Guided by a conceptual framework regarding how relationships experience points of transition, this research explored individuals’ perceptions of their online romantic relationship’s transition from a casual to serious relationship in comparison to how individuals in face-to-face romantic relationships experience points of transition. Participants were asked to answer questions regarding their perceptions of relational characteristics during different points in their relational transition. Perceptions regarding intimacy, relationship uncertainty, partner interference, directness of communication, topic avoidance, turmoil, deception and met expectations were assessed. Additionally, individuals in both online and face-to-face relationships responded to questions regarding their relationship status, commitment, length, proximity and other demographic questions. Results indicated that individuals in online relationships perceive more intimacy and less uncertainty prior to a transition while perceiving less intimacy and more uncertainty after a transition than face-to-face relationships. Relationships uncertainty was associated with topic avoidance and turmoil in online romantic relationships. Further results and the relevance of perceptions of relational characteristics on online transitioning relationships are discussed. / text

This thesis is based on oral histories with Dora Cuidad, a paid domestic worker in Lima, Peru. Dora Cuidad's stories are a window into how relationships permeated with racial and class differences, may be negotiated by paid domestic workers and the families that employ them. Dora depicts a life in the Zwinkel household, filled with intimate moments and acts that create emotional bonds that extend across generations as well as over distance and time. Dora's vibrant narrative also reflects how a working-class individual in Lima, Peru imbues meaning to her life experiences, how such an individual engages with the world as she attempts to further the well-being of her children and fulfill her own dreams.

This thesis explores the psychosocial dynamics of sexual risk-taking in men who have sex with men, with particular focus on the dilemmas that gay men face in establishing trust in themselves and reasonable trust and intimacy with their sexual partners. As well, the practical function of this study is to analyze past and current social marketing efforts aimed at reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS, and to offer suggestions for how to approach a strategy to reduce HIV incidence in gay men and at the same time bolster efforts to assist men who have sex with men (MSM) in adhering to safer sex guidelines. In part, this thesis uses a sample of participants of the Vanguard Project cohort (St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia), in order to explore the social meanings attributed by MSM towards sex, risk, intimacy, and attitudes toward HIV/AIDS. Through the use of first-person narratives, this thesis examines the concordance or discordance of MSM beliefs and behaviour with long-standing theoretical models of harm reduction methods concerning sexual risk. The study reveals that, in great measure, due to past life course events, many gay men suffer from a lack of trust in themselves, which results in a tendency to make irrational or unreasonable decisions concerning their long-term sexual health, and a lack of trust in other gay men. As welL through the misguided and often untruthful health models that advocate fewer sexual partners and rely upon the false assumption that all potential sex partners are carriers of contagion, the sense of mistrust has been reinforced. The lack of confidence in self and others further translates into a suspicion of the motives and/or efficacy of social institutions entrusted with community health development and maintenance, rendering their efforts even less effective. Moreover, traditional harm reduction messages, especially 'fear campaigns', often act as a deterrent, rather than as an incentive, to harm reduction. Of more appeal are supportive harm reduction messages delivered by someone whom the recipient trusts, especially when the social meanings of sex, risk, trust and intimacy are, for many gay men, less fixed and more contingent than for the population at large. This means that attempts to modify risky behaviour must acknowledge and negotiate multiple meanings, shifting values and changing social climates, as well as routine epidemiological concerns. The research identifies four key themes within a problematic of trust, risk and intimacy, and delineates the harm reduction social complexities experienced by gay men in the study group; these recurring themes deal with family and early sociahzation, internalized homophobia, contingency and instability of meanings of risk, trust and sex, and the toistworthiness of the messengers of harm reduction strategies. Out of these recurring themes come a number of recommendations for remedial programs aimed at both mid- and long-term reductions in HIV incidence. The recommendations are grounded in the recognition that homophobic and/or dysfunctional social conditions are, to a great extent, implicated in sexual risk behaviour, and therefore must be eliminated or ameliorated before meaningful harm reduction gains can be realized. The discussions with the gay men in the study reveal their need for positive role models and communal social support in their efforts to combat HIV infection, suggesting a need to rethink the meanings of what it is to be gay, a need to redevelop and revitalize what was once a vibrant and cohesive corrimunity, and bearing in mind the lessons of the past, a need to re-approach the task of sternming the tide of HIV infection in ways that are sensitive to the factors that adduce high-risk sexual behaviour.

