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Liam is a young man with Down Syndrome who I met during 16 months of ethnographic research in Montréal, Québec among intellectually disabled adults and their caregivers. Liam introduced me to his sockfriends, a group of socks that Liam understands as friends that his family understands as inanimate objects. Building on the conceptual foundations of queer kinship and intimacy, I analyze Liam's relations with his sockfriends through the lens of what I call crip intimacy. I develop crip intimacy as an opportunity to think through the lived experience of intellectual disability, of being sexually regulated, and of being denied access to certain normative forms of intimacy. I draw on the work of queer and disabled scholars who analyze how conditions of sexual oppression, stigmatization, and ableism have given rise to particular kinds of kinship formations and intimacies between humans, non-humans, and others. POINTS OF INTEREST: Intellectually disabled people are often desexualized by their caregivers and support workers. Concerns about hypersexuality and vulnerability mean that the sexuality of intellectually disabled people is often framed as a problem that needs to be managed. This article discusses the way that a young intellectually disabled man navigates his sexuality under conditions of sexual surveillance and regulation with a set of socks he calls sockfriends. Through intimacy with non-human objects ('sockfriends'). the young man asserts his sexual agency and refuses his own dehumanization, or what I theorize as 'crip intimacy'. The young man's family also become involved in crip intimacy with sockfriends in meaningful and transformative ways. This article is based on data collected through ethnographic fieldwork, including participant observation and interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the relationship dynamics among families who were uprooted from their traditional communities because of conflict in Marawi City in the southern Philippines. The study specifically explores the areas of family communication, family intimacy, and family conflict domains in households of internally displaced persons (IDPs). Data were drawn from 266 IDP marital couples through an assisted survey. Through statistical comparisons, the study was able to establish that the frequency and quality of communication and intimacy patterns fell while family conflict increased. A t-Test also indicates the decreased trajectory of the quality of familial relationship in displacement compared to prior displacement. These results underpin the fact that war harms family harmony. The study argues that the government, through their social welfare offices, being at the forefront of social care intervention, should consider providing family therapy as a specific assistance to IDPs. More than ensuring a strengthened family bond, the benefit of undergoing family therapy is vital because it may have implications for the pace by which IDP families build back better. Future studies may explore the effectiveness of family therapy intervention to strengthen its place in the social services arena in the context of internal displacement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In southeastern Nigeria, Igbo-speaking people commonly assert that "a debt never dies." In anthropology, it is well established that debts contribute to constituting social relations. Whether related to money or not, debt has wide social significance and invites moral and metaphorical interpretations. The Igbo provide a particularly salient case for exploring the multidimensional implications of debt because they regularly deploy the concept across a range of domains well beyond the businesses for which they are renowned. In honor of Peter Geschiere, this paper focuses on debt in southeastern Nigeria as a vehicle to examine sociality and its underbelly. Several ethnographic examples of debt are presented and analyzed drawing on Geschiere's insights to illuminate and explain what can otherwise appear to be paradoxical tensions and connections between cooperation and conflict, trust and betrayal, and other antinomies integral to everyday life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the struggle of an enslaved mother, Catherine Whitfield, and adult daughter, Ann King, to seek legal redress for their abuse while working as domestic servants to a leading Jamaican magistrate. While well-publicized in its time, this case was often narrated through framings which emphasized spectacular violence and suffering and minimized attentions to Whitfield's and King's own strategies of resistance and survival. Centring the women's agency allows a nuanced analysis of modalities of resistance specific to their situation as a mother-daughter pair, as enslaved domestic servants, and as women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social machines' human-likeness facilitates relationship formation with humans. This aliveness, though, leaves room for people to experience the loss of machines as a death of sorts. This descriptive study illuminates that potential by identifying dimensions of humans' experiences when an AI companion stops functioning. In the days before and after the developer-induced shutdown of the AI companion "Soulmate," users (N = 58) answered open-ended questions about the imminent or recent companion loss, their decisions around the situation, and their coping mechanisms. Inductive analysis suggests the loss was, for most, a complex emotional and technological experience characterized as a metaphorical or literal death. The imminent loss was often navigated in cooperation with companions and most coped by capturing AI personas to recreate them on other platforms. Patterns indicate a need to better understand idiosyncratic meaning-making around machine-companion loss and to consider a design ethic that plans for such loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With massive internal migration and changing family ethics, the increasing empty-nest older parents in rural China faced challenges in receiving family care. While state policies emphasize filial responsibilities in supporting empty-nest older parents, it's crucial to understand how such family support can be developed. This study explored how filial piety, intimacy, and inter-generational contract might achieve family support to rural empty-nest parents, as well as the interactions between these approaches. Utilizing a sample of 852 rural empty-nest older parents from the 2018 Chinese General Social Survey, we found that inter-generational contract and family intimacy are efficient in achieving family support for these older parents, with filial piety being comparatively less efficient. Moreover, these approaches mutually reinforce each other rather than being contradictory. These findings have policy implications, highlighting the significance of governmental support in facilitating inter-generational exchange and nurturing family intimacy to promote family support within empty-nest families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accelerating globalisation and transnational migration in recent decades has led to an increasing number of women migrants. This phenomenon calls for an investigation of women's identities as migrants. This article examines women migrants' sense of belonging through their everyday material practices. I draw on the concept of diasporic objects to examine the material objects that women migrants take with them, which function as prisms for their relationships to their national cultures. I adopt a theoretical framework of intimacy – including national intimacy, intimate culture and diasporic intimacy – to examine how women relate to their nations via a nation–family continuum. Through an analysis of 18 women migrants' narratives about their diasporic objects, I argue that the diasporic objects of women migrants articulate their domestic and familial life and connect them with their imagined national cultures. Their concept of 'home' is haunted by memories of war, patriarchal oppression and authoritarianism. I conclude by discussing how they use their diasporic objects to transform the idea of home into a rooted and transitive concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Psicoterapia is the property of Revista de Psiquiatria y Psicologia Humanista, S.L. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Romantic relationships in emerging adulthood may be associated with depression, but the role of possible mediators of this relationship remains to be explored. The present study tested a serial mediation model where intimacy and conflict in romantic relationships were predictors of depressive symptoms through the mediation of couple satisfaction and identity satisfaction. The study was conducted on a sample of 268 Italian emerging adults, 60% female (Mage = 19, ds = 1.4), all involved in a heterosexual romantic relationship. The results showed that the association between intimacy and depressive symptoms was direct and sequentially mediated through couple satisfaction and identity satisfaction. A single mediation pathway through identity satisfaction alone also emerged. The association between conflict and depressive symptoms was direct and sequentially mediated through couple satisfaction and identity satisfaction. These findings suggest the importance of helping emerging adults develop appropriate skills in managing conflict and intimacy in romantic relationships as useful resources for identity satisfaction and depression prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discourse on gamification continues to be relevant in contemporary times. This concept has rapidly emerged as an innovative trend within the marketing domain. Business practitioners increasingly view the application of gamification as a novel tool or approach to assess their market potential. Additionally, gamification is perceived as having the capacity to enhance the value of a service. Although discounts continue to be a primary draw, the burgeoning popularity of online shopping platforms can be attributed to the incorporation of entertainment features and gamification elements. Objective: This study discusses the unexplored relationship between gamification and e-commerce, with a focus on interaction, intimacy, attitudes, and gaming intentions in the context of games on e-commerce platforms. Method: This research was conducted through a Google Form questionnaire given to 127 active participants at Shopee Games, and analyzed using SmartPLS 3 software. Results: This research identifies interaction as an important factor that shapes user intimacy and fosters positive attitudes toward platform engagement. Additionally, gaming intention emerged as a significant correlate, influencing increased exposure to in-game product promotions and potentially motivating users in their purchasing intentions. Conclusion: These findings deepen our understanding of the complex relationships between interaction, intimacy, attitudes, gaming intentions, and shopping behavior on e-commerce platforms, thereby offering insights for the development of marketing strategies in the gamification paradigm. This research contributes to the growing understanding of the synergy between gamification and e-commerce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In this research, we examine perceptions of couple relationships and intimacy among older couples when one partner is diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), based on ambiguous loss theory. Background: Many studies have examined couples with one partner affected by dementia, yet few have explored intimacy when the affected partner is diagnosed with MCI. Method: A qualitative‐phenomenological approach in which data were collected through in‐depth, semistructured, face‐to‐face interviews with 16 men and women aged 67–90. Results: The nondiagnosed partners live in the present while acknowledging the changes caused by aging and the diagnosis. In contrast, the diagnosed partners tend to live in the past. In line with ambiguous loss theory, the nondiagnosed partners reported that their diagnosed spouses are physically present yet many aspects of their personalities are partially absent. Conclusion: The findings reveal two patterns of coping with the consequences of loss. Understanding these relationships offers insights into how to care for individuals with MCI. Implications: The results highlight that individuals with MCI and their partners do not invariably constitute a homogenous group, necessitating a critical appraisal of partners' roles and expectations before initiating therapeutic interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Iluminuras is the property of Revista Iluminuras and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article presents a new, RELIC (Real Love In Context) theory of love. The theory contains three subtheories. Two of them constitute an endosystem, or inner system of love. The triangular theory, an interpersonal theory, describes love in term of the intimacy, passion, and commitment one feels toward another person. The theory of love as a story, an intrapersonal theory, describes stories that characterize one's ideal depiction of what love should and potentially could be. The third, extrapersonal subtheory constitutes an ecosystem, or outer system of love. Drawing on the work of Urie Bronfenbrenner, it describes five hierarchically nested environmental systems (microsystem, mesosystem, exosytem, macrosystem, chronosystem) in which love is embedded and that continually affect the love one feels for another. The forces of the ecosystem act upon the endosystem in ways that can bring couples (or larger groups) together or drive them apart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While personality traits can predict couples' behaviors in marital life, there are limited studies on the relationship between personality and marital relationships. This study aimed to examine the role of personality in predicting intimacy and the quality of marital relationships in newlywed couples. This cross-sectional study included 115 newlywed couples who participated in an online survey. Participants completed three questionnaires: the NEO Personality Inventory for assessing personality traits, the Intimacy Safety Questionnaire (ISQ) for measuring marital intimacy, and the Quality of Marriage Index (QMI) for evaluating marital quality. Marital intimacy was positively predicted by extraversion and conscientiousness in women and extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness in men. Relationship quality was negatively predicted by neuroticism in women while positively predicted by openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness in men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses semiotic elements of ritual in human encounter. The notion of an essential ritual presence in the existential/communicative connection of persons has been established in the work of Langer, Gadamer, and Jakobson. Yet, as Richard Lanigan maintains, vital aspects of Jakobson's model of communication are typically missed in the application of his work, a consequence of which is that social science no longer differentiates