self‐Criticism negatively predicted frankness, sensitivity, and trust, whereas Dependency positively predicted attachment, giving, and trust. The centrality of self‐criticism in vulnerability to loneliness and in lack of intimacy is discussed, and directions for future research on loneliness and personality styles are suggested.

Patients' internal world experience of interacting with psychiatric nurses

Research was conducted to explore the patient's perception of interaction with psychiatric nurses. In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 psychiatric patients. The interviews were conducted in two phases. In phase 1 of each interview, the focus was exploratory and phenomenological, where a single central question was posed concerning the nature of a psychiatric patient's experience of interaction with psychiatric nurses. In phase 2 of each interview, the focus was to probe for further patient experience, based on the data elicited in phase one. The results of the research show significant findings within the psychological dimension of psychiatric patients' internal environment with specific reference to: their perception of the interaction (including stereotyping, custodialism, rule enforcement, lack of intimacy, friendliness, and lack of empathy and caring); defense mechanisms, identified during the interaction as denial and avoidance; and anxiety as emotion. These results emphasize the importance of a facilitative psychiatric nurse-patient interaction to assist the patient in the promotion, maintenance, and restoration of mental health.

Social support and barriers to family involvement in caregiving for persons with AIDS: implications for patient education.

If efforts to promote family involvement in patient education and other caregiving activities for people with AIDS (PWAs) are to be successful, clinicians need information concerning PWAs' family network and the barriers PWAs face in obtaining support. Using data from interviews with 224 PWAs in New York City, we assessed the size and composition of their family network and the self-identified barriers to support. Overall, respondents mentioned having an average of less than two sources of close support. Women relied on children for support more than men did. Male injection drug users and men reporting sex with men relied on friends and traditional family almost equally, while men at risk for HIV via heterosexual contact relied more on traditional family sources. Barriers to support included interpersonal costs, lack of access, lack of acceptance, lack of intimacy, negative interactions and fear of disclosure. Health professionals need to conduct comprehensive network assessments with PWAs in order to determine the full scope of support resources available to each patient. Educational initiatives that provide information about family conflict resolution and the course and transmission of HIV may assist in alleviating these barriers. Clinicians can facilitate family involvement in patient education by addressing the informational needs that are salient to both PWAs' and their family caregivers.

The Role of Marital Therapy in the Treatment of Depressed Married Women

The absence of a close, confiding relationship has been identified as a vulnerability factor to depression for women under adverse circumstances. Marital discord has also been identified as a risk factor in initiating and sustaining depression in women. Recent research has suggested that marriages with a depressed spouse are associated with lack of intimacy and decreased self-disclosure. This paper reviews three controlled outcome studies which demonstrate that marital therapy in combination with antidepressant medication is not indicated for hospitalized women with major affective disorder but either alone or in combination with antidepressants, marital therapy is a viable treatment for outpatient women who are suffering from depression.

The relationship between social vulnerability and the occurrence of severely threatening life events

Research on the role of life events in the onset of depression has suggested that certain vulnerability factors can increase the risk of disorder in the face of a threatening event. The role of vulnerability factors to increase the likelihood of severe events occurring in the first place has remained largely unexplored. The vulnerability factor which has received the most attention is a lack of social support, particularly lack of a confiding relationship with a husband for women. A reanalysis of a number of published studies is undertaken; this shows that there is a positive relationship between lack of intimacy and the occurrence of adversity. The implications of this finding are briefly discussed, with emphasis on the need for a life-span developmental perspective in future life events research.

Structures in interpretations: a group psychoanalytic perspective.

ABSTRACTIn psychoanalytical psychotherapy interpretation is the main activity of the therapist. It is related to revealing the latent structure of meanings of phenomena. The phenomena of analytical therapy are presented as generated by the interaction of two structures: the therapeutic setting and the theoretical models of the therapist. The analytical group setting is contrasted with the individual setting through the elaboration of its central characteristic: the lack of intimacy. This is seen as generating specific regressive phenomena in groups which the therapist will attempt to interpret following an object relations theory. A discussion of interpretations in analytical group therapy focuses on three levels: the group itself, the interpersonal, and the intrapsychic. These are presented as complementary rather than mutually exclusive. Finally, the therapists' function in groups is discussed through the notion of the oscillatory nature of their participation, from a passive–receptive stance to an acti...

Social origins of major depression: the rôle of provoking agents and vulnerability factors.

An examination of the Brown-Harris etiological model of depressive disorder was accomplished by analyzing data from a community study of 800 middle-aged urban Swedish women. The sample included 53 onset cases of major depressive episode (DMS-III) in a 1-year period. In the analysis, interaction was defined according to the additive model employed by Brown & Harris. Occurrence of provoking agents was not significantly related to onset of depressive episode. None of the four vulnerability factors of the model showed significant interaction with provoking agents as expected from the model. One of them, lack of intimacy, increased significantly the risk of major depression in its own right, i.e. in the absence of provoking agent. Possible explanations for the major discrepancies of results between the original Camberwell study and the present one are briefly discussed.

