Daniel Perlman

The Cambridge handbook of personal relationships

The Cambridge Handbook of Personal Relationships serves as a benchmark of the current state of scholarship in this dynamic field, synthesizing the extant theoretical and empirical literature, tracing its historical roots, and making recommendations for future directions. The volume addresses a broad range of established and emerging topics, including theoretical and methodological issues that influence the study of personal relationships; research and theory on relationship development; the nature and functions of personal relationships across the life span; individual differences and their influences on relationships; relationship processes such as cognition, emotion, and communication; relational qualities such as satisfaction and commitment; environmental influences on personal relationships; and maintenance and repair of relationships. The authors are experts from a variety of disciplines, including several subfields of psychology, communication, family studies, and sociology, who havemademajor contributions to the understanding of relationships.

Gender Differences in Loneliness

Earlier studies on gender differences in loneliness appear to have produced contradictory results. However, when 39 existing data sets were classified according to whether they used the UCLA scale (N = 28) or a self-labeling measure (N = II) of loneliness, the results revealed a clear pattern. Statistically significant sex differences are not usually found with the UCLA scale, but, when they are found, males typically have higher loneliness scores. In terms of self-labeling, women more frequently than men admit being lonely. Sex role factors may help explain these seemingly contradictory results. Of the various possible explanations of the gender differences in self-labeled loneliness, most assume that social influence processes play a crucial role. To test this viewpoint, an experiment was conducted. Subjects (N = 117) were presented with a case history of a lonely person, which varied only the target persons sex. The subjects were more rejecting of a lonely male than of a lonely female. These results support the view that women are more apt to acknowledge their loneliness than men because the negative consequences of admitting loneliness are less for women.

Gender Nonconformity, Childhood Rejection, and Adult Attachment: A Study of Gay Men

Several childhood factors are reported to be associated with a homosexual orientation in men, including gender nonconformity and rejection by parents and peers. The purpose of this study was to explore the associations between these childhood factors and attachment anxiety (the tendency to experience anxiety regarding potential loss and rejection in close relationships) and attachment avoidance (the tendency to avoid versus seek out closeness in relationships) in gay and bisexual men. A community sample of 191 gay and bisexual men completed questionnaires and an attachment interview. Gender nonconformity was significantly associated with paternal, maternal, and peer rejection in childhood. In addition, paternal and peer rejection, but not maternal rejection, independently predicted attachment anxiety. Peer rejection and, to a lesser extent, paternal rejection mediated the association between gender nonconformity and attachment anxiety. Finally, peer rejection mediated the association between paternal rejection and attachment avoidance. Findings highlight the role of gender nonconformity in contributing to childhood rejection and the importance of peer relationships in the socialization of gay men.

Religious Socialization: A Test of the Channeling Hypothesis of Parental Influence on Adolescent Faith Maturity

Recent research on intergenerational faith transfer has argued that (a) parents have a direct effect on the adolescence acquisition of religiosity and (b) parental effects are mediated through congregation and peers. This study tests the channeling hypothesis, which argues that parental influences are mediated through both peer selection and congregation selection. It examines both direct and indirect effects that parental influence has on the religiosity of offspring. A national survey of 11,000 adolescents and adults in six Protestant denominations produced a subsample of 2,379 youth. Contrary to the channeling hypothesis, the research showed that peer influence and parental influence remained stable during the adolescent years. Parental influence did not dramatically increase or decrease with age. Some findings support the channeling hypothesis, particularly the mediating effect of parents through peer influences. The findings of this study are discussed in light of the contradictory findings from other studies.

The Association between Religiosity and the Purpose-in-Life Test: Does it Reflect Purpose or Satisfaction?

There has been both theory and research to suggest that conservative religiosity is associated with a sense of life purpose. Much of this research has utilized the Purpose-in-Life (PIL) test. There has been some debate, however, regarding the homogeneity of this measure. The present study found that the PIL test consists of two factors, one reflecting life purpose and another reflecting life satisfaction. Conservative religiosity was associated with high scores on the PIL (as a whole), as well as on both purpose and life satisfaction items. Implications for both future use of the PIL and for past research on life purpose are discussed.

Loneuness and Aggressive Behaviour

In one of the early classic articles on loneliness, Zilboorg (1938) claimed that lonely individuals are hostile and aggressive. The present research tested this proposition. Two samples of males were given a measure of loneliness and various measures of hostility. Ninety-one subjects in the second study were also given the opportunity to administer aversive noise to a critical, rejecting confederate for making errors on an ESP task. In both samples, lonely males expressed more hostility towards women and endorsed the view that men and women are essentially adversaries in their sexual relationships. In the ESP task, the lonely subjects administered higher levels of aversive noise. Despite some qualifications, the results generally are consistent with Zilboorgs contention that lonely individuals manifest greater aggressive tendencies.

Advances in personal relationships : a research annual

Peer relations of lonely and peer rejected children, Steven R.Asher relational competence, Bruce Carpenter ducal career couples, Lucia Albino Gilbert life changes and the network of personal relationships - theoretical and methodological issues, Jenny de Jong-Gierveld and Pearl Dykstra intimacy motivation, Daniel McAdams family fights and their escalation, Carol and Jeff Rubin love and attachment, Philip Shaver and Cindy Hazen the develoment of closeness in social networks - the experience of recent movers, Joan Starker et al marital interaction and marital quality in the first year of marriage, Joseph Verhoff et al the social relations model, Thomas L.Wright and Loring J.Ingraham.

Recent Developments in Personality and Social Psychology: A Citation Analysis

This article uses citation analysis to identify important scholars and influential recent contributions in personality and social psychology. The number of pages on which scholars were cited in seven current social psychology texts was used as a measure of individual eminence. A list was compiled of all the articles (N=841) and chapters (N=38) published between 1977 and 1981 in JPSP and Berkowitzs Advances in Experimental Social Pyschology. The impact of these items was assessed by counting (via the Social Science Citation Index) the number of times each item was cited in 1982. The 50 most eminent scholars are listed and compared with those who were most eminent approximately six years earlier. The 31 most frequently cited articles and chapters are also presented. This list suggests that the fields attention is focused on cognitive processes, androgyny, self-monitoring and learned helplessness.

The Intergenerational Transmission of Loneliness: A Study of College Females and Their Parents.

The purpose of this study was to examine the intergenerational transmission of loneliness. Data were collected via questionnaires from 130 parent-daughter triads. Consistent with a lineage transmission perspective, mothers and daughters loneliness scores were significantly correlated, r(128) = .26, p < .01. Child-rearing practices, especially a lack of positive involvement of parents with their children, were associated with the loneliness of offspring. These child-rearing practices increase the predictability of daughters loneliness scores even when the strongest known correlates of loneliness (e.g., depression andfriendship bonds) are also used as predictors. The results are interpreted in terms of Bowlbys view of attachment.

Loneliness and Religiosity : In the World but Not of it

This study examined the relationship between loneliness and religiosity as well as the relationships between religiosity and variables associated with loneliness (e.g., the potential antecedents of loneliness and the nature of the loneliness experience). The sample consisted of 76 conservative believers, 80 nonconservative believers and 76 nonbelievers. These groups were defined by a measure of belief commitment and a second measure of how subjects interpreted the meaning of religious teachings (Literally, Antiliterally, or Mythologically). The three groups did not differ in their level of loneliness. They did differ, however, on some of the correlates of loneliness and in the nature of their loneliness experience. For example, the conservative religious respondents were apt to attribute their loneliness to supernatural causes and to use religious coping mechanisms. Religious individuals thus appear to be in the world but not of it.