An examination of crossover and spillover effects of spousal and expatriate cross-cultural adjustment on expatriate outcomes.

Integrating work-family and cross-cultural adjustment literatures, the researchers proposed and tested a spillover and crossover model of expatriates' cross-cultural adjustment with reciprocal relationships. Spillover effects refer to the influence that expatriate attitudes in a particular domain (e.g., work) have on attitudes in other domains (e.g., nonwork), whereas crossover effects refer to the influence of expatriate attitudes on the spouse's attitudes (and vice versa). Data collected from Japanese expatriates, their spouses, and their superiors strongly supported both spillover and crossover effects between expatriate and spousal cross-cultural adjustment. In addition, expatriates' cross-cultural adjustment was found to be related to satisfaction, which, in turn, was found to be negatively related to expatriates' intention to return to their homeland early. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A developmental-contextual model of couples coping with chronic illness across the adult life span.

A developmental-contextual model of couples coping with chronic illness is presented that views chronic illness as affecting the adjustment of both the patient and the spouse such that coping strategies enacted by the patient are examined in relation to those enacted by the spouse, and vice versa. The developmental model emphasizes that dyadic coping may be different at various phases of the life span, changing temporally at different stages of dealing with the illness as well as unfolding daily as spouses interact around dyadic stressors. In addition, couples engaged in dyadic coping are affected by broad sociocultural factors (culture and gender) as well as more proximal contextual factors (quality of the marital relationship and the specific demands of the chronic illness). The model provides a framework for understanding how couples coping with chronic illness may together appraise and cope with illness during adulthood and for determining when spousal involvement is beneficial or harmful to both patient and spousal adjustment. The developmental-contextual model to dyadic appraisal and coping has numerous research implications for the field, and the authors conclude with specific recommendations for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implications of agency and communion for patient and spouse adjustment to a first coronary event

The present study examined the effects of agency and communion on psychological adjustment to a 1st coronary event. Patients were interviewed about agency and communion and psychological adjustment in the hospital shortly before discharge (Time 1) and then reinterviewed along with spouses in their homes 3 months after discharge (Time 2). It was hypothesized that the extreme agentic orientation (unmitigated agency) and the extreme communal orientation (unmitigated communion) would be associated with poor adjustment for patients and spouses but that agency would promote self adjustment and communion would promote partner adjustment. In general, results confirmed predictions. It was suggested that the most distressed couples consist of a patient high in unmitigated agency and a spouse high in unmitigated communion. Although patients in such couples did not evidence the most distress, spouses did.     

The role of goal orientation during expatriation: A cross-sectional and longitudinal investigation.

Using cross-sectional and longitudinal data from expatriates in China, the authors investigated the roles of general, work, and interaction adjustment, as well as work stress, as mediators between the antecedents (learning, proving, and avoiding goal orientations, and perceived organizational support) and expatriate outcome (job performance and premature return intention) relationships. Results indicated that goal orientations toward overseas assignments had differential relationships with expatriate job performance and premature return intention. In addition, it was found that these relationships were partially mediated by expatriate adjustment facets. Implications for expatriate adjustment research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Effectiveness of Expatriate Coping Strategies: The Moderating Role of Cultural Distance, Position Level, and Time on the International Assignment.

On the basis of the stress and coping literature, the authors examined the diverse coping strategies used by expatriate managers in response to the problems encountered while on international assignments. It was hypothesized that although problem-focused coping strategies may be more effective than are emotion-focused coping strategies in affecting cross-cultural adjustment and intention to remain on the international assignment, the relationship is moderated by contextual factors such as hierarchical level in the organization, time on the assignment, and cultural distance. Coded semistructured interview responses from 116 German expatriates on assignment in either Japan or the United States were analyzed with moderated regression analyses. The results suggest that the effectiveness of problem-focused coping strategies in predicting cross-cultural adjustment is moderated by cultural distance and position level but not by time on the assignment. The use of problem-focused coping strategies was not related to expatriates' intention to remain on the assignment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting negative spousal attitudes toward depressed persons: A test of Coyne's Interpersonal Model.

