The purpose of this study was to examine the nature and potential effects of disclosure patterns and unsupportive social interactions in breast cancer patients. Disclosure, the thoughts and feelings people communicate to others, and unsupportive social interactions, the upsetting or unsupportive responses people receive from others, have been infrequently studied in breast cancer patients. Sixty-six early stage breast cancer patients diagnosed less than one year completed a written questionnaire. Results indicated that the women reported confiding in family and friends more than in mental health workers. Fears of recurrence and worries about the effects of the illness on family members were the most important concerns, whereas concerns about body image were the least troublesome. Failure to disclose concerns was associated with low social support, high unsupportive social interactions, and low emotional well-being. Most of the unsupportive responses received from other people were either behaviors of minimizing or distancing. Unsupportive reactions were significantly associated with greater role limitations due to emotional problems and decreased social functioning. Implications for interventions and future research are discussed.

Despite the reduction of overt heterosexist biases in the psychological literature, questions exist about the content and methodology of articles on lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) issues in the counseling literature. This study provides a content and methodological analysis of 119 LGB-related articles that were published in eight major counseling journals from 1990-1999 and extends past reviews by examining issues related to bisexuality. Increasing integration of LGB issues in the counseling literature was apparent, as were methodological improvements in empirical research. Various limitations also emerged, such as the need for more theory-based research, instrument development, and attention to within-group differences (e.g., bisexual people and LGB people of color). Findings are discussed against the backdrop of the sociopolitical context of American psychology, with an emphasis on implications for future LGB-related research, practice, and training.

This study examined the relationships between workplace heterosexism, unsupportive social interactions (negative responses from others concerning one's experience of heterosexism), and adjustment among 97 employed lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals. Results revealed that heterosexism and unsupportive social interactions were each related to negative psychological health outcomes. After controlling for outness and involvement in the LGB community, responses characterized by blaming were found to moderate the relationship between heterosexism and both depression and distress. Contrary to predictions, results suggested that at low levels of blaming there was a positive relationship between heterosexism and both depression and distress. It may be possible that at low levels of blaming, the salient stressor was heterosexism, whereas at high levels of blaming, the salient stressor was the blaming itself.

This study used a repeated daily measurement design to examine the direct and moderating effects of coping on daily psychological distress and well-being in parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Twice weekly over a 12-week period, 93 parents provided reports of their daily stress, coping responses, and end-of-day mood. Multilevel modeling analyses identified 5 coping responses (e.g., seeking support, positive reframing) that predicted increased daily positive mood and 4 (e.g., escape, withdrawal) that were associated with decreased positive mood. Similarly, 2 coping responses were associated with decreased daily negative mood and 5 predicted increased negative mood. The moderating effects of gender and the 11 coping responses were also examined. Gender did not moderate the daily coping?mood relationship, however 3 coping responses (emotional regulation, social support, and worrying) were found to moderate the daily stress?mood relationship. Additionally, ASD symptomatology, and time since an ASD diagnosis were not found to predict daily parental mood. This study is perhaps the first to identify coping responses that enhance daily well-being and mitigate daily distress in parents of children with ASD.

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Although numerous studies of people living with HIV have focused on positive social support, researchers have directed surprisingly little attention to the nature and effects of negative social interactions in this population. Based on data from a diverse sample of people with HIV (N = 271), we conducted a factor analysis to develop the HIV version of the Unsupportive Social Interactions Inventory (USII). Four types of unsupportive or upsetting responses that an HIV-positive person might receive from others were identified: insensitivity, disconnecting, forced optimism and blaming. In analysis with a sub-sample of 96 people with HIV, unsupportive social interactions were only moderately correlated with social support, suggesting that these constructs are relatively independent. Using hierarchical regression analysis, we found that unsupportive social interactions predicted a significant amount of the variance in depression, beyond the variance accounted for by physical functioning and positive social support. Partial correlations indicated that the relationship between unsupportive social interactions and depression was not an artifact of trait negative affectivity. Favourable evidence of the USII's reliability and validity suggests that the instrument provides a useful tool for assessing unsupportive social interactions experienced by people with HIV. Practical implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.

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