Adital Ben-Ari

Dyadic Characteristics of Individual Attributes: Attachment, Neuroticism, and Their Relation to Marital Quality and Closeness

The present article focuses on couple types based on 2 personality traits, attachment security and neuroticism, as they relate to 2 facets of the marital relationship--a global evaluation of relationship quality and dyadic closeness-distance. The sample consisted of 248 married couples who completed measures of attachment anxiety and avoidance, neuroticism, and marital quality, as well as levels of closeness reported over 7 consecutive days. Cluster analyses yielded 3 types of dyadic attachment configurations (secure, fearful avoidant, and insecure-mixed) and 4 types of dyadic neuroticism (low couple neuroticism, high couple neuroticism, wife neuroticism, and husband neuroticism). Significant differences were found among attachment and neuroticism dyadic types in marital quality. The findings are discussed in terms of the viability of dyadic types based on individual traits, implying that attachment security yields itself to dyadic conceptualization more than neuroticism.

A Cross-Cultural Investigation of Social Support and Burnout

A large number of studies have been published in recent years concerning social support, and a large number of studies have been published on burnout. Very few studies, however, have addressed the relationship between the two—and those that did reported conflicting results. The current exploratory study examines the different functions of social support (rather than the people who provide them) and their relationship to burnout among Israeli, Israeli Arab, Hungarian, and North American social science students (to assure subject homogeneity). Respondents were asked to rate the importance of six support functions and to indicate the extent to which they are available to them in their lives. Their responses were correlated with their burnout scores. Results showed both universal and culture-specific effects. While respondents in all four countries viewed the six support functions as very important, burnout was correlated more with the availability of support than with its importance. Different functions had ...

Processes of Reflectivity Knowledge Construction in Qualitative Research

The aim of this article is to suggest a useful approach demonstrating the focal role of processes of reflectivity in qualitative research. In particular, we distinguish between levels of analysis and analytical procedures for generating and organizing the interpretation of data and meanings in knowledge construction. We argue that reflective processes simultaneously involve both a state of mind and an active engagement. Within this context, reflective processes may refer to deliberate awareness involving both a contemplative stance (state of mind) and intentional activity aimed at recognizing differentness and generating knowledge (active engagement). Specifically, we identify four levels of reflection: observation, informants’ accounts, text deliberation, and contextualization and reconstruction. Simultaneously, we suggest several practical analytical procedures of reflectivity, which emanate from a dialectical line of thinking, including figure and ground, pre-existing expectations, apparent contradictions and opposites, and turning points (epiphanies). The dialectical approach to qualitative inquiry presented here maintains that discrepancies and opposites found at one level of analysis may be reconciled at a higher level of conceptual integration. During this process, the researcher becomes aware of the emergence of new knowledge by being attuned to a sense of differentness. We demonstrate the application of this model utilizing a concrete example taken from a research project evaluating a rehabilitation program for imprisoned male batterers.

Dyadic closeness in marriage: From the inside story to a conceptual model

Despite considerable attention devoted to theory and research on close relationships, the construct of dyadic closeness has remained vague. This article attempts to clarify the concept of closeness in couple relationships and presents a conceptual model of “dyadic closeness.” Qualitative analysis of detailed interviews indicates that dyadic closeness is perceived as a whole, indivisible, and rewarding experience. It may be conceptualized by three major distinctions: A relatively stable relationship trait versus a fluctuating situational state; emotional versus physical closeness; and the constructed meanings of closeness versus its expressions.

Cultural Orientation, Ethnic Affiliation, and Negative Daily Occurrences: A Multidimensional Cross-Cultural Analysis

The present research focuses on cultural variations in the experience of daily stresses and strains. It simultaneously examines the experiences of daily hassles among people holding different cultural orientations (individualistic vs. collectivist) and different socioethnic groups (Jews and Arabs). Data were gathered from 662 Jewish and 300 Arab Israeli respondents by means of a random telephone number dialing. Differences were found in self-related hassles between individuals holding different cultural orientations and in family-related hassles between members of different ethnic affiliations. Multidimensional scaling analysis revealed a different configuration of relations among hassle domains in four groups of Ethnic Affiliation X Cultural Orientation, yielding a continuum from most typical individualists to most typical collectivists, with groups in cultural transition found in between.