The utility of Coyne's (1976a) interactional model in predicting negative spousal attitudes toward depressed patients was examined. Eighty-nine couples with at least 1 member in treatment for depression were selected on the basis of semistructured diagnostic interviews. Overall, spouses living with a depressed patient reported significantly more distress than population norms. Consistent with prediction, patients' reassurance seeking and spouse' mood contributed to negative spousal attitudes. Additional analyses demonstrated that these effects persisted even after controlling for spouse marital adjustment, suggesting that negative spousal attitudes were more than a simple reflection of marital maladjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of spouse involvement in the behavioral treatment of overweight women.

Assigned 68 overweight women (mean age 39 yrs) to 1 of 5 groups: (a) cooperative spouse, in which spouses were trained in modeling, monitoring, and reinforcement techniques; (b) wives alone, in which Ss underwent the basic behavioral program by themselves; (c) nonparticipating spouse, in which spouses were told not to participate in their wives' behavioral program; (d) alternative treatment; and (e) delayed treatment control. The cooperative spouse group lost significantly more weight than the alternative treatment at the 3-, 6-, and 12-mo follow-ups and significantly more weight than the wives-alone group at the final follow-up. Both the cooperative spouse and the nonparticipating spouse conditions maintained their weight losses at the final follow-up, whereas the wives-alone group regained some weight. The absence of significant differences between the cooperative spouse and the nonparticipating spouse conditions suggests that instructing spouses not to sabotage their wives' efforts may be as effective for long-term maintenance as actively training them to aid their wives. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Testing a theoretical model for examining the relationship between family adjustment and expatriates' work adjustment

Based on theoretical perspectives from the work/family literature, this study tested a model for examining expatriate families' adjustment while on global assignments as an antecedent to expatriates' adjustment to working in a host country. Data were collected from 110 families that had been relocated for global assignments. Longitudinal data, assessing family characteristics before the assignment and cross-cultural adjustment approximately 6 months into the assignment, were coded. This study found that family characteristics (family support, family communication, family adaptability) were related to expatriates' adjustment to working in the host country. As hypothesized, the families' cross-cultural adjustment mediated the effect of family characteristics on expatriates' host-country work adjustment.     

Depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction in the context of chronic disease: A longitudinal dyadic analysis.

These analyses examined the longitudinal relationships between depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction over a 2-year period as experienced by 315 patients with end-stage renal disease and their spouses. Using multilevel modeling, the authors examined both individual and cross-partner effects of depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction on patients and spouses, testing bidirectional causality. Results indicate that mean and time-varying depressive symptoms of both patients and spouses were associated with their own marital satisfaction. Although mean marital satisfaction was associated with own depressive symptoms for both patients and spouses, time-varying marital satisfaction did not affect depressive symptoms for either patients or spouses. Significant cross-partner effects reveal that both mean enduring and time-varying depressive symptoms of the spouse affected marital satisfaction of the patient. Findings highlight the complex nature of the relationship between depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction in late-life couples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are spouses of patients with hypertension at increased risk of having hypertension? A population-based case-control study

BACKGROUND: Studies of couples, who tend to share an environment but are genetically dissimilar, can shed light on the contribution of environmental factors to hypertension. There has been renewed interest in these environmental factors following the re-analysis of the INTERSALT study. AIM: To determine whether patients whose spouses have hypertension are at increased risk of hypertension, using a population-based case-control study. METHOD: The total study population consisted of all 3923 patients over 30 years old registered with one general practice. Male cases with hypertension were matched to male controls without hypertension. Female cases with hypertension were matched to female controls without hypertension. The variables were: diagnosed hypertension; having a spouse with diagnosed hypertension; age; sex; weight; height; body-mass index; couple status; diabetes; and systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings. RESULTS: On multivariate analysis, when age, body-mass index, diabetes, couple status, and having a blood pressure reading were included, men whose spouses had hypertension had a two-fold increased risk of hypertension (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.24; 95% CI 1.77-2.72; P = 0.001). Similarly, on multivariate analysis, women whose spouses had hypertension had a two-fold increased risk of hypertension (adjusted OR = 2.23; 95% CI 1.75-2.72; P = 0.001). The risk for both male and female subjects persisted after adjustment for other variables. There was a significant correlation between systolic (r = 0.41; P < 0.0001) and diastolic (r = 0.25; P < 0.0001) blood pressures between spouse pairs. CONCLUSION: The independent association between having a spouse with hypertension and increased risk of hypertension supports the view that there are significant environmental factors in the aetiology of hypertension. The finding has implications for the screening and treatment of hypertension in primary care.     

