Low Levels Of Cohesion Research Articles

Assessing the Role of Peer Relationships in the Small Group Communication Course

Based on the typology posited by Kram and Isabella (1985) that identifies three peer relationships present in organizations (i.e., information, collegial, and special), this assessment examined the association between students' perceptions of their in-class group members and six group outcomes (i.e., grouphate, cohesion, relational satisfaction, consensus, affective learning, and cognitive learning). Participants included 248 undergraduate students enrolled in two sections of an introductory small group communication course. Results revealed that students who rated group members to be information peers, rather than collegial peers or special peers, reported higher levels of grouphate and lower levels of cohesion, relational satisfaction, consensus, and cognitive learning.

Adolescent development and family functioning in youth with spina bifida

The purpose of this article is to review research concerning adolescent development and family functioning among youth with spina bifida myelomeningocele (SBM). Adolescence is a developmental period characterized by substantial changes in biological, psychological, and social functioning, as well as transformation and reorganization within the family system. A biopsychosocial-contextual model of development was utilized to describe the interface between normative adolescent development and the experience of a chronic health condition among youth with SBM. Major empirical findings relevant to family functioning in adolescents with SBM are presented, including the family environment, parenting behaviors, and marital and parental functioning. There is variability with regards to the influence of SBM on the family system and research identifies both disruption and resilience in families. Current research suggests that families of youth with SBM may have higher levels of family stress, difficulties with family roles, lower levels of cohesion, less adaptive parental control and overprotection, and a greater risk for child and parental psychosocial adjustment difficulties. The review concludes with a discussion of the clinical implications of these findings for the care of youth with SBM and directions for future research.

Authority, Autonomy, and Family Relationships Among Adolescents in Urban and Rural China

Approximately 700 urban and rural 10th‐ (M=16.6 years) and 12th‐ (M=18.9 years) grade students in China completed measures assessing their beliefs about parental authority and individual autonomy, as well as aspects of their relationships with their parents. Urban adolescents indicated a greater willingness to disagree openly with their parents, a greater intensity of conflict with their parents, lower levels of cohesion with their parents, and a lower frequency of discussions with their fathers. Urban males were distinct from all other adolescents in terms of several aspects of their family relationships, reporting the earliest expectations for autonomy, the lowest levels of closeness with their mothers, and the least frequent discussions with their fathers.

Family representations in relationship episodes of patients with a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa.

The influence of the family on the development and the maintenance of bulimia nervosa can be seen both biologically and psychosocially. Genetic influences are discussed, but their effects do not explain the aetiology exclusively. Clinical observations and research findings support the role of family dynamics, family environment, and family functioning. In particular, a low level of cohesion, a lower degree of expressiveness, and more conflicts seem to characterize the family of patients with a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa. The present study addresses the question of how patients suffering from bulimia differ from other patients in psychotherapy and from non-clinical control subjects in the way they perceive their ongoing and their past family relationships. The Core Conflictual Relationship Theme method is applied to narrative material from patients belonging to these three groups. Results show expected differences between patients and normal control subjects and virtually no differences between the group of patients with a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa and the group of patients with diagnoses different from bulimia.

Emotional neglect and family structure: impact on student functioning

Objective: The goal of this study was to demonstrate the relationship between retrospective reports of child neglect, family of origin functioning, and current psychological distress. It was hypothesized that experience of childhood emotional neglect would be associated with lower levels of cohesion and adaptability in participants’ family of origin and greater levels of current psychological distress. Gender effects were explored. Method: Retrospective reports of emotional neglect in childhood were quantified by use of a parental bonding measure, specifically by assessing level of perceived parental care. Participants were assigned to one of three groups based on level of care scores: neglect by a primary male caregiver, neglect by a primary female caregiver, and no neglect. These groups were compared on three variables: current psychological functioning, retrospective report of family of origin adaptability, and retrospective report of family of origin cohesiveness. Amount of time left in the care of others was used as a covariate based on attachment theory literature. Results: Data were analyzed for 69 female and 22 male undergraduate students. Participants who reported a childhood experience of emotional neglect by a primary female caregiver described greater current psychological distress than those reporting no neglect or neglect by a primary male caregiver. Participants who experienced emotional neglect by a primary female caregiver, as compared to those reporting emotional neglect by a primary male caregiver and those reporting no neglect, described lower cohesion and adaptability in their family of origin. There were no differences between male and female participants in terms of impact of emotional neglect. Conclusions: This study suggests potential caregiver gender effects, regardless of respondent gender. Perceived neglect by female, but not male caregivers, led to psychological distress in adulthood and was associated with lower cohesion and adaptability in one’s family of origin. Future research should attempt to account for the participants’ expectations regarding male and female caregiver roles.

The association of poor adherence and acute metabolic disorders with low levels of cohesion and adaptability in families with diabetic children

A cross‐sectional multicentre study was conducted in 165 French diabetic children aged 7–13 y and their parents. A standardized scale (FACES III) was used to determine if family cohesion and adaptability (i) differed in diabetic children's families, as compared to other families; (ii) were related to an adherence measure; or (iii) were related to metabolic control. More diabetic families than comparison families fell into the categories of disengaged with low levels of cohesion, and rigid with low levels of adaptability. Scores of cohesion and adaptability were significantly and positively correlated with both children's and parents’adherence scores, but not with HbA1c levels. Children whose families were characterized as rigidly disengaged had a significantly greater number of hypoglycaemias and six times as many episodes of ketoacidosis than the other diabetic children. Not only in adolescents, but also in families of diabetic children, family‐centred interventions are needed to improve compliance and to prevent acute metabolic complications.

