ARLAB

Skillful support within couples during the transition to parenthood

The Skillful Support Model (SSM; Rafaeli & Gleason, 2009) has outline factors that can explain the paradoxical poor effects of support. The goal of the proposed research is to apply it to a specific population under stress, namely, couples in the transition to become first-time parents.

The transition to parenthood presents considerable difficulties for couples, and may affect new mothers and fathers as well as their relationship; these effects may also influence their functioning as parents, and in turn affect the well-being and development of their child. We aim to investigate supportive processes between the partners - a factor that has been found to play an important role in intimate relationships in general, and in this major life transition in particular. The degree to which partners support each other in coping with the challenges of this life transition may help determine whether they avoid the major costs that could occur at this juncture, and instead reap its potential rewards.

We aim to conduct a study of couples transitioning into parenthood. The study will employ a multi-faceted assessment approach, including daily questionnaires administered online, lab visits in which the couples will be observed interacting, measures of physiological, self-report and partner-report questionnaires, and a longitudinal follow-up for one year following the birth of the child. Based on the SSM (2009) model, we predict that more skillful support for stressors (i.e., support which is better timed, well-matched, non-directive, and equitable), as well as skillful responses to positive events (i.e., responses which are active and constructive) will lead to better coping and adjustment in the transition period.

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Social anxiety disorder and impaired responsiveness mechanisms: A dyadic multi-method study

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) involves a marked and persistent fear of social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to the possible scrutiny of others. SAD is among the most prevalent psychiatric disorders and causes significant functional impairments and diminished quality of life. Interpersonal models presented in recent decades stress the maladaptive interpersonal cycles which perpetuate both the negative schemas and the symptomatology of socially anxious (SA) individuals. Indeed various interpersonal impairments (e.g., fewer and less satisfying social relationships, lower levels of perceived support) have been documented among SA individuals. Surprisingly, little empirical work has focused on the committed romantic relationships of SA individuals, despite the documented importance of such relationships in adulthood. In addition, no model specifically addressing the impairment in these committed romantic relationships has been presented.

Inspired by general interpersonal models of SAD and the limited empirical work which exists, we propose a dyadic model which suggests that deficits in responsiveness processes serve as a maladaptive mechanism responsible for some of the impairments in the committed romantic relationships of SA individuals. Specifically, the model suggests that SA individuals (a) elicit less responsive behaviors from their partners; (b) act less responsively toward their partner; and (c) are negatively biased to perceive their partner’s behaviors (even responsive ones) as less responsive. Since responsiveness processes are reciprocal in nature, the model suggests that the partners of SA individuals inevitably face these difficulties too. We aim to examine this model utilizing a novel dyadic multi-method design which comprises (a) lab-based behavioral observation and psychophysiological assessments; (b) experience sampling over a period of 35 days, and (c) longitudinal (6-mo and 12-mo followup) assessments.

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In its final steps: A multi-method study of the role of empathic accuracies in predicting skilled support 

The objective of our current project (funded by the Israel Science Foundation, and now entering its final year) has been to determine whether empathic accuracy is a precursor to effective and skilled social support, at both the global (person) level, and the daily (process) level, in typical (non-disordered) couples. Its broader aim has been to help refine both our model of multiple empathic accuracies (Howland & Rafaeli, 2010), and our Skilled Support Model (Rafaeli & Gleason, 2009). Study administration has been completed; several parts of the data processing have also been completed and others are under way.

Specifically, we ran the main study, recruiting 86 community heterosexual couples (mean age 26.7 [SD=3.9] and 29.3 [SD=4.4], for women and men respectively) who were in romantic relationships (mean duration 4.6 [SD=2.9] years) and were cohabiting (mean cohabitation 3.0 [SD=2.5] years). In their first lab visit, couples completed background questionnaires and were instructed in the use of a web-diary. Then, each evening, for 35 days, they were asked to fill out the diary questionnaire (participates completed an average of 29.7 diary entries). Four months after the completion of the diary period, they were emailed a link to a follow up questionnaire (89% of individuals completed this follow-up). We were able to obtain exceptionally high retention and adherence rate (only 6 couples dropped out from the main study).

Because the coding of empathic accuracies (EAs) is still ongoing, most of our findings to date center on refining the skillful support model. Central findings among these have been: the simultaneous accuracy and bias in judgments of support receipt (BK&R, 2013a); the non-monotonic effects of support (stronger effects below baseline, and weak to null effects above baseline; BK&R, 2013b); the using of quasi-signal-detection to demonstrate that matched support is less consequential than underprovided support (BK&R, in press); and the finding that perceived partner responsiveness mediates the association between social anxiety and daily relationship satisfaction (BK, Chen and Rafaeli, in prep).

Several MA and PhD projects are based on the study, and explore the following topics: Closeness, interpersonal overlap, and EA (MA thesis, Ayelet Ishai); Attachment insecurity as a moderator of the psycho-physiological effects of dyadic support (MA thesis, Hadil Kurdahji); Conflict as a moderator of empathic processes (MA thesis, Haran Sened); Support as the outcome of sexual satisfaction (PhD dissertation, Lior Eadan Bar-Nahum); Dual processing model of supportive communication (MA thesis, Shiran Falach), and depression and interpersonal perception (PhD dissertation, Reuma Gadassi).