Community college women -- Variable : parental drinking -- The Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationship Inventory -- The Trust Scale.

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Emerging adulthood has been described as a distinctive stage of life between adolescence and young adulthood, in which the hallmark of development is signified by the achievement of intimacy in romantic relationships. From a family systems perspective, the degree to which parents have resolved their own emotional attachment contributes to the capacity of emerging adults to develop intimacy in romantic relationships without inhibition from fear of closeness. This study empirically examines the relationship between parental emotional attachment and the fear of intimacy of emerging adults by exploring the mediating role of differentiation of self. One of the most important and original contributions of this study is the development and validation of the Parental Emotional Attachment Scale (PEAS) which measures the intensity of parental emotional attachment. This study applies a mixed-methods sequential exploratory design with four samples of emerging adults in Hong Kong. First, interviews (N=24; Mage=23.6; 54% female) are conducted to explore the variations in subjective experiences with family of origin and fear of romantic intimacy. Building on the qualitative data from the interviews, the PEAS is developed through two pilot studies with two separate samples (combined N=551; Mage=20.6; 61% female). The PEAS is validated and then applied in the main study (N=755; Mage=21.8; 55.4% female). An exploratory factor analysis yields four factors with 34 items, including Parental Emotional Fusion, Parental Emotional Separateness, Parental Emotional Over-functioning and Parental Emotional Projection, which explain for 46.81% of the total variance. The four-factor structure is confirmed by using a confirmatory factor analysis. The results indicate substantial correlations between the PEAS and the Chinese version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, which supports the convergent validity of the PEAS. The results also show that the PEAS has sufficient reliability (Cronbach's alpha= .89) and validity to support its application in the Hong Kong Chinese population. Concurrently, it is found that parental emotional attachment is negatively correlated with the level of differentiation of self, and positively correlated with the fear of intimacy. In addition, differentiation of self significantly mediates the relation between parental emotional attachment and fear of intimacy. Finally, a hierarchical regression analysis reveals that parental emotional over-functioning, emotional cutoff and emotional fusion with family are predictive of the fear of intimacy. The overall findings highlight differentiation of self as an underlying mechanism through which parental emotional attachment affects the level of fear of intimacy of emerging adults. Besides, emerging adults who experience greater parental emotional over-functioning, emotional cutoff and emotional fusion with family show higher levels of fear of intimacy. These findings jointly imply the importance for emerging adults to differentiate from their family of origin by balancing closeness and separateness, bridging emotional distance, reducing emotional cutoff and recognizing their own adaptive patterns in relationships, which serve as a practical framework for the future development of relationship education and counseling of emerging adults in Hong Kong.

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A literature review indicated that psychopathological symptomology must be considered within the social context of the patient. Recent research has suggested that the psychopathological symptoms of the psychotic patient function on a covert level of communication as a strategy to control the threat of interpersonal intimacy. The present investigation similarly examined the interpersonal function of another class of patient symptomology, somatic symptoms. It was hypothesized that somatic symptom verbalizations of psychiatric outpatients also can serve as covert messages to avoid the risk of interpersonal intimacy. Results indicated that only the high-somatic-symptom patients significantly increased their symptom verbalizations in response to demand. When the interviewer modeled impersonal self-disclosures, both groups showed a low rate of somatic verbalizations. The groups did not differ. When the interviewer modeled personal self-disclosures, both patient groups significantly increased their psychological symptom verbalizations compared to their counterparts in the impersonal condition. In addition, low somatic symptom patients under the demand for personal disclosure showed significantly less avoidance behavior than any other group. No differences were found among the experimental groups in terms of self-disclosure level. The results clearly lend support to Haley's (1963) intimacy-avoidance corollary; that is, symptoms of non-psychotic patients function as covert messages that avoid the formation of intimate interpersonal relationships by redefining the reciprocal role available to participants. In view of these findings, several cross-study comparisons were made. In addition, directions for future research were suggested.

