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Objective: To explore the relationships that emerge amongst caregivers of persons with dementia and stroke when caregivers use written messages as their communication tool in a closed information and communication technology (ICT)-based support group.Methods: An explorative design with a qualitative approach was used that applied systematic text condensation (STC) to analyse 173 written messages extracted from a web forum.Results: Empathetic, empowering and familiar relationships emerged amongst peers of older caregivers when the caregivers used written messages as their communication tool. The empathetic relationship was characterised by sincerity and openness when the caregivers shared emotions related to caregiving. The empowering relationship reflected a fellowship based on solidarity influenced by a sense of optimism and a willingness to share knowledge to support one another in overcoming challenges. In the familiar relationship, the caregivers were thoughtful and good-humoured with one another and displayed an attitude of consideration towards one another, as in an extended family.Practice Implication: The use of computer-mediated communication in health care service will change the context of establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships. Therefore, greater knowledge regarding how the peers of caregivers interact with one another is vital so nurses may better support and educate ICT-based support groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although structuration theory (ST) has endured a considerable influence in communication research across various domains, there remains a paucity of quantitative empirical research using ST as a viable framework. The purpose of this article is to develop an adapted structurational framework to explain the emergence of communication networks. The adapted framework distinguishes between relational states/events and internal/external structural rules. For analysis, we introduce multipanel relational event modeling, a technique using processual inference that can empirically demonstrate the recursive nature of system and structure. As an introductory example of both the framework and method, we examined communication, using cell-phone data, of students living in the same dormitory from September 2008 through February 2009. Our results demonstrated how different structures (i.e., perceived social relations and internal/external structural rules) are reproduced and transformed over time. Our research has implications for communication research dealing with recursivity, event-driven network analysis, the changing nature of the phone call, and the promise of computational communication science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meaningful social interactions are positively associated with improvements in self-esteem, but this phenomenon has largely been unexplored in digital media despite the prevalence of new, text-based communication (e.g. Facebook, texting, email, etc.). To address this gap in the literature the frequency and quality, or meaningfulness , of communication was measured in mediated and non-mediated channels across a random sample of 3649 social interactions using Experience Sampling Methods. Results revealed that most communication took place face-to-face (62%), with less text-based (about 22%) and cell phone voice (14%) communication. Meaningful face-to-face and text-based communication were associated with changes in self-esteem according to a marginally significant and significant finding, respectively. Text-based communication was more important for self-esteem than face-to-face or phone communication, which is consistent with research on the magnifying effect of text-based communication on interpersonal processes. According to the Internet enhanced self-disclosure hypothesis, the psychological benefits of text-based communication stems from enhanced self-disclosure, which is also supported in the data. Additional work is needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying the positive relationship between meaningful text-based interactions and self-esteem, but findings point to the important role of digital communication for psychological health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers reflections on the past and the future of interpersonal communication. Topics covered include methods used to understand human interaction, significance of using dyadic data to determine the nature of human interaction, and reason for positive perspective regarding the future of interpersonal communication studies. Also noted is the limitation of longitudinal research.

The article offers a proposition about the nature of association between medium and message as well as approaches that may be used by future interpersonal communication researchers to explore in future research and theory development. Topics covered include a four-category typology delineating mediated communication suggested by R. Cathcart and G. Gumpert, scope of Facebook communication, and the future of mediated communication. Also cited is a basic definition of interpersonal communication.

The article looks at two perspectives concerning the future of teaching interpersonal communication. Topics covered include three instructional techniques designed to provide students with resources relating to interpersonal communication, examples of nonverbal behaviors, and organizations that offer online resources for instructors of interpersonal communication. Also cited are existing models and theories of interpersonal communication like the Staircase Model of relationship development.

The article calls for the acknowledgment of autoethnography within interpersonal communication. It described the job of an analytic autoethnographer, a researcher who illustrates the relationship between lived experience and culture using personal narrative and ethnographic analysis. Also cited are some interpersonal scholars who have focused on the embedded and constitutive nature of interpersonal communication like Steve Duck and Julia Wood.

The article focuses on the history and future of qualitative scholarship in interpersonal communication (IPC). It cited two arguments including the need to understand the history of IPC to determine its present and future and the need to expand on perspectives and scholars of IPC to address challenges. Also cited is a brief history on the development of IPC during the 1960s.

