Erin K. Ruppel

Relational sacrifices in romantic relationships Satisfaction and the moderating role of attachment

Using interdependence and attachment theories, we examined the influence of attachment orientations on the association between relational sacrifices and relationship satisfaction. Romantic partners (N = 332) completed a one-time measure of attachment orientations and daily measures of relationship satisfaction and number and difficulty of relational sacrifices over 4–10 days. Difficulty of own and partner’s sacrifices was negatively associated with relationship satisfaction, and own daily number of sacrifices was positively associated with relationship satisfaction. However, these associations were stronger for individuals lower in attachment anxiety (for own sacrifices) or avoidance (for partner’s sacrifices). The findings suggest that associations between relational sacrifice and relationship satisfaction are contingent on attachment orientations and that frequent, easy sacrifices might be most beneficial to relationships.

Information Sources and the Health Information-Seeking Process: An Application and Extension of Channel Complementarity Theory

Contemporary information seekers can acquire health information from an unprecedented variety of sources. The reported study applied and extended channel complementarity theory to explain the use of multiple information sources in the health-information-seeking process. Channel complementarity was extended to consider four characteristics (i.e., access to medical expertise, tailorability, anonymity, and convenience) of health-information sources. The information-seeking behavior of 3,392 respondents from the 2007–2008 Health Information National Trends Survey was analyzed to test study hypotheses. Results indicate that, sources were used complementarily based on tailorability and anonymity during health-information sources. Additionally, the likelihood of using complementary sources based on all four characteristics changed during the search process.

Complementary Channel Use and the Role of Social Competence

This study focused on channel complementarity among various interpersonal communication channels (face-to-face, telephone, e-mail, text messaging, and Facebook). We looked at daily channel use among 136 participants and demonstrated complementary channel use among most combinations of channels, excluding face-to-face. We also extended channel complementarity theory by examining social competence as a moderator of channel complementarity. Results indicated that telephone and text messaging exhibited complementarity at high but not low levels of social competence, whereas e-mail and text messaging exhibited complementarity at low but not high levels of social competence. Face-to-face communication and Facebook exhibited a displacement relationship at high but not low levels of social competence. Implications for channel complementarity theory and the role of individual characteristics are discussed.

Exploring how perceived threat and self-efficacy contribute to college students' use and perceptions of online mental health resources

Drawing from prior fear-appeal and information seeking research, this study explored how perceived threat and self-efficacy predicted college students’ use and perceptions of online mental health resources. Results showed that perceived vulnerability was a modest, yet robust predictor of visiting any Internet website and joining an online support group, while self-efficacy modestly predicted greater perceived usefulness and trust for online support groups. Although numerous interactions emerged between self-efficacy and perceived threat, the impact of these relationships on use and perceptions of these services varied significantly. In particular, at higher levels of self-efficacy, perceived severity negatively predict use of online services yet also positively predicted trust in these resources. Furthermore, results showed that vulnerability was only associated with favorable judgments of web services at lower levels of efficacy. Overall, the findings suggest that self-efficacy and perceived threat play a small, yet significant role in explaining online mental health information seeking outcomes; however, the exact nature by which these factors operate together to influence one’s use and larger impressions such resources remains unclear.

Scanning Health Information Sources: Applying and Extending the Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking.

Information scanning, or attention to information via incidental or routine exposure or browsing, is relatively less understood than information seeking. To (a) provide a more theoretical understanding of information scanning and (b) extend existing information seeking theory to information scanning, the current study used data from the National Cancer Institutes Health Information National Trends Survey to examine cancer information scanning using the comprehensive model of information seeking (CMIS). Consistent with the CMIS, health-related factors were associated with the information-carrier factor of trust, and health-related factors and trust were associated with attention to information sources. Some of these associations differed between entertainment-oriented sources, information-oriented sources, and the Internet. The current findings provide a clearer picture of information scanning and suggest future avenues of research and practice using the CMIS.

