Communication among Coworkers

For several medical treatments there is considerable scientific and medical uncertainty about the relative benefits and risks they imply. The literature indicates social support as an important factor in health uncertainty management and the concept has gained considerable interest in the areas of behavioral medicine and health psychology research. Despite the growing importance of online health communities (OHCs), there is still a dearth of research evaluating the interactive and reciprocal nature of social support exchange that may occur in the online environment and, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no single study has specifically focused on online support interactions in contexts characterized by treatment uncertainty. This study aims to generate knowledge on how OHCs can serve as platforms of social support for groups of individuals that are subject to treatment uncertainty. To attain this objective, we build on social capital theory and adopt a netnographic and a dual case-study approach to analyze peer-to-peer social support interactions in OHCs where users face treatment uncertainty. Findings suggest that OHCs can be a place for extending the social support networks of people facing treatment uncertainty as multiple typologies of peer-to-peer social support are remotely exchanged in the virtual communities. However, we also found that the information available in these forums can be subject to imprudent processes of selection by forum participants who try to conform online discussion to suit the forums’ shared and accepted narratives highlighting the benefits of these uncertain treatments, while minimizing the respective risks. From a theoretical perspective, this study has implications for health uncertainty management literature, by highlighting collective processes of uncertainty management not captured in well-established theories of uncertainty management, which are mostly focused on individual and interpersonal processes of uncertainty management in dyad relationships, and not group dynamics. From a managerial practice perspective, the study provides insights for public health, private and not-for-profit health promotion institutions and managers of the OHCs, that can be used to program community-based social marketing interventions intended to enhance the quality and increase the volume of social support available in OHCs where users may face treatment uncertainty.

Research suggests that an individual's personality traits may mediate the relationship between social support and mental health. This study uses two national data sets to test a conceptual model that integrates personality, social support, negative interactions, and psychological distress. Results suggest that, beyond the influence of personality, social support is negatively associated with psychological distress, and negative interactions are positively associated with such distress. The findings also suggest that personality has direct and indirect effects, through social support and negative interactions, on psychological distress. Findings specify how positive and negative facets of relationships and personality influence mental health outcomes.

Relational dialectics theory (RDT) is a dialogic theory of interpersonal and family communication. RDT is grounded in the work of Russian cultural theorist Mikhail Bakhtin. Extending Bakhtin's theory of dialogism, RDT offers a relationally oriented dialogic theory grounded in a skepticism of monologue. RDT recognizes the monologic potential inherent within family communication; however, RDT critiques these monologic tendencies, favoring instead a dialogic sense in which a cacophony of multiple perspectives struggles to be heard as the family makes—and remakes—meaning. This chapter discusses foundational RDT concepts, including the utterance, the utterance chain, the centripetal-centrifugal struggle of competing discourses, unfinalizability, and the continuum of interplay. The concept of the utterance chain concretizes Bakhin's central argument that utterances do not exist in isolation; rather, utterances are always in dialogue with both prior and anticipated future utterances. To continue the conversation, the chapter suggests that scholars make more productive use of the proximal sites on the utterance chain.

UNSTRUCTURED Background: Reports have indicated that the socioeconomic impact of the spread of COVID-19 infection has severely impacted the mental health of individuals. However, it is unclear how the impact of deteriorating economic conditions on mental health varies with the amount of social support and negative interactions (eg, criticism and excessive demands from others) individuals have. Objective: This study tested two hypotheses, focusing on the association between the worsening economic status due to COVID-19 and mental health. Hypothesis 1: The negative impact on mental health from worsening economic conditions caused by the spread of COVID-19 infection is exacerbated by the amount of social support an individual receives. Hypothesis 2: The negative impact on mental health from a deteriorating economic situation due to the spread of COVID-19 is exacerbated by a greater number of negative interactions. Methods: Web-based surveillance was conducted by an Internet research company in Japan. The company recruited 3500 individuals from their active panels from June to July 2020; 250 men and 250 women were recruited for each of the following age groups—primary school students, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. The analysis was conducted on men and women in their 20s to 50s (n=1549). The objective variable was measured using the K6 scale for psychological distress. The explanatory variable, economic deterioration due to COVID-19, was defined as economic deterioration due to COVID-19 if respondents indicated that their income had decreased compared to before the spread of COVID-19. In addition, social support and negative interaction scales were used. Logistic regression analysis was used, and the interaction between economic deterioration due to COVID-19 and social support and the interaction between economic deterioration due to COVID-19 and negative interaction were added sequentially to the model; a likelihood ratio test was used to assess the most improved model. Result: In the significantly improved model, the interaction between economic deterioration due to COVID-19 and social support was significantly associated with K6 scores (Odds ratio 0.909, 95% CI 0.829-0.996). The average marginal effect of economic deterioration due to COVID-19 was calculated and the results revealed that social support scores ranging from 4 to 10 were statistically significant. Conclusion: The negative effect of COVID-19-induced economic deterioration on mental health tended to be stronger with less support. Based on these results, Hypothesis 1 was supported.

BackgroundPositive support from social relationships is associated with better health, although it remains debatable whether positive social support buffers against the negative effects of social disadvantage on health. Moreover, few...

Relational dialectics theory (RDT) is a postmodern critical theory of meaning. Based on the writing of Russian philosopher, RDT attunes researchers to the ways that discourses (i.e., ideologies) compete to make meaning of particular semantic objects (e.g., identities, phenomena, processes, etc.). Of note, not all discourses hold the same amount of power. Some discourses are dominant (i.e., centripetal) whereas others are marginalized (i.e., centrifugal). RDT researchers, then, are primarily interested in exploring how these discourses, with unequal power, compete. This focus on the competition of discourses for power and the ability of RDT to call out the ideological forces that disenfranchise some groups while enfranchising others holds promise for practical applications such as debunking misconceptions and better understanding where privilege comes from and how it is perpetuated. When discourses compete, they might do so within or across a set of utterances. Utterances are turns in talk and serve as the primary unit of analysis in RDT research. Utterances, however, are not standalone entities. Rather, they are connected by different links to form an utterance chain. Some links of the utterance chain pertain to time (what has been said before and what response an utterance can anticipate) whereas the other links of the utterance chain pertain to the relationship level (some pertain to the culture at large whereas other only to an idiosyncratic relationship). Overall, discursive competition takes place across a continuum of interplay. At one end of the continuum is monologue. Monologue represents the absence of meaning. Next are discursive enactments (i.e., closure) that reinforce the dominant discourse and shut down alternatives (see entry for complete list). Diachronic separation occurs when the dominance of a discourse changes across time. Diachronic separation can take two forms: (a) spiraling inversion or (b) segmentation. Synchronic interplay is next and occurs when two discourses compete within a given utterance. When RDT researchers examine a text for synchronic interplay, they often look to see how a marginalized discourse (a) negates, (b) counters, or (c) entertains the dominant discourse. Finally, on the other end of the continuum of interplay, is dialogic transformation. Dialogic transformation occurs through either (a) discursive hybridity or (b) an aesthetic moment whereby discourses suspend their interplay to create new meanings. Conducted using RDT’s corresponding method, contrapuntal analysis, researchers using this theory work to disrupt hegemonic, taken-for-granted assumptions about how things are and call attention to voices overlooked in the past. To date, this theory has been taken up primarily by family, interpersonal, and health communication scholars, although many scholars have used this theory throughout the discipline.

This study examined the relationship between perceived levels of social support and non-supportive interactions on the depression levels of 82 low-income, Dominican-born adults living in the United States. It was found that there was a significant and positive correlation between perceived levels of social support and nonsupportive interactions. This relationship suggests that Dominicans who report more supportive interactions are also more involved in nonsupportive relationships. It was also found that individuals who reported more social support experienced lower levels of depression. However, non-supportive interactions were not related with depressive levels.

Social activity as mediator between social support and psychological quality of life among people with rare diseases: A national repetitive cross-sectional study

Dalam skripsi ini terdapat dua persoalan yang hendak di kaji dalam skripsi ini yaitu: (1) Bagaimana perencanaan manajemen komunikasi DIVA Karaoke dalam menarik pelanggan? (2) Bagaimana pengarahan manajemen komunikasi DIVA Karaoke dalam menarik pelanggan. Untuk mengungkap persoalan tersebut secara menyeluruh dan mendalam dalam penelitian ini digunakanlah metode penelitian kualitatif yang digunakan untuk mendapatkan data yang mendalam, suatu data yang mengandung makna kemudian data tersebut dianalisis dengan teori system dan teori jaringan. Dari hasil penelitian ini di temukan bahwa (1) Perencanaan manajemen komunikasi DIVA Karaoke memiliki perencanaan yang telah sesuai untuk tercapainya tujuan perusahaan yaitu Mendapatkan kepercayaan pelanggan dan menjalin hubungan yang baik terhadap pelangga dan perusahaan (2) Pengarahan manajemen komunikasi DIVA Karaoke berjalan menurut kebijakan manajer DIVA Karaoke, Dari hasil penelitian ini, terdapat beberapa saran yang dapat dipertimbangkan bagi peningkatan kualitas manajemen komunikasi DIVA Karaoke Keluarga (1) Saran bagi DIVA Karaoke Keluarga agar meningkatkan kualitas layanan dan terus mengembangkan ide untuk program-program selanjutnya dengan perencanaan yang matang agar semua program kerja terlaksana dengan baik dan teratur, (2) Saran bagi pelanggan harus lebih kritis dan tanggap dalam tempat karaoke keluarga, karena tidak semua karaoke merupakan karaoke keluarga.

This study examined the relationship of contextual factors to organizational commitment among 372 police officers in 13 police commands in New York City's public housing projects. Setting‐level variables were formed by aggregating officers' perceptions of management support and fairness and management sensitivity to diversity within commands and within three subgroups formed by gender and ethnicity. Individual‐level measures were deviations from these subgroup means within commands as well as perceptions of support from family and social support and negative interactions within commands. Overall, path analyses, confirmed by hierarchical linear modeling, showed direct setting‐level effects for management support and fairness, but not for sensitivity to diversity, on organizational commitment. Both women and minority men experienced more negative social interactions than white men; support from management, co‐workers, and family were important predictors of commitment. Family support was particularly important for women.

Theories suggest that laughter decreases negative affect and enhances social bonds; however, no studies have examined the benefits of laughter on stress biomarkers in dyads. This study examined the hypotheses that individual and shared laughter would be associated with lower blood pressure reactivity and decreased self-reported and perceived partner distress for the target and spouse in a social support interaction. One hundred seventy-three middle-aged and older adult couples from a larger study were video-recorded, and their blood pressure was monitored continuously in the laboratory during a resting baseline, during a social support interaction in which they discussed a target's fear related to aging, and while playing a game (used as a comparison). Both partners self-reported their own and perceived partner distress after the support interaction. Laughter behavior was coded using the Facial Action Coding System criteria. According to Actor Partner Interdependence Models, during the support interaction, the more the target laughed, the lower the spouse's systolic blood pressure was (partner effect). Also, greater laughter was associated with less self-reported and perceived partner distress for targets and spouses (actor effects). There were no other significant associations between individual laughter, shared laughter, systolic or diastolic blood pressure, and distress. Models controlled for gender, marital satisfaction, baseline blood pressure, and the target's baseline distress rating of their fear. In social support interactions, targets' laughter may have short-term blood pressure benefits for caregiving spouses and distress reducing benefits for both spouses. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

While much research has focused on the direct impact of socioeconomic status on cancer patients, what is not clear is the impact of socioeconomic status on social support and the burden of care for caregivers. In this study, a cross-sectional method, using a convenience sampling approach, was adopted to collect the data of 191 caregivers of cancer patients who were referred to the oncology clinic and cancer institute of hospitals affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. The participants completed a questionnaire on basic demographics, the short version of the Burden Scale for Family Caregivers, and Zimet Multidimensional Perceived Social Support. A maximum likelihood exploratory factor analysis with oblique rotation to assess the factor structure of the constructs and the measurement model was conducted. The two-factor model consisting of 22 items explained 65.116% of the variance. There was a significant negative relationship between social support and burden (b = -0.771, P < 0.001) and also between economic status and burden (b = -0.308, P < 0.01). Moreover, there was a significant positive association between the interaction of social support and economic status and burden (b = 0.138, P < 0.05). More specifically, the negative relationship between social support and burden was statistically stronger for participants with weak economic status (b = -0.663, P < 0.001) than those with good economic status (b = -0.356, P < 0.01). Social support and an individual's economic status are essential determinants of caregiver burden. Further studies are recommended to better inform the precise support needed by caregivers to enhance their quality of life, and ultimately, that of the patients under their care.

Introduction Breast cancer is associated with significant psychosocial strains for both patients and partners. Constructive social support and positive communication behavior have been shown to be protective against the burdens associated with breast cancer. Individual levels of emotional arousal during social support interactions with one's spouse are an important aspect of couples' support behaviors and can be assessed via vocal fundamental frequency (f0). Methods N=44 couples had standardized seven-minute long interactions asking the male partner to describe his thoughts and feelings with regard to their wives' breast cancer. Using actor-partner interdependence models (APIM), f0's associations with individual posttraumatic growth (PTG) and perceived marital quality were differentially investigated. Results Significant actor effects for f0 and PTG were found for both husbands as well as tendencies for partner effects and wives. Perceived marital quality was not significantly associated with one's own levels of emotional arousal. No significant partner effects emerged for any of the variables of interest. Discussion Contrary to findings in couples' conflict discussions, higher levels of emotional arousal in social support interactions are associated with positive aspects of psychological functioning. F0 during social support could be associated with higher levels of self-efficacy, which might be beneficial for PTG and constructive ways of emotional expression. Constructive expression of emotional arousal could lead to heightened involvement in support interactions and may be voiced via higher levels of f0. Further analyses to replicate these findings are necessary.

Objectives This study aimed to examine the relationships among social support (as the independent variable), subjective well-being (as the dependent variable), and pet interaction (as the mediating variable) among pet owners. The model was developed to test these relationships and to investigate the mediating effect of pet interaction. Methods To achieve the research objectives, surveys were conducted both online and offline from August to October 2022, resulting in a final sample of 385 responses after data cleaning. Analyses, including missing data handling, frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, and correlation analysis, were performed using SPSS 28.0 and Process Macro 4.3. The mediating effect of pet interaction was examined using Process Macro Model 4 and bootstrapping. Results The study analyzed the mediating effect of pet interaction on the relationship between social support and subjective well-being (measured by life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect). The results showed that pet interaction was positively associated with social support (from family, friends, significant others, and pets themselves) and with life satisfaction and positive affect, and negatively associated with negative affect. In the mediation analysis, family, friends, and significant other support had a partial mediating effect on life satisfaction through pet interaction. Although pet support did not have a direct effect, it had a positive impact on subjective well-being through pet interaction. There was no mediating effect on positive affect, but both family and pet support partially mediated the reduction of negative affect through pet interaction. Conclusions This study verified the impact of pet support on subjective well-being and the mediating effect of pet interaction. Findings indicated that pet support is positively correlated with support from family, friends, and significant others, contributing to life satisfaction and positive affect while alleviating negative affect. Notably, the combination of family support and pet interaction maximized the reduction of negative affect. However, close human relationships played a more crucial role in fostering positive affect, and the mediating effect of pet interaction was limited in this regard. Based on these findings, the study suggests developing programs that allow for shared achievements with pets, establishing emotional support systems combining family and pet support, and using pet interaction as emotional support to supplement human social support.

The United States military is a frequent point of public conversation since the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. Approximately two and a half million service members have deployed in the Global War on Terror, and many have completed multiple deployments with almost 7,000 fatalities across operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Communication research on the military has a long history but since 9/11 has picked up pace with scholars seeking to understand the military’s relationship with the media, its discussion in the public sphere, and the interpersonal/familial experiences of service members and their families. The theoretical and methodological approaches are wide ranging within the discipline, but an intergroup perspective is noticeably absent. Many opportunities exist for answering intergroup communication questions, most notably at the military and civilian divide and, in turn, offering insight about and practical suggestions for communication within and about the military. Given the numerous possibilities for intergroup communication research related to the military, researchers should seize the opportunity to bring new theoretical and methodological approaches to the area. One theory, which has not been used in the intergroup communication scholarship but has great potential for this part of the discipline, is relational dialectics theory. Relational dialectics theory (RDT) is a critical/interpretive theory/method package that explores the substance and form of relational talk with a keen eye for dominant and marginalized discourses. For example, intergroup communication scholars who study the military from an RDT perspective could help illuminate how different groups (e.g., military families and civilian families; same-sex military married couples; and opposite-sex military married couples) understand and construct, for example, their similarities and differences with the goal of improving their interactions. Intergroup communication scholars could use also RDT to study how multiple group-related discourses are present within military groups who have diverse membership (e.g., Family Readiness Groups, FRGs) where members constitute the intersections of several identities (e.g., military wives are simultaneously members of military culture but technically are not military personnel; members are also often simultaneously women, spouses, who, in some cases, are mothers who come from different socioeconomic and ethnic groups, as well as identify as officer or enlisted wives).