Discusses conceptual model highlighting renegotiation of relationships and redefinition of boundaries in divorced family system. Considers issues of intimacy and power boundary redefinition between parents and children and between former spouses regarding grief and self-efficacy. Suggests boundaries should be formal, distant, and rigid. (CRR)

Finds that relationship intimacy interacts with privacy violation types to affect the likelihood of using certain interaction control strategies. Shows that the need for not neighboring interacted with type of privacy invasion to affect the likelihood of using expression of negative arousal strategies. (SR)

Examined data on frequency with which relationship conflict is experienced in specific content areas and relationship satisfaction for both partners of 75 gay, 51 lesbian, and 108 heterosexual couples who lived together without children. Couple scores fell into six clusters that represented areas of conflict regarding power, social issues,…

Estimated causal pathways that link depression and dissatisfaction in intimate relationships in 115 depressed patients during first 12 weeks of treatment. Depression severity, as measured by Beck Depression Inventory, was negatively correlated with relationship satisfaction at intake and at 12 weeks. Structural equation modeling was not consistent…

Examined adolescents' abilities to discipline themselves in school by administering Family-of-Origin Scale to 76 self-disciplined and 51 externally disciplined high school students. Findings suggest that students requiring external discipline perceive significantly less intimacy with their families than do students who behave in generally more…

Investigates intimate play in college students' same-sex friendships and opposite-sex romantic relationships. Derives a typology of eight play forms, and finds playfulness a strong correlate of relationship closeness. Finds differences among the eight play forms on the functions of indexing intimacy, lessening interpersonal risk, distancing self…

Examined grief reactions of bereaved parents following infant death as function of marital intimacy and selected parental, infant, and situational variables. Findings from 57 bereaved couples revealed that women rated their grief reactions higher than their spouse. Best predictor of mothers' grief was suddenness of death. For fathers, lower…

Investigated whether greater affection between adult children and their parents leads to more social contact, social contact leads to greater affection, or each mutually influences other. Found reciprocal influence between contact and affection in mother-child relationship, not in father-child relationship. Concluded that motivations for contact…

Explores individual developmental and family system factors associated with running away. In model presented, ability of youth to successfully individuate is tied to overarching tolerances for autonomy and intimacy that exist within family system. Running away, in this perspective, is viewed as conflict-induced effort on the part of youth to…

Identified influence strategies used by elderly care-receiving mothers and their caregiving daughters, including positive strategies, overt and covert negative strategies, and option seeking. Findings from 64 mother-daughter pairs revealed that mother's health, level of dependency, and residence were not related to most strategy use. Negative…

Examines the extent to which perceived inequity is related to perceived marital intimacy with couples married five or less years. Inequity was associated with lower levels of overall intimacy, identity, and expressiveness among wives. Among husbands, inequity was not associated with any types of intimacy. When comparing husbands and wives in…

Asserts that, although technological advances afford opportunities for reclaiming sexual functioning, even among individuals with chronic illness or devastating injury, they cannot ensure that sexual outlet will facilitate intimacy in a committed relationship. Explains how sex therapy addresses dysfunction in an essential relational context, and…

Data from a survey of social activities of adults aged 70 or older reflect fairly extensive social involvement, a positive state of affairs given that social activity is crucial to maintaining physical and psychological well-being. Findings affirm the importance of sustaining long-term friendships and social networks of moderate density,…

This study examined the nature and correlates of different patterns of perceived control in adolescents' relationships with their best friends. Participants included firstborn adolescents (M = 14.94 years), their younger siblings (M = 12.44 years) and both their mothers and fathers in 163 families as well as a best friend of each adolescent (M =…

The author, a Manhattan-based psychotherapist, contrasts the fascinating but profound differences between the autobiographical narratives of young college students and the free-associative unconscious voices of patients engaged in the process of psychotherapy. The author begins by recounting the immense impact of his own divorce upon his…