The purpose of this study was to examine the structure of the midlife marriage, focusing on identity, intimacy, and marital satisfaction. The investigator sought to identify the identity issues that midlife men and women are experiencing, describe the intimacy issues they face as couples, and show if/how these factors relate to marital satisfaction. Data were collected from a purposive sample of 48 midlife couples in the Roanoke Valley area. These couples were subgrouped into two categories: twenty-rive couples were classified as nonclinical couples (not in marital counseling at the present time) and twentythree were classified as clinical couples (currently in marital counseling). Information from the Waring Intimacy Questionnaire (WIQ) was used to analyze identity and intimacy issues and to examine factors that influenced marital satisfaction. Information from the Marital Satisfaction Scale was used to assess the level of marital satisfaction for both nonclinical and clinical couples. The results of the study indicated that (1) men and women who are in marital counseling are in the process of examining their identity issues. Women appear to be reassessing their roles as wives and mothers and are beginning to concentrate on their individuality. The issues for men were less clearly defined. They continued to view work as of central importance in their lives and did not seem to have made the transition from work to family as their main source of identity as Levinson, Darrow, Klein, Levinson, and McKee (1978) predicted. Based on WIQ scores and qualitative responses on the questionnaire, men in both the nonclinical and clinical subgroups, and women in the clinical subgroup did not feel they had an intimate relationship with their spouses. Contrary to the premises of this study, identity and intimacy were not the most significant factors affecting marital satisfaction for these midlife couples. The two factors that most determined their couples· level of marital satisfaction were social desirability and compatibility. / Ph. D.

The effectiveness of an adventure-based marriage enrichment program in increasing marital intimacy was studied. Thirty seven married couples from a relatively conservative Protestant religion composed the sample. The sample was composed of volunteer participants ranging in age from 21-47. The participants were randomly assigned to two treatment groups and a control group. The Waring Intimacy Questionnaire, a participants' Self-Rating of Intimacy Scale, a participants' Intimacy Change Scale, and an open-ended questionnaire were used to collect data. Analysis of Covariance was use to determine differences in post-test scores using the pre-test as the covariate. The findings showed statistical significance for group post-test scores on the WIQ Total Intimacy Scores, E (2,70)= 3.96, p < .05. Significance was shown for group post-test scores on the WIQ cohesiveness subscale, F (2,70) = 8.71, p < .001. / Ph. D.

During the past decade increased attention has been directed toward alcoholism as a family system problem. Recent publications have identified characteristics of the "alcoholic family" system and a model of psychosocial development specific to children of alcoholics. Both theoretical frameworks proposed that family and individual growth and development were delayed or stagnated by the effects of parental alcoholism. This study explored possible effects of problem parental alcohol use or alcoholism on adolescent development. The variables studied were differentiation from family, identity achievement, and intimacy in close relationships. Two data collection methods were used: a mailed questionnaire and an interview with a subgroup of respondents who returned the questionnaire. Respondents were classified as children of alcoholics (COAs) or children of nonalcoholics (NCOAs) based on answers to one of two questions posed in the demographics' section. Questionnaires were distributed at a four-year college to sophomores, juniors, and seniors residing on-campus. A total of 160 questionnaires were returned. Twenty-four percent of the respondents reported one or more problem drinking parents. Interviews were completed with ten students, four of whom were in the COA group. Student's t tests, analysis of variance and multiple regression tests were performed an the data between and within groups. Results from the between groups analyses indicated that differentiation From family was more developed for the NCOA group. Overall development did not appear affected by parental problem drinking. The within group analysis tested for differences based on gender of problem drinking parent. ANOVA results indicated no significant differences among mean scores on the measures of differentiation, identity, and intimacy. The results of multiple regression analyses indicated that differentiation and identity were statistically significant in the prediction of intimacy, although the model best explained intimacy for the COA group. Results suggested that development is most delayed for daughters of alcoholic mothers. / Ph. D.

This is a qualitative study that researches the definition and meaning of resilience in intimate relationships. A constructivist perspective guides the theoretical framework of this study and a systemic approach to intimate relationships provides a theoretical foundation. Apart from an extensive literature survey, three different sources of information were included in this study on relational resilience. Three family therapists were interviewed to gain some understanding of their experiences with couples in distress. Three participant couples examined visual stimuli (excerpts of couple interactions from five films) and discussed their responses and personal experiences in semi-structured interviews. The participants’ themes were analysed through thematic network analysis in order to explore their definitions of resilience in light of their own experiences. It was found that resilience in intimate relationships can be defined as the ability of the couple to endure adversity. It involves the relational capacity to adapt, grow, and recover from adversities and it includes relational processes that allow the couple as a system to rebound from shared difficulties and become more resourceful. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology))