Browsing by Subject "Relationships"
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Item Ambiguity, power, and gender roles in the young adult dating scene(2013-12) Steidl, Ellyn Arevalo; Raley, R. KellyIt is well established that patterns of relationship formation in young adulthood are becoming increasingly complex. There is a growing heterogeneity in the types of relationships young adults can form, and there is evidence that the processes of relationship formation are marked by substantial ambiguity. This lack of structure in the young adult dating scene may be accompanied by more flexible gender roles in dating behaviors. Historically men’s roles centered on proactive initiation and women’s roles were characterized by reactive passivity; these gender roles structured the commencement and the progression of early relational ties into formalized unions. However, the deinstitutionalization of dating may have allowed women and men to enact new roles in the pre-relationship phase. This research asks if women and men equally exercise control in both the commencement of relationships and in determining their trajectory. Results indicate that men possess a unique controlling role of the ability to define a relationship, while women typically inhabit a role of clearly communicating their interests levels to men while simultaneously attempting to clarify men’s intentions.Item Change in foster care : the impact of relationships and environments on foster child functioning(2010-05) Stepura, Kelly Jane; Schwab, A. James; Davis, King; Hodges, Kay; Pomeroy, Elizabeth; McRoy, Ruth; Pomeroy, Elizabeth; Baumann, Donald J.The child welfare system has a responsibility to provide healthy environments for children who are removed from the care of their biological families. An important indicator of success in this endeavor is variations in child functioning following admission into foster care. Maltreated children are already at risk for difficulty adjusting to new environments and creating new relationships. This dissertation sought to explore the effect of change during foster care on child functioning. The effects of various types of change on children who were provided with treatment foster care services were evaluated using the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS®) as a measure of child functioning. Results indicated that placement change and foster sibling presence negatively impacted child functioning, but that caseworker contact, foster sibling removal, and caseworker change positively impacted child functioning. Policy and practice implications emphasize the positive impact of single-child foster care placements, reduced volatility within foster child environments and relationships, and increased caseworker contacts. Future research should examine factors that mediate the relationship between systemic volatility within the foster care system and child functioning.Item Communication privacy management: Examining adult sibling relationships and the mid/later-life parental divorce experience(2007-08) Jensen, Jillian R.; Hughes, Patrick C.Divorce is a subject that has been thoroughly researched across numerous fields with the most common focus being the impact on the children who experience divorce during their childhood. Unfortunately, literature has failed to examine the impact of divorce on children during their adulthood. This study focuses on adult children and adult sibling relationships impacted by mid/later-life parental divorce. Specifically, how adult siblings discover private information in accordance with Petronio, Jones, and Morr’s (2003) typology of privacy dilemmas and the overall experience of the adult child of divorce in an effort to better conceptualize this unique and understudied aspect of divorce. Data is comprised of transcripts from fourteen interview participants and examined using thematic analysis (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Results are consistent with the typology of privacy dilemmas and revealed the following themes descriptive of the adult child experience of mid/later-life parental divorce: (1) Parent- Adult Child Communication Technique, (2) Continuity, (3) Comparison, (4) Unique Characteristics of Adult Sibling Relationships, (5) Developmental Aspects of Communication Coping, and (6) Regrets. Limitations and suggestions for future research are also discussed.Item Contributions to well-being in romantic relationships(Texas Tech University, 2008-08) Chambliss, Kristen Heather; Hendrick, Susan S.; Hendrick, Clyde A.; Richards, Steven; Winer, Jane L.The present research examined the relationships among selected health- promoting behaviors as well as between these behaviors and life satisfaction, a proxy for overall quality of life. In past research, physical health, social support, self-disclosure, respect, and other relationship variables have been positively associated with life satisfaction, but depressive symptoms have been negatively associated with life satisfaction. The six measures used for this study included the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffen, 1985), the Relationship Assessment Scale (S. Hendrick, 1988), the Respect Toward Partner Scale (S. Hendrick & Hendrick, 2006), the Self-Disclosure Index (Miller, Berg, & Archer, 1983), the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (Zimet, Dalhem, Zimet, & Farley, 1988), five items measuring exercise and six items measuring nutrition from the Health –Promoting Lifestyle Profile (Walker, Sechrist, & Pender, 1987), and the Center for Epidemiological Studies—Depressed Mood Scale (Radloff, 1977). Correlations and regression analyses examined relationships among the variables. Significant correlations were found among the health-promoting variables, and between the health-promoting variables and life satisfaction for the total sample, the partnered sample, and the single sample. Health-promoting behaviors also predicted life satisfaction for each sample in regression equations. Respect toward partner, self-respect, self-disclosure, social support, physical activity, depressive symptoms, relationship satisfaction, commitment, and investment were predictors of life satisfaction for the total sample. Investment, depressive symptoms, respect toward partner, social support, commitment, and relationship satisfaction were predictors for the partnered sample. Social support, physical activity, self-respect, and depressive symptoms were predictors of life satisfaction for the single sample. Compared to single individuals, partnered individuals reported greater life satisfaction and fewer depressive symptoms. However, single individuals were more physically active than partnered individuals. These findings are discussed in detail, and both clinical implications and future research possibilities are presented.Item Exploring the mutual influence of self and relationship : a theory of couple identity negotiation(2010-08) Kwang, Tracy Nai; Swann, William B.; Neff, Lisa A.Relationships can shape the self-concept, draw out unique aspects of an individual’s personality, and influence individual perspectives and goals. Yet the self is not a passive player in relationships as self-related goals and motives can also influence how relationships form and develop. While the field is replete with research on the unidirectional influence between self and relationships, surprisingly little has been done on synergistic effect of combined self and relationship influences. I present a new theory of couple identity negotiation that captures how two individuals in a relationship negotiate their independent identities to form a unified couple identity. I hypothesize that the process through which an individual and his/her partner merge to create a new couple identity is crucial in determining relationship longevity and satisfaction. I draw from social identity theory (Turner et al., 1987) and identity fusion theory (Swann et al., 2009) to propose three models of couple identity negotiation: Model A involves the self being subsumed by the partner; Model B involves a negotiation wherein the self and partner both contribute to the couple identity; Model C the self subsuming the partner’s self. Study 1 tests the links between the different models to relationship outcomes, namely relationship satisfaction and commitment. Study 2 explores personality correlates of the models. Results demonstrate that couple identity negotiation models predict different levels of relationship quality. Furthermore, the models are not significantly correlated with personality variables, suggesting that the models are specific to the relationship, and are not driven solely by individual differences.Item Interpersonal resilience in romantic relationships(2010-12) Beck, Gary Alan; Vangelisti, Anita L.; Dailey, Rene; Daly, John; McGlone, Matthew; Surra, CathyThe purpose of this research was to examine the characteristics of interaction in romantic relationships that enable partners to effectively deal with significant stressors to their relationship. These characteristics were identified through the development of a measure of interpersonal resilience in romantic relationships. The dissertation consisted of three phases: Phase one solicited from communication experts their perceptions of the communication characteristics that encourage resilient patterns of stress management in romantic relationships. This feedback was evaluated and organized into categories. Phase two sought to identify underlying dimensions of the categories, and to statistically validate the most important characteristics of communication contributing to resilient outcomes. Communication experts were asked to rate forty items addressing the various categories of communication characteristics generated in part one. Their data were factor analyzed, and reduced to a list of twenty-eight items that made up the initial Interpersonal Resilience in Romantic Relationships (IR3) measure. The final part of the this research, phase three, validated the role that IR3 dimensions play mediating the effects of a significant stressor, in this case job loss, on relationship outcomes of quality, satisfaction, and commitment.Item Managing academic and personal life in graduate studies : an interactive qualitative analysis of graduate student persistence and transformation(2011-08) Winston, Rachel Anne; Roueche, John E.; Northcutt, Norvell; McClenney, Kay; McCombs, Maxwell; Butler, Jess; Reddick, Richard; McCoy, DannyThis study examines the impact of academic and personal life on graduate student persistence and transformation. Of particular interest are the relationships, emotions, and life management skills required throughout the graduate experience and how socialization, emotional intelligence, and advising aid students through their academic program. With an average of seven to eight years required to complete a doctoral program, life happens. Students enter and leave relationships, children are born, family members have emergencies, health issues arise, and emotional growth takes place. Therefore, students transform not only academically, but in many ways. These are intertwined as evidenced by the data-derived system representation. The importance of understanding the interconnected links in graduate experience spans academic, social, economic, and societal spheres. Each year hundreds of thousands of students enter graduate school. However, for doctoral students, there is an enormous gap between acceptance and completion. After seven years, approximately 50 percent complete their program and after ten years the rate climbs to only 57 percent (Council of Graduate Schools, 2010). This study offers a systemic representation and a four-stage model of graduate student development, incorporating student-identified factors: Faculty Impact, Life Management, Relationships, Playing the Game, Growth/Transformation, Emotions, and Reward/Purpose. Stage I: Orientation and Socialization Stage II: Adjustment and Transition Stage III: Navigation and Transformation Stage IV: Completion and Advancement The results, presented as a systems-based model, along with analysis, may be used to support faculty, advisors, and administrators in creating better advising, orientation, evaluation, and support systems. Departmental policies may be improved to identify at-risk students, provide mentorship opportunities, or obtain continual feedback to understand the underlying factors that may stop students from progressing. This research might also help identify students during the application/admission process. The methodological framework used to create the system produced in this study is Interactive Qualitative Analysis (Northcutt & McCoy, 2004), a methodology that provides the quantitative rigor of algorithmically generated data analysis, combined with the qualitative descriptiveness of interviews, in order to provide insights into the drivers of graduate school persistence. This methodology uses a systematic, protocol-driven research procedure to construct a unified, descriptive diagram to illustrate the phenomenon.Item Maximizing and relationships(2009-05) Love, Robert William Buechner, 1982-; Glenn, Norval D.Personality is powerfully predictive of behavior. Neuroticism, a personality trait from the Five Factor Model of Personality, has repeatedly been linked to relationship dissatisfaction and an increased susceptibility to eating disorders. The present investigation uses two large data sets to determine if Maximizing, the tendency to search for the very best option in an array of options, is related to marital satisfaction and body-image. Statistical analyses show that maximizers of both sexes diet more frequently, are more dissatisfied with their bodies, and value physical attractiveness in a sexual partner more than satisficers. Maximizers are less satisfied with their romantic relationships, are more likely to never marry, and more likely to get divorced once married than satisficers. Unpredicted, Maximizing was negatively correlated with Neuroticism (r = -.112, p < .01) and positively correlated with two personality traits known to be beneficial for relationships, Agreeableness (r = .182, p < .01) and Conscientiousness (r = .258, p < .01).Item Parents Talking About the Birds and the Bees With Their Elementary School Aged Children: A Naturalistic Study(2013-07-22) Reichel, LoriThis dissertation presents three separate studies exploring parents? perceptions and recommendations for communicating with their third, fourth, and fifth grade children about human sexuality. First, a systematic literature review is presented summarizing past qualitative studies completed in the United States focusing on parents with children aged 18 years and under. This review summarizes (1) demographic information of parents from past studies, (2) perceived communication barriers experienced by parents regarding sexuality communication, and (3) perceived communication facilitators experienced by parents regarding sexuality communication. Second, noting the lack of research within a specific population of parents in the United States, a naturalistic study of parents with children in the third, fourth, and fifth grade is presented. Utilizing an emergent design, one-on-one interviews were conducted with 20 parents living in a town in central Texas. By coding collected data, a thematic analysis was used to summarize emergent themes. Themes included techniques parents utilized to have parent-child conversations about sexuality and discussed topics. Although different techniques and topics were raised, parents showed overall inconsistency in experiences or past discussions. Third, using data from the same 20 interviews, themes emerged from parents regarding recommendations. These included the recommendations that a booklet with age appropriate information on sexuality topics be developed for parents and parent workshops or classes covering age appropriate sexuality knowledge as well as techniques to use in parent-child communication be offered. Schools were the recommended source for these resources. Parents also shared feedback on the newly released National Sexuality Education Standards. Comparing past parent-child conversations on sexuality topics to the NSES, certain topics were discussed yet inconsistency was shown. In addition, parents disagreed on specific standards including those pertaining to the functions of reproductive parts, reproduction, and same sex orientation. Implications of this study are that parental resources are needed to help parents communicate with their children about sexuality beginning at a young age. And, for those resources already existing, including workshops, books, and on-line sources, parents need to be made aware of their existence. In addition, future research is needed to explore if younger children are learning from parent-child conversations about sexuality.Item Perceived acceptability of abusive behavior in the maintenance of psychologically abusive relationships(2011-08) Chang, Christine Susan, 1977-; Swann, William B.; Gosling, Samuel D.; Beevers, Christopher G.; Pennebaker, James W.; Loving, Timothy J.In this series of studies, I hypothesized that people’s perceptions of certain psychologically abusive acts as acceptable or not acceptable would impact whether they would remain in psychologically abusive relationships. In Study 1, I explored the historic link between low self-esteem in women and receiving high levels of abuse. I found that women who were low in self-esteem found psychologically abusive behavior depicted in a series of vignettes to be significantly more acceptable than did women who were high in self-esteem. In Study 2, I found that women who were currently in abusive relationships found psychologically abusive behavior depicted in a video to be significantly more acceptable than did women who were currently in non-abusive relationships. Furthermore, I found that the woman’s own abusive behavior toward her partner was a stronger predictor than the abusiveness of her partner of whether she endorsed that she would stay in the depicted abusive relationship. Also, I found that among women who were highly abusive toward their partners and high in self-esteem, the more abuse they were receiving from their current partners, the more acceptable they found the depicted abusive behaviors. Based on these findings, in Study 3 I explored whether priming women’s (a) awareness of their own aggressive behaviors and (b) how these behaviors could change might have stronger impact on women’s views of the acceptability of their own abusive behaviors than women’s awareness of their partner’s aggressive behaviors. Furthermore, I explored whether these different foci would have impact on real-life consequences in changing abuse levels in the current relationship. The findings were mixed; short-term effects implied that writing about conflict, no matter whether the focus is on the self’s aggression or the partner’s aggression, seemed to encourage women to regard leaving an abusive relationship as more acceptable than writing about a neutral topic. Over the long-term, however, writing about conflict, no matter whether the focus was on the self’s aggression or the partner’s aggression, exacerbated the partner’s psychologically aggressive behavior.Item Relating with gods : investigating human-divine relationships in the prayers of Israel and Mesopotamia using a performance approach to ritual(2016-05) Davis, Ryan Conrad; Huehnergard, John; Hackett, Jo Ann; Kaplan, Jonathan; Frechette, Christopher; Lenzi, AlanThe prayers of ancient Israel and Mesopotamia are rare windows into how ancient peoples interacted with their gods. Much work has already been done to describe how social conventions are important driving factors behind these interactions with deities. In order to utilize these observations and further understand the relationships between humans and gods, it is important to understand the ritual environment in which these relationships are created. A performance approach to ritual allows us to properly contextualize the human-divine relationships that are attested in prayers within their ritual environments. In both Israel and Mesopotamia, actions within rituals take place in framed domains; because all social action occurs in framed domains as well, rituals can be profitably compared to other domains, such as theatre or sports. This dissertation uses a performance approach to analyze four different groups of prayers from the first-millennium BCE. Two groups of prayers are from Mesopotamia and are clustered around two rituals: the Akkadian šuilla and the dingiršadabba. The other two groups of prayers come from the Book of Psalms: the individual and communal laments. A performance approach allows us to talk about the rituals that utilize these prayers in two complimentary ways that are similar to how we talk about theatre in Western cultures. We can talk about a theatrical production without discussing what happens on-stage, and we can talk about what happens on-stage while ignoring off-stage elements. Because these ancient Near Eastern rituals are framed domains of action, we can talk about the domains themselves without entering inside of them, and likewise, we can talk about the world inside these domains while ignoring the world outside. This approach helps us better understand the bounded nature of the relationships that take place within ritual domains, and it helps us better understand how the domains themselves influence the relationships within them. This dissertation offers not only new ways to explore human-divine relationships but also new ways for understanding ritual efficacy in the both Israel and Mesopotamia.Item Relationship commitment and monitoring alternatives using Facebook in unmarried romantic relationships(2013-08) West, Adam Redd; Gershoff, Elizabeth T.Recent technological innovations affecting romantic relationships include the rise in prominence of social networking sites (SNSs), including Facebook. SNSs have become an increasingly fundamental part of developing and maintaining relationships. A majority of research focuses on the ways in which individuals access SNSs. Less studied is how individuals' use of SNSs affects their romantic relationships. An important aspect of the stability of romantic relationships is the construct of commitment. Relationship commitment is conceptualized as the intent to continue a relationship into the future and is composed of many constructs that can either keep individuals in or pull them away from the relationship. One aspect that may pull individuals away from their relationship is the quality and availability of potential alternatives, or relationship forms other than the current one. There is evidence that using tools like Facebook may prompt individuals to pay attention to alternative relationship options. This study examined how SNSs use may affect current relationships with a sample of 645 unmarried individuals in dating relationships and with current Facebook accounts. All participants completed measures of their Facebook use, relationship commitment, and attention to relationship alternatives. A sub-sample of 432 