between "communication" and "information". As such, everything perceived as meaningful is reducible to "message", and thus, effective communication means merely "finding the right message". The regression to our current cybernetic world, along with the intellectual paradigms enabling it, was never a foregone conclusion, but the entrenchment of social science in information theory makes it clear that an epistemological commitment to a semiotic phenomenology of communicative existence—and the visibility of ritual life—may well be our only way out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Prisma Social is the property of Revista Prisma Social and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a sexual rehabilitation program, SEXHAB, in improving sexual functioning, reducing sexual distress, and enhancing marital satisfaction for women after gynecological cancer treatment. Methods: This is a randomized controlled trial that included 150 women newly diagnosed with gynecological cancer from three public hospitals in Hong Kong. Participants were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 78) to receive the SEXHAB or to an attention control group (n = 72) to receive attention. The SEXHAB comprises four individual‐ or couple‐based sessions with three major components: information provision, cognitive‐behavioral therapy and counseling using motivational interviewing skills. The outcomes were measured at baseline (T0), upon completion of the program (T1) and 12‐month post‐treatment (T2). Semi‐structured interviews were also conducted with the SEXHAB group participants to explore their experiences with and opinions toward the program. Results: At both follow‐ups, there were no statistically significant differences between groups in improving sexual functioning, sexual distress and marital satisfaction. Nevertheless, participants in the SEXHAB group reported their partners having significantly greater sexual interest at T1 (76% vs. 52%, rate ratio: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.07 to 1.99, p = 0.024) and T2 (74% vs. 48%, rate ratio: 1.55, 95% CI: 1.11 to 2.10, p = 0.014). From the qualitative interviews, the interviewees who resumed sexual activity reported positive experiences in rebuilding sexuality and intimacy. Conclusions: Despite the quantitative results are negative, the qualitative findings suggest potential benefits of the SEXHAB for women resuming sexual activities after treatment for gynecological cancer. Further studies with longer intervention period and follow‐ups are needed to confirm the intervention effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst social media influencers (SMIs) excel at establishing positive parasocial relationships with their followers, they can also provoke intense negative responses, as evidenced by the prevalence of SMI-focused anti-fan communities. Prior research does not explain how consumers' parasocial relationships with SMIs become negatively charged, nor does it explain why this shift may fuel anti-fan community participation. Drawing from a netnographic study of two SMI anti-fan communities, we reveal that eroded reciprocal and disclosive intimacies, as well as exploitative commercial intimacies, can lead consumers' positive parasocial relationships with SMIs to become negatively charged. We demonstrate that anti-fan communities provide opportunities for consumers reluctant to sever ties with the SMI to sustain their negative parasocial relationship by rebuilding eroded intimacies whilst avoiding and/or retaliating against their exploitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on collaborative research and reflections on media depictions, marketplace experiences, and Black life in Belgium and Britain, this article embraces Black joy, while critiquing societal demands and (re)presentations of it. Informed by scholarship on racialised emotions, Black interiority, and Black emotional epistemologies, we analyse how the idea of "Black joy" has been (re)presented in media in ways connected to racialised, classed, and national discourses of "we-ness" during the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis. By analysing public (re)presentations of Black people, we critically consider how "Black joy" becomes "Black JoyTM" – a defanged expression, enabling brand advertising by tapping into the racial and capitalist politics of marketable and mediated Black emotions and intimacy. We ask, "when, how, and why are the everyday emotions and experiences of Black people (re)presented by contemporary marketplace institutions as joyful?". Consequently, we theorise the relationship between Black joy, crises, and forms of Belgian and British advertising and media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the development of vulnerable self-disclosure in supportive interactions from ages 13 to 29. A diverse community sample (N = 184; 85 boys 99 girls; 58% white, 29% Black, 13% other identity groups) participated in annual observed interactions with close friends and romantic partners. Participants were observed as they sought and provided support to their best friends each year from age 13 to 18, and as they sought support from their romantic partners from age 19 to 29. Random intercept cross-lagged panel models were used to parse markers of within-individual change in vulnerable self-disclosure observed annually across ages 13 to 18. A follow-up regression model also investigated cascading associations from vulnerable self-disclosure in adolescent friendships to vulnerable self-disclosure in adult romantic relationships. When adolescents sought support, they demonstrated greater-than-expected increases in self-disclosure each year when their best friends demonstrated relatively high self-disclosure. For girls in this sample, when providing support, they demonstrated greater-than-expected decreases in self-disclosure each year when their best friends demonstrated relatively high self-disclosure. Adolescents whose friends disclosed highly to them also tended to express more vulnerability with romantic partners in adulthood. Post-hoc analyses investigate the role of friendship stability and gender as potential moderators of self-disclosure development. The best friendship, a key source of emotional support, serves as a foundational context for learning appropriate use of vulnerable self-disclosure when seeking and providing emotional support, which persists across time and relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I argue that the social reproduction discourse from the 1970s onwards, or the so-called domestic labour debate, has been about two things: value on the one hand, and the body and intimacy on the other. While there is a highly visible stake in how domestic labour is understood from the viewpoint of value, which is still debated today, the contribution of the discourse to understanding the body and intimacy in capitalism is more hidden and less discussed. In this paper, I review the discourse on social reproduction from the perspective of value, with a particular focus on recent contributions, Jared Sacks' and Alessandra Mezzadri's works. Then, I will discuss the discourse of social reproduction from the perspective of the body and intimacy and finally link this aspect to the lessons around value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that the generation of social intimacy is critical to enabling acts of environmental care. By interrogating the intimate socialities of a group of young people who grew up in a village community committed to carbon reduction, I untangle the influence of everyday intimacies on everyday (un)sustainabilities, particularly in relation to the popular but uncritical positioning of young people as 'sustainability saviours'. I problematise assumptions that young people's social intimacies are a straightforward enabler of lifestyle change aligned with sustainability by highlighting the fluidity of intimacies and associated senses of trust throughout young adulthood. I argue further that capitalising on this fluidity might in fact amplify bottom‐up environmental care if young people can move readily between networked spaces of trust and support. Drawing from scholarship on friendship, family and community intimacies and the substantial literature on households as crucibles for more sustainable living, I suggest there is considerable reconciliation work demanded at a personal level in order to live comfortably within the everyday intimacies of social life at the same time as committing to individual environmental action. These arguments advance debates around the optimal social drivers of more sustainable lifestyles, at the same time as sounding a cautionary note in relation to the too easy emplacement of responsibility for driving change at the feet of young people. This paper examines the intimate socialities of a group of young people who grew up in an English village community committed to carbon reduction, in order to untangle the influence of intimacies on everyday (un)sustainabilities, particularly in relation to the positioning of young people as drivers of more sustainable living. I argue there is much reconciliation work demanded at a personal level in order to live comfortably within the everyday intimacies of social life at the same time as committing to reductions in individual environmental footprints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Sexualforschung is the property of Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Social networks are considered by entrepreneurs as platforms for spreading promotional messages to their desired audiences. In fact, there has been an increasing concern among users regarding the potential negative and abusive exposure of personal data and private space, but entrepreneurs have not taken the necessary steps to prevent this phenomenon. Despite the fact that users are becoming increasingly accustomed to invasive technological services, the lack of trust in data protection policies and personal space violations in social networks are now common topics for both users and the media and an interesting field of entrepreneurship research. The objective of this research is to analyze how social network advertisements affect user privacy and intimacy concerns and influence perceptions of entrepreneurial legitimacy. Using a sample of 400 Instagram users and applying a structural equation system, this research contributes to institutional theory by revealing how intimacy and privacy in social networks affect the three dimensions of legitimacy, namely, the cognitive, moral and pragmatic dimensions. Pragmatic and cognitive legitimacy are more important for purchase intentions than moral legitimacy since the usefulness perceived by users of well-targeted advertisements is more important than the individual moral acceptance of the excessive entrepreneurial intrusiveness. In terms of managerial implications, the findings highlight the importance of effective and transparent communication strategies to inform users about the positive impact of social network marketing on their decision-making process when choosing the best product, despite the loss of privacy and intimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Extramarital affairs are phenomena that often occur to fulfill an individual's emotional or sexual needs through relationships outside the marital domain. The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT) in increasing intimacy and marital forgiveness and reducing marital burnout in women affected by extramarital affairs. Methods and Materials: The present study is a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up, along with a control group. The statistical population of this study included all women affected by their spouse's extramarital affairs who referred to specialized family counseling centers in District 6 of Mashhad. From this population, 30 women were selected through purposive sampling based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were collected using the Marital Forgiveness Scale by Rye et al. (2001), the Marital Burnout Scale by Pines (1996), and the Marital Intimacy Scale by Thompson and Walker (1983). Participants were randomly assigned to three experimental groups and one control group, each consisting of 15 individuals. Data analysis was performed using repeated measures ANOVA with SPSS-20 statistical software. Findings: The results indicated that Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy was effective in improving intimacy and marital forgiveness and reducing marital burnout in women affected by extramarital affairs (P<0.01). The results of this study remained stable during the follow-up phase. Conclusion: Therefore, it can be concluded that Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy is effective in enhancing intimacy, forgiveness, and reducing marital burnout in women affected by extramarital affairs. This therapeutic approach can be used to alleviate the psychological problems of couples affected by extramarital affairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the ongoing 'reflexive turn' in migration studies, intimacy continues to be cropped out of methodologies. This article explores how intimacy can enable us to produce knowledge in a way that is grounded in and sensitive to our participants' lives. We reflect on our experiences of building intimacy during our two respective ethnographic projects. While one project analyses the solidarity practices of citizens and migrants at the Franco–Italian border, the other explores the experiences of a Romanian family in London. Although researching seemingly divergent topics, we find methodological convergences and come together to propose the concept of 'intimacy as method'. Positionality is central to intimacy, as who we are as early-career female researchers shaped how we built intimate and caring relationships with our participants. Cultivating intimacy, however, also presented challenges, including ethical considerations in how we conduct research, and how we represent our interlocutors and engage them in knowledge production. In sitting with the discomfort which is central to intimacy, we found its analytical potential as it granted us novel insights into our participants' lives. By reflecting on both the potential and challenges of intimacy, we argue that migration researchers can use 'intimacy as method' to conduct more equitable research in migration studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the ways couples making the transition to parenthood think about, practise, and assess 'gender equality'. The analysis draws on data from two qualitative, longitudinal projects in the UK with 36 mixed-sex couples, grounded in the sociology of intimacy and parenting culture respectively. Both projects explore gender relations at the transition to parenthood, with recent changes in UK parental leave as a backdrop, to interrogate couples' ideals and practices. In this article, we outline four configurations of equality articulated by couples: 'symmetry', 'breaking gender stereotypes', 'fairness', and 'equality as respect', which were developed through collaborative analysis. We explore how different configurations shape gendered practices in early parenthood. The analysis provides