Use of communication technologies in romantic relationships Self-disclosure and the role of relationship development

Self-disclosure is vital to the maintenance and development of personal relationships, but research regarding the use of communication technologies (CTs) for self-disclosure in relationships is mixed. This study extends previous research on the topic by examining associations between reduced-cue CT use, relationship development, and self-disclosure in specific conversations in proximal romantic relationships. Participants (N = 64) reported on each conversation with their partners over a 4-day period. Use of a reduced-cue CT in a conversation was negatively associated with self-disclosure breadth and depth in that conversation. Furthermore, the negative association between text-based CT use (text messaging, instant messaging, and e-mail) and self-disclosure breadth was weaker at higher levels of relationship development, and the negative association between voice-based CT use (telephone) and self-disclosure depth was stronger at higher levels of relationship development. These findings suggest that CTs function differently in proximal romantic relationships than in previous studies of interactions between strangers and that relationship development is an important factor in understanding self-disclosure via CTs.

Reliability Estimates for Multilevel Designs in Group Research

Items that capture group members’ outcomes from small group processes (e.g., satisfaction, cohesion) are often nonindependent. A primary assumption of most measurement models is that the data are independent; applying such models to group-outcome data measured at the individual level of analysis is thus likely to produce inaccurate estimates. A solution to the measurement of nonindependent data involves the use of multilevel modeling to estimate variances at item, individual, and group levels of analysis. Examples from several different statistics programs are provided, and Monte Carlo simulations are used to evaluate the effects of group size and number of items on reliability estimates.

Channel Complementarity Theory and the Health Information-Seeking Process: Further Investigating the Implications of Source Characteristic Complementarity

The contemporary information-seeking environment is marked by the presence of more information sources than perhaps ever before. Moreover, in the context of health information, evidence suggests that information seekers utilize multiple sources—such as health care providers, print media, and online support groups—in the process of acquiring information. Two studies were conducted to investigate the role of information sources in the health information-seeking process and test Ruppel and Rains’s (2012) extension of channel complementarity theory. Four complementarity characteristics of sources, which are argued to serve as a basis for source use during information seeking, were examined: access to medical expertise, tailorability, anonymity, and convenience. Taken together, the results from both studies offer some evidence that sources are used systematically during health information seeking based on each of the four complementarity characteristics.

Implementation of Tobacco Cessation Quitline Practices in the United States and Canada

OBJECTIVES We examined relationships between implementation of tobacco quitline practices, levels of evidence of practices, and quitline reach and spending. METHODS In June and July 2009, a total of 176 quitline funders and providers in the United States and Canada completed a survey on quitline practices, in particular quitline-level implementation for the reported practices. From these data, we selected and categorized evidence-based and emerging quitline practices by the strength of the evidence for each practice to increase quitline efficacy and reach. RESULTS The proportion of quitlines implementing each practice ranged from 3% (text messaging) to 92% (providing a multiple-call protocol). Implementation of practices showing higher levels of evidence for increasing either reach or efficacy showed moderate but significant positive correlations with both reach outcomes and spending levels. The strongest correlation was between reach outcomes and spending levels (r=0.80; P<.01). CONCLUSIONS The strong relationship between quitline spending and reach reinforces the need to increase quitline funding to levels commensurate with national cessation goals.

The Affordance Utilization Model: Communication Technology Use as Relationships Develop

This essay proposes an affordance utilization model (AUM) that aims to understand the role of relationship development in communication technology use. The AUM draws from research regarding (1) social penetration theory and (2) the communication technology affordances of asynchronicity (i.e., a time lag between when a message is constructed and received) and reduced cues (i.e., the lack of visual and/or vocal cues). It proposes that these affordances are positively associated with communication competence and self-disclosure but that relationship development affects these associations. The AUM proposes that as relationships become more developed, communication technology affordances are less likely to be associated with communication competence and self-disclosure in relationships. The AUM also proposes that as relationships become more developed, relational partners will see affordances as less important and will use them less. Potential implications of the AUM for research on communication technologies in relationships are discussed.