Links between unmitigated communion, interpersonal behaviors and well-being: A daily diary approach

Helgeson, Vicki S.; Swanson, Joshua; Ra, Onehyuk; Randall, Honor; Zhao, Yu

doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2014.12.007

Cited by 14 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…A daily diary study of college students showed that unmitigated communion did not moderate the relation of support receipt to well-being, but that study involved healthy individuals (Helgeson et al, 2015). Because individuals who score high on unmitigated communion are more heavily invested in relationships, as indicated by its connection to an externalized self-perception (i.e.…”

Section: Interactions With Personalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of supportive and unsupportive behavior for couples with newly diagnosed diabetes.

Helgeson¹,

Mascatelli²,

Seltman³

et al. 2016

Health Psychology

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Objective To examine the relation between daily diary reports of diabetes-specific social interactions to patient and partner mood and patient self-care behaviors, and whether relations are moderated by unmitigated communion. Methods Participants were 70 couples in which one person had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in the past 3 years. They were interviewed in-person at baseline and completed daily diary reports on an iPad. Daily diary questionnaires measured support, mood, and self-care behavior (patients only). Unmitigated communion, a personality trait characterized by an overinvolvement in others to the exclusion of the self, was measured at baseline. Results Multi-level statistical modeling revealed that daily fluctuations in partner emotional support were related to daily fluctuations in happy mood, more exercise, and dietary compliance. Partner controlling behavior was related to poor mood but was unrelated to self-care. Relations of support and controlling behavior to mood were strongest for individuals high (vs. low) in unmitigated communion. Conclusions Patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes who felt understood and cared for by partners reported a better mood and were more likely to take care of themselves on a daily basis, whereas patients whose partners were controlling on a daily basis reported poorer mood. Patients characterized by unmitigated communion were most affected by partner supportive and unsupportive behavior.

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Section: Interactions With Personalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of supportive and unsupportive behavior for couples with newly diagnosed diabetes.

Helgeson¹,

Mascatelli²,

Seltman³

et al. 2016

Health Psychology

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“…Whereas anxious attachment and neediness draw from a fear of abandonment and needing approval of others which may elicit behaviours that contribute to interpersonal stressors, unmitigated communion draws from being overinvolved in caring for others to the exclusion of oneself. It is possible that unmitigated communion may contribute to a sense of greater perceived stress and lower well-being (Helgeson et al, 2015) that is felt within person, but its effect is less evident in terms of negative interactions with others. While Helgeson et al (2015) demonstrated that unmitigated communion was related to increased support giving and interpersonal problems such as being overly nurturant, intrusive, and exploitable, unmitigated communion was not associated with dependent interpersonal stress or independent stress in the present study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specifically, a distinction has been made in the health psychology literature between communion and unmitigated communion, with unmitigated communion being the maladaptive form of communion, conceptualized as an overinvolvement in others to the exclusion of oneself (Helgeson, 1994;. In recent years, work in the area of unmitigated communion has begun to consider it as a moderator of how stress is associated with well-being and negative affect (Helgeson, Swanson, Ra, Randall, & Zhao, 2015;Nagurney, 2007). In recent years, work in the area of unmitigated communion has begun to consider it as a moderator of how stress is associated with well-being and negative affect (Helgeson, Swanson, Ra, Randall, & Zhao, 2015;Nagurney, 2007).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similar to the findings on dependency, the maladaptive form of communion is associated with greater psychological distress and poorer health outcomes. Behaviourally, Helgeson et al (2015) found that individuals high on unmitigated communion provided more support to others and reported being overly nurturant on a daily basis. Behaviourally, Helgeson et al (2015) found that individuals high on unmitigated communion provided more support to others and reported being overly nurturant on a daily basis.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similar to the findings on dependency, the maladaptive form of communion is associated with greater psychological distress and poorer health outcomes. In recent years, work in the area of unmitigated communion has begun to consider it as a moderator of how stress is associated with well-being and negative affect (Helgeson, Swanson, Ra, Randall, & Zhao, 2015;Nagurney, 2007). Behaviourally, Helgeson et al (2015) found that individuals high on unmitigated communion provided more support to others and reported being overly nurturant on a daily basis.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Interpersonal predictors of stress generation: Is there a super factor?

Shih

Barstead

Dianno

2017

British J of Psychology

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Hammen's (1991, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100, 555-561) seminal paper on stress generation highlighted the reciprocal relationship between stress and depression. Not only does stress predict depression, but women with a diagnosis of depression also experienced subsequent increased levels of stress. In the ensuing years, depression researchers have moved beyond clinical predictors and examined whether depression vulnerability factors also contribute to stress generation. This interest has led to a growing focus on interpersonal vulnerability factors that contribute to stress generation. To date, the research examining interpersonal predictors of stress generation has tended to examine vulnerability factors singly and thus potential overlap and unique predictions among vulnerability factors have not been determined. This study examines interpersonal vulnerability factors from various schools of thought (dependency, attachment, and unmitigated communion) as predictors of interpersonal stress generation. Three hundred and sixty-four young adults completed baseline measures of interpersonal vulnerabilities and provided weekly reports of depressive symptoms and stressful life events. Multilevel models were estimated to examine their unique predictions of interpersonal stress generation. Despite converging theories, there does not appear to be a single super factor. Of the interpersonal vulnerability factors tested, anxious attachment emerged as a consistent predictor of interpersonal stress generation both when examined singly and when in combination with related variables.

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