Power Relations and Reciprocity Dialectics of Knowledge Construction

In this article we suggest a theoretical framework of knowledge construction by employing the concept of dialectics to power relationships between researcher and participants. Power distribution in research is perceived as dichotomous and asymmetrical in favor of the researcher, creating unequal power relations that make exploitation possible. Acknowledging such exploitation has led to a critical stance and attempts to bridge gaps through egalitarianism and empowerment of participants. Some scholars have focused on shifting expert knowledge differentials between researcher and participants throughout the research project. Others have evaluated such gaps as a source of knowledge construction. In the present work we applied a dialectical approach to understanding research relationships, suggesting reciprocity as their defining attribute, regardless of symmetry or asymmetry and as a source of knowledge construction. In this article we recommend avoiding a taken-for-granted attitude, because we see it as a direct obstacle to the construction of knowledge.

Well-Being among Minority Students The Role of Perceived Social Support

• Summary: The present study explores the relationship between perceived social support and well-being among students in the two main populations living in Israel: Jews and Arabs. More specifically, it compares the well-being of Israeli Jewish students and Palestinian students and examines the role of social support in their well-being. The sample comprised 207 undergraduate students in the schools of social work and nursing at one of the major universities in Israel, where more than half of the Palestinian students are enrolled. Three instruments were used: Psychological distress was measured by both the Brief Symptoms Inventory Scale(BSI;Derogatis, 1979) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck and Steer, 1987); perceived social support was assessed by the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support(MSPSS;Zimet et al., 1988). • Findings: Findings show that the Palestinian students are significantly more distressed than their Jewish counterparts, according to all measures of well-being. At the same time, their perceived social support is significantly higher than that of the Jewish students. • Applications: The significance of the findings is discussed within the frameworks of stress and social support theories, as well as the modernization process and the prevailing norms and values of Arab culture.

Sense of Differentness in the Construction of Knowledge.

This article contributes to the body of knowledge on qualitative interviewing in as much as it highlights the inherent connection between a sense of differentness among interview partners and processes of knowledge construction, which is the overarching goal of qualitative research. The authors argue that a sense of differentness serves as the starting point for the production of knowledge through exploration and reflection, conflict, negotiation, and argumentation. For heuristic purposes, the authors organize the analysis around four conceptual alternatives regarding agreement or disagreement with respect to the moral stances of interview partners. The authors then examine each of the alternatives in terms of its implications for the knowledge construction process and discuss them with regard to ontological, epistemological, and moral levels of analysis.

Cooperation and Conflict in Qualitative Research: A Dialectical Approach to Knowledge Production:

Our goal with this article is to present a dialectical approach to examining the interaction between researchers and research participants. A dialectical approach maintains that an apparent contradiction at one level might, in fact, be integrated as a synthesis of the two opposing poles at a higher level of conceptual analysis. We claim that a research approach advocating either pole might limit understanding of the complexity of the phenomenon in question. The interaction between researchers and research participants might be conceived of as creating a continuum ranging from cooperation to conflict. We adopt a dialectical perspective, and propose a whole spectrum of interactive styles between cooperation and conflict. Although some of these interactions might be perceived as a hindrance to knowledge production, we treat them as opportunities for the production of knowledge and the enhancement of interests of the study’s target population.

Rethinking Closeness and Distance in Intimate Relationships Are They Really Two Opposites

In this article, the author presents a theoretical scheme focusing on the relation between closeness and distance in intimate relationships. This challenges a commonly held notion, which maintains that the two constructs are opposite poles on a single continuum. The authors present an alternative conceptualization employing dialectical and reflective thinking, resulting in a multidimensional conceptual model. Accordingly, apparent opposites at preliminary dimensions of experience may be unified into a shared construction of dyadic closeness and distance, when reflected on through a higher systemic mode of thinking. This process leads to a second-order level of dyadic closeness, which is indicative of the quality of the intimate relationship. The relevance of the model to different cultural contexts, as well as its implications for theory, research, and practice, are elaborated and discussed.