Partner phubbing and relational aggression in romantic relationships among young adults in China: the roles of social support and gender

Introduction

Phubbing may have significant interpersonal consequences. This study examines the association between partner phubbing and relational aggression, the mediation effect of social support, and the moderation effect of gender among young Chinese adults.

Method

A total of 772 young adults currently in a romantic relationship participated in an online survey that assessed their partner phubbing, relational aggression, and social support (i.e., ideal support, actual support, and discrepancy between ideal and actual support).

Results

The results show that partner phubbing was positively and significantly correlated with relational aggression for males and females, respectively. Actual support and support discrepancy partially mediated the relationship between partner phubbing and relational aggression among all participants. Regarding gender difference, actual support and support discrepancy partially mediated the relationship between partner phubbing and relational aggression in females but were not significant mediators for males.

Discussion

These findings suggest that partner phubbing had a significant effect on relational aggression in romantic relationships for both male and female participants. Social support may play a significant role between partner phubbing and relational aggression in females only. Tailored interventions for partner phubbing to prevent negative interpersonal consequences are warranted.

Biological embedding of perinatal social relationships in infant stress reactivity

Whereas significant advances have been made in understanding how exposure to early adversity "gets under the skin" of children to result in long term changes in developmental outcomes, the processes by which positive social relationships become biologically embedded remain poorly understood. The aim of this study was to understand the pathways by which maternal and infant social environments become biologically embedded in infant cortisol reactivity. Two hundred seventy-two pregnant women and their infants were prospectively assessed during pregnancy and at 6 months postpartum. In serial mediation analyses, higher perceived social support from partners during pregnancy was associated with lower infant cortisol reactivity or larger decreases in cortisol in response to a stressor at 6 months of age via lower self-reported prenatal maternal depression and higher mother-infant interaction quality. The findings add to our understanding of how perinatal social relationships become biologically embedded in child development.

The buffering effect of social support on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function during pregnancy

OBJECTIVE

Recent studies suggest that effective social support during pregnancy may buffer adverse effects of maternal psychological distress on fetal development. The mechanisms whereby social support confers this protective advantage, however, remain to be clarified. The aim of this study was to assess whether individual differences in social support alter the covariation of psychological distress and cortisol during pregnancy.

METHODS

Eighty-two pregnant women's psychological distress and cortisol were prospectively assessed in all three trimesters using an ecological momentary assessment strategy. Appraisal of partner social support was assessed in each trimester via the Social Support Effectiveness questionnaire.

RESULTS

In multilevel analysis, ambulatory assessments of psychological distress during pregnancy were associated with elevated cortisol levels (unstandardized β = .023, p < .001). Consistent with the stress-buffering hypothesis, social support moderated the association between psychological distress and cortisol (unstandardized β = -.001, p = .039), such that the covariation of psychological distress and cortisol increased with decreases in effective social support. The effect of social support for women with the most effective social support was a 50.4% reduction in the mean effect of distress on cortisol and a 2.3-fold increase in this effect for women with the least effective social support scores.

CONCLUSIONS

Pregnant women receiving inadequate social support secrete higher levels of cortisol in response to psychological distress as compared with women receiving effective social support. Social support during pregnancy may be beneficial because it decreases biological sensitivity to psychological distress, potentially shielding the fetus from the harmful effects of stress-related increases in cortisol.

Factor Structure of the Adolescent Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences in Spanish Adolescents

The present study aimed to identify the best structure of the Adolescent Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences when applied to Spanish adolescents. A confirmatory factor analysis of five previous factor structures was conducted. As the data did not fit previous factor models, two exploratory factor analyses (first- and second-order) were carried out to identify the structure for Spanish adolescents and to analyse its criterion validity in relation to mental health, which was assessed by means of the Youth Self-Report. A first-wave sample of 1,152 secondary education pupils (645 boys, 56%; 507 girls, 44%; M age = 14.4 yr., SD = 1.4) was involved in the confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses. A second-wave sample of = 374 secondary education pupils (188 boys, 50.5%; 186 girls, 49.5%; M age = 15.4 yr., SD = 1.1) was used to assess criterion validity. The results yielded eight first-order factors with Cronbach's α ranging from .63 to .79, and two second-order factors that replicated the Approach and Avoidance focus of coping. The paper discusses both the content of the extracted factors and mental health issues.

A social support and social strain measure for minority adolescent mothers: a confirmatory factor analytic study

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study is to examine the validity and structure of the Social Support Network Questionnaire (SSNQ), an interview for identifying the positive and negative aspects of individuals' social networks.

METHODS

The sample consisted of 536 pregnant and parenting, African-American and Latina adolescents. Participants were recruited from an alternative school for pregnant and parenting adolescents in a large Midwestern city.

RESULTS

Confirmatory Factor Analyses revealed the presence of three factors: perceived availability, satisfaction and social strain. All three factors demonstrated adequate internal consistency. Perceived availability and social strain were uncorrelated, implying that they are distinct dimensions. Social strain was the most consistent predictor of psychological well-being. Further, strain in relationships with the young women's male partners added unique variance to the prediction of both anxiety and depression.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study suggest that the SSNQ may be a useful tool in assessing both positive and negative aspects of pregnant and parenting adolescent mothers' social support networks.

Coping in normal pregnancy

BACKGROUND

In high-risk populations (e.g., adolescents, substance abusers), coping strategies in pregnancy have been studied. Avoidance of the stressful situation and aggressive coping are frequently used and related to postnatal depression and other negative outcomes. Little is known about coping strategies in nulliparous normal-risk pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the factor structure of the 19-item Utrecht Coping List (UCL-19) in a sample of nulliparous normal-risk pregnant women and to explore the stability, change, and correlates of coping strategies throughout pregnancy. The associations between a particular coping strategy and the reported pregnancy complaints and experienced distress were examined.

METHODS

The UCL-19 was filled out and self-report data were collected about neuroticism, locus of control, depression, general anxiety, perceived stress, and physical pregnancy complaints in nulliparous women in early, mid-, and late pregnancy.

RESULTS

Confirmatory factor analysis on the UCL-19 revealed 2 coping strategies: emotion-focused coping and problem-focused coping. The factor structure of the UCL-19 had a good stability throughout pregnancy. Some changes in emotion-focused coping and problem-focused coping scores were found, although the absolute differences were rather small. High educational level and low internal locus of control predicted a high score on emotion-focused coping in the early period of pregnancy, F(2, 228) = 11.49, p < .005, R2 = .22. High educational level also predicted a high score on problem-focused coping in early pregnancy, F(1, 229) = 4.80, p < .05, R2 = .06. Emotion-focused coping was negatively and problem-focused coping was positively related to pregnancy complaints (r = -.23, p < .05 and r = .25, p < .005, respectively). Emotion-focused coping in early pregnancy and problem-focused coping in mid-pregnancy were negatively related to experienced distress in early and mid pregnancy, respectively (r = -.27, p < .0005 and r = -.18, p < .01).

CONCLUSION

Two coping strategies were consistently found throughout pregnancy: emotion-focused coping and problem-focused coping. Coping in nulliparous normal-risk pregnancy is a process with small temporal variations. Emotion-focused coping was negatively related to the number of reported pregnancy complaints and to experienced distress.