1. The Social Microcosm Revisited: A Replication of Kivlighan et al. (2021) on the Reciprocal Relationship Between In-Session and Intersession Intimate Behaviors.
- Author
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Lo Coco, Gianluca, Kivlighan Jr., Dennis M., Di Blasi, Maria, Giordano, Cecilia, Giannone, Francesca, and Gullo, Salvatore
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SEXUAL partners , *STATISTICAL models , *INTERPERSONAL psychotherapy , *GRADUATE students , *ANGER , *BEHAVIOR , *GROUP psychotherapy , *STRUCTURAL equation modeling , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *HYPOTHESIS , *INTERPERSONAL relations , *PSYCHOSOCIAL factors , *INTIMACY (Psychology) - Abstract
The present study represents a replication and extension of Kivlighan et al.'s (2021) study, focusing on the social microcosm hypothesis, which posits that group members' interpersonal relationships, operationalized by intimate behaviors such as expressing anger or caring, inside the group, mirror their interpersonal relationships outside of the group. We examined the reciprocal associations between a group member's (e.g., actors) and the other group members' (e.g., partners) in-session and intersession intimate behaviors. The participants were 122 Italian graduate students (89.3% identifying as women) participating in eight-session interpersonal growth groups led by six experienced group therapists. Before each session group members completed the Interpersonal Relations Scale Checklist (Shadish, 1984) indicating their intersession intimate behaviors in the previous week. After each session group members completed the Interpersonal Relations Scale Checklist indicating their own in-session intimate behaviors. We used dynamic structural equation modeling to examine the reciprocal, temporal associations among group members' intersession and in-session intimate behaviors. The replication hypotheses were not confirmed. However, when partners engaged in higher than average intersession intimate behaviors in the previous week, then actors engaged in more in-session intimate behaviors in the current session. In addition, when actors and partners engaged in higher than average in-session intimate behaviors in the previous session, then actors engaged in significantly more intersession intimate behaviors in the current week. The results provide partial support for social microcosm theory, which predicts a reciprocal relationship for in-session and intersession intimate behaviors. As described above, there was a reciprocal relationship for partners' but not for actors' intimate behaviors. Public Significance Statement: We examined the reciprocal relationship between a group member's intimate behaviors and the aggregate of other group members' intimate behaviors. If the other members of the group engage in more intimate behaviors, like sharing feelings and expressing anger or caring, in their relationships outside of group during the previous week, then a group member will be more likely to engage in these intimate behaviors in the current group session. In addition, if the group member and the other members of the group learn and practice new intimate behaviors in the previous group session, then the group member will be more likely to engage in these intimate behaviors in their relationships outside of the group during the current week. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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