The association of poor adherence and acute metabolic disorders with low levels of cohesion and adaptability in families with diabetic children. The PEDIAB Collaborative Group.

A cross-sectional multicentre study was conducted in 165 French diabetic children aged 7-13 y and their parents. A standardized scale (FACES III) was used to determine if family cohesion and adaptability (i) differed in diabetic children's families, as compared to other families; (ii) were related to an adherence measure; or (iii) were related to metabolic control. More diabetic families than comparison families fell into the categories of disengaged with low levels of cohesion, and rigid with low levels of adaptability. Scores of cohesion and adaptability were significantly and positively correlated with both children's and parents' adherence scores, but not with HbA1c levels. Children whose families were characterized as rigidly disengaged had a significantly greater number of hypoglycaemias and six times as many episodes of ketoacidosis than the other diabetic children. Not only in adolescents, but also in families of diabetic children, family-centred interventions are needed to improve compliance and to prevent acute metabolic complications.

Family climate and parent-child relationships: recollections from a nonclinical sample of adult children of alcoholic fathers.

Past family climate and past parent-child relationships of a nonclinical sample of young adult children of alcoholic fathers (n = 87) were compared to a sociodemographically similar sample of young adults with nonalcoholic parents (n = 106). Self-reports indicated that, compared to respondents from nonalcoholic families, respondents with alcoholic fathers described a more negative family climate with higher levels of conflict and lower levels of cohesion and expressiveness. Adult children of alcoholics described more negative relationships with their alcoholic fathers. However, contrary to clinical literature, adult children of alcoholics' descriptions of their relationships with their nonalcoholic mothers did not differ from the descriptions provided by young adults with nonalcoholic parents. Daughters of alcoholic fathers reported more negative relationships with their fathers in the areas of role performance, affective expression, and control than did sons. Implications for practice include reinforcing the nurturing relationship between nonalcoholic mothers and their children in families with alcoholic fathers.

Children of alcoholics screening test: Internal consistency, factor structure, and relationship to measures of family environment

The children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST) and the Family Environment Scale were administered to 307 adults (M age = 27.6 years, 81% female, 89% White). Internal reliability estimates of the CAST were high (r = .98). Factor analysis of the CAST resulted in a four-factor solution, which accounted for 67% of the variability-Parental Problem Drinking, Personal Distress, Responsibility for Parental Drinking, and Alcoholic Mother. A canonical correlation between measures of family environment and the CAST factors showed that higher levels of conflict and lower levels of cohesion and expressiveness were stronger predictors of Personal Distress in the child than of Parental Drinking Behavior. The results suggest that distress in children of alcoholics may be more a function of an impaired family than of parental drinking behavior itself.

Autonomy, relatedness, and the initiation of health risk behaviors in early adolescence.

This study examined the relationships among sociodemographic characteristics, family processes, and the initiation of health risk behaviors in early adolescence. Subjects were 189 6th and 7th graders from a public middle school. A path-analytic model was used to analyze data. Results showed that students who received autonomy support from parents were less likely to initiate sexual intercourse. Students who were emotionally detached from their parents were more likely to fight and use substances. Those who were emotionally detached tended to come from families with low levels of cohesion and acceptance. Sociodemographic variables, such as family structure, gender, and ethnicity, had both direct and indirect effects on health risk behaviors, but the indirect effects were quite small.

Cohesion and Adaptability in Post-Divorce Remarried and First Married Families:

Past research indicates that post-divorce remarried families report lower levels of family cohesion and adaptability than do first married families, but differences are not found in the adjustment of children or satisfaction with the marital relationship. The present study examined the possibilities that (a) lower levels of cohesion and adaptability may be optimal for remarried families, (b) cohesion and adaptability may be less important for coping and stress in stepfamilies than in first married families, and (c) patterns of relationships between the two sets of variables may be different for the two family types. A series of analyses relating cohesion and adaptability to family stress and coping styles revealed that high levels of family cohesion and adaptability are equally if not more important for stepfamilies as they are for biological families in reference to family stress and coping.

Cohesion and Control: Adolescents' Relationships with Parents as Mediators of Television

This study explores the ways in which the contribution of television exposure to adolescents' conceptions of social reality is mediated by their relationships with their parents. The data come from a national survey of 10 to 14-year olds (N = 888). Indicators of parent-adolescent "cohesion" (e.g., maternal affection, shared activities, and satisfaction with time spent together) and "control" (e.g., parental rules, firmness, and disciplinary styles) were examined both in terms of family relationships in general and in terms directly related to television viewing. The analysis attempted to determine whether relationships between amount of viewing and adolescents' images of parental roles, divorce, and fear of strangers vary according to these key aspects of the family context. The results suggest that less parental control (either in general or specifically related to television) tends to increase television's impact on adolescents, especially when combined with lower levels of cohesion. Family cohesion and involvement surrounding television, however, works to intensify television's contribution; adolescents who co-view with their parents, who discuss television with them, and whose parents do not set rules about viewing seem most vulnerable to television.