Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T16:23:13.787Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Hurt Feelings in Women: The Interaction of Social and Individual Difference Factors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 January 2016

Jodie L. Burchell ,
Alexandra Gorelik  and
Ross B. Wilkinson
Jodie L. Burchell
Affiliation:
University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Alexandra Gorelik
Affiliation:
University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Ross B. Wilkinson*
Affiliation:
University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
*
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE: Dr Ross Wilkinson, School of Psychology, University of Newcastle NSW 2308, Australia. Email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Research into the causes of hurt feelings has generally examined the impact of single predictors. The current article builds on previous literature by examining the interactive effects of several key elements of hurtful events in predicting the intensity of hurt. Two studies using community samples of women examined interactions between the type of hurtful event, the importance of the perpetrator, and victim hurt-proneness in predicting variance in hurt intensity. Study 1 (n = 475) used a series of scenarios as the hurtful stimulus while Study 2 (n = 380) used a number of recalled hurtful events. Both studies replicated previous bivariate relationships between perpetrator importance and hurt-proneness and the intensity of hurt, while the first study also demonstrated a significant effect for type of hurtful event. Both studies also found a significant three-way interaction between these variables, indicating that victim hurt-proneness only predicted the intensity of hurt at lower levels of event severity and perpetrator importance. It is concluded that the experience of hurt is multidimensional and contextual. Future directions for research involving gender differences and interventions for individuals and couples are discussed.

Keywords

hurthurt-pronenessindividual differencesmultilevel modelling
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Relationships Research , Volume 7 , 2016 , e1
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Downey, G., & Feldman, S.I. (1996). Implications of rejection sensitivity for intimate relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 1327–1343. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.70.6.1327 Google Scholar
Feeney, J.A. (2004). Hurt feelings in couple relationships: Towards integrative models of the negative effects of hurtful events. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 21, 487–508. doi:10.1177/0265407504044844 Google Scholar
Feeney, J.A. (2005). Hurt feelings in couple relationships: Exploring the role of attachment and perceptions of personal injury. Personal Relationships, 12, 253–271. doi:10.1111/j.1350-4126.2005.00114.x Google Scholar
Field, A., Miles, J., & Field, Z. (2012). Discovering statistics using R. London: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Fitness, J., & Warburton, W. (2009). Thinking the unthinkable: Cognitive appraisals and hurt feelings. In Vangelisti, A.L. (Ed.), Feeling hurt in close relationships (pp. 34–49). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Hesse, C., Rauscher, E.A., Roberts, J.B., & Ortega, S.R. (2014). Investigating the role of hurtful family environment in the relationship between affectionate communication and family satisfaction. Journal of Family Communication, 14, 112–128. doi:10.1080/15267431.2013.866453 Google Scholar
Kang, N.J., Downey, G., Iida, M., & Rodriguez, S. (2009). Rejection sensitivity: A model of how individual differences factors affect the experience of hurt feelings in conflict and support. In Vangelisti, A.L. (Ed.), Feeling hurt in close relationships (pp. 73–91). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Landis, J.R., & Koch, G.G. (1977). The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics, 33, 159–174. doi:10.2307/2529310 Google Scholar
Leary, M.R., & Springer, C. (2001). Hurt feelings: The neglected emotion. In Kowalski, R.M. (Ed.), Aversive behaviors and relational transgressions. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Leary, M.R., Springer, C., Negel, L., Ansell, E., & Evans, K. (1998). The causes, phenomenology, and consequences of hurt feelings. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1225–1237. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.74.5.1225 Google Scholar
MacDonald, G. (2009). Social pain and hurt feelings. In Corr, P.J. & Matthews, G. (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of personality psychology (pp. 541–555). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Malachowski, C.C., & Frisby, B.N. (2014). The aftermath of hurtful events: Cognitive, communicative, and relational outcomes. Communication Quaterly, 63, 187–203. doi: 10.1080/01463373.2015.1012218 Google Scholar
Mills, R.S.L., Nazar, J., & Farrell, H.M. (2002). Child and parent perceptions of hurtful messages. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 19, 731–754. doi:10.1177/0265407502196001 Google Scholar
Murray, S.L., Rose, P., Bellavia, G.M., Holmes, J.G., & Kusche, A.G. (2002). When rejection stings: How self-esteem constrains relationship-enhancement processes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 556–573. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.83.3.556 Google Scholar
Nakamura, K. (2014). Attachment and hurt feelings: Mediation model predicting long-term effects on the victim. (Unpublished honours thesis). University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Retrieved from http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:361021 Google Scholar
R Core Team. (2012). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing.Google Scholar
Raudenbush, S.W., & Bryk, A.S. (2002). Hierarchical linear models (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Snapp, C.M., & Leary, M.R. (2001). Hurt feelings among new acquaintances: Moderating effects of interpersonal familiarity. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 18, 315–326. doi:10.1177/0265407501183001 Google Scholar
Solomon, D.H., & Knobloch, L.K. (2004). A model of relational turbulence: The role of intimacy, relational uncertainty, and interference from partners in appraisals of irritations. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 21, 795–816. doi:10.1177/0265407504047838 Google Scholar
StataCorp. (2009). Stata Statistical Software: Release 11. College Station, TX: StataCorp LP.Google Scholar
Tabachnick, B.G., & Fidell, L.S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.Google Scholar
Vangelisti, A.L. (1994). Messages that hurt. In Cupach, W.R. & Spitzberg, B.H. (Eds.), The dark side of interpersonal communication (pp. 53–82). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Vangelisti, A.L. (2001). Making sense of hurtful interactions in close relationships: When hurt feelings create distance. In Manusov, V. & Harvey, J.H. (Eds.), Attribution, communication behavior, and close relationships (pp. 38–58). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Vangelisti, A.L. (2006). Hurtful interactions and the dissolution of intimacy. In Fine, M.A. & Harvey, J.H. (Eds.), Handbook of divorce and relationship dissolution (pp. 133–152). New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Vangelisti, A.L., Maguire, K.C., Alexander, A.L., & Clark, G. (2007). Hurtful family environments: Links with individual, relationship and perceptual variables. Communication Monographs, 74, 357–385. doi:10.1080/03637750701543477 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vangelisti, A.L., Young, S.L., Carpenter-Theune, K.E., & Alexander, A.L. (2005). Why does it hurt?: The perceived causes of hurt feelings. Communication Research, 32, 443–477. doi:10.1177/00936502052773 Google Scholar