Based on the life histories of residents from La Victoria, a poor settlement in Santiago, Chile, this study reconstructed the central biographic elements in individual empowerment processes, linking them with the sociocultural context in which they occurred. Results show the following main characteristics related to individual empowerment:…

In line with the cognitive-contextual framework proposed by Grych and Fincham (1990), evidence suggests that children exposed to interparental conflict (IPC) are at risk for experiencing conflict within their own intimate relationships. The mediating role of adolescent appraisal in the relation between IPC and adolescent dating behavior was…

Social contexts in which confidants get to know each other affect the composition of their personal networks, inter alia the similarity among confidants. Results from analyses on a representative sample of the Dutch population between 18 and 65 years of age (SSND 2000), support the idea that differences in similarity among confidants can be…

Using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Survey, a birth cohort study, this study analyzes the effect of family structure on parenting for 3,402 mothers and 2,615 fathers. To address the problem of omitted variable bias, fixed effects methods are used to control for the presence of time-invariant unobserved…

This study tested associations between adolescent romantic functioning and depressive symptoms and predicted that adolescents with emotionally unavailable parents would be most likely to show an association between poor romantic functioning and depressive symptoms. Data collected from 80 early adolescent nonreferred girls (average age of 13.45; SD…

This autoethnographic study addresses the newly appointed counselling trainer's question "How did I get here?" The procedure is described, and findings are presented as partial narratives of the Wounded Dancer, poems and prose written from different voices. Themes are revealed of love, healing, risk taking, unconventionality, physicality and…

This paper examines the recent politics, policy and practice of sex and relationships education (SRE) in the UK. It defines SRE and offers best-practice principles. The paper briefly examines why sexual pleasure is not addressed in SRE and concludes with some issues and challenges to ensure that the entitlement of future generations of young…

A survey found that 69.2% of a sample of 208 Latino university students in south Texas owned companion animals. Dogs were the most commonly owned companion animals, and 92% of dog and cat guardians regarded their companion animals as family members. Over 80% of the dog and cat guardians specified companionship and unconditional love as benefits…

This study examined older siblings' influence on their younger brothers and sisters by assessing the connections between youth's perceptions of sibling influence and sibling similarities in four domains: Risky behavior, peer competence, sports interests, and art interests. Participants included two adolescent-age siblings (firstborn age M=17.34;…

The authors examined the associations between internalized homophobia, outness, community connectedness, depressive symptoms, and relationship quality among a diverse community sample of 396 lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals. Structural equation models showed that internalized homophobia was associated with greater relationship problems…

This study builds on the existing knowledge of risk factors for lethal intimate partner violence (IPV) and typologies of IPV abusers by exploring patterns of abusive partners' behaviors among known risk factors for intimate partner femicide (i.e., murder of women) and determines if groups of survivors with similar patterns of abusive behaviors…

Presents relationship maturity, developmental conception of intimacy, as unifying conceptual framework for understanding intimate involvement of adolescence as part of major developmental process. Examines specific context of intimacy in adolescence, role of gender in intimacy development, interplay of identity and intimacy development, and…

Examined the choice of confidant among a sample of married persons aged 55 and over. Found less than 30 percent of the women and 40 percent of the men reported confiding in their spouses; those who confided in their spouses had markedly higher levels of marital satisfaction than others. (Author/ABL)

Presents previously unpublished paper written by Abraham Maslow in April 1968 in which Maslow speculates on the issue that society had become pathologically individualistic and needed to develop better means of facilitating close relationships among people. (Author/ABL)

Identifies nine dimensions of intimacy, each having four interrelated components. Clinical assessments of these dimensions and components can be accomplished by use of the Marital Intimacy Needs Questionnaire. Offers an introduction to the instrument. (Author/MKA)