participants were randomly assigned to one of two study conditions. One condition prompted participants to view the Facebook profiles of friends that they might consider as possible relationship partners and the other condition prompted participants to view organizations they follow on Facebook. Analyses indicated that Facebook monitoring condition did not predict differences in individuals' reported commitment. However, hierarchical regression analyses using the full sample revealed that high levels of online monitoring of alternatives were associated with low levels of commitment for both males and females, but more so for males. Analyses also revealed that low levels of satisfaction predicted high levels of monitoring of alternatives and high levels of Facebook use predicted high levels of online monitoring of alternatives. These results suggest that tools such as Facebook can be used to monitor alternatives, yet doing so may negatively affect current romantic relationships. Future studies should explore these relationships by using a repeated measures design to assess change over time.Item Relationship pursuit and sociosexuality in a time by investment model of mating strategies(2016-08) Wilkey, Brian Mize; Eastwick, Paul; Loving, Timothy; Gleason, Marci; Neff, Lisa; Buss, DavidSociosexuality (Kinsey, Pomeroy, & Martin, 1948; Kinsey Pomeroy, Martin & Gebhard, 1951) indicates the extent to which individuals are willing to engage in sex outside of a committed relationship. Mating psychology consistently uses this construct to measure an individual’s pursuit of short-term mating strategies (Buss & Schmitt, 1993). However, some work conceptualizes short-term relationships as those marked by brevity (Jonason, Li, Webster, & Schmitt, 2008) and other work conceptualizes shortterm relationships as those marked by low amounts of investment in a partner (Gangestad & Simpson, 2000a). Though time and investment are undoubtedly related to one another, this work examines the effect of sociosexuality on mating pursuit by experimentally manipulating time and investment to predict three patterns of possible results: Exclusively short-term relationship pursuit, exclusively low investment relationship pursuit, or general/open relationship pursuit. Four studies measure individuals’ sociosexual orientation and ask participants to rate the future possibility of relationships (i.e., time orientation – short-term vs. longterm) and the resources committed to a relationship (i.e., investment orientation – low vs. high resource investment). Study 1 examines the association of sociosexuality, time, and investment for those currently in relationships and those considering previous relationships; as well, Study 1 examines sociosexuality’s association on different relationship centered variables such as satisfaction and commitment. In Studies 2 and 3, time and investment are experimentally manipulated to create relationship descriptions; participants’ sociosexual orientations are then used to predict the endorsement, incidence, and frequency of these relationship descriptions. Studies 2 and 3 also examine how the manipulation time and investment contribute to the evaluation and endorsement of the relationship descriptions. Finally, Study 4 uses self-report and behavioral measures to examine how sociosexuality relates to openness and flexibility of relationship pursuit using a confederate design. Results support the third, more general/open pattern of relationship pursuit. Results suggest that unrestricted individuals are more flexible and likely to pursue the most available mating strategy, rather than one marked by a specific amount of time or investment. Additionally, time and investment are found to contribute separately to the evaluation and endorsement of the relationship descriptions.Item Romantic relationship dissolution and health outcomes(2016-05) McDonald, Meagan Ann; Loving, Timothy J.; Gleason, Marci; Neff, LisaThe purpose of this study was to test the prospective association between perceived social support and mental and physical health outcomes following a romantic breakup. Additionally, I tested whether an individual’s dependence on his or her partner prior to their relationships’ termination moderated the degree to which perceived social support buffered individuals from negative health outcomes following romantic relationship dissolution. I drew on an extant dataset that included 97 individuals who experienced a romantic breakup at some point during the study’s 9-month duration. All participants completed baseline measures of mental and physical health as well as perceived social support during the first six months of their romantic relationships. They also completed measures of romantic relationship dependence every two weeks up until reporting their relationship’s termination. Upon breakup, participants completed assessments of mental and physical health. Consistent with the limited research documenting a prospective link between perceived social support and mental health (and study hypothesis), social support and relationship dependence interacted to predict mental health following a breakup (controlling for baseline mental health, sex, and breakup initiator status). Results are discussed in the context of the broader social support literature and a framework for future studies on this topic is provided.Item Structured communication: effects on teaching efficacy of student teachers and student teacher - cooperating teacher relationships(Texas A&M University, 2007-09-17) Edgar, Don WayneTeaching efficacy beliefs of agricultural science student teachers, and their relationship with their cooperating teachers during field experiences, are variables that may affect the number of student teachers entering the profession. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects implementing structured communication between student teachers and cooperating teachers would have on student teachers?????? self-perceived teaching efficacy, and the relationship between the student teacher and cooperating teacher during the student teaching experience. The learning environment of these field experiences must be more fully understood to explain why some student teachers enter the profession of agriculture science teaching, and others do not. A conceptual model guiding this study, based upon a thorough review of the literature, explains the role of constructivism, teaching efficacy, and communication theory. This study employed a quasi-experimental design with a non-random sample in a multiple time-series design. The average respondent in this study was a 23 year old white undergraduate female placed at a multiple placement cooperating center. Respondents in an environment where the amount and type of communication between student teachers and cooperating teachers was structured were less efficacious when compared to those respondents who were not in a structured communication setting. In addition, student teachers in a structured communication environment declined in their teaching efficacy measurements overall, whereas student teachers who were not involved in structured communication increased in their self-perceived teaching efficacy levels. Through contrast analysis, the age and academic standing of student teachers significantly affected their perception of the value cooperating teachers placed upon student teacher ?????? cooperating teacher relationships. Structured communication influences student teachers?????? beliefs regarding their ability to teach and their perception of their relationship with the cooperating teacher. In order to better understand the perceptions of student teachers regarding their teaching efficacy levels, and the student teacher ?????? cooperating teacher relationship, additional research should be conducted in these identified areas. In addition, further research should be conducted on these variables at other institutions of higher education with teacher preparation programs in agricultural education.Item The Portrayal of African American Relationships in Popular Print(2011-05) Martin, Marika L; Ivey, David C.; Wampler, Karen S.; Ferguson, Ralph E.; Wampler, Richard S.The rate of marital unions has been steadily declining throughout the years across cultures. However, in the African American culture this rate has been declining at a faster rate and a larger margin. The investigator was interested in the portrayal of African American relationships in popular print. Content analysis was used in this study to describe how African American relationships were depicted in Ebony and Essence magazines. A codebook was developed by thematically grouping together references made about romantic relationships. These references were descriptive of the attitudes toward men, attitudes toward women and attitudes toward relationships. The sample consisted of 60 magazine articles in Ebony and Essence magazines within the time periods of 1995, 2000 and 2005 that pertained to African American relationships. Out of the sixty articles coded in the category of the “view of marriage” there was almost an even split between articles in which African American relationships were seen as no problem or a minor problem and those coded as a serious problem or in a crisis. The code related to view of marriage, “change over time,” demonstrated that there was little change across the sixty articles that were coded. In the area of gender, out of the sixty articles coded tension between male and female relationships was found neither high nor low. The codes relating to whose fault (male or female), suggest that females were more to blame. Social and economic factors were portrayed as one of the largest influences on the state of African American relationships. One-way Analysis of Variance demonstrated that the variables ‘change over time’ and ‘social and economic factors’ were statistically significant by magazine. Essence magazine more than Ebony was likely to present the point of view that African American relationships had become worse over time and more likely to suggest that the state of the African American relationship was due to social and economic factors. In addition, social and economic factors as causes of problems in African American relationships were discussed less in the year 2005 than in 1995. Findings from this study suggest that Ebony and Essence magazines present material that contains an overall positive view of African American relationships. The discussions in the articles were not skewed toward one particular gender, view, time period or magazine. Many factors included in the literature were expected to be reflected in the articles in these popular magazines oriented towards African Americans; however, the articles did not focus on problems related to interracial dating, the independence of females, or the lack of trustworthiness of males.Item The relationship between conflict and communication, sex, relationship satisfaction, and other relational variables in dating relationships(Texas Tech University, 2007-05) Zacchilli, Tammy Lowery; Hendrick, Clyde A.; Reich, Darcy A.; Garos, Sheila; Hendrick, Susan S.Whether couples have been dating a few months or have been married for many years, conflict is likely an inevitable part of the relationship. According to Canary, Cupach, and Messman (1995), how couples handle conflict informs other areas of their relationship, such as how satisfied they are in their relationship. Thus, when examining other relational variables it is important to understand how individuals approach conflict with their partner. In Study 1, the