novel insights into the ways in which 'gender equality' is differentially defined and practised; shaped by the political and cultural context in which parents live; and relational in nature – thereby contributing to debates around equality in gendered divisions of paid and unpaid work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of sexuality in the ageing population had a more recent development than other topics, even though it is undoubling its relevance as part of the well-being of each individual. Therefore, to advance more in research is essential to look back and have a prospect of what kind of research has been done on it, identifying gaps in the literature for future studies. This paper aims to present a panorama of the research on sexuality and ageing in Latin America for the last five years (2017–2021). The data collection was done through the Web of Science platform and focused on those papers with the SciELO Citation Index, one of the most prestigious indexations among Latin-American journals. There were included papers from Latin-American countries written in Spanish or English. There were analyzed 26 research articles in total. The results give a panorama of what had been done in studies about sexuality and ageing in Latin America. Among those highlights, the absence of studies concentrates only on sexuality and ageing. Also, more quantitative studies are not comparable between countries, cross-sectional and descriptive. Finally, it is identified some gaps and challenges that need to be addressed by researchers in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two Western culture-inflected paradigms of intimacy dominate scholarship in the marketing and consumer behaviour disciplines: intimacy as interior-secrets-revealed and intimacy as knowledge-which-accumulates. This article decentres these concepts by exploring how intimacies in China emerge in complex co-created ways, from contextual settings, from the local construction of space and place, through kinship and its extensions, through ritual and embodied everyday practices, and through the situational instantiation of symbolic boundaries which separate the sphere of intimacy from the public and private spheres. The article shows how competing paradigms for intimacy, including the Western culture inflected paradigms, interact across diverse social domains in China, and further, how Chinese persons' dispositions regards intimacy are shaped by broader processes of globalization. The article draws on autoethnography in China, as well as popular culture, social media, and brand communications analysis. It offers conclusions about how to theorize consumer-culture-brand relationships considering the analyses of intimacy explored throughout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies provide some evidence that recalling positive autobiographical memories can foster feelings of intimacy in social relationships. The present research aimed to extend this finding by examining the effects of negative relationship memories on current feelings of intimacy. In Study 1, 71 adults recalled either two positive or two negative events experienced with their partner. Intimacy (feelings of warmth, relationship closeness) was measured before and after remembering. Relationship closeness increased after recalling positive relationship memories, whereas feelings of warmth were reduced after the recall of negative relationship memories. In Study 2, 187 adults recalled two relationship conflicts and rated intimacy toward their partner (feelings of warmth, relationship closeness) before and after remembering. Replicating the findings of Study 1, we found feelings of warmth to be reduced after the recall of relationship conflicts. Relationship closeness was likely to decrease the more conflicts were considered personally significant and the more a person had used self-distraction to regulate their emotions during the conflict. Future research may identify personal characteristics that could explain why, for some people, the recall of negative relationship memories is hurtful, whereas it brings others closer to their partner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This photo essay is a poignant collection of artistic expressions that reflect the emotional impact of displacement in the context of World War III. Through a series of impressionistic paintings and poetic representations, the author invites readers to witness the resilience and defiance found in artistic expression during turbulent times. The essay captures a contemplative journey over the past nine months, shedding light on the quiet, intimate moments amidst chaos and turmoil. Each painting and portrayal in this collection offers a glimpse into the emotional response to global crises, weaving together darkness and glimmers of hope. As viewers immerse themselves in this evocative essay, they are prompted to reflect on the power of art as a form of resilience in the face of adversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws on feminist cultural studies, media and cultural theory, and engages with feminist law and criminology, to argue for a newly invigorated conceptualisation of consent in feminist theory. Rather than advance a particular feminist theory of consent, the article argues for a feminist cultural media theory of commonsense consent that is both sensory and representational. This theory acknowledges that there is no concept of consent reserved for sexual encounters. Rather, a more universal, commonsense theory, shaped as much by twentieth-century media as eighteenth-century political philosophy, informs how consent shows up to social experience. The article offers a revision of feminist discussions about consent in law, political philosophy and cultural studies, proposing that accounts such as Laura Kipnis' Unwanted Advances: Sexual Paranoia Comes to Campus can be read as descriptions of consent's affective structure. Feminist accounts have underestimated the implications of the involvement of media, from early cinema through to contemporary social media, in co-locating consent with deception. This article shows how the media concept of consent-deception plays a role in suspicion and betrayal, both of which act as consent's structures of feeling. To further probe an enquiry into how personalised media are transforming commonsense consent, the article discusses the TV programme The Tinder Swindler. Various production techniques encourage a view of social media as a complete encapsulation of the social life and affectivity of consent-deception, suggesting a number of implications for a feminist cultural media theory of commonsense consent. In particular, the programme asks us to problematise the evidentiary status of informational social media linked to the changing perceptibility of consent-deception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Studies on sexual health following male child sexual abuse (CSA) have identified the negative effects of such experiences on body functioning, but little is known about male CSA survivors' ability to create emotional and physical closeness in romantic relationships. The purpose of this article is to explore how male CSA survivors perceive, experience and develop intimacy in romantic relationships, including both the challenges they face and the positive changes that enable them to grow and achieve healthy relationships. Method: The study has employed a qualitative research approach and is based on in-depth interviews conducted among adult male CSA survivors residing in Sweden. Participants were recruited through civil society organizations and an ad in a daily