Anne Milek

Engendering communication: a perspective on ICT access and usage in Africa

Purpose – Information communication technologies (ICTs) are widely seen as having the potential to contribute positively to economic growth and development and to improve the livelihoods and quality of life of individuals and households and yet access to ICTs and usage of them remains highly inequitable. This paper aims to identify areas of inequality in access to ICTs between men and women in Africa.Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on the Research ICT Africa (RIA) household and individual ICT survey conducted in 17 African countries between 2007/2008 the paper provides an empirical basis for assessing gender dimensions of ICT access and usage. Additionally, focus group studies were conducted in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda to gain a greater qualitative understanding of access to and usage of ICTs from a gender perspective.Findings – Although the results confirmed in many countries the widely held belief that men have greater access to ICTs than women in some instances more wo...

Trajectories of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in Significant Others of Patients With Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

Long-term psychological distress has been reported among significant others of patients who sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI). This study examined the course and potential predictors of posttraumatic stress symptoms in a relative sample (N = 135) drawn from a national cohort study on severe TBI in Switzerland. Latent growth mixture model analyses revealed two main groups: Across 3, 6, and 12 months after the accident, 63% of the sample indicated fairly low symptom severity (“resilient” course), whereas 37% showed persistence of “higher distress” as indicated by elevated scores on the Impact of Event Scale–Revised. Group membership was significantly associated with self-reported dysfunctional disclosure style. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Role of clarity of other's feelings for dyadic coping: Clarity of feelings and dyadic coping

Dyadic coping has repeatedly been associated with positive outcomes in intimate relationships. However, less is known about the prospective predictors of dyadic coping. This study investigates clarity of others feelings (CoF) as a potential predictor of supportive dyadic coping in a longitudinal study. In a sample of 368 couples, self-reported CoF and supportive dyadic coping perceived by the partner were assessed annually over 3 years. Results revealed that interpersonal differences in men and womens CoF are positively associated with interpersonal differences in supportive dyadic coping. Moreover, interpersonal differences in mens CoF predicted long-term intrapersonal changes in supportive dyadic coping of both partners. Couple intervention programs might strengthen couples dyadic coping skills by targeting mens understanding of their partners feelings.

The interplay of couple’s shared time, women’s intimacy, and intradyadic stress.

Theoretically, spending time together should be central for couples to build intimacy and should be associated with less relationship stress; however, few empirical studies have examined these links. The present study used 14 days of diary data from 92 women to investigate the interplay between the amount of time they spent with their partner (shared time), intimacy, and daily stress originating inside the relationship (intradyadic stress) on a within- and between-personal level. Multilevel analyses revealed moderation patterns: For example, when women spent more time with their partners than usual on a weekday with low levels of intradyadic stress, they reported higher intimacy. These associations varied substantially between women and were weaker on the weekend or on days with high levels of intradyadic stress. At the between-person level, higher average shared time appeared to buffer the negative association between intradyadic stress and intimacy. Our results suggest that daily fluctuations in intradyadic stress, intimacy, and shared time may have different implications compared with aggregated amounts of those variables. Spending more time together on a weekday with low intimacy might be linked to more intradyadic stress, but aggregated over the long run, spending more time together may provide opportunities for stress resolution and help couples to maintain their intimacy.

Stress, dyadic coping, and relationship satisfaction in late adolescent couples:

In adult couples, stress emerging outside the relationship (extra-dyadic stress) spills over into the relationship evoking conflict between the partners (intra-dyadic stress), which itself has a negative effect on relationship satisfaction over time. This detrimental effect of stress spillover can be buffered by adequate dyadic coping (DC) skills of both partners. The current study aimed at replicating these effects in a sample of 96 Swiss adult couples and 124 Swiss late adolescent (non-cohabitating) couples, who were in a serious relationship for at least 1 year. We examined (a) whether extra-dyadic stress is associated with intra-dyadic stress and relationship satisfaction and (b) whether the potential buffering effect of DC on these associations already exists in this important developmental phase. Contrary to the adult sample, for which indirect actor and partner effects were significant, we found a marginally significantly negative indirect actor effect of extra-dyadic stress on relationship satisfaction via intra-dyadic stress in late adolescents only for participants experiencing high extra-dyadic stress and low support from the partner. DC moderated the spillover between extra-dyadic and intra-dyadic stress for late adolescents. This study highlights the importance of investigating dyadic processes in romantic relationships in late adolescence to gain an insight into these relationships and the associated developmental processes.

Zooming in: A microanalysis of couples’ dyadic coping conversations after experimentally induced stress.

Growing evidence that social support in times of stress is crucial for well-functioning relationships raises important questions about how intimate partners elicit specific forms of supportive behavior. To explore the process of support elicitation, we exposed either the male or female partner in a relationship to a standardized laboratory stressor (N = 127 couples), videotaped their subsequent reunion, and then coded those interactions at a microanalytic level to investigate links between expressions of stress and partner responses to those expressions. Multilevel analyses indicated that the type of stress expression served as a cue for the dyadic coping reaction of the partner. For example, problem-oriented stress expression within a 10-s interval of the conversation was strongly linked to problem-oriented dyadic coping in the same or following time sequence, while emotion-oriented stress expressions were associated with emotion-oriented dyadic coping reactions. These findings enhance the understanding of the link between different stress expressions and dyadic coping reactions and offer important implications for couple interventions.