relationships between three conflict strategies (i.e., compromise, emotional reactivity, interactional reactivity) and other variables such as satisfaction, respect, sexual attitudes, and self-disclosure were assessed. In Study 2, items for a new conflict scale, the Romantic Partner Conflict Scale (RPCS; 39 items), were developed and subjected to a factor analysis. Six factors emerged: Compromise, Domination, Submission, Separation, Avoidance, and Interactional Reactivity. The relationships between these six strategies and respect, commitment, and satisfaction were assessed. The goals of Study 3 were to confirm the factor structure of the RPCS and to relate the six subscales to self-disclosure, sex, commitment, love, satisfaction, and respect. Confirmatory factor analyses tested two, three, five, and six factor models. The six factor model resulted in the best fitting model. Alphas for the subscales ranged from .84 to .96 and the subscales correlated appropriately with the other relational variables. Implications for this new conflict scale, as well as limitations of the studies, are discussed.Item Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grade Teachers' Descriptions of Methods Used to Improve the Reading Achievement of Students with Learning Disabilities(2017-03-15) Berkowitz, Sally Greenberg; Moore, George W.; Polnick, Barbara E.; Martinez-Garcia, CynthiaPurpose The purpose of this study was to explore ways in which third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers reported they successfully improved the reading achievement of students with LD as documented by an increase in test scores on standardized tests in reading. Moreover, this study is an examination of productive ways in which elementary classroom teachers reported that they increased the interest and motivation of students who have historically had difficulty in school, specifically, students who have been identified with LD. Method This qualitative study was conducted with five Grade 3, 4, and 5 general education teachers with at least three years of experience teaching students with LD in reading. The teachers were selected from schools which had attained a Reading/ELA Distinction in the Accountability Ratings for the 2013, 2014, and 2015 administrations of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR). The schools also had a minimum of two self-contained special education classrooms. The semi-structured interviews were the basis of the phenomenological study of the experiences of the teachers in working with these students to be successful in reading. Findings Teachers who participated in the study shared indicators of student success. In addition to an increase in test scores, the teachers shared that increased participation in classroom discussions and the facial expressions of their students with LD were signs that the students had improved their reading performance. Other indicators were a decrease in negative behaviors and an increase in independence. Themes of success that the teachers shared focused on positive relationships and interactions with students, reliance on the support of school-based personnel, collaboration with parents, and positive strategies and incentives that the teachers used to motivate their students with LD. Students with LD are successful when they benefit from a variety of factors, including relationships with caring and interested general education teachers. General education teachers benefit from and are better able to provide support to their students by having positive relationships with other members of the school staff, including teaching assistants and teacher interventionists. Equally important are the positive relationships general education teachers have with students’ parents.Item WHEN WE WANT DIFFERENT THINGS: SELF-MONITORING AS A MODERATOR OF THE IDEAL STANDARDS MODEL(2012-04-19) Rodriguez, Lindsey; Knee, Clifford R.; Kieffer, Suzanne; Babcock, JuliaOne way individuals evaluate the success of their relationship is through the consistency between their ideal standards and actual perceptions of their romantic partner and relationship. The ideal standards model suggests that greater consistency predicts a more positive evaluation of one’s partner and relationship. The proposed research tested self-monitoring as a moderator of this association. It was hypothesized that ideal-perception consistency would predict relationship satisfaction (H1) and that the importance of meeting one’s ideal standard for predicting relationship quality would differ for low and high self-monitors depending on the dimension. Specifically, with the warmth/trustworthiness dimension, higher ideal-perception consistency would predict higher relationship quality, especially for low self-monitors (H2a). With the vitality/status/passion dimension, higher ideal-perception consistency would predict higher relationship quality, especially for high self-monitors (H2b). Individuals in relationships (N = 172) completed an online survey. Five approaches to discrepancy were conducted to compare findings across multiple operationalizations. Results revealed that Hypothesis 1 was supported in three of the five methods. Specifically, findings from the ideal standards model replicated using the direct approach, within-subject correlation approach, and the covariance approach. The absolute-value approach and interaction approach did not yield significant results. Further, Hypothesis 2 was not supported in all cases but one: using the direct approach and the vitality/status/passion dimension, ideal-perception consistency predicted higher relationship quality, especially for high self-monitors. This finding held when controlling for anxious attachment, gender, and relationship length. Implications and future research directions are discussed.