Experiences and Meanings of Surrogate Pregnancy Among Gay Israeli Men Who Become Parents Through Overseas Surrogacy.

This study explores the experiences of single gay men and gay men who raise children in couples who have created their families through surrogacy procedures in different countries and cultural contexts. The analysis of 39 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with these fathers suggests that the effects of medicalized reproduction on these men are twofold. Medicalized reproduction leads these men, on one hand, to feel alienated from surrogate pregnancy and the fetus, and on the other hand, to contribute to the construction of a new form of intimacy between the surrogates and the newborns. This highlights the paradoxical character of overseas surrogacy, which resonates with other forms of reproductive procedures. The importance of these findings is examined by means of a qualitative paradigm, through which we stress the complex impacts of medicalization on gestation, childbirth, and transition to parenthood among ART (i.e.: Assisted Reproduction Technologies) participants, in particular on gay men.

Between Mainstream and Marginality: The Case of Men and Women of Mixed-Orientation Relationships.

The literature regarding mixed-orientation relationships (MORs) focuses on individual and relationship aspects. Our study, informed by the social construction of reality theory, illuminates social aspects by examining social attitudes toward MORs as they are experienced and perceived by individuals of MOR. Within the scope of this study, we focused on self-identified non-straight men (gays, bisexuals, or men who have sex with men) who are in a relationship with self-identified straight women. Based on the phenomenological paradigm, we conducted 38 interviews with men and eight with women currently in MOR. The findings show that individuals of MOR primarily encounter negative attitudes from people in society regarding themselves and the nature of their relationship. Participants perceived that others viewed their relationships in terms of conflict, impossibility, or transitional stage. Social attitudes individuals of MOR encounter affect the degree of closeness of these couples to others in their social environment, resulting in constant tension between the participants' desire to be open to and close to others and the need to conceal and keep a distance. We argue that the dialectical tensions between disclosure-concealment and autonomy-closeness are related to the marginalization of these couples as a social category.

"How We Stay Together Without Going Crazy:" Reconstruction of Reality Among Women of Mixed-Orientation Relationships.

Until recently, the literature that addressed the phenomenon of mixed-orientation relationships, in which the female partner is straight and the male partner is non-straight, has focused mainly on the men's perspective. Most of the studies have employed a pessimistic tone, underscoring the obstacles faced by each of the partners. This study was designed to understand how women of mixed-orientation relationships construct their reality within such a relationship, focusing on elements that assist them in maintaining those relationships. Based on the phenomenological paradigm, in-depth interviews with eight women in mixed-orientation relationships were conducted. The findings indicate that in order to adapt to their newly constructed reality, women reframe various individual, marital, and social aspects in their lives. Those reframing processes constituted a point of departure to developing a conceptual model, which outlines the journey to reality reconstruction among women in mixed-orientation relationships.

The Myth of Openness and Secrecy in Intimate Relationships: The Case of Spouses of Mixed-Orientation Marriage.

The phenomenon of mixed-orientation marriages, in which one of the partners is straight and the other is non-straight, is invisible, yet not insignificant. Focusing on gay and bisexual men who are married to straight women, this article was designed to explore one of the essential themes in their relationship: the dynamics between secrecy and openness regarding the men's sexual orientation and gay practices. Based on the phenomenological paradigm, 38 men and eight women of mixed-orientation marriages in Israel were interviewed and shared their subjective life reality. Six patterns of secrecy and openness were identified, including complete secrecy, conspiracy of silence, initiated concealment (of the husband and wife), disloyalty/violation of the agreement, selective sharing, and complete openness. The findings challenge the idea that secrecy is detrimental and openness is beneficial in the context of mixed-orientation marriages. Findings are discussed within the framework of the dialectical approach.

Reflexivity: The Creation of Liminal Spaces--Researchers, Participants, and Research Encounters.

Reflexivity is defined as the constant movement between being in the phenomenon and stepping outside of it. In this article, we specify three foci of reflexivity--the researcher, the participant, and the encounter--for exploring the interview process as a dialogic liminal space of mutual reflection between researcher and participant. Whereas researchers' reflexivity has been discussed extensively in the professional discourse, participants' reflexivity has not received adequate scholarly attention, nor has the promise inherent in reflective processes occurring within the encounter.

Power relations and reciprocity: dialectics of knowledge construction.

In this article we suggest a theoretical framework of knowledge construction by employing the concept of dialectics to power relationships between researcher and participants. Power distribution in research is perceived as dichotomous and asymmetrical in favor of the researcher, creating unequal power relations that make exploitation possible. Acknowledging such exploitation has led to a critical stance and attempts to bridge gaps through egalitarianism and empowerment of participants. Some scholars have focused on shifting expert knowledge differentials between researcher and participants throughout the research project. Others have evaluated such gaps as a source of knowledge construction. In the present work we applied a dialectical approach to understanding research relationships, suggesting reciprocity as their defining attribute, regardless of symmetry or asymmetry and as a source of knowledge construction. In this article we recommend avoiding a taken-for-granted attitude, because we see it as a direct obstacle to the construction of knowledge.

Ambivalence over emotional expressiveness in intimate relationships: a shift from an individual characteristic to dyadic attribute.

This study investigates how ambivalence over emotional expressiveness (AEE) relates to various aspects of intimate relationships, including perception of the relationship, marital satisfaction, and dyadic closeness. Whereas most commonly AEE has been treated as an individual attribute, we suggest looking at a combined measure of the AEE of both spouses as a dyadic attribute. We examine the contribution of each spouse's level of AEE as well as joint couple AEE to explain variations in the marital relationship. Data were collected from both spouses of 226 Israeli couples. Findings indicated that the AEE of individuals was more predictive of lower relationship quality than neuroticism and that dyadic AEE explains relationship quality more than the AEE of individual partners. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Cooperation and conflict in qualitative research: a dialectical approach to knowledge production.

Our goal with this article is to present a dialectical approach to examining the interaction between researchers and research participants. A dialectical approach maintains that an apparent contradiction at one level might, in fact, be integrated as a synthesis of the two opposing poles at a higher level of conceptual analysis. We claim that a research approach advocating either pole might limit understanding of the complexity of the phenomenon in question. The interaction between researchers and research participants might be conceived of as creating a continuum ranging from cooperation to conflict. We adopt a dialectical perspective, and propose a whole spectrum of interactive styles between cooperation and conflict. Although some of these interactions might be perceived as a hindrance to knowledge production, we treat them as opportunities for the production of knowledge and the enhancement of interests of the study's target population.

The association of daily hassles and uplifts with family and life satisfaction: does cultural orientation make a difference?

The study examined similarities and differences between people having individualist and collectivist cultural orientations in terms of what they perceive as stressful and uplifting experiences in their daily lives, and the relation between daily experiences and family and life satisfaction. Data were collected from two representative community samples (697 Jews and 303 Arabs). Each sample was grouped into individualist and collectivist cultural orientations. The two cultural orientation groups differed with respect to the appraisal of positive and negative daily experiences. A structural equation modeling (SEM) multi-group analysis indicated a similar factor structure for hassles and uplifts in both groups. However, the two groups differed in the effects of positive and negative daily occurrences on family and life satisfaction.

The effect of security-related stress on dyadic closeness among Jews and Arabs in Israel: a daily diary study.

An important aspect of Israeli life is its continuous state of conflict with the neighboring Palestinian people and Arab countries. Given that security-related stress is so intensely experienced by all Israeli residents, we examined the effects of daily fluctuations in security-related stress on dyadic closeness among Jewish and Arab couples. Time sampling approach was used to study repeated sequences of associations between stress and dyadic closeness. Data were collected from 188 Jewish and 93 Arab couples by means of daily diaries. Hierarchical multivariate linear modeling was used to analyze the data. The findings indicate that stress results in increasing distance between intimate partners, but the effect varies with the level of marital quality and socioethnic affiliation.

Dyadic characteristics of individual attributes: attachment, neuroticism, and their relation to marital quality and closeness.

The present article focuses on couple types based on 2 personality traits, attachment security and neuroticism, as they relate to 2 facets of the marital relationship--a global evaluation of relationship quality and dyadic closeness-distance. The sample consisted of 248 married couples who completed measures of attachment anxiety and avoidance, neuroticism, and marital quality, as well as levels of closeness reported over 7 consecutive days. Cluster analyses yielded 3 types of dyadic attachment configurations (secure, fearful avoidant, and insecure-mixed) and 4 types of dyadic neuroticism (low couple neuroticism, high couple neuroticism, wife neuroticism, and husband neuroticism). Significant differences were found among attachment and neuroticism dyadic types in marital quality. The findings are discussed in terms of the viability of dyadic types based on individual traits, implying that attachment security yields itself to dyadic conceptualization more than neuroticism.

Emotional expressiveness and neuroticism: do they predict marital quality?