newspaper. Using reflexive thematic analysis, the results are presented in relation to two themes: (a) challenges of intimacy; and (b) building trust and close relationships. Results: The results show that participants desired couple relationships that included both sexual and emotional intimacy. The challenges of intimacy were related to compromised sexual identity, sexual dysfunctions and compulsions, emotional dysregulation, and body shame. Efforts to achieve intimacy were facilitated by disclosing abuse experiences, developing emotional bonds or awareness, embracing sensitivity, and having an empathetic and supportive partner. Conclusions: Reconstructions of abuse histories were both challenged and facilitated by the accessibility of various and shifting ideas about masculinities that co-exist in Sweden, which were important sources for meaning making and assisted the men in developing positive valuations of themselves as men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conversational technologies such as chatbots have shown to be promising in eliciting self-disclosure in several contexts. Implementing such a technology that fosters self-disclosure can help to assess sensitive topics such as behaviours that are perceived as unaccepted by others, i.e. the exposure to unaccepted (alternative) news sources. This study tests whether a conversational (chatbot) format, compared to a traditional web-based survey, can enhance self-disclosure in the political news context by implementing a two-week longitudinal, experimental research design (n = 193). Results show that users disclose unaccepted news exposure significantly more often to a chatbot, compared to a traditional web-based survey, providing evidence for a chatbots' ability to foster the disclosure of sensitive behaviours. Unlike our hypotheses, our study also shows that social presence, intimacy, and enjoyment cannot explain self-disclosure in this context, and that self-disclosure generally decreases over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Obstructive sleep apnea increases morbidity and mortality risks. The most common treatment is continuous positive airway pressure, with nasal mask usage being important, but not always optimal. While most research on treatment adherence focuses on the patient, the bed partner's involvement may be detrimental. Our study aim is to obtain a European‐wide picture of the bed partner's attitude and support towards continuous positive airway pressure therapy, including effects on relationship satisfaction and intimacy. The English translation of a German bed partner questionnaire, assessing relationship satisfaction and three major components (general attitude, perceived mask looks, intimacy effects) was distributed within the European Sleep Apnea Database Network and translated in participating countries' local language. Data were collected for 2 years. In total, 10 European countries (13 sleep centres) participated with 1546 questionnaires. Overall, 91% of bed partners had a positive attitude towards continuous positive airway pressure therapy, 86% perceived mask looks not negative, 64% stated no negative intimacy effects. More specifically, 71% mentioned improved sleep quality, 68% supported nightly device usage. For 41% of bed partners, relationship satisfaction increased (no change for 47%). These results were significantly more pronounced in Eastern/Southern Europe compared with Middle Europe, especially regarding intimacy effects. However, increased continuous positive airway pressure therapy length affected attitude negatively. These results provide necessary information to improve treatment strategies by including educational couple‐focused approaches. Among others, we revealed that negative intimacy effects are not considered a barrier to continuous positive airway pressure adherence. These results may inspire more research identifying regional gaps with need for treatment adjustments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This creative-critical response to Gayl Jones's oeuvre (specifically The Hermit-Woman and Corregidora) seeks to explore a personal and creative identification with Jones's articulations of muted desires, longings, and refusals and the ways this affective tangle emerges from the violated black feminine bodymind. Taking its title from a poem included in the author's debut poetry collection, gossypiin, this essay centers a black feminist poetics of survivorhood and madness that echoes that of many of Jones's embattled protagonists. Thinking through the terrain of Black feminist ontology, disability studies, and autoethnographic reflections on the author's own experiences of intimate partner violence, this exploration of "quiet-crazy intimacies" is an attempt to make sense of the voice inside the author's head that persists even through the scene(s) of their own subjection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Palliative Medicine / Medycyna Paliatywna is the property of Termedia Publishing House and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Whether founding with friends will affect entrepreneurs' venturing model? Based on construal level theory, this study shows a fresh look into entrepreneurs' intimacy with other founding members and its effects on their cognition of ongoing venturing projects. We argue that the stronger intimacy with other founding members shortens the perceived psychological distance between an entrepreneur and an ongoing project, thus lowering the entrepreneur's construal level. The construal level mediates the effect on the problem space the entrepreneurs perceive. Using two-wave survey data from 162 Chinese founding teams, we find that the strong intimacy with other founding members results in less effectual problem setting through lower construal level. Moreover, the indirect effect is moderated by venturing team size in the way that a large venturing team size will weaken the effect. From the construal level theory perspective, our findings may explain why and how founding with friends may affect the venturing model choice and highlight the importance of entrepreneurs' surrounding relationships within founding teams. This study also provides some potential practical implications for the entrepreneurs when founding with friends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Lack of intimacy between couples can have inappropriate consequences for them. Therefore, it is important to identify the factors that play a role in the intimacy of couples and can have a preventive aspect on divorce. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of determining the mediating role of marital self-disclosure in the relationship between intimacy and sexual performance and the tendency to divorce in couples about to divorce. Materials and Methods: The current research was a descriptive type of structural equations. The statistical population included couples on the verge of divorce who referred to welfare counseling centers in Isfahan City in July 2023. Among the statistical population consisted of 115 couples (230 people), 70 couples (140 people) were selected using Krejcie and Morgan's table and by convenience sampeling method and responded to questionnaires of marital self-disclosure, intimacy, sexual performance, and tendency to divorce voluntarily. The data were analyzed by path analysis method. Results: The results of structural equations modeling showed that marital intimacy has a direct relationship with sexual performance (β=0.693) and marital self-disclosure (β=0.542) and an inverse relationship with the tendency to divorce (β=-0.693). Also, the results showed that marital self-disclosure has a significant relationship with sexual performance in a direct way (β=0.265) and with the tendency to divorce in an inverse way (β=-0.154) (p<0.05). Conclusion: Marital self-disclosure plays a mediating role in the relationship between intimacy and sexual performance and tendency to divorce in couples about to divorce. Therefore, family counselors are recommended to pay more attention to intimacy between couples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School‐based supports, such as LGBTQ+‐themed curriculum, invite opportunities for challenging oppression with respect to gender and its intersections with other identities such as sexuality and race. However, more understanding is needed regarding how literacy educators might leverage these opportunities. This article describes how intimacy, oppressive actions, and activism functioned in relation to one another in an LGBTQ+‐themed literature course at a grassroots public charter high school for the arts in a mid‐sized Midwestern city. The larger study, from which this article is derived, is a hybrid of ethnography and practitioner inquiry. Therefore, this study draws on field notes, transcribed video recordings of class, transcribed audio recordings of interviews, and student assignments related to a young adult novel. Our analysis of gendered power relations suggests that oppression can hinder intimacy, intimacy can hinder activism, but intimacy can also foster activism. With the goal of leveraging opportunities to challenge gendered oppression, we argue that students and teachers must navigate intimacy and intersecting structures of oppression to enact activism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores intimacy and gendered practices in insurgent warfare, with special reference to the conflict in Nepal between 1996 and 2006. Drawing on fieldwork, we argue that women's experiences of and during the insurgency highlight how they engaged with bodily concerns and care, reproductive, and healing practices while serving revolutionary causes. By drawing attention to these particular issues, the article contends that most of the existing literature on conflict fails to account for the gendered nuances and micro-politics of care in violent contexts. It shows how healthcare provisions have been restricted to informal and private spaces due to attacks against healthcare and illustrates the long-term impacts of being unable to access public healthcare due to insecurity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Sexual activity and intimacy improve quality of life for heart attack survivors. After a heart attack, patients frequently experience sexual dysfunction and anxiety about resuming sexual activity. However, most health professionals do not discuss sex or intimacy with their patients. The aim of this research was to explore the perceptions and practices of Australian health professionals in discussing sexual activity and intimacy with heart attack survivors and the barriers to achieving this. Methods and results This study employed a cross-sectional study design and online self-administered survey questionnaire. Study participants were a convenience sample of Australian health professionals working with cardiac patients, including general practitioners, cardiologists, cardiac rehabilitation specialists, registered nurses, and allied health professionals. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations to understand the different perspectives of health professional groups and the overall sample. Of 252 respondents, almost all believed discussing sex and intimacy with heart attack survivors was important, yet less than a quarter reported regularly doing so. About three-quarters reported feeling comfortable discussing sex and intimacy with either men or women, with half comfortable to do so with patients from diverse cultures. Barriers included lack of time, privacy, consumer resources, and protocols to guide discussions. Conclusion This research supports the need for structural changes such as a clinical protocol, longer and more private consultations, staff training, and culturally appropriate patient-oriented resources to support health professionals to guide discussions about sexual activity and intimacy with patients who have had a heart attack. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the dynamics of father-children relationships in conflict management during and after the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill (Anti-ELAB) movement in Hong Kong. In-depth interviews with 17 fathers and 21 activists revealed how authoritarian approaches to fatherhood influence family conflict outcomes against the backdrop of social upheaval during and after the 2019 protests in Hong Kong. A conceptual framework of intimacy and face (mianzi or lian) enriches the discussion of fatherhood roles, father-children conflict management, and how participation in social movements affects their relationships. The construct of fatherhood is variable, changing, and relational, and it involves intimacy and face for father-son/daughter relationships to remain healthy during political conflicts. Hong Kong presents a unique case of evolving fatherhood, parent-child relationships, and family dynamics where the link between gender and social movement participation is extended beyond political-economic processes. This article contributes to the literature on the intergenerational dialogue between fathers and their activist children outside a Western context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: We aimed to ascertain the content validity of an instrument to assess health and social care professionals' knowledge and attitudes towards later‐life intimacy and sexuality (HSCP‐KALLIS). Background: For older adults, intimacy and sexuality are important in maintaining their quality of life and well‐being. However, addressing these needs remains challenging for health and social care professionals, particularly for nursing staff providing 24‐h direct care to older people with dementia or those identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or queer/questioning individuals. Existing instruments assessing knowledge and attitudes towards later‐life intimacy and sexuality are dated and fail to adequately address dementia and sexual diversity. Design: A two‐round modified Delphi study was conducted. Methods: Initially, 79 knowledge and attitude items were generated through an integrative review. Panellists rated each item's clarity and importance using online questionnaires. The content validity index for the individual and overall items was calculated. The panellists' written feedback—along with their knowledge level of later‐life intimacy and sexuality—was obtained. Results: Panellists included health and social care professionals (n = 9); healthcare‐related educators (n = 2); researchers specialising in later‐life intimacy, sexuality, dementia care and sexual diversity support (n = 7); and family carers of older people with dementia (n = 2). The instrument was revised based on the feedback received. The components of dementia, LGBTIQ+ and the provision of sex worker services in healthcare settings were highlighted by the panellists. Notably, 46 knowledge and 40 attitude items fulfilled the consensus criteria for clarity and importance. Conclusions: Acceptable content validity was established for the knowledge and attitude items. Further research is required to establish the psychometric properties of the HSCP‐KALLIS. This instrument has implications for clinical practice—specifically, in nursing care—by addressing issues to improve awareness