Partner support during the prenatal testing period after assisted conception

BACKGROUND Pregnancy after infertility is a challenging experience. The first-trimester screening test may add stress. Partner support reduces psychological distress in pregnant women after spontaneous conception. No data are available for women who conceive via assisted reproductive technology. AIM To assess whether there was a difference between couples who underwent assisted reproductive technology and couples who conceived spontaneously in the support they felt they provided to their partner and whether their perception of support received from their partner reduced their distress. METHODS This longitudinal prospective study included 52 women (spontaneous conception) and 53 women (assisted reproductive technology), as well as their partners. Participants completed the state scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Edinburgh Depression Scale, and two partner-support subscales of the Dyadic Coping Inventory: before prenatal testing (gestational age 12 weeks), immediately after receiving the results (gestational age of approximately 14 weeks), and once all the prenatal screenings had been completed (gestational age 22 weeks). FINDINGS Women who underwent assisted reproductive technology felt less able to help their partner cope with stress and felt their partner was less able to help them cope with stress than women with spontaneous pregnancy. This difference was not observed in men. Higher perceived partner support lowered the anxiety and depression of couples who conceived spontaneously, but did not benefit couples who followed fertility treatment. CONCLUSION These results add to our knowledge of the emotional state of women and their partners during pregnancy after infertility. This knowledge may allow prenatal care providers to offer specialized counselling to women and their partners in the transition from infertility to parenthood.

Temporal dynamics of couples’ communication behaviors in conflict discussions: A longitudinal analysis

Negative and positive conflict communication predicts long-term relationship satisfaction. However, some studies show harmful effects and others show beneficial effects of negative conflict communication on long-term relationship satisfaction. One reason for the heterogeneous results might be that most studies focused on aggregated behaviors across a conflict interaction but neglected the temporal dynamics within such an interaction. This study examined whether individual initial levels and temporal trajectories of negative and positive communications predict long-term relationship satisfaction, and whether self-efficacy beliefs about clarity of other’s feelings (CoF) alter initial levels and temporal trajectories of negative and positive communications. Negative and positive communications were measured based on sequentially coded conflict discussions of 365 couples; self-efficacy beliefs about CoF and relationship satisfaction were measured by self-report questionnaires at baseline and at four annual follow-up assessments. Results revealed that women’s initial positive communication predicted higher intercepts of both partners’ relationship satisfaction, and stronger decreases in women’s negative communication predicted a higher intercept of relationship satisfaction in women. Additionally, less steep decreases in women’s trajectories of negative communication predicted greater maintenance in women’s relationship satisfaction over time. Additionally, men’s self-efficacy beliefs about CoF predicted decreases in men’s negative communication, increases in women’s negative communication, and higher initial levels of women’s positive communication. The current study highlights the relevance of dynamic aspects of partners’ communication behaviors.

Couples coping with stress: Between-person differences and within-person processes.

In intimate relationships, spousal support (or dyadic coping) can directly benefit relationships (i.e., direct effect) and protect the relationship against the negative spillover effects of stress (i.e., buffer effect). As stress-coping theories suggest, both processes can vary between persons as well as within persons. However, empirically, this distinction is not always made explicit, resulting in potentially misleading conclusions about dyadic stress-coping processes. In the current study, we investigated stress and coping processes in couples at both between- and within-person levels. Participants were 84 Chinese dual-earning couples (N = 168 individuals) participated in a 7-day diary study. Between persons, our multilevel analyses replicated well-established buffering effects: The link between average stress and relationship outcomes was reduced if the partner provided more support on average. Within persons, results implied a significant buffer effect only in women; their relationship satisfaction was highest on days when they experienced higher levels of stress and higher levels of partner support. The present findings demonstrate how distinguishing between- and within-person effects can provide a better conceptual understanding of dyadic processes in intimate relationships while examining stress-coping associations in an understudied group.

Gemeinsame Paarzeit bewusst gestalten: Praktische Implikationen für die Paarberatung und -therapie

Viele empirische Untersuchungen fanden Effekte dahingehend, dass gemeinsame Freizeitaktivitaten, die ein hohes Mas an Interaktion und Kommunikation erlauben, starker mit positiven Beziehungsmasen zusammenhingen, als weniger kommunikative, neutrale Tatigkeiten (z. B. Flora und Segrin 1998; Holman und Jacquart 1988; Orthner 1975; Palisi 1984). Solch gemeinsame Aktivitaten scheinen einen besseren Rahmen zu liefern als andere, um Austausch und Nahe zwischen Partnern zu fordern – zwei zentrale Faktoren, die eng mit der Stabilitat und Qualitat einer Beziehung zusammenhangen. In einem Experiment von Flora und Segrin (1998) beispielsweise berichteten Personen nach einer unstrukturierten Interaktion mit einer vertrauten Person oder dem/der Partner/in uber hohere Zufriedenheit mit der gemeinsamen Zeit als nach einem kompetitiven Wettbewerbsspiel oder dem passiven gemeinsamen Fernsehen.