The article focuses on a constitutive approach to interpersonal communication studies. Topics covered include factors to consider in the analysis of communication, several dominant theoretical traditions at play in the field of communication, and a description of a model representing interpersonal communication studies as a metamodel. Also cited are ways to use a constitutive approach to interpersonal communication studies.

The article discusses how social media significantly changed the meaning of socialization and friendship. Topics explored include the simultaneous communication available through social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter, the personal and professional reasons that discourage social media use, and the distinction between social media and physical relationships particularly in terms of privacy.

Individuals with autism often face barriers to social interaction. Residing in a rural environment can compound these difficulties for individuals diagnosed with autism. Some of the reasons include transportation problems and small social networks, in addition to the characteristics of autism. This article discusses a promising practice for supporting the communication and social opportunities for individuals with autism. The authors examined how Facebook supported the social interaction of Jacob, a 28-year old with High Functioning Autism. The findings suggested that, through Facebook, Jacob increased the quantity and quality of social ties he had with others. The authors argue that although online social networking has limitations, with supervision, tools such as Facebook hold potential for developing and increasing social interaction for individuals with High Functioning Autism /Asperger Syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study provides a resolution for two contrasting hypotheses around media use, the augmentation and the displacement hypotheses. To do this, we conducted an online survey of 300 Korean adults examining the relationships among the social use of media, face-to-face communication, social isolation, connectedness, and subjective well-being. The results indicate that connectedness, not avoiding social isolation, mediates the effects of the social use of media on subjective well-being. On the other hand, both connectedness and avoiding social isolation mediate the effects of face-to-face communication on subjective well-being. These results suggest that the social use of media is limited to seeking connectedness to others, whereas face-to-face communication can facilitate avoiding social isolation as well as seeking connectedness, which can explain why the two contrasting hypothesis, the augmentation and the displacement hypotheses, can be right. In the domain of seeking connectedness, media can augment face-to-face communication. On the other hand, in the domain of avoiding social isolation, media may displace face-to-face communication. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] Online peer communication had a positive, indirect effect on self-concept clarity. [•] Online identity exploration had a negative, direct and indirect effect on SCC. [•] Mother relationship quality had a positive, direct and indirect effect on SCC. [•] Friendship quality had a positive, direct effect on SCC. [•] Friendship quality mediated the effects of the three exogenous predictors on SCC. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objectives: Change-oriented feedback (aka negative feedback) serves two important functions: it motivates athletes and guides them towards performance improvement. However, it can also lead to negative consequences such as anxiety or a decrease in athletes'' self-esteem and in the quality of the coach–athlete relationship. We propose that change-oriented feedback quality is key in predicting athletes'' reaction to this type of feedback. Based on SDT, we further suggest that a high quality change-oriented feedback must be autonomy-supportive. To test this hypothesis, we first define and measure an autonomy-supportive change-oriented feedback. We then investigate the relative impact of change-oriented feedback''s quantity and quality on athletes'' phenomenological experiences and performance. Method: In total, 340 athletes and 58 coaches participated in this study. Coaches and athletes filled out a questionnaire after a training session. HLM analyses were used to take into consideration the hierarchical structure of the data. Results: HLM analyses first show that an autonomy-supportive change-oriented feedback is empathic, accompanied by choices of solutions, based on clear and attainable objectives known to athletes, avoids person-related statements, is paired with tips, and given in a considerate tone of voice. Results also show that feedback quality predicts athletes'' outcomes above and beyond feedback quantity and coaches'' other autonomy-supportive behaviours. Conclusion: Results are discussed in light of their contribution to self-determination theory, the feedback literature and the improvement of coaches'' training. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The aim of this article is to provide a theoretical and methodological contribution to the study of dialogue based on a dialogic conception of human communication (Bakhtin, Linell, Markova). From this perspective, it is postulated that the exchange is governed by the Principles of Dialogicality and Reciprocity and turns and contributions are defined as the constitutive elements of dialogue, representing two different levels of complexity. What is compared is how, on these two levels, the fictitious interlocutors of TV advertising dialogues, either Spanish or Mexican, try to influence each other: What are the similarities and differences in the diversity of types of turn and types of contribution, their possible impacts and the multiplicity of their connections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose/Objectives: To develop a descriptive framework of the communication processes used by Latinos with prostate cancer to communicate about their diagnosis.Research Approach: A constructivist grounded theory