Beyond the "Self in Self-Efficacy: Spouse Confidence Predicts Patient Survival Following Heart Failure.

Ratings of patient efficacy to manage illness, made by 191 congestive heart failure patients and their spouses, were examined as predictors of patients' survival over the next 4 years. When considered alone, both the patient's self-efficacy and the spouse's confidence ratings predicted survival, but only spouse confidence remained significant when both partners" efficacy ratings were included in the same Cox regression model. The overlapping prognostic significance of spouse confidence and a global, multicomponent measure of marital quality positioned the former as a proxy for the latter, reflecting a fundamentally social protective factor in patient survival. Successful adaptation to heart failure appears to involve more than the patient's personal agency, and psychosocial data from spouses can improve prediction of patient outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Long-term effects of losing a spouse or child in a motor vehicle crash.

Interviews were conducted with 39 individuals who had lost a spouse in a motor vehicle crash 4 to 7 years ago and 39 controls and with 41 parents who had lost a child in a crash and 41 controls. Significant differences between bereaved spouses and controls were revealed on several indicators of general functioning, including depression and other psychiatric symptoms, social functioning, psychological well-being, reactivity to good events, and future worries and concerns. Comparisons between bereaved and control parents also revealed significant differences on some measures of general functioning (especially depression). Responses suggest that the deceased continued to occupy the thoughts and conversations of bereaved spouses and parents. Many respondents continued to ruminate about the accident or what might have been done to prevent it, and they appeared to be unable to accept, resolve, or find any meaning in the loss. Data provide little support for traditional notions of recovery from the sudden, unexpected loss of a spouse or child. (73 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mood spillover and crossover among dual-earner couples: A cell phone event sampling study.

In this study, the authors examined affective experiences of dual-earner couples. More specifically, the authors explored how momentary moods can spill over between work and family and cross over from one spouse to another. Fifty couples used their cell phones to provide reports of their momentary moods over 8 consecutive days. Results show significant spillover and crossover effects for both positive and negative moods. Work orientation moderated negative mood spillover from work to home, and the presence of children in the family decreased negative mood crossover between spouses. Crossover was observed when spouses were physically together and when the time interval between the spouses' reports was short. With this study, the authors contribute to the work and family research by examining the nature of mood transfers among dual-earner couples, including the direction, valence, and moderators of these transfers across work and family domains. The authors also contribute to the event sampling methodology by introducing a new method of using cell phones to collect momentary data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The crossover of perceived health between spouses.

The current study examined the crossover of perceived health between spouses and the mediating roles of self-esteem and undermining in this process. Data were collected from a sample of 2,108 couples from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring survey. Using structural equation modeling, the authors tested a crossover model that incorporated three mechanisms: bidirectional crossover of perceived health between spouses, common stressors (income), and indirect mediated effects (social undermining). The model showed an acceptable fit to the data and provided support for all three-crossover mechanisms. Furthermore, self-esteem mediated the relationship between economic hardship and perceived health. The authors discuss theoretical aspects of the crossover of perceived health and implications of our findings for the design of preventive interventions to help family members cope more effectively with economic hardship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intrusive thoughts and psychological distress among cancer patients: The role of spouse avoidance and criticism.

This study examined whether perceived spouse criticism and avoidance impacted cognitive processing in 129 cancer patients. It was hypothesized that intrusive thoughts would be associated with an increase in psychological distress among patients who felt their spouses were critical or avoiding them and that intrusive thoughts would not be positively associated with distress among patients who did not feel their spouses were critical or avoidant. The impact of spouse criticism was predicted to be stronger than the impact of spouse avoidance. A moderating effect for spouse criticism on the association between early intrusive thoughts and later distress was present. Spouse avoidance did not have a significant moderating effect on the relation between intrusive thoughts and later distress. Results suggest spouse criticism and avoidance may have differential effects on the cognitive processing of cancer. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perfectionism and relationship adjustment in pain patients and their spouses.

