Clinicians and researchers are beginning to acknowledge the importance of integrating a developmental perspective into the understanding of clinical disorders. Major gaps still exist between basic research on attachment processes and clinical issues regarding mental disorders. Reflecting growth in this direction, National Institute of Mental…

Homeroom "power" (the capability to affect students' feelings, attitudes, or behaviors) varies by meeting frequency and length, amount of student turnover, faculty members' length of assignment with one group of students, and number of allotted tasks. Homerooms can be revived to promote a communitarian spirit and serve students' need for…

Aspects of intimacy and satisfaction were explored for a volunteer sample of 54 Mexican American and 30 Anglo-American married couples. Data were collected by questionnaire through network sampling. Partner similarity was evident in all three groups, and marital satisfaction was best predicted for all groups by passionate love scores. (FC)

The relationship between identity and intimacy development was studied using 71 male and 71 female college students over a 5-week period using 3 theoretical models reflecting possible gender distinctions. Cross-lag panel correlation investigated the validity of the models. Evidence in support of the models is evaluated. (SLD)

Examined social interaction and depression among 42 elderly persons. Found depression was negatively correlated with measure of quantity of social interaction entailing frequent conversations and positively correlated with having reciprocally intimate relationships. Findings suggest that depression in older adults is negatively related to having…

Investigates the degree of intimacy in the relationships of children of divorce with their parents and peers. Utilizes a study of 208 urban, Israeli elementary school children. Findings indicate that divorce may hurt object relations with the father and decrease intimacy with mother and friends. (FMW)

Examined 15-year olds' descriptions of dating partners and romance. Dating experiences were brief in duration, though intense in frequency of contact. Affiliative qualities more than attachment qualities characterized their conscious views of romance. Girls were more likely than boys to mention interpersonal qualities, while boys were more likely…

Reviews existing data regarding the etiology and treatment of male and female sexual dysfunctions. Discusses the use of multidimensional assessment models, especially in the evaluation of erectile dysfunction and sexual pain disorders. Despite the conceptual and technological sophistication of current approaches, treatment outcomes are…

Discusses classic and contemporary approaches to the assessment of female sexuality. General approaches, assessment strategies, and models of female sexuality are organized within the conceptual domains of sexual behaviors, sexual responses, and individual differences, including general and sex-specific personality models. Highlights trends and…

College students (n=175) reported the parenting style of their mother and father and completed a scale assessing their own level of codependency. Parenting style of the father (uninvolved, permissive, authoritarian, or democratic) was related to offspring codependency. Both sons and daughters of authoritarian fathers had higher levels of…

Examined association of adult attachment styles and Rusbult's investment model of relationships. Responses from 239 participants indicated those who are securely attached experience greater satisfaction, fewer costs, and greater commitment in their relationships than do other attachment groups. Other findings and implications for counseling were…

College students read vignettes and rated behavior of adult, identified as stepfather or father and depicted as spanking child (Study 1) or behaving affectionately toward child (Study 2). Findings revealed less positive perception of stepfathers, compared to fathers, carrying out disciplinary role in Study 1. In Study 2, affectionate stepfathers…

Adolescents (n=349) completed questionnaire evaluating friendships, expectations, intimacy and attachment, and conflict with friends. Found small differences in friendship network across gender and age. Girls expected more from their friends than did boys, and girls' level of attachment and intimacy with friends was greater. Number of friends in…

Explored position that relational patterns indicative of Personal Authority in Family System occur during fourth and early fifth decades of life. Participants were 232 university students. Canonical correlations revealed that, as age increases, amount of variance accounted for by nuclear family triangulation, intergenerational intimidation, and…

Utilizes the lyrics of popular recordings to illustrate how intense emotional involvements can affect individual behavior as it examines the lyrical question, "What kind of fool am I?" The commentary is supplemented by an extensive discography featuring more than 150 recordings released over the past five decades. (AEF)