Homophobia, perceived fathering, and male intimate relationships.

This study examined the relationships among homophobia, perceived fathering, and male intimacy with significant male and female best friends. A questionnaire, administered to 130 adult heterosexual males, included McDonald and Game's homophobia measure (ATHMS), eight intimacy scales, and four scales measuring subjects' recollections of their fathers' parenting styles. Correlations of ATHMS and individual intimacy scales revealed a significant relationship between homophobia and intimacy in male-male relationships. Homophobia was related to male-female intimacy on those measures which reflected subjects' perception of their female partner's sensitivity to them. Although homophobia was related to perception of the father as enforcing sex roles, none of the perceived fathering variables were directly related to intimacy with males. The findings provide evidence for a direct relationship between male homophobia and lack of intimacy in friendships between men.

The quality and quantity of marital intimacy in the marriages of psychiatric patients.

Lack of intimacy in the marital relationship is hypothesized to be associated with the presence of symptoms of nonpsychotic emotional illness in one or both spouses. The development of the Waring Intimacy Questionnaire (WIQ) has furthered the understanding of the relationship between intimacy and illness. A clinical sample (n = 184) was compared to a nonclinical sample (n = 188) on both the quality and quantity of intimacy. The clinical sample reports significantly lower intimacy [F (1, 370) = 37.5, p less than .001] and is deficient on almost all aspects of intimacy described, except sexuality. The results suggest that the WIQ is a useful assessment tool which may identify marital relationships that are not close, marital assessment may be useful in formulating a comprehensive treatment plan, and the sexual quality of marriage may operate independently of marital intimacy.

The Social Reality of Feeling Lonely

Loneliness has been defined as a dissatisfaction with one's social relationships. It is not clear, however, if loneliness is associated with having fewer close friends or fewer friends in general. Furthermore, this loneliness may be expressed either as a lack of relationships or as a lack of closeness in relationships. Finally, the lack of intimacy may be perceived only by the lonely person and may not reflect how the relationship appears to the partner. A total of 22 female and 20 male freshmen filled out a loneliness scale and social network questionnaire. Friends of the female subjects were also asked to fill out the social network questionnaire. Lonely persons listed as many best friends as nonlonely persons and were equally likely to have this choice reciprocated. Lonely subjects, however, did perceive a significantly lower level of intimacy in these relationship than did nonlonely subjects, and their "best friends" validated this perception. Lonely subjects did not differ in the number of friends in general that they listed, but their "friends" were significantly less likely to return this friendship choice.

A Dog Named Marion

The difficult decade of the 1980's calls for a renewed interest in Bernian game analysis. Four new games are identified, all related to power and lack of intimacy. One of them, called Elsewhere, has especially dangerous implications because it involves threats to large groups of people.

Intimacy and marital depression: Interactional partners

The relationship between marital depression and lack of intimacy in a caring relationship is presented and supported with evidence from teh relevant literature. A case example is given to illustrate the therapeutic implications of this viewpoint.

Social factors associated with depression: a retrospective community study.

A procedural replication of the Camberwell retrospective community study of depression in women (Brown et al. 1975; Brown & Harris, 1978a) was conducted in Calgary, Alberta. A random sample of 449 women between the ages of 18 and 65 were interviewed. The shorter form of the Present State Examination (PSE) and Brown's Interview Schedules for Life Events and Difficulties were used. By contrast to the findings of Brown, none of the following factors was associated with the onset of depression in the 12 months prior to interview: social class, employment status, number of children at home, loss of mother before age 11. In agreement with Brown, a lack of intimacy with spouse/cohabitant/boyfriend increased the risk of depression. Also in agreement with Brown, severe life events and difficulties were associated with depression. The association was particularly strong for 'possibly independent' events and difficulties, i.e. events (and difficulties) that may or may not have been caused in part by the woman herself. It was concluded that the role of social factors is community-specific and that the causal roles of events and difficulties in relation to depression remain uncertain. The implications of the findings in relation to the locus of vulnerability to depression are briefly discussed.

Facilitating marital intimacy through self-disclosure

Abstract Intimacy is one of several interpersonal dimensions which describe the quality of a marital relationship. An operational definition of intimacy is presented. Evidence that a lack of intimacy is associated with nonpsychotic emotional illness, marital maladjustment and family dysfunction is reviewed. A technique is described which facilitates marital intimacy through self-disclosure. Evidence is presented that cognitive self-disclosure is a major determinant of a couple's level of intimacy. The assumption is made that facilitating cognitive self-disclosure will increase intimacy with subsequent improvement of neurotic symptoms and marital maladjustment. A case is presented which demonstrates that a structured technique for selfdisclosure of relevant assumptions in a reciprocal manner to a supportive listener can facilitate a couple's level of intimacy. The role of self-disclosure, modeling and cognitive restructuring as therapeutic factors are discussed.