The authors assessed whether social facets of perfectionism were associated with indexes of dyadic and family adjustment. A sample of 83 pain patients and their spouses completed the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Family Assessment Device, Beck Depression Inventory, and Multiaxial Pain Inventory. After controlling for depression, the authors found that pain patients' relationship adjustments were associated with their spouses' other-oriented perfectionism. Also, pain patients rated their other-oriented perfectionistic spouses as less supportive. Spouses' reports of poor dyadic and family adjustment were associated with their own socially prescribed perfectionism. The findings suggest that social aspects of perfectionism contribute to poor family adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of relationship maintenance on psychological distress and dyadic adjustment among couples coping with lung cancer.

Objective: Relationship maintenance strategies help to ensure the continuation of valued relationships by keeping them at a certain level of intimacy. This study evaluated how lung cancer patients' and spouses' efforts to maintain their relationships affected their psychological and marital adjustment over time. Design: Psychosocial questionnaires were administered within 1 month of lung cancer treatment initiation (baseline) and 3 and 6 months later to 158 lung cancer patients and their spouses. Main Outcome Measures: Study outcomes were global severity index scores on the Brief Symptom Inventory, and total scores on the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Results: Multilevel modeling analyses using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model showed that, regardless of gender or social role (i.e., patient or spouse), individuals who engaged in the strategies of positivity, networks, and shared tasks reported less distress at baseline than other participants. Over time, the effects of providing more assurances and experiencing a partner's increased reliance on social networks differed: patient distress was exacerbated, and spouse distress was alleviated. Couples where both partners engaged in more frequent maintenance behaviors reported greater dyadic adjustment at baseline and over time. Conclusion: For couples coping with lung cancer, the initial treatment period may be an important time that sets the tone for future spousal interactions. Engaging in relationship maintenance during this stressful time may help mold more resilient relationships and facilitate adjustment as the disease progresses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a better estimate of the prevalence of partner abuse: Adjusting rates based on the sensitivity of the Conflict Tactics Scale.

Studies of spousal aggression, such as the national studies typically cited for prevalence rates (M. A. Straus & R. J. Gelles, 1986; M. A. Straus, R. J. Gelles, & S. K. Steinmetz, 1980), frequently use reports from only one spouse to calculate yearly prevalence. To date, no correction factor exists to help one estimate what the rates would have been had reports from both spouses been available. In this study, the authors calculate the epidemiological sensitivity of the Conflict Tactics Scale (M. A. Straus, 1979) in clinical and newly married samples and use the sensitivity figures to provide a correction equation. Correction factors are also provided for three previously published studies of interspousal agreement. The equations provided can be used to make rough estimates of the rate of male-to-female aggression when data from only one spouse are available. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

You can take it with you: Individual differences and expatriate effectiveness.

The authors report the collaborative efforts of 2 research teams that independently investigated the effects of stable personality traits (the Big Five) and specific behavioral competencies (cultural flexibility, task and people orientations, and ethnocentrism) on key dimensions of expatriate effectiveness: psychological adjustment, assignment withdrawal cognitions, and job performance. Analyses of multiple-source and longitudinal data from 3 studies, including a diverse sample of expatriates in Hong Kong and separate samples of Korean and Japanese expatriates posted around the world, indicate several direct effects of individual differences. Further data show reliable distinctions between the traits and competencies as well as incremental prediction by either set of predictors in the presence of the others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Problems in families of male Vietnam veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Interviews were conducted with a nationally representative sample of 1,200 male Vietnam veterans and the spouses or coresident partners of 376 of these veterans. The veteran interview contained questions to determine the presence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and items tapping family and marital adjustment, parenting problems, and violence. The spouse or partner (S/P) interview assessed the S/P's view of these items, as well as her view of her own mental health, drug, and alcohol problems and behavioral problems of school-aged children living at home. Compared with families of male veterans without current PTSD, families of male veterans with current PTSD showed markedly elevated levels of severe and diffuse problems in marital and family adjustment, in parenting skills, and in violent behavior. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)