Humor in High-Stress Relationships: Understanding Communication in Police Officers' Romantic Relationships

Communication Studies

Volumn 63, Issue 5, 2012, Pages 554-573

  Horan, Sean M ^a   Bochantin, Jaime ^a   Booth Butterfield, Melanie ^b  

^a DEPAUL UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Conflict; Humor; Humor Orientation; Police Officers; Stress

Indexed keywords

EID: 84866294694     PISSN: 10510974     EISSN: 17451035     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/10510974.2011.633297     Document Type: Article

References (76)

1. American Psychiatric Association. (2008). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental health disorders, 4th ed. Washington, DC: Author.
2. Beehr, T., & Schuler, R. (1982). Current and future perspectives on stress in organizations. In K. Rowland & G. Ferris (Eds.), Personal management: New perspectives (pp. 390-419). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
3. Bippus, A. M., Boren, J. P., & Worsham, S. (2008). Social exchange orientation and conflict communication in romantic relationships. Communication Research Reports, 25, 227-243.
4. Bippus, A. M., Young, S., & Dunbar, N. (2011). Humor in conflict discussions: Comparing partner perceptions. Humor, 24, 287-303.
5. Bochantin, J. (2010). Sensemaking in a high-risk lifestyle: The relationship between work and family for public safety families (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). College Station, TX: Texas A&M University.
6. Booth-Butterfield, M., Booth-Butterfield, S., & Wanzer, M. (2007). Funny students cope better: Patterns of humor enactment and coping effectiveness. Communication Quarterly, 55, 299-315.
7. Booth-Butterfield, M., & Wanzer, M. (2010). Humor and communication in instructional contexts: Goal-oriented communication. In D. Fassett & J. Warren (Eds.), Handbook of communication and instruction (pp. 221-239). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
8. Booth-Butterfield, M., Wanzer, M., Weil, N., Krezmien, E., & Booth-Butterfield, S. (2010, November). Humorous communication during bereavement: Intrapersonal and interpersonal emotion management strategies. Paper presented at the annual conference of the National Communication Association, San Francisco, CA.
9. Booth-Butterfield, S., & Booth-Butterfield, M. (1991). Individual differences in the communication of humorous messages. Southern Communication Journal, 56, 32-40.
10. Bui, K. T., Peplau, L. A., & Hill, C. T. (1996). Testing the Rusbult model of relationship commitment and stability in a 15-year study of heterosexual couples. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 1244-1257.
11. Casarett, D., Kutner, J. S., & Abraham, J. (2001). Life after death: A practical approach to grief and bereavement. Annals of Internal Medicine, 134, 208-215.
12. Clark, S. C. (2000). Work/family border theory: A new theory of work/family balance. Human Relations, 53, 747-770.
13. Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power and analysis for the behavioral sciences, 2nd ed. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
14. Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 385-396.
15. Cowan, R., & Hoffman, M. F. (2007). The flexible organization: How contemporary employees construct the work/life border. Qualitative Research Reports in Communication, 8, 37-44.
16. Culp, M. H. (2000). Officer-involved orders for protection: A management challenge. The Police Chief, 13, 10.
17. Cummings, J. P. (1996). Police stress and the suicide link. The Police Chief, 4, 85-96.
18. Davis, J. A. (1998/1999). Providing critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) to individuals and communities in situational crisis. Trauma Response, 5, 19-21.
19. Denson, T., Spanovic, M., & Miller, N. (2009). Cognitive appraisals and emotions predict cortisol and immune responses