Thesis deals with social life of asexual people in the Czech Republic. The author focuses on the areas of acceptance of their own sexual identity as asexual, coming out and feelings of stigmatization, relationships and intimacy, belonging to LGBT+ community and the perception of the existence of a separate asexual community and the visibility of asexuality in society. For the purpose of the work was carried out qualitative research among asexual people, who selfidentify as asexual. The aim of the analysis was to determine how social life of asexuals differs within the heteronormative society. Thesis is based on differences between asexuals and heteronormative majority, especially in relationships and sexual behavior. The difference is also in other aspects of their life. People often don't know the meaning of asexuality, which can result in social stigmatization of asexuals due to pressure to accept a traditional model of relationship. In some respects, asexual people are similar to other sexual minorities, but not everyone feels to be part of LGBT+ community. Czech asexuals feel to be invisible in our society and they form networks among themselves through the internet forum asexual.cz. However, they don't create a separate community or social movement and they still remain socially invisible....

We as humans seek connections and closeness, and psychology enlightens us as to why that is. Our close relationships are essential to our health, well-being, personal happiness, and even personality develop - ment. (1.) These are the bonds that hold together our minds on a small scale and hold together our society on a bigger scale. For it being such an essen - tial part of our life, why is it that so many of us feel lost when it comes to building a strong bond with a person? Closeness and intimacy can express themselves in many ways, and these expressions differ from person to person. We get taught by things we see in the media, on the streets, in society. Like holding hands, kisses, and the giving of gifts. Then there is what we see from our parents and our family. Our personal background shapes our idea of how inti - macy is expressed. Per usual the majority of what we know on how to form strong relations is expe - rience-based knowledge, either our own or that of the people close to us. But what about all the knowl - edge out there scientifically captured from the wild, don’t we have access to this? And if so why are we not engaging with it? Building on the main psychological concepts of inti - macy I aim to make a bridge between the academic world and the real world.(2) As a student, I have access to certain knowledge and as a designer, I can figure out how to communicate them. I am exploring how I can make intimacy visible, tangible, and with that, more readily available. I am doing this by designing artifacts that act between two people. These artifacts aim to facilitate intimate practices that inspire trust, closeness, and self-disclosure. 1. Mashek and Aron. Handbook of Closeness and Intimacy. (New York: Routledge, 2013). 2. Richard Bunchanan, “Wicked Problems in Design Thinking.” Design Issues 8, no. 2 (Spring 1992): 5-21. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1511637

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.

The current study is a secondary analysis of a National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) study in which 122 women received treatment for their substance abuse problems. Three models of substance abuse treatment were administered. One included standard substance abuse treatment alone and two models included supplemental couple's therapy in addition to standard treatment. The current study examined the significance of the relationship between changes in the women's levels of intimacy and autonomy, during and after treatment, and their treatment outcomes according to the treatment modality they received. It was hypothesized that the relationship would be significant in that levels of intimacy and autonomy would be important variables with regard to treatment outcomes in couple's therapy. No statistical significance was reported although some significant trends were found with regard to the fluctuation of intimacy and autonomy levels during and after treatment. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are reviewed.

abstract: Intimate relationship functioning and mental well-being are inherently linked; thus, for those with mental illness, such as social anxiety, intimate relationship functioning may be impaired. Research on the intimate relationships of those with social anxiety has often focused on emotion regulation, as emotions play a crucial role in the development and maintenance of interpersonal relationships and are a clear area of deficit among those with social anxiety. The current thesis had three primary aims: 1a) to examine individual emotion expressivity and 1b) interpersonal emotion regulation processes among individuals with varying levels of social anxiety; 2) to examine individual and interpersonal emotion regulation within romantic relationships; and, 3) to examine how individual emotion expressivity and interpersonal emotion regulation influence relationship health and intimacy among those with varying levels of social anxiety. For Aim 1, differences in individual emotion expressivity and interpersonal emotion regulation were analyzed using regression analyses with social anxiety as a continuous predictor. Analyses were also conducted using a dichotomous grouping (i.e., non-socially anxious and socially anxious) and conducting a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). For Aim 2, the impact of individual and interpersonal emotion regulation processes on relationship health was examined using a series of regression analyses. Finally, Aim 3 was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results suggest those with social anxiety show specific, but not general, deficits in individual emotion expressivity and interpersonal emotion regulation, and both individual and interpersonal emotion regulation had positive effects on relationship health. Regarding the primary analyses, interpersonal emotion regulation fully mediated the association between individual emotion expressivity and relationship health. Further, although the strength of these paths varied between groups, the valence and general pattern of these findings were similar for both those with social anxiety and those without. The study provided novel insights into the role of interpersonal emotion regulation in relationship health, and extended previous findings on emotion regulation and relationship health among those with social anxiety. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Psychology 2019

Many couples get married hoping and believing their new relational commitment will last a lifetime. Unfortunately, however, this expectation sometimes goes unrealized. In our society, divorce rates are high and continue to climb due to a myriad of contributing factors. In regard to marriages directly connected to military culture and traditions, they not only grapple with managing the everyday stress and strain encapsulated in daily living, they also contend with military-related stressors that can also disrupt personal connections and derail marriages. In this study, the researcher will focus on the lived experience of Vietnam Combat Veteran Couples in long-term marriages diagnosed with PTSD. The goal of this study is to pinpoint some of the most-enduring yet integral aspects of intimacy having contributed to the long-term marriages of this population. The most-enduring and integral aspects within these relationships, in this population, has not been thoroughly studied. Moreover, this study will help to fill this gap in research by exploring the positive aspects found within the long-term marital relationships of Vietnam Combat Veteran Couples diagnosed with PTSD. The researcher will utilize a theoretical approach designed to work in concert with the multifaceted variances found within the premise of marriage itself; while also focusing on both the academic and practical sides of this phenomenon. The researcher will employ theme based interview questions in an attempt to examine the lived experience, as well as, the enduring and integral aspects associated with the longevity of these long-term marriages. Couple participants will be studied using the phenomenological method Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The results of which will guide the researcher in formulating discussions, conclusions, and recommendations for the future.

Masters thesis works with concepts such as home intimacy, safety, system, etc. During the period from 16.1.2012 to 12.3.2012 author secretly penetrated into the apartment their parents and disrupted by subtle interventions to break the routine like their home. Secretly watched the behavior and rules which operate on her parents (with their parents she dont live). The intervention provoked to a specific form of interaction between author and her family.

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Background: The consulting industry’s growth has continuously outpaced the gen- eral economy, leading to more new entrants and increased intra-industry competition. Thus, competitive practices must be revised to ensure existing consultancies’ market position. Since customer loyalty is today’s most prominent success factor for con- sultancies, this is what to increase. Customer loyalty’s most influential factor is the competitive practice of customer intimacy, which in turn consists of subgroups. The investigated subgroups are employee and business specific traits. Objectives: This master thesis aims to uncover what direct and underlying factors of customer intimacy increase customer loyalty and how they compare to each other. Methods: This paper will take a quantitative approach by utilizing the concept of Structural Equation Modeling. Surveys will gather primary data for the model and consist of a questionnaire aiming to retrieve valid and reliable answers from people with experience working with consultants. Results: The results show that most direct factors used in customer intimacy have a positive influence on customer loyalty while the underlying factors thin out. Busi- ness specific traits showed to have a significant impact on customer intimacy while employee specific traits did not. Conclusions: This study concludes that direct and underlying factors of customer intimacy help consultancies improve their competitive practices to increase customer loyalty.