Paul Yelsma

Displacement Effects of Online Media in the Socio-Technical Contexts of Households

This study investigated the impact of online media on other media and family communication. Data gathered from 185 persons in 84 households indicate that time spent in television viewing, newspaper reading, telephone usage, and family conversations is affected by online use. Usage of online media is significantly different among genders and generations. A process of functional displacement may be occurring in which television is, being gradually displaced by online media as the primary source of information.

Shame-focused coping styles and their associations with self-esteem.

109 college man and 76 college women ranging in age from 17 to 50 years and having an average age of 21 yr. completed Coopersmiths Self-esteem Scale and Elisons Compass of Shame Scale which measures four shame-focused coping styles. The total Compass of Shame score was significantly correlated with the Self-esteem scores. Scores on three of the shame coping subscales, Attack Self, Withdrawal, and Attack Other, were significantly correlated with Self-esteem scores; the Avoidance subscale was not. No significant sex differences were found either on self-esteem or any of the four, shame-coping subscales. A regression model that examined the predictive associations between four subscales of shame and Self-esteem indicated that shame scores accounted for 32% of the variance in Self-esteem.

Gender roles, biological sex, and predisposition to conflict management

The Bem Sex-Role Inventory and the Communication-Conflict Instrument were administered to 182 husbands and wives. Results suggest that gender-role classification is a more significant discriminator of communication behavior than is biological sex. Androgynous spouses, more than feminine though not significantly more so than masculine spouses, reported themselves to be the most disposed to handle conflict constructively. On the subscales of the conflict instrument, androgynous persons had significantly more positive feelings scores than either masculine or feminine persons, plus higher task energy and desire-for-control scores than feminine persons. Similarly, masculine persons reported a significantly greater predisposition to manage conflict constructively than did feminine persons, having higher task energy and desire-for-control scores. Undifferentiated persons reported the lowest scores for conflict management.

Affective Orientations of Perpetrators, Victims, and Functional Spouses

Affective orientations of 79 perpetrators, 57 victims, and 70 functional spouses were examined. Self-report measures were utilized to assess five affective orientations: (a) alexithymia, (b) affective orientation, (c) range of positive feelings, and (d) expression of positive affect, and (e) expression of negative affect. Perpetrators were significantly more alexithymic than functional spouses but were not significantly different from victims. Perpetrators and victims report being less disposed to possess or express their feelings than do functional males and females. Male perpetrators were significantly less aware of their affective states than functional males; and female victims were significantly less aware of their affective states than functional females. Female victims possessed significantly fewer positive feelings than functional women. Expression of positive emotions was significantly less for female victims than for functional females. Deficit of positive affect versus the presence of negative affect was a significant indicator of physical abuse reported within intimate relationships.

Self-Esteem and Social Respect within the High School

A sample of 596 students in a Michigan high school completed 2 measures of self-esteem (S. Coopersmith, 1967; M. Rosenberg, 1979) and the English translation of the Social Behaviors Scale (M. Loranger, M. Poirier, D. Gauthier, & J. Talon, 1982). Factor analysis of the 36-item Social Behaviors Scale revealed 5 factors appropriate for assessing social respect. Regression analyses revealed that scores for total self-esteem and global self-esteem were significant predictors of total social respect. The scores for total self-esteem were also significantly associated with respect for teachers and for appropriate language. The females reported more respect for teachers, others, appropriate language, and physical property than the males did. The seniors reported more respect for appropriate language, teachers, and others than the freshmen did. Total self-esteem was significantly and negatively associated with respect for waiting and listening. Global self-esteem was significantly and negatively associated with respect for physical property.

Communication-Conflict Predisposition: Development of a Theory and an Instrument

This paper has two objectives. First, it presents a brief informal statement of a theory of the dynamic constructs of personality bearing upon conflicts within and between people. The six dynamics (range of feelings, task energy, respect for community, respect for others, desire for control, and concern for ones own self-uniqueness) are based on the concept-free research of Osgood et al. and Bales. Second, it reports the reliability and validity of an instrument which, using scales for the six dynamics, is designed to measure the degree to which one is predisposed to handle conflict constructively (win-win) or destructively (win-lose). Internal and test-retest reliability of the instrument are acceptable for basic research. Several field studies suggest criterion validity. Construct validity was examined by comparison with three other instruments, which were supportive.

Couples' affective orientations and their verbal abusiveness

Four measures of affective orientation: awareness of affect as information, posses‐sion of positive feelings, and expression of positive and negative emotions were employed to examine the relationships between functional males’ and females’ affective orientations and the level of verbal abuse reported in their relationships. Females reported having higher levels of affective awareness on all four measures of affective orientation. Contrary to expectations, males’ and females’ awareness of affect as information to guide interactions and positive feelings were not associated with reported verbal abuse. Males’ and females’ expressions of negative emotions, however, were significantly negatively associated with verbal abuse in the relationships. Males’ positive emotional expressiveness was significantly negatively associated with self‐reported verbal abuse in the relationship. Functional males and females reported experiencing similar levels of verbal abuse within their relationships.

Functional conflict management in effective marital adjustment

This correlational study investigated the relationship between communication conflict management predisposition and marital adjustment of medial (not extremely happy or unhappy) married individuals. As predicted, married peoples functional conflict management predisposition was significantly related to their perceptions of their own dyadic adjustment. Results from step‐wise regression procedures indicated that three out of six constructs of functional conflict management were predictive of high marital adjustment. Positive feelings was the best indicator of marital adjustment, lower value of self‐uniqueness was next, and high task energy was the third best indicator of marital adjustment. Comparisons were also made among medial, happy, and unhappy married people on three of the constructs making up the functional conflict management predisposition.

Conflict predispositions: Differences between happy and clinical couples

Abstract Theoretical literature is cited indicating that intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts are commingled and that both of these communicative processes are influential in marital relationships. Happily married couples and couples seeking counselor guidance were compared by using two self-report instruments (Communication-Conflict Instrument and Marital Relationship Inventory). Results from ANOVA comparisons supported two hypotheses, indicating that happy couples had predispositions for productively managing conflict; whereas, clinical couples had higher aggressiveness predispositions, which lessened their ability to manage conflict productively. Post-hoc t-test produced three differences between happy and clinical couples in their behavior and value orientations. Happy couples differed significantly from the counseling couples by having more loyalty to their communities, more energy for tasks, and more positive feelings about their lives. Marital relationship results confirmed previously cited re...

Children's Alexithymia Measure (CAM): A New Instrument for Screening Difficulties with Emotional Expression

This article presents initial psychometric data on a new observer-rated screening instrument, the Children’s Alexithymia Measure (CAM). Alexithymia is an affective and cognitive condition characterized by difficulty recognizing and expressing feelings. An initial item set was developed following focus groups with parents and professionals. This set was reduced to 32 items and administered to 246 parents of children ages 5 to 17 with trauma histories. Factor and item response theory analyses were conducted, resulting in a 14-item instrument. The final CAM instrument showed strong internal reliability, with coefficient alpha =.92. Initial criterion-related and contrasted-groups validity were estimated using the Alexithymia Scale for Children and the Child Behavior Checklist. The CAM will be useful in screening children who have difficulties recognizing and expressing feelings.