regarding later‐life intimacy and sexuality in healthcare settings. Implications for Practice: The HSCP‐KALLIS has the potential to inform the educational needs regarding knowledge and attitudes towards later‐life intimacy and sexuality for health and social care professionals, specifically nursing staff. The findings of the HSCP‐KALLIS can be used for the development of competencies for later‐life intimacy and sexuality, establishing policies and guidelines to support older adults' intimacy and sexuality needs in health care settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing interest in identifying factors that promote sexual well-being in romantic relationships. One such factor is intimacy—a process involving self-disclosure and empathic response that is positively associated with sexuality outcomes. However, most work among community couples examined cross-sectional associations in mixed-sex/gender couples using a single sexual outcome, which may not capture daily variations in intimacy and different dimensions of sexual well-being among a diversity of unions over time. Additionally, potential mediating mechanisms of the intimacy-sexual well-being association, such as attention to positive sexual cues (i.e., sexual thoughts and feelings), have been neglected. Adopting daily diary and longitudinal designs, the present study examined whether greater intimacy was associated with higher levels of positive sexual cues and, in turn, higher sexual well-being (sexual desire, satisfaction and distress). A convenience sample of 211 couples (Mage = 30.2 years; SD = 8.3; 75 sexually diverse couples) completed a survey on days of sexual activity with their partner, over a 35-day period and 12 months later. Daily results showed that intimacy was related to greater attention to positive sexual cues for both partners, which in turn was associated with their greater sexual desire and satisfaction and lower sexual distress. Longitudinal results showed that a person's greater daily intimacy was linked to their own greater sexual desire and satisfaction 12 months later via their own higher positive sexual cues, but not to their partner's cues or well-being. Findings extend interpersonal models of sexual well-being and support the role of intimacy and positive sexual cues therein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Foco (Interdisciplinary Studies Journal) is the property of Revista Foco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Dating Wrapped trend on TikTok takes inspiration from Spotify's annual Wrapped event where Spotify users are presented with their year-end listening statistics. Dating Wrapped repackages fundamental components of Spotify's Wrapped—a focus on aesthetics, PowerPoint-like presentation of information, and quantification of personal experiences—but does so in the context of interpersonal relationships as a dating year-in-review video on TikTok. This article applies a content analysis and critical thematic analysis to 54 TikTok videos with the hashtag DatingWrapped as a way to understand how sensemaking about sexual and romantic relationships occurs when individuals create content centered around self-disclosures of intimate experiences. Ultimately, we argue that trends such as Dating Wrapped provide opportunities for personal expression among emerging adults who use TikTok, the efficacy of which is enhanced by attention to data visualization within its presentation format. Second, TikTok trends centered around interpersonal relationships may influence the formation of sexual and romantic identities through processes of mediated learning about relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although concerns regarding intimacy abound among burn survivors, these are often not captured during rehabilitation. Considering that sexuality remains a part of humans suggests a critical need to pay attention to this aspect. To guide further work, this review sought to examine existing studies to ascertain what is known about factors associated with sexual role functioning, sexual satisfaction, and intimacy, the scree ning tools employed, and the preparedness of burn care staff in initiating discussions about these. We employed a scoping review approach with extensive searches in 4 peer-reviewed databases for studies reporting on the phenomenon, published in English from 2010 to date. A total of 17 studies comprising of 13 studies reporting on the burn survivors and 4 reporting on burn care staff were retained. Though we identified both sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with postburn sexual role functioning, sexual satisfaction, and intimacy, the existing evidence appear limited which made it rather difficult to draw definitive conclusions. The sexuality subscale of the Burn-Specific Health Scale-Brief emerged as the commonly used screening/assessment tool. The evidence suggest that burn care staff are generally unprepared to initiate discussions regarding sexual role functioning, sexual satisfaction, and intimacy and often, there is no personnel assigned to this task. There is a great need for studies to strengthen the evidence base regarding the factors associated with postburn sexual role functioning, sexual satisfaction, and intimacy. In addition, it is imperative to build capacity of burn care practitioners with the requisite know-how needed to navigate through sexual issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critically engaging with prevailing theories of change in masculinities, this article offers a feminist poststructuralist account of Australian men's increasingly intimate same-gender friendships. Per Beasley, feminist poststructuralists treat social change as a consequence of contestation between discourses. In line with this, I contend that the increasing influence of feminist, queer-inclusion and therapeutic counter-discourses in recent decades has destabilised (but not overridden) masculinist discourse in the context of men's friendships, offering men an alternative subject position that allows care, expressiveness and intimacy. Here, I define each of these counter-discourses, demonstrate how they challenge the discursive components of masculinism and use snippets of data from an intergenerational study of Australian men's friendships to illustrate how this shapes men's homosocial practices. Ultimately, I argue that by applying a feminist poststructuralist lens, scholars can examine how men navigate new and contentious discursive terrain, and better account for the complexity of social change in masculinities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is limited in-depth theorisation of positive coming-out experiences within families of origin. This is especially true for diasporic South Asian communities living in majority Anglophone contexts. The article draws on a study of 15 gay men of South Asian descent, in Australia, to analyse how coming out can lead to positive developments in family relations, even if they exist alongside negativity about one's sexuality. Coming out can introduce greater intimacy into family attachments, which at times turns family members into friends, and intimacy and friendship might serve as a reason for coming out in the first place. These processes strengthen familial ties, and data illustrates that concepts such as intimacy, friendship, and suffusion, can be used to conceptualise positive outcomes. We recommend further exploration of such stories in diasporic South Asian communities, to challenge the negativity often associated with this group in relation to their same-sex-attracted kin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]