Mary E. Procidano

Measures of perceived social support from friends and from family: three validation studies.

Three studies are described in which measures of perceived social support from friends (PSS-Fr) and from family (PSS-Fa) were developed and validated. The PSS measures were internally consistent and appeared to measure valid constructs that were separate from each other and from network measures. PSS-Fr and PSS-Fa were both inversely related to symptoms of distress and psychopathology but the relationship was stronger for PSS-Fa. PSS-Fr was more closely related to social competence. PSS-Fa was unaffected by either positive or negative mood states (self-statements), but the reporting of PSS-Fr was lowered by negative mood states. High PSS-Fr subjects were significantly lower in trait anxiety and talked about themselves more to friends and sibs than low PSS-Fr subjects. Low PSS-Fa subjects showed marked verbal inhibition with sibs.

The Effect of Social Networks on Marital Roles: A Test of the Bott Hypothesis in an Intergenerational Context.

On the basis of an exploratory study of 20 young London couples, Bott (1957) proposed that the connectedness of social networks to which spouses belong influences the segregation of marital-role activities. However, empirical tests of this hypothesis have been inconclusive because of conceptual and methodological limitations. In the present study Botts hypothesis was tested with a group of 100 Puerto Rican migrant spouse pairs and 100 pairs of their adult married children. The results failed to confirm Botts hypothesis. Network characteristics appear to be influenced by the individuals sex; marital-role characteristics, by generational differences and by wifes education. Limitations of Botts hypothesis are discussed and theoretical alternatives are proposed.

Assessing Perceived Social Support

In this chapter, we discuss assessment of perceived social support with respect to three inseparable issues: defining perceived support, selecting particular approaches to assess it, and systematically organizing hypotheses regarding its origins, nature, and effects. Based on a brief history of social support research, we explain our focus on perceived social support. We observe that our understanding of perceived support is still hampered by vague definitions and urge that, because of its importance for theory and intervention, perceived support research must develop beyond tests of its direct, moderating, and mediating effects in different populations. Toward that end, we make three recommendations. First, the perceived support construct should be clarified through hypothesis testing in the context of contemporary psychological paradigms. Cognitive and attachment-theory approaches appear particularly promising in this regard. Second, investigators who construct and use perceived support assessments should be aware of the implicit assumptions and consequences associated with different assessment approaches. Finally, we suggest a conceptual framework to articulate hypotheses regarding perceived support’s origins, nature, and effects. The framework consists of culture, development, personality, social settings, and activities.

Homogamous assortative mating among Puerto Rican families: intergenerational processes and the migration experience.

Homogamous assortative mating is examined in the context of intergenerational processes and the migration experience in two generations of Puerto Rican families in New York City: mothers and fathers in a parent generation (100 pairs) and their married child and the childs spouse in the child generation (100 pairs). The variables used to examine intergenerational processes and to assess homogamy are age, education, and the degree of acceptance of two Puerto Rican cultural values-familism and fatalism. The findings indicate clear and pervasive intergenerational differences and discontinuities but homogamous marital patterns in each generation. The sociocultural dislocations resulting from the migration experience from Puerto Rico to New York City do not impede the restitution of marital homogamy in the host society with respect to either general or culture specific variables.

Resolving ambiguity in the measurement and meaning of intrapair similarity: The case of assortative mating

Abstract A newly developed unbiased intrapair-similarity standard—applicable generally to intrapair comparisons—is used to demonstrate the difference between covariation and similarity among spouses in assortative mating. The article documents a failure in the literature to recognize this difference. The failure to recognize this difference in behavior-genetic research creates ambiguity in our research-based understanding of the genetic and social consequences of assortative mating.

The effectiveness of assertive training with elderly psychiatric outpatients

The usefulness of assertive training for elderly psychiatric outpatients was assessed through a quasi-experimental evaluation of a program at a community geriatric facility. Elderly clients are frequently labeled as “untreatable” and are therefore often denied therapeutic treatment. This study is an example of the potential effectiveness of applying treatment techniques which have been developed with younger populations to a geriatric population. Nineteen clients, aged 50–75, participated in the study, either as participants in the assertion training or as members of a no-treatment control group. The assertion training consisted of 14 semi-weekly sessions, with coaching and feedback provided by the therapists. Assertive behaviors were assessed through self-report, role play and staff ratings of adaptive behaviors of clients. Pre-intervention comparisons between the groups along these dimensions were nonsignificant. However, post-test assessment indicated a significant between group difference in self-reported assertiveness-(t(17)=2.69;p<.05). Dependent t-tests indicated that the experimental group became more assertive (t(9)=2.59;p<.05), but the control group did not. Changes as assessed by role play and staff rating did not reach statistical significance. Results which indicate the potential effectiveness of assertive training with this population are discussed in terms of a specificity conceptualization of assertiveness and implications for assertive training with this population.