Touch avoidance is a nonverbal communication predisposition that consists of same sex touch avoidance and opposite sex touch avoidance. It is related to communication apprehension, self-disclosure, self-esteem, and a series of cultural role variables. These seem to have the greatest relationship with the measures of touch avoidance. (Author)

Examined relationship betwen attitude toward death and the terminal patient and communication with terminally ill in 103 medical students and 15 family physicians. Relationships were found between indices (Terminal Illness Questionnaire, Threat Index) and factors used in determining whether to reveal a terminal diagnosis. (Author/NRB)

Examined the frequency with which men and women anticipated disclosure of information in four topic areas: parental, achievement, sexual, and global. Findings indicate that men predicted more negative ramifications for all topics than women, while women predicted more positive ramifications than men. (Author/ABB)

Examined relationships between self-disclosure and marital satisfaction in 50 couples. On self-report measures, husbands' disclosure to wives was positively related to and predictive of husbands' marital satisfaction. Wives' disclosure to husbands was a predictor of husbands' marital satisfaction and positively related to and predictive of wives'…

Examined the influence of a confidant and the characteristics of that relationship on the well-being of 1,200 older men. In general, the presence of a confidant or characteristics of the confidant (sex, age, contact, frequency) had little influence on well-being. Intimacy and disclosure may be less important to men. (JAC)

The increased use of qualitative research methods has spurred interest in developing formal standards for assessing its validity. These standards, however, fall short if they do not include public disclosure of methods as a criterion. The researcher must be accountable in documenting the actions associated with establishing internal validity…

Explored questions about the power of family life-cycle categories to predict marital quality, the trend of marital quality over the family life-cycle, and relationships between perceived marital quality and family life-cycle categories. Results indicated family life-cycle and total number of children were significant predictors of marital…

Argues that government has a commitment to protect the right of the public to government information. Maintains that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is of value in protecting that right, and that some proposed categorical exemptions from FOIA disclosure requirements are unjustified. (Author/MJL)

Develops a new scale of parental attachment and examines the contention that romantic attachment is a function of interaction between parental and partner attachment style. Finds that parental and partner attachments both influenced the final form of romantic attachment. Finds that relationship security related positively to intentional and honest…

Identifies and summarizes key provisions of the privacy regulations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Suggests approaches a university can take to achieve compliance with those provisions, and discusses issues raised by the privacy regulations that are of particular relevance to the academic community. (EV)

Describes the Self Knowledge Symposium, a student group with chapters at three North Carolina universities, that exists to lead students on a search for spirituality without the trappings of traditional religions. Discusses implications of the personal disclosure required of members and accusations that the group is actually a cult of personality.…

A majority of 195 Society of Human Resource Management members surveyed favored direct disclosure of a disability at or after a job interview, but a sizable minority recommended indirect disclosure prior to the interview. Most (57%) believed their organization provides a supportive environment for people with disabilities. (SK)

Findings from 27 gay male adolescents revealed that most respondents reported feeling different from other boys as children. Average age of first crush on another boy was 12.7 years; average age for realizing they were gay was 12.5 years. Traditional family values played greater role in predicting coming out experiences than did race. (Author/NB)

Presents four possible alternatives for handling intrafamily confidentiality, and evaluates the alternatives in accordance with Kitchener's ethical principles. Concludes that confidentiality exists for the benefit of the client, and when that benefit ceases to exist or is overridden by other factors, alternatives to absolute confidentiality must…

Reviews six empirical studies of open adoption and presents data from two new studies. Both the review and the new data support optimism about adoptive and biological parents' response to the openness in their relationship. (MDM)