approach was used to analyze and build a descriptive framework from semistructured interviews.Setting: A university-affiliated urban hospital in southern California.Participants: 30 Latinos treated for prostate cancer, who had at least one first-degree male relative (FDMR), and who lived near the medical center.Methodologic Approach: Semistructured interviews with bilingual Latinos were conducted in participants' homes in the language they preferred. Individual and collaborative analyses of translated transcripts were guided by constructivist grounded theory.Findings: Analysis uncovered an overarching process of purposeful interacting. Components of the process included occasionally overlapping spheres of communication, which were connected to purposes and content. Balanced in and influenced by the spheres were cross-cutting processes of respectful silence and selective disclosure.Conclusions: Men communicated different content about their prostate cancer to people representing different reference groups. Respectful silence and selective disclosure could be viewed as men's enactment of social interaction-using and choosing words based on the symbolic meaning the men perceived would have their intended meaning for the people in each of the spheres.Interpretation: Culturally sensitive educational interventions should be targeted at Latinos with prostate cancer to understand risk and encourage disclosure to FDMRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

En este trabajo se estudian los vínculos entre calidad comunicativa y habla privada en una situación comunicativa referencial espacial. La calidad comunicativa se analiza en base a los mensajes enunciados. El habla privada se analiza al modo vygotskiano como habla cuyo rol cognitivo permite la autorregulación de una tarea. Se realiza un estudio longitudinal con 10 parejas de niñas y niños a los cuatro, seis y ocho años, y empleando una metodología observacional. A los cuatro años los mensajes tienen baja calidad y el habla privada fluctúa pudiéndose afirmar sólo parcialmente su rol cognitivo. A los seis y ocho años este rol cognitivo queda claramente perfilado: el habla privada aparece no sólo en relación a la dificultad del referente sino también en el intento de dominio de las relaciones espaciales. Como conclusión se apunta que la identificación del habla privada en función de la calidad de los mensajes permite hacer visibles los procesos de toma de conciencia sobre las necesidades informativas de la tarea y del interlocutor/a.The present study analyses the relationships between communicative quality and private speech in a communicative situation involving spatial reference. Communicative quality is analysed on the basis of the messages formulated, and private speech is analysed from a Vygotskyan perspective, that is, as speech whose cognitive role allows the self-regulation of a task. We conducted a longitudinal study using an observational methodology with ten pairs of children at the ages of four, six and eight years. At the age of four, the quality of the messages is poor, and private speech fluctuates; its cognitive role can be affirmed only partially. At the ages of six and eight, the cognitive role is clearly established: private speech appears not only in relation to the difficulty of the referent, but also in the attempt to master spatial relationships. We conclude that by identifying private speech as a function of the quality of messages, the processes by which children become aware of the informative needs of the task and the interlocutor are revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most research on social media tends to focus on individual or group-level characteristics, neglecting to consider the influence of relational and cultural variables. To fill this void, we collected social network data in Israel (N = 492) and Canada (N = 293) to investigate the effect of individual, relational, and cultural variables on the frequency of communication via instant messaging (IM) and the multiplexity of communication topics. We found that geographic distance continues to matter in interpersonal contact in spite of heavy reliance on digital tools for connectivity. Similar patterns of association were discerned in both countries for propinquity, the use of IM, and closeness. We discuss the findings in terms of theories of networked individualism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate college freshmen's views towards potential social networking site (SNS) screening or intervention efforts regarding alcohol. Participants: Freshmen college students between February 2010 and May 2011. Methods: Participants were interviewed; all interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Qualitative analysis was conducted using an iterative approach. Results: A total of 132 participants completed the interview (70% response rate), the average age was 18.4 years (SD 0.49), and 64 were males (48.5%). Three themes emerged from our data. First, most participants stated they viewed displayed alcohol content as indicative of alcohol use. Second, they explained they would prefer to be approached in a direct manner by someone they knew. Third, the style of approach was considered critical. Conclusions: When approaching college students regarding alcohol messages on SNSs, both the relationship and the approach are key factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Attachment theory posits that close interpersonal relationships provide people with psychological security across the lifespan. Research shows that when people perceive that close others are unreliable, they may seek alternative, non-social sources of security (e.g., deities). Building on this work, the authors hypothesized that attachment to objects compensates for threatened attachment security when close others are unreliable. Participants primed with close others'', but not strangers'', unreliability reported increased attachment to belongings (Study 1), and this effect was mediated by feelings of attachment anxiety (concern over close others'' availability), but not attachment avoidance (avoiding emotional dependence; Study 2), suggesting that object attachment compensates for the perception that close others are unreliable rather than consistently rejecting. In Study 3, when a valued belonging was removed, participants primed with uncertainty about their relationships showed increased separation anxiety and motivation to reunite with the belonging, regardless of the belonging''s perceived importance for facilitating relationships. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: As the availability, affordability, and popularity of mobile phones has increased in the last decade, text messaging has become one of the primary means of communication among adolescent peer groups. As such, it can be speculated that mobile phones and text messaging have become an integral aspect of the culture of young people today. However, little research has of yet identified how people react to an absence of texting behavior. This study attempts to demonstrate the extent to which people have become reliant upon text messaging to maintain daily relationships with peers, as well as their own self-concept. Frequencies and patterns of alternative behaviors, non-compliance, and anxiety are measured during separate restriction periods among a group of high and low text users, ages 18–23. Results indicate that there was a significant difference between individuals identified as ’high’ and ’low’ text users, although regardless of this distinction, texting emerged as the preferred form of contact among peers within this cohort. A high degree of quantitatively and qualitatively reported anxiety during periods of restriction was also noted, suggesting that this behavior has become an integrated element of daily living for this group. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aims: The therapeutic alliance is a concept that has received a great deal of attention within face‐to‐face counselling. Furthermore, links have been made between the creation of strong alliances and successful therapeutic outcomes. This study examines the therapeutic alliance when counselling services are offered online to young people. Method: Fifteen young people took part in online interviews (utilising synchronous and asynchronous methods), and Grounded Theory techniques were utilised to analyse the data. Findings: A core category of 'Client‐Service Match' and three subcategories pertinent to the individuals' experiences of creating good quality relationships with the counsellors were identified: (1) initial engagement, (2) developing rapport, and (3) establishing control. Discussion: The themes elicited are all relevant to the matching process and viewed as a chronological process similar to face‐to‐face counselling. However, unlike face‐to‐face work, specific nuances related to the online work arise that counsellors should be mindful of, including the rationale behind each individual's choice to approach services online, their own computer‐mediated communication skills, technical hurdles, and the perceived 'power' of the counsellor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored what relational aspects contribute to spouses managing private, infertility-related information differently. We examined associations among relational uncertainty and partner interference and three manifestations of boundary turbulence: discrepancies in disclosures, relative discomfort, and perceived spousal acceptability. Using data from 50 infertile couples reporting on 250 social network relationships, we used multi-level modeling to test our predictions that relational uncertainty and partner interference would positively correlate with boundary turbulence. Results were partially consistent with the predictions for relational uncertainty and inconsistent with regard to partner interference. These findings suggest that relational features of a partnership coincide with a couple’s ability to coordinate boundaries about their private information and merits further research on the dyadic component of boundary coordination. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: To investigate the phenomenon of internet addiction and concurrent social (off-line) behaviours of an adolescent population a cross-sectional survey of the entire adolescent student population (N = 1270, aged 14-18) of the island of Kos in Greece was conducted. Method: Completion by the survey participants of a demographic questionnaire, the 8-question YDQ (Diagnostic Questionnaire for Internet Addiction) and the 20-question IAT (Internet Addiction Test), followed by comparative analysis between and within usage groups. Results: Results demonstrate that 7.2% of male and 5.1% of female internet users present addictive behaviours while using the internet. Conclusions: Anti-social, aggressive behaviours were significantly correlated with an increase to the pattern of abusive internet use in both sexes. Boys and girls had distinct profiles of off-line and online preferences. Boys tended to favour interest-driven online activities as their levels of addictive behaviour increased while girls favoured communication-driven online activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review of literature on anti-racist prosocial action points to the strong and largely untapped policy potential of bystander anti-racism. Bystander anti-racism is conceptualized as action taken by 'ordinary' people in response to incidents of interpersonal or systemic racism. The utility of bystander anti-racism is also demonstrated, with evidence suggesting productive effects for targets and bystanders, as well as perpetrators. The relative merits of confrontational or diplomatic action are reviewed, as is the delicate balance between communicating disapproval and maintaining interpersonal relations. The potential of bystander anti-racism will be enhanced where there are social norms that are intolerant of racism. The literature has paid little attention to the influence of context or to affective drivers of bystander anti-racism. We recommend changes to Ashburn-Nardo's five-stage Confronting Prejudice Model, to better facilitate anti-racism policy and practice. The additions adapt the model to organizational