The purpose of this study was to examine possible links between relationship beliefs (Implicit Theories of Relationships and Importance of intimacy and passion), love experiences (experience of Intimacy and Passion) and attachment styles (the dimensions of Avoidance and Anxiety), in order to predict what kind of experiences and attachment patterns, would lead to which belief. A survey consisting of four different measures was filled out by 165 participants. The results showed Destiny and Growth beliefs were both predicted by Attachment avoidance. Destiny belief was also predicted by Experience of passion. Importance of passion and Importance of intimacy were both predicted by Attachment anxiety, Importance of passion by Experience of passion and Importance of intimacy by Experience of intimacy. People with different levels of Implicit Theories of Relationships showed a significant difference in Importance of passion.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influences of parental characteristics (i.e., marital status, parenting styles, parenting style congruence) and gender on the development of marital attitudes and fears of intimacy in young adults. A total of 326 undergraduate students (ages 18 to 25) participated in this study. After conducting prescreening procedures, 283 participants consisting of 241 women and 42 men were included in the final analyses.The aforementioned areas were investigated by analyzing surveys comprised of a demographic questionnaire, the Marital Attitude Scale (Braaten & Rosen, 1998), the Fear of Intimacy Scale (Descutner & Thelen, 1991), and the Parental Authority Questionnaire (Buri, 1989). Multiple regression analyses were conducted to assess the ability ofparenting style congruence, parental marital status, and gender to predict marital attitudes and fear of intimacy. Paired samples t-tests were used to analyze the relationships between gender and marital attitude as well as gender and fear of intimacy. Finally, a series of MANOVAs were conducted to explore the effects of martial status, parenting style congruence, and mother and father's parenting styles on marital attitudes and fear of intimacy.In general, fear of intimacy and marital attitudes were related to parental marital status and gender, but not to parenting style congruence. Specifically, men endorsed a greater fear of intimacy than women, while women endorsed more positive marital attitudes than men. Adult children of divorce (ACD) feared intimacy more than adult children from intact families (ACIF), and ACIF were more positive in their marital attitudes than ACD. Fear of intimacy in women was not related to any of the parental factors examined. However, ACIF women endorsed more positive marital attitudes than ACD women, and women who described their parents as congruent in their parenting styles endorsed more positive marital attitudes than women who described their parents as incongruent.By integrating these areas, the current study addressed some of the inconsistent findings in the adult children of divorce literature. It also explored young adult development as it relates to the family life cycle, provided recommendations for future research, and discussed implications for real world application. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

The purpose of this research was to identify the contributors to optimal sexual experiences. At present, there is a lack of clinical knowledge, research knowledge and in-depth public discourse concerning the nature of healthy sexuality. The theoretical and research literature in this area has focused almost exclusively on defining and conceptualizing sexual dysfunctions with little attention paid to either normal or satisfactory experiences. Very little theory exists on the nature and components of optimal sexuality. To date, no empirical investigations have been done to determine the contributors to optimal sexual experiences. In order to identify the contributors to optimal sexual experiences, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 individuals who reported having experienced “great sex”. A phenomenologically-oriented content analysis was performed on interview transcripts to determine the contributors to optimal sexual experiences. Analysis led to the identification of seven major contributors, two pathways towards optimal sexual experiences and two minor contributors. The major contributors included developmental contributors, individual qualities overall, individual qualities in-the moment, skills, relationship qualities overall, relationship qualities in-the-moment and environmental, situational and preparatory contributors. Each of these larger themes was also characterized by a variety of more specific themes. The two pathways that led to optimal sexual experiences included individual qualities that facilitated relationship qualities and relationship qualities that facilitated individual qualities. Finally, the minor contributors consisted of personal proclivities and miscellaneous contributors. Noteworthy findings of this investigation are discussed and then compared and contrasted with existing research and theory. The implications of this work for the general public, sex therapy, sex education, theory and research are considered as well as the strengths and limitations of this study.

Vilka normer och värderingar bidrar till en god vänskapsrelation? Ien kvalitativ undersökning intervjuades tre män och tre kvinnormellan 20-30 år. Respondenterna som rekryterades via ettbekvämlighetsurval svarade på 15 frågor om deras syn på vänskap.Resultatet visade att respondenterna hade vissa gemensamma svarsom delades upp efter följande teman; tillit, acceptans, intimitet.Vänskap visade sig ha en betydande roll för välmående eftersom detär en grundläggande del av människans liv. Studien visade även attdet ur ett genusperspektiv fanns förväntningar som skiljde sig åt i envänskapsrelation och att dessa skillnader grundade sig på normer ochvärderingar. Resultatet visade slutligen att normer och värderingargenom åren har skapats genom kulturen som har sin grund isamhället. / What kind of norms and values determine a good friendship? In aqualitative study three men and three women aged 20-30 years oldwere interviewed. The respondents who were recruited through aconvenience sampling were asked to answer questions concerningtheir view about friendship. After analyzing the interview protocol,three common themes were identified: trust acceptance and intimacy.Friendship showed to be a significant part when it came to people andtheir wellbeing. The study also showed that men and women haddifferent expectations for what that friendship will entail and thesedifferences were based on norms and values. It seems that norms andvalues are developed through the existing culture in society and inover time.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on February 29, 2008) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, Aug., 2007. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Miami, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-69).