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The purpose of this study was to more closely examine the association between avoidance and satisfaction during a potentially conflict-inducing conversation with one's dating partner. The results suggest that the way people respond to their own and their partner's conflict avoidance depends upon whether they are male or female. The perception of one's partner's avoidance and one's own avoidance were only dissatisfying for women. Moreover, although the chilling effect (M. E. Roloff & D. H. Cloven, 1990) was present for both men and women, it only affected women's relationship satisfaction. The results also revealed that the association between conflict avoidance and dissatisfaction was bidirectional for women. For both men and women, the more dissatisfied they were entering into the conversation, the more they avoided during it. Women's avoidance, however, also negatively influenced their relationship satisfaction. Finally, the strength of the associations suggests that satisfaction may have a slightly stronger impact on avoidance than avoidance has on satisfaction.

The purpose of this study was to more closely examine the association between avoidance and satisfaction during a potentially conflict-inducing conversation with one's dating partner. The results suggest that the way people respond to their own and their partner's conflict avoidance depends upon whether they are male or female. The perception of one's partner's avoidance and one's own avoidance were only dissatisfying for women. Moreover, although the chilling effect (M. E. Roloff & D. H. Cloven, 1990) was present for both men and women, it only affected women's relationship satisfaction. The results also revealed that the association between conflict avoidance and dissatisfaction was bidirectional for women. For both men and women, the more dissatisfied they were entering into the conversation, the more they avoided during it. Women's avoidance, however, also negatively influenced their relationship satisfaction. Finally, the strength of the associations suggests that satisfaction may have a slightly stronger impact on avoidance than avoidance has on satisfaction. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2009.01355.x

The primary goal of this manuscript is to advance a new risk revelation model (RRM) that explains the factors that predict when people will reveal or continue to conceal secrets. We propose, among other things, that people assess the risks involved with the disclosure of secrets and that this risk assessment is what predicts people's 'readiness' or willingness to reveal them. People are more willing to reveal their secrets under certain conditions: (1) for catharsis, (2) if the target needs to know/has the right to know the information, and (3) if other people (including the target) are encouraging the person to reveal the secret. Finally, the RRM assumes that people are more willing to actually reveal their secret when they have communication efficacy or they believe they have the ability to talk about it. The second goal of this manuscript was to use the RRM to predict the types of strategies people use to reveal their secrets. As a part of this process, we also generated an exhaustive list (and corresponding scale) of the strategies people use to reveal their secrets, which was the final goal of the manuscript. The findings and implications of the RRM and the strategies for revealment are discussed. Keywords: Secrets; Revealment; Strategies for Revelation; Family Relationships

This study uses framing to assess how the office of the President of the United States is depicted on NBC's The West Wing. This work represents a theoretical and empirical domain extension of framing in political communication, an area of study dominated by analyses of news content. Three distinct presidential depictions are analyzed: chief executive, political candidate, and private citizen. This quantitative content analysis of the 2001-2002 The West Wing television season addresses the frequency with which the fictional president performs these three roles and posits several hypotheses concerning the relative presentation of personality characteristics across contexts. All three roles are represented with substantive frequency, with the chief executive role dominating. Principled character traits are evident more often when the fictional President Bartlet is acting as chief executive than as a private citizen. Conversely, Bartlet presents more engaging personality traits when acting as a private citizen than as either chief executive or political candidate. Implications for these finding are outlined and future lines of research are detailed. Keywords: The West Wing; Framing; Depictions; Role display; Entertainment television; Politics

This study uses communication privacy management theory (CPM; Petronio, 2002) to examine interracial romantic partners' privacy rule development criteria and privacy control tactics. Semistructured interviews (N = 27) were subjected to a thematic analysis. Results reveal that although interracial partners perceive societal opposition, many choose to disclose relational information to social network members. Participants experience power struggles with co-owners in managing their private, relational information, and their disclosures often follow sequences that align with relational turning points. Findings suggest that mixed-race couples frequently partake in both an interracial and intercultural identity, which carries with it additional opportunities for disclosure negotiations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Guided by communication privacy management theory and appraisal theories of emotion this study examined how emotions (hurt, anger, and fear) and communicative responses (approach and withdrawal strategies) to boundary turbulence correspond with relational outcomes. A community sample of individuals (N = 273) reported on instances when another person mishandled their private information. Results showed that hurt, anger, fear, distancing, and a combination of anger and distributive responses all corresponded with relational damage, whereas integrative responses and anger were associated with relational improvement. Taken together, our study provides evidence that boundary turbulence does not have to be a negative experience and can actually result in improved relational functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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]