This study examines how neuroticism and emotional expressiveness relate to perceptions of marital quality. Data were gathered from a sample of 197 Israeli couples. Wives scored higher than husbands on neuroticism and emotional expressiveness, but no significant gender differences were found in perceived marital quality. Structural equation models were estimated to examine the effect of both spouses' neuroticism and expressiveness on their own and on their spouse's evaluation of marital quality. Neuroticism was a strong predictor of both spouses' perceived marital quality. Wives' perceived marital quality was positively associated with both their own and their husbands' emotional expressiveness. In contrast, husbands' perceived marital quality was associated neither with their own nor with their wives' expressiveness.

Cultural orientation, ethnic affiliation, and negative daily occurrences: a multidimensional cross-cultural analysis.

The present research focuses on cultural variations in the experience of daily stresses and strains. It simultaneously examines the experiences of daily hassles among people holding different cultural orientations (individualistic vs. collectivist) and different socioethnic groups (Jews and Arabs). Data were gathered from 662 Jewish and 300 Arab Israeli respondents by means of a random telephone number dialing. Differences were found in self-related hassles between individuals holding different cultural orientations and in family-related hassles between members of different ethnic affiliations. Multidimensional scaling analysis revealed a different configuration of relations among hassle domains in four groups of Ethnic Affiliation X Cultural Orientation, yielding a continuum from most typical individualists to most typical collectivists, with groups in cultural transition found in between.

Daily stresses and uplifts during times of political tension: Jews and Arabs in Israel.

This study examined similarities and differences between Jews and Arabs in Israel in terms of their daily stressful and uplifting experiences and assessed the relation between these experiences and family and life satisfaction. Data were collected from representative samples of 697 Jews and 303 Arabs by using a computerized-assisted telephone interviewing system. Contrary to expectation, Jews reported more sources of hassles than did Arabs, whereas Arabs reported more uplifts. A structural equation modeling multigroup analysis indicated a similar factor suucture for hassles and uplifts in both groups. Family satisfaction was positively related to uplifts but not to hassles. For Arabs, uplifts had a positive effect only on family satisfaction, whereas for Jews they had a positive effect on both family and general life satisfaction.

Dimensions and predictions of professional involvement in self-help groups: a view from within.

This article focuses on an analysis of how members of self-help groups perceived professional involvement and what they defined as the dimensions of such involvement. Models to predict these identified dimensions are also suggested. The instrument developed for the study consisted of two parts: (1) demographic question and (2) 12 statements concerning self-help group members' attitudes toward professional involvement. Based on responses from 183 members of self-help groups, three categories were identfied according to their main focus: groups dealing with health issues, groups dealing with alternative lifestyles, and groups based on the 12-step model. Analysis yielded two conceptually different constructs influencing group members' attitudes: collaboration and duality.

Anorexia nervosa and the family: effects on younger sisters to anorexia nervosa patients.

The aim of this study was to describe and analyze the experience of the sister of the anorexia nervosa (AN) patient. This experience was examined in terms of the illness, the sister herself, and relations within the family during the course of coping with AN. A qualitative study method was employed in an attempt to understand the complexity and nature of a younger sister's subjective experience regarding an anorexia patient. Nine sisters of AN patients in the active stage of the illness were interviewed. Data were gathered through in-depth, semi-structured taped interviews and content-analyzed by using the layer system theory. The findings provide the sister's personal perspective in regard to her emotional experience in the shadow of the illness and in regard to the systemic processes that take place in the course of a family's coping with the illness. The findings are divided into six main content categories: (1) structural processes; (2) family dynamic processes; (3) emotional processes; (4) change in life functions; (5) body image; and (6) narrative of the illness. Two theoretical concepts are presented that analyze the reality of the sister as an individual and of the family as a system. The first concept relates to the illness as a new member of the family system. The second concept relates to the sister's emotional experience as one of duality. These two concepts underscore the implications of the illness in terms of placing the sister at risk of developing additional pathological symptoms. The present study provides an in-depth description, explanation, and analysis of the younger sister's experience, thus elucidating risks to her emotional and mental functioning. In addition, it opens a window to the world of a family coping with the illness, and clarifies processes of change taking place within it.

Reduction in Services for Severely Mentally Disabled Sheltered-Care Residents: A 12-Year Perspective.

This study explores reductions in the availability and utilization of health, mental health, and social services to 144 of California's sheltered care facilities between 1973 and 1985. Results show sheltered care facilities were insulated from reductions in availability and utilization of services. While utilization in 1973 was not associated with the availability of mental health agency-based services in 1985, it was significantly associated with reductions in outreach services involving facility visits by agency-based personnel. The degree of disability of residents in a facility had little association with the availability of services across time.