Assessed sex differences in the motivation to share personal concerns in a friendship context among 255 college students. Results indicated that women were more likely than men to imagine confiding worries to a friend. Sex differences in intimacy imagery were found for positive outcomes, self-enhancement, and social confidence. (Author/BL)

Investigated the relationship between attitudinal, behavioral, and demographic variables and the self-reported interactions of university students with elderly individuals. Concluded variables of sex, quality of interaction with grandparents, personal normative beliefs, social normative beliefs, and knowledge contributed a significant proportion…

Examines same-sex and opposite-sex touching as well as controlling touch. Concludes that females initiate more touching, both opposite- and same-sex, and that they specifically initiate more control touching. (MS)

Used College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ) to analyze differences in self-reported gains that students make in academic and personal/social development. Findings from 929 college students revealed that female students and those with high grades (A to B+) reported making greatest gains in academic and social skills. (Author/NB)

Studied the extent of loneliness of late adolescents in a midwestern university in relation to selected variables and in comparison to other groups. Found that women were lonelier than men, and that there was a relationship between loneliness an ease of making friends and loneliness and happiness during the past year. (Author/ABB)

Undergraduate students (N=387) were participants in a study examining gender differences in social connectedness. Results show that for women, relationships that emphasized reliable alliance and not guidance contributed to social connectedness. For men, relationships that emphasized reassurance of worth but not reliable alliance or opportunity for…

The relationship between physical attractiveness and social competence is complex. A study was undertaken to assess the relationship between ratings of physical attractiveness and ratings of conversational skill. Sixty male and 60 female undergraduates viewed tapes depicting 18 heterosocial interactions. Subjects were asked to rate physical…

College students were studied to determine if taking a communication skills course increased actual communication skills. Videotape feedback was used to assess changes in skills of students. A discussion of sex differences and treatment-group differences is offered for educators. (DF)

Examined parental attachment, family structure, and social and psychological functioning among 226 college freshmen. For females only, insecure attachment and two dimensions of maladaptive family structure were associated with difficulties in social competence and presence of psychological symptoms. Findings suggest that, for college women, close…

A study (one of a series) sought to identify interpersonal events related to implicit communication. Implicit communication is defined as nonverbal behavior which serves to transmit "subintended" information. The study explored whether interpersonal roles which account for part of the process of nonverbal communication (and which were…

Investigated the effectiveness of a cognitive treatment, anxiety management, in reducing social anxiety in friendships, and whether the cognitive component would increase the efficacy for a Response Practice treatment designed to allow participants to practice in social environments. The combination treatment reduced social anxiety in male college…

Used three experiments to test skill-chance activity preference. Men and women (N=368) opted to perform either skill or chance versions of masculine and feminine tasks. Results showed that while men's skill preferences are higher on a masculine task, women prefer skill on a feminine task. (Author/JAC)

Evaluated the hypothesis that depressed students would tend to make more internal and stable attributions of causality in potentially problematic social situations than nondepressed students. Depressed and nondepressed students rated vignettes for internal/external causality and along a stable/unstable dimension. Results supported the hypothesis.…

Investigated whether black racial identity attitudes predict psychosocial competence as defined by F. Tyler's tridimensional model of psychosocial competence. Gender differences in racial identity attitudes were found for the sample of 103 black undergraduates, but black racial identity attitudes were not associated with the individual's sense of…

Investigates how conflict strategies and communicator gender affect two properties of communicative competence, appropriateness and effectiveness, and how these properties are associated with interpersonal attraction. (SR)