Used longitudinal data from National Survey of Children to examine parent-child relationships in middle childhood and early adolescence. Found fathers much more involved with sons and tending to concentrate on more instrumental facets of support, whereas mothers tended to be more supportive across genders in traditional, affective sense.…

Examines gender and three aspects of couples' (N=50) marital intimacy using a method establishing both objective and subjective indices of intimacy. Results suggest that high intimacy is based on both understanding and similarity of intimate experience. Women reported higher levels of intimacy and were also better than men in predicting their…

Compares 32 nonfamilial child molesters with 32 comparable nonoffenders on measures of empathy, intimacy, loneliness, and self-esteem. Results indicate that the child molesters were deficient in empathy, intimacy, and self-esteem. Among the offenders, the correlations between scores on most of the measures had higher values than among the…

Examines associations between relationship duration, qualities, and sexual behaviors in adolescent couples (N=61). Frequency of sexual behavior and perception of global relationship predicted relationship length. Positive relationship qualities were associated with relationship longevity for male partners only. Discusses findings in light of gaps…

Friends with benefits relationships (FWBRs) are defined as relationships between cross-sex friends in which the friends engage in sexual activity but do not define their relationship as romantic. Relationship scholars have only recently begun to examine these relationships, despite their mention in the popular media (e.g., HBO's 'Sex in the City,'…

The authors examined the relationship between sibling structure variables (i.e., gender, number of sisters, number of brothers, sibling spacing, number of siblings, and birth order, all men, and all women siblings) and current relationships with parents and spouse/partners. Participants included 519 adults between the ages of 19 and 59 years. Two…

The authors describe 2 studies on the development of the Dyadic Almost Perfect Scale (A. J. Shea & R. B. Slaney, 1999). In Study 1 (N = 389), confirmatory analyses validated the factor structure of the measure, and additional results supported the reliability and construct validity of the subscale scores. In Study 2 (N = 280), data again…

With the emergence of a new generation of strong and empowered female student leaders on college campuses, a special type of female leader, the Alpha Female, has developed. This study examines the essence of having an Alpha Female identity for 13 undergraduate women at a Midwestern university. Extensive interviews were conducted; transcripts were…

This study examined the psychometric properties of an adolescent version of the "triangular love scale" (TLS), which assesses three components of romantic relationships: intimacy, passion, and commitment. Using data from 435 Dutch adolescents aged 12-18 years, we found evidence for convergent validity, showing that dimensions of…

The links between changes in sibling conflict and intimacy and changes in perceived peer social competence and depression symptoms were examined from middle childhood through adolescence. Participants were mothers, fathers and first- and second-born siblings from 197 White, working/middle class, two-parent families. Peer competence peaked in …

Comments on the article by Robert Bornstein, "The complex relationship between dependency and domestic violence: Converging psychological factors and social forces." Although a more focused examination of the psychological factors involved in domestic violence is welcome, there are some factual errors in Bornstein's article that need attention and…

Drawing on a larger ethnographic study of four high school young men, this paper foregrounds high school male-male friendships as a context for examining how heterosexism and homophobia operate to limit and delimit the ways masculinities are constructed. I begin this article by first highlighting an inconsistency between recent school initiatives…

Background: In the UK and elsewhere, there is a growing policy and legislative imperative to ensure that people with intellectual disabilities are supported to develop relationships, including sexual ones. However, gay, lesbian and bisexual people with intellectual disabilities may have additional needs or face particular barriers in this area of…

Heterosocial interactions, or social interactions with other-sex peers, are theorized to serve a number of unique developmental functions for adolescents (e.g., companionship, intimacy, experimentation with sex-role behaviors and sexual activity). Yet despite the importance of heterosocial competence in adolescent social development, there exists…

An indifference to the affective domain and an allegiance to the education of the rational autonomous subject and public citizen are at the heart of formal education. The impact of Cartesian rationalism is intensifying with the glorification of performativity measured by league tables and rankings. The citizen carer and the care recipient citizen…