The impact of attributions in marriage: A longitudinal analysis.

In this study, we investigate the longitudinal relation between attributions for relationship events and marital satisfaction. Thirty-four couples were assessed at two points separated by approximately 12 months. Causal and responsibility attributions for marital difficulties and negative spouse behaviors were strongly related to concurrent marital satisfaction. For wives, later marital satisfaction was predicted by both causal and responsibility attributions after the effects of earlier satisfaction were removed. For husbands, attributions did not predict later marital satisfaction. Marital satisfaction did not predict later attributions for either husbands or wives. Marital satisfaction and the two types of attributions were related to concurrent unrealistic relationship expectations, but these expectations did not predict later marital satisfaction. The results are discussed in terms of a possible causal relation between attributions and marital satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship between psychosocial functioning and body fat in preschool children: A longitudinal investigation.

Examined whether preschool children differed on measures of psychosocial functioning both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. 132 children who varied in levels of body fat participated in the study along with their natural parents. Results indicated that the children did not differ in levels of self-esteem and family functioning as a function of their body fat. Prospectively, physical self-esteem weakly (but significantly) correlated with body fat at ages 1 and 2 yrs, and father's perception of family functioning predicted body fat at age 1 yr only. Results suggested that childhood obesity may not develop as a result of psychosocial factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The context of aggressive behavior in marriage: A longitudinal study of newlyweds.

Under what circumstances are spouses more or less likely to engage in aggressive behaviors? To address this question, the current study drew on multiple longitudinal assessments of 1st-married newlyweds to examine correlates of within-subject variability in aggressive behavior. Controlling for marital satisfaction, the authors found that spouses were more likely to engage in physical aggression at times when they engaged in higher levels of psychological aggression. Additionally, husbands reporting higher levels of chronic stress were more likely to engage in physical aggression overall and were more likely to engage in physical aggression when they were experiencing higher than average levels of acute stress. These results highlight how demands and supports in the context external to a marriage may affect processes within the marriage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing dysfunctional cognition in marriage: A reconsideration of the Relationship Belief Inventory.

Although the Relationship Belief Inventory (RBI) is used widely in marital research, its psychometric properties have not been examined separately for men and women, it has not been validated in relation to observational measures, and the reliability of some of its scales has been questioned. To address these issues, 43 couples completed the RBI and a measure of marital satisfaction and were observed while discussing a marital difficulty. The reliability and validity of the RBI scales did not differ with gender. Wives' higher RBI scores correlated with lower rates of avoidant behavior and higher rates of negative behavior, and husbands' higher RBI scores correlated with a greater tendency to reciprocate negative behavior. Finally, coefficient alpha exceeded .70 for 3 of the 6 RBI scales. The psychometric and theoretical status of the RBI is evaluated on the basis of these findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prevention of marital distress: A longitudinal investigation.

This study examines the impact of an intervention designed to prevent divorce and marital distress. Both short- and long-term effects of a cognitive-behavioral marital distress prevention program were assessed. Forty-two couples planning marriage were matched and randomly assigned to intervention (n?=?21) and control (n?=?21) conditions. Couples participated in pre- and postintervention assessment sessions and in similar assessment sessions 1? years and 3 years later. The intervention emphasized communication and problem-solving skills, clarifying and sharing expectations, and sensual/sexual enhancement. Although postintervention results indicated that couples learned the skills taught in the program, no group differences emerged on self-report measures of relationship quality. At 1? years, intervention couples showed higher levels of relationship satisfaction than control couples. At 3 years, intervention couples showed higher levels of both relationship satisfaction and sexual satisfaction and lower levels of problem intensity. These data support cost-effective prevention programs for attacking the major social problem of divorce. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antecedents of bridge employment: A longitudinal investigation.

Bridge employment is the labor force participation pattern increasingly observed in older workers between their career jobs and their complete labor force withdrawal. It serves as a transition process from career employment to full retirement. Typical bridge employment decisions include full retirement, career bridge employment, and bridge employment in a different field. In the current study, 3 dominant theories (i.e., role theory, continuity theory, and life course perspective) on retirement processes were reviewed. On the basis of these theories, the authors proposed 4 categories of antecedents (i.e., individual attributes, job-related psychological variables, family-related variables, and a retirement-planning-related variable) of different types of bridge employment decisions. The authors used longitudinal data of a large, nationally representative sample from the Health and Retirement Study (F. Juster & R. Suzman, 1995) to test the current hypotheses. These data were analyzed with multinomial logistic regression, and most of the hypotheses were supported by the results. The implications of this study are discussed at both theoretical and practical levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Short-term longitudinal evidence for the sequentiality of Kohlberg's early stages of moral judgment.

Investigated (a) how the reliability of an instrument for assessing developmental stages is established and (b) the relation between reliability and sequentiality of the stages. It is argued that reliability of the instrument cannot be established directly by traditional methods but must be inferred from a validation of the stage sequence. Short-term longitudinal data were obtained for 50 5-8 yr olds on the Kohlberg Moral Judgment Interview. For each of 2 6-mo intervals, it was not possible to reject the null hypothesis that progressive change and regressive change were equally likely. Over 1 yr, however, significant progressive change was found, most of which consisted of slight advancements toward the next stage in Kohlberg's sequence. It is argued that the considerable short-term fluctuation obtained may be due either to measurement error or to genuine fluctuation in the individual's judgment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal investigation of the affective environment in families with young children: From infancy to early school age.

We examined the affective environment in 102 families studied longitudinally when children were 7, 15, 25, 38, 52, and 67 months of age. At each assessment, every mother–child and father–child dyad was observed in typical daily contexts. Each person's emotions of affection, joy, and anger were coded. Both parents rated marital satisfaction when children were 15, 52, and 67 months. Growth curve analyses, using Actor-Partner Interdependence Modeling, examined (a) developmental changes in emotions, (b) within-relationship influences of the partner's emotions, (c) across-relationship influences of emotions in other parent's interactions with the child, and (d) associations between marital quality and emotions over time. Parents' emotional expressiveness was highest early in the child's development, and declined thereafter. Children's anger was highest at 15 months of age, and declined thereafter, and their positive emotions, particularly with mothers, increased over time. Generally, one's positive emotions and better marital quality were associated with greater positive emotion within- and across-relationships, whereas one's anger was associated with greater anger within- and across-relationships. However, any emotion expression elicited greater affection in the interaction partner. Parents' neuroticism did not account for the convergence of emotions across relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prosocial development in early adulthood: A longitudinal study.

Consistency of measures of a prosocial personality and prosocial moral judgment over time, and the interrelations among them, were examined. Participants' and friends' reports of prosocial characteristics were obtained at ages 21-22, 23-24, and 25-26 yrs. In addition, participants' prosocial judgment was assessed with interviews and with an objective measure of prosocial moral reasoning at several ages. Reports of prosocial behavior and empathy-related responding in childhood and observations of prosocial behavior in preschool also were obtained. There was interindividual consistency in prosocial dispositions, and prosocial dispositions in adulthood related to empathy/sympathy and prosocial behavior at much younger ages. Interview and objective measures of moral reasoning were substantially interrelated in late adolescence/early adulthood and correlated with participants' and friends' reports of a prosocial disposition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding the relationship between religiosity and marriage: An investigation of the immediate and longitudinal effects of religiosity on newlywed couples.

The association between religiosity and marital outcome has been repeatedly demonstrated, but a complete understanding of this relationship is hindered by limitations of theory and method. The purpose of the current study was to test 3 explanatory models by assessing 2 samples of newlywed couples. Findings indicated that religiosity was associated with attitudes toward divorce, commitment, and help seeking cross-sectionally. Longitudinal effects, however, were most consistent with a moderating model, wherein religiosity had a positive impact on husbands' and wives' marital satisfaction for couples with less neurotic husbands and a negative impact for couples with more neurotic husbands. Overall, the impact of religiosity was weak over the first 4 years of marriage. Theoretical propositions are offered to guide future research in delineating the types of marriages that may be most affected by religiosity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A transmission electron microscopy investigation of the early stages of precipitation in an Al-Zn-Mg alloy

The growth of spherical precipitates in an Al-5 wt pct Zn-2 wt pct Mg alloy was monitored by hardness measurements and transmission electron microscopy. The growth of precipitates from 15 to 80Å in diameter was followed for various aging times at temperatures of 30, 70, 100, and 150°C. For short times at low aging temperatures precipitate growth followed at _1/9 law, whereas growth at longer times, or higher temperatures, followed at _1’3 law. Various contrast experiments lead to the conclusion that the precipitates produced at all but the shortest aging times at the lowest aging temperatures have a hexagonal structure and are spherical precursors of the η′ phase. The advantages and disadvantages associated with the various imaging techniques for small precipitates utilized in this study are discussed. Formerly Research Assistant, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. 02139     

A transmission electron microscopy investigation of the early stages of precipitation in an Al-Zn-Mg alloy

The growth of spherical precipitates in an Al-5 wt pct Zn-2 wt pct Mg alloy was monitored by hardness measurements and transmission electron microscopy. The growth of precipitates from 15 to 80Å in diameter was followed for various aging times at temperatures of 30, 70, 100, and 150°C. For short times at low aging temperatures precipitate growth followed at _1/9 law, whereas growth at longer times, or higher temperatures, followed at _1’3 law. Various contrast experiments lead to the conclusion that the precipitates produced at all but the shortest aging times at the lowest aging temperatures have a hexagonal structure and are spherical precursors of the η′ phase. The advantages and disadvantages associated with the various imaging techniques for small precipitates utilized in this study are discussed.     

A longitudinal investigation of anxiety sensitivity in adolescence.

This investigation sought to expand existing knowledge of anxiety sensitivity in a sample of high school students (N = 2,365) assessed over 4 years. The stability of anxiety sensitivity levels across assessment periods was examined, and cluster analyses were used to identify different developmental pathways in levels of anxiety sensitivity. Groups of adolescents with stable low, stable high, and escalating anxiety sensitivity levels were identified. Adolescents with stable high or escalating anxiety sensitivity were significantly more likely to report experiencing a panic attack than individuals with stable low anxiety sensitivity. Results also indicated that Asian and Hispanic adolescents tended to report higher anxiety sensitivity but that their anxiety sensitivity was less strongly associated with panic than that of Caucasian adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Construct accessibility and clinical depression: A longitudinal investigation.

There is a rapidly growing body of literature that examines the role of cognitive processes in the etiology and maintenance of depression. In general, empirical support for the causal aspects of cognitive models of depression has been mixed. This study was designed to examine construct accessibility in depressed patients both during and following their hospitalization. Depressed psychiatric patients and nondepressed controls participated twice in a modified Stroop task, naming the colors of tachistoscopically presented depressed-, neutral-, and manic-content words. In addition, a cognitive priming procedure designed to temporarily alter the differential accessibility of the subjects to the three categories of words was assessed. As predicted, the depressed patients took longer to name the colors of the depressed-content than the nondepressed-content words. This effect, however, was obtained only for the hospitalization session, when the patients were clinically depressed; no significant group differences were obtained for the discharge session, when the patients had improved symptomatically. These results suggest that patterns of cognitive functioning hypothesized by cognitive theorists to be implicated in the etiology of depression vary with recovery from depression. Finally, there was no evidence that priming effectively alters either the negative construct accessibility or the affective state of depressed patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing attributions in marriage: The Relationship Attribution Measure.

A brief, simple measure of different types of attributions for partner behavior was examined in 3 studies of married couples. Reliability was established by high internal consistency and test–retest correlations. Causal and responsibility attribution scores correlated with marital satisfaction, attributions for marital difficulties, and attributions for actual partner behaviors generated by spouses. Responsibility attributions were related to (1) reported anger in response to stimulus behaviors used in the measure and (2) the amount of anger displayed by wives during a problem-solving interaction with their partner. The extent to which husbands and wives whined during their discussion also correlated with their responsibility attributions. The results addressed several problems with existing assessments, and their implications for the measurement of attributions in marriage are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment change processes in the early years of marriage.

The authors examined 4 models of attachment change: a contextual model, a social–cognitive model, an individual-difference model, and a diathesis-stress model. Models were examined in a sample of newlyweds over the first 2 years of marriage, using growth curve analyses. Reciprocal processes, whereby attachment representations and interpersonal life circumstances affect one another over time, also were studied. On average, newlyweds became more secure over time. However, there was significant within-subject variability on attachment change that was predicted by intra- and interpersonal factors. Attachment representations changed in response to contextual, social–cognitive, and individual difference factors. Reciprocal processes between attachment representations and marital variables emerged, suggesting that these factors influence one another in an ongoing way. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of eating problems in adolescent girls: A longitudinal study.

Examined the emergence of eating problems in adolescent girls as a function of pubertal growth, body image, personality development, and family relationships. 193 White females and their mothers were seen in middle-school years (M age?=?13.93 years) and 2 years later. Results showed that girls who early in adolescence felt most negatively about their bodies were more likely to develop eating problems (on EAT-26) 2 years later. Concurrently, Time 1 eating problems were associated with body fat, grade, negative body image, and psychopathology, but not family relationships. At Time 2, adolescent body image and internalizing dimensions of psychopathology predicted problem-eating scores, as did maternal body image and depression. Findings are discussed in terms of adolescent patterns of adaptation, developmental psychopathology, and the study's relevance for understanding clinical eating disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Generalized and specific loneliness in early marriage.

38 husbands (mean age 26 yrs) and wives (mean age 23.8 yrs), married for an average of 35.8 mo and without children, independently completed a set of established measures of loneliness and of aspects of their marital relationship (e.g., UCLA Loneliness Scale). Significant levels of loneliness were reported by some Ss, and only modest correlations were found between the loneliness scores of husbands and wives. General and specific loneliness were related to marital attitudes, particularly less liking, less intimacy, and greater communication apprehension among husbands, and to less liking, less marital satisfaction, less love, and less self-disclosure among the wives. Scores of the spouses and spouse difference scores on several of these variables were also related to loneliness. Findings are discussed as pertaining to loneliness without social isolation and in relation to the quality of relationships. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)