The trend toward bigger schools has been accompanied by a huge increase in overall youth misconduct, as measured by homicides, suicides, and arrest rates, and by declining achievement test scores. Students in smaller schools have fewer, but more intense and enduring relationships with adults in their school life. Modest ameliorative proposals are…

Two studies used a job interview role-play situation to examine strategies that interviewers employed when asking personal as compared to neutral questions. They found that personal questions were asked later in the interview than neutral questions and that more hesitation markers, tag questions, and hedges were used with personal questions than…

Twenty-seven married couples completed Adult Attachment Interview, were rated as secure or insecure with respect to attachment, and completed measures of marital satisfaction. Found that self-reported marhdal satisfaction was not related to adult attachment classifications. Insecure-secure and secure-secure dyads did not differ, but both groups…

Examined associations between levels of satisfaction and intimacy in, and longevity of, dating relationships involving first-year college students and their back-home partners. Findings from 89 students revealed that satisfaction was effective predictor of relationship stability for both sexes. Other components of men's and women's respective…

Examined affiliation need and interpersonal closeness in college students (n=74). Need for social comparison declined with age for both sexes; females were more attached to their partners than were males. For females only, adolescents' need for stimulation peaked around age 18 or 19 and then declined, and need for emotional support declined in…

Investigated effects of interventions from Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Cognitive Marital Therapy (CMT) on levels of marital intimacy, dyadic trust, and dyadic adjustment. Thirty-six couples free of marital distress and seeking to enhance their intimate relationship were randomly assigned to EFT, CMT, or control group. Both treatment…

Examines the thoughts romantic partners (one or both of whom were enrolled in introductory communication courses) have during the course of interaction. Indicates that those dissatisfied with their relationship expressed significantly more negative thoughts. Suggests that there are distinctions between the concurrent cognitions of satisfied and…

Eleventh- and twelfth-grade adolescents (N=18) were videotaped during same-sex and opposite-sex interactions. In both grades, females felt more comfortable during same-sex interactions and rated their same-sex partners more positively than did males. Females in both grades and eleventh-grade males showed more peer intimacy than did twelfth-grade…

Grieving following the loss of a romantic relationship in young adulthood was examined (N=148). Sex differences, disenfranchisement of grief by others, beliefs about loss, who initiated breakup, and recovery time were studied. Findings point to the importance of recognizing grief reactions in counseling and psychotherapy with young adults. (EMK)

Explores intimacy enhancement through a psychoeducational method, the Practical Application of Intimate Relationship Skills (PAIRS) Program. Participants were more distressed and less intimate than general population. Clients' perceptions of intimacy and what maintains intimacy were measured. Findings suggest a multifaceted view of intimacy.…

Reflects on the author's own personal background as a reader, including how television led her to more books and sparked her interest in a literary career. Discusses why, in a technological society, people care about literature. Argues that the Internet has its valuable uses, and that literature and technology can be good friends. (SR)

Examines the association of attachment organization and recalled grief responses following the dissolution of a romantic relationship. Data based on college students' (N=118) responses resulted in four interpretable grief themes. Preoccupied attachment predicted self-reproach, fearful attachment predicted partner blame, whereas both fearful and…

Investigates the influence of childhood physical abuse and gender on intimacy. Results, based on 276 college students, indicate that nonabused respondents were significantly higher in intimacy than were abused respondents. No significant gender differences were found. Findings suggest that child abuse hinders children in forming intimate…

Using data from a longitudinal study of adolescents (N=608), an examination was made into the connection between the experience of physical discipline in childhood and violence in intimate relationships. It was determined that harsh physical punishment in childhood is directly related to greater perpetration of violence later against an intimate…

Considers how various theories of nonverbal adaptation feature behavioral valence and degree of behavioral change as critical elements affecting whether changes in nonverbal intimacy are met with reciprocity or compensation among 100 undergraduate student romantic dyads. Makes comparisons across five conditions: very low intimacy, low intimacy,…