settings, and more strongly acknowledge the importance of social norms and contexts, as well as the specific functions of racism. Through these changes, there is a scope to increase the prominence of bystander anti-racism as a vital element of anti-racism policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this study we characterized profiles of communicative functions and forms of children with autism and intellectual disability (n =26), as compared to typically developing children (n =26) with a comparable nonverbal mental age (2–5 years). Videotapes of the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales – Developmental Profile were analyzed using a standardized observation scheme in which three main functions were distinguished: behavior regulation, social interaction, and joint attention. Different forms of communication were also investigated: gestures, vocalizations/verbalizations, and eye gaze. Results indicated that in typically developing children the proportion of communication for the purpose of joint attention was much higher than for behavior regulation, whereas in children with autism the opposite pattern was seen. Low-functioning nonverbal children with autism mainly communicated for behavior regulation and not or only rarely for declarative purposes. Generally, this subgroup used the least complex forms to communicate. Low-functioning verbal children with autism differed from typically developing children only in the rate, not in the proportion of communication for specific functions. Combinations of three different communicative forms were used by verbal children with autism less frequently than by typically developing children. Learning outcomes: After reading this paper, readers should be able to: (1) describe early development of communicative functions, (2) explain differences in communication profiles with respect to form and function between verbal and nonverbal low-functioning children with autism and typically developing children matched on nonverbal mental age and (3) discuss clinical implications of the findings for communication interventions in verbal and nonverbal low-functioning children with autism. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Researchers are beginning to explore the variety of casual sexual relationships that individuals engage in. These relationships, and the subtle nuances that differentiate them, have not been studied collectively. The purpose of the present study was to qualitatively examine casual sexual relationships (CSRS), ranging from a single encounterto an ongoing sexual relationship with a friend. Male and female focus group participants identified a number of implicit and explicit rules that guide the initiation, maintenance, and termination offour types of casual sexual relationships: One Nights Stands, Booty Calls, Fuck Buddies, and Friends with Benefits. Participants identified these rules regardless of gender or whether they had previous personal experience with any of these CSR5. The results suggest that each of these relationship types can be placed on a continuum of casual sex according to various dimensions, including frequency of contact, type of contact (sexual and/or social), personal disclosure, discussion of the relationship, and friendship. Participants' shared understanding of CSRs suggests that young adults may have common cultural knowledge of these relationships and a fluid conceptualization of what constitutes a relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research evaluated the impact of the Within My Reach healthy relationship education program on intimate partner violence for 419 high-risk adults in an urban area. Key outcomes such as relationship knowledge, communication/conflict resolution skills, relationship quality, and physical and emotional abuse were evaluated through survey research immediately post- and 6-months postprogram participation. Results suggest that participation in the Within My Reach program is associated with a statistically significant decrease in physical and emotional abuse, as well as isolation behaviors. Differences by participant demographics and the role of communication skills and relationship quality as mediators of these outcomes are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Exploring the concept of living successfully with aphasia challenges researchers and clinicians to identify positive rather than negative adaptive processes and factors that may inform clinical interventions and other community-based services for people with aphasia. Previous research on this topic has focused on the perspectives of individuals with aphasia, and identified a number of core components of living successfully with aphasia, including doing things, meaningful relationships, striving for a positive way of living, and communication. As service providers, speech-language pathologists may also contribute valuable insights regarding components of living successfully with aphasia and factors influencing individuals' abilities to achieve this goal. Aims: This research aimed to explore speech-language pathologists' perspectives about the meaning of living successfully with aphasia, and factors they perceive to influence individuals' abilities to live successfully with aphasia. Methods & Procedures: Twenty-five speech-language pathologists from around Australia participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews on the topic of living successfully with aphasia. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis to identify themes of relevance. Outcomes & Results: Through the analysis of speech-language pathologist participant transcripts, the following themes emerged as components of living successfully with aphasia: participation and community engagement; communication; meaningful relationships; autonomy or independence; acceptance and embracement of aphasia; self-esteem; happiness; and purpose or meaningfulness. A wide variety of factors were perceived to influence individuals' abilities to live successfully with aphasia. These included support, acceptance, and understanding; personal factors; and speech-language pathology services. Conclusions & Implications: Further research is required to extend findings by investigating how speech-language pathologists address identified themes in clinical practice. To improve service provision, continued reflection by speech-language pathologists on how services provided align with client's values and priorities is a necessity. A commitment by speech-language pathologists to work in partnership with people with aphasia and their families and friends to achieve successful living with aphasia is one way to translate this research into practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nurses and doctors undertake segregated and distinct preparation for clinical practice, yet are expected to communicate effectively with each other in the workplace. Most healthcare facilities have policies relating to written communication, but guidelines for verbal communication, which is used most in times of uncertainty and urgency, are generally less regulated. Poor communication and communication overload are shown to have a direct correlation with patient outcomes, adverse events and stressors among healthcare professionals. We suggest a guide for more effective verbal communication between nurses and doctors. We perform an integrated review of the extensive literature that identifies specific problems that contribute to ineffective communication between a doctor and nurse. We discuss these in five themes in the modern clinical context including intensification of workload, workforce mobility, differing perceptions, language use and heuristics. To combat these, we provide a four point practical guide to arm the nurse clinician with effective tools to ensure a satisfactory exchange of information in the context of patient advocacy. The guide assists in overcoming the discussed barriers by creating a premise for fostering communication, understanding each clinician's information needs in a mutually respectful manner, especially in the context of uncertainty. We recommend that a shared mental model regarding communication in health be adopted at tertiary institutions offering pre-registration nursing and medical training and techniques and be woven into respective curriculum design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews the article "Measuring relationship maintenance behaviors: Critique and development of the revised relationship maintenance behavior scale," by Laura Stafford, which appeared in the March 2011 issue of the "Journal of Social & Personal Relationships".

The most frequently utilized measures of relational maintenance (i.e., the five-factor relational maintenance strategies measure, or RMSM, and the revised seven-factor RMSM) suffer from fundamental measurement flaws. Therefore, this article describes a series of studies designed to identify weaknesses in these measures and offer an improvement — the Relational Maintenance Behavior Measure (RMBM). When sound item-construction practices are followed, neither prior RMSM is viable. However, the factor structure of the RMBM is stable across three samples. The RMBM and the five-factor RMSM were examined in association with the relational characteristics of satisfaction, liking, commitment, and love. It is argued that the RMBM is a psychometrically superior measure of the original maintenance dimensions identified in earlier research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This manuscript advances a mesolevel approach to everyday talk. Given frequent use of mediated communication within interpersonal relationships, we use a technique akin to multitrait/multimethod decomposition to separate content- and medium-specific variance sources. The results find that cross-sex friends enact everyday talk behaviors less frequently than do same-sex friends when communicating face-to-face and via telephone, but these differences do not emerge when online. After controlling for these sex differences, online communication attitudes predict everyday talk across specific media. Beyond offering methodological tools, these results may suggest cross-sex dyads communicate online to buffer against intimacy and thus preserve friendship as platonic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children and young people diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) have significant social-communication difficulties and impaired empathy and theory of mind skills. These difficulties place them at risk of developing mental health problems, particularly anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. Although Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is recognised as an effective intervention for these problems in both child and adult populations, little research has specifically looked at the use of CBT with children and young people with an AS diagnosis. However, limited evidence suggests that CBT, if suitably adapted, is a feasible and potentially helpful treatment option. This paper focuses on the clinical practice of CBT and explores how the underpinning therapeutic relationship can be modified to meet the cognitive needs of this particular group of young clients. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The proliferation of communication technologies creates many questions about these tools’ relational uses and effects. Rational Actor Theory posits that individuals consider the benefits and costs of using a channel for communicating a particular message. This study applied Rational Actor Theory to individuals’ (N = 129) channel choices during conflict episodes in their romantic relationships. Results indicated that partners using both integrating and avoiding conflict styles prefer face-to-face channels, while people using dominating styles prefer computer-mediated channels. Channel choice for conflict was not predicted by relationship length, type, or satisfaction. Only integrating and obliging conflict styles predicted relationship satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Rationale, aims and objectives Complex problems require strategies to engage diverse perspectives in a focused, flexible manner, yet few options exist that fit with the current health care and public health system constraints. The Complex Network Electronic Knowledge Translation Research model (CoNEKTR) brings together complexity science, design thinking, social learning theories, systems thinking and eHealth technologies together to support a sustained engagement strategy for social innovation support and enhancing knowledge integration. Methods The CoNEKTR model adapts elements of other face-to-face social organizing methods and combines it with social media and electronic networking tools to create a strategy for idea generation, refinement and social action. Drawing on complexity science, a series of networking and dialogue-enhancing activities are employed to bring diverse groups together, facilitate dialogue and create networks of networks. Results Ten steps and five core processes informed by complexity science have been developed through this model. Concepts such as emergence, attractors and feedback play an important role in facilitating networking among participants in the model. Conclusions Using a constrained, focused approach informed by complexity science and using information technology, the CoNEKTR model holds promise as a means to enhance system capacity for knowledge generation, learning and action while working within the limitations faced by busy health professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the communicative construction of policy knowledge within and across groups. Participants were 100 professionals and parents involved in special education and the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Structurating activity theory guided the interpretive analysis of communication and contradictions as participants developed policy knowledge over time. Results indicate that contradictions emerged as both generative mechanisms for knowledge construction and as hindrances to system transformations that would put that constructed knowledge into practice. Contradictions emerged and were managed in three knowledge construction frames: orientation, amplification, and implementation. The frames occurred in varying sequences that led to different outcomes across groups and issues. Implications are offered for theory, research, and practice regarding policy communication across related groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study a Cyber-Relationship Motives Scale was developed and validated to see what motives drive people to make friends on the Internet. The scale was developed in 4 stages: item generation, purification, parsimony, and scale validation. As results of a 4-stage empirical study 9 factors involved in cyber-relationship motives were proposed: anonymity, the opportunity to meet new people, easier communication, curiosity, emotional support, social compensation, away from the real world, love, and sexual partners. These 9 motives were then grouped into 3 dimensions: adventure, escape to a virtual world, and romance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Previous research has sufficiently highlighted the small number of nominal address forms in Standard French – a situation which Kerbrat-Orecchioni [Kerbrat-Orecchion, Cathérine, 1992. Les interactions verbales, t. 2. Armand Colin, Paris : 54] refers to as a “crisis of nominal terms of address in contemporary French” (my translation). Reinforcing this conclusion, Charaudeau and Maingueneau [Charaudeau, Patrick, Maingueneau, Dominique (ed.), 2002] give the example of kinship terms which have “limited usage in French, whereas they are very recurrent in many languages like Vietnamese, where these terms have literal as well as metaphorical meanings” (my translation). Due to the absence of some nominal address forms in Standard French or/and the fact that the existing terms cannot be accurately used in the expression and negotiation of social relations in Cameroon, francophone Cameroonians have to create new terms of address in order to satisfy some specific communication needs. This article presents the various linguistic procedures used to create new forms of address (language creativity) and gives an account of some functions of the new address patterns in the management of social relations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study investigated associations among one partner's relational satisfaction and the other partner's style of attachment and emotional communication. Findings from a questionnaire study involving 581 couples showed that participants reported more relational satisfaction when their partners scored high in security and low in dismissiveness and preoccupation. These associations between one's relational satisfaction and the partner's attachment style were partially mediated by how the partner reported communicating emotions. Specifically, participants were less satisfied in relationships with preoccupied partners who reported expressing anger using destructive communication. Participants were less satisfied with dismissive partners who reported using detached emotional communication. Finally, participants were more satisfied with secure partners who reported using prosocial emotional communication. These findings suggest that the often-cited relationship between attachment and relational satisfaction is partially explained by emotional communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little research exists into adolescents' rationales for using ICQ (I Seek You) and these adolescents' relationships with their peers, families, and strangers in ICQ communication. Our curiosity about these subjects led us to adopt a qualitative inquiry, a multiple case study of ten adolescents via purposive sampling. Three major results were discerned: (1) rationales for using ICQ as a major communication tool and for its entertainment functions, (2) contents of ICQ included the participants' school lives, peer relationships, family issues, and playing games, and (3) the participants' relationships with their peers, family, and strangers like female adolescents are more protective than males. Finally, adolescents' voices should be amplified in order to let adults respond to their contextual practices such as ICQ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The text starts from the relation between Phenomenological Sociology and Communication Science, Communicology. Although this relation can be seen, fundamentally, in the contributions that socio-phenomenological thinking makes to the studies on interaction and interpersonal communication, the text starts from the possibility of extending these reflections to the scope of the processes of media communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, a dialogical perspective has emerged in the family therapy field in which the therapist’s inner conversation is conceptualized as a dialogical self. In this study, we analyze the data of a grounded theory study of therapist reflections and we portray the therapist’s self as a dynamic multiplicity of inner positions embodied as voices, having dialogical relationships in terms of questions and answers or agreement and disagreement. We propose a descriptive model of the therapist’s inner conversation with four positions. In this model, each of the four positions represents a concern of the therapist: attending to the client’s process, processing the client’s story, focusing on the therapist’s own experience, and managing the therapeutic process. Detailed analyses of vignettes of therapist reflections illustrate the model, and implications of this model for training and supervision are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informed by the theory of normative social behavior, this article sought to determine the underlying mediating and moderating factors in the relationship between descriptive norms and behavioral intentions. Furthermore, the theory was extended by asking whether and what role behavioral identity played in normative influences. Simulating the central message of norms-based interventions to reduce college students' alcohol consumption, in this field experiment, descriptive norms were manipulated by informing half of the students (n = 665) that their peers consumed less alcohol than they might believe. Others (n = 672) were not provided any norms information. students' injunctive norms, outcome expectations, group identity, behavioral identity, and behavioral intention surrounding alcohol consumption were then measured. Exposure to the low-norms information resulted in a significant drop in estimates of the prevalence of consumption. Injunctive norms and outcome expectations partially mediated and also moderated the relationship between descriptive norms and behavioral intentions. Group identity and behavioral identity also moderated the relationship between descriptive norms and behavioral intentions, but the effect size was relatively small for group identity. Implications for health campaigns are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communication and interpersonal skills are essential elements of a physician's clinical expertise. Since 1998, the interpersonal competencies of over 37,000 internationally-trained physicians have been assessed as part of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG®) Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA®). Standardized patients (SPs) provided ratings of interpersonal skills along 4 dimensions: skills in interviewing and collecting information; skills in counseling and delivering information; rapport; and personal manner. The content of the rating scale, the development and implementation of training materials and procedures, and the psychometric characteristics of the measures are described. Data from over 400,000 simulated patient encounters were analyzed. Correlations with other measures supported the construct validity of the assessment. A generalizability study showed that the ratings were reproducible over encounters. Analysis of individual SP ratings indicated that they were consistent in their application of the scoring rubric. Overall, the findings indicate that SPs, with proper training and a benchmarked scoring rubric, can provide accurate and defensible ratings of physicians' interpersonal skills. These results may also generalize to other clinical skills assessments, or other evaluations that employ raters to judge communication abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors begin with a question regarding how to better draw upon relational thinking in making case assessments and treatment plans. They first address issues regarding the cultural construction of self and relationships, integrating women's psychology, family systems, and collectivist culture literatures within a discussion of power. Then they present a heuristic framework for how individuals orient themselves within relationships that includes two dimensions—focus and power—and evolves out of the social context. From these two dimensions, a typology of four basic relational orientations is presented: position directed, rule directed, independence directed, and relationship directed. Case examples from couple's therapy and suggestions for practice are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts to understand and prevent intimate violence have often focused on the intergenerational transmission of intimate violence. Although witnessing and/or experiencing abuse in the family of origin is well supported in the literature as a key component of the intergenerational transmission of intimate violence, there has been less attention to other family-of-origin factors that contribute to or mediate and/or moderate future intimate violence. Particularly, a focus on the effect of parenting on future intimate violence is needed beyond the effect of modeling abusive behavior. In this article, corporal punishment and poor parenting are reviewed as family-of-origin factors related to future intimate violence. In addition, attachment theory, interpersonal skills, and emotional and behavioral regulation and/or conduct disorder are reviewed as variables that may result and mediate the relationship between family-of-origin factors and future intimate violence. Implications for preventing intimate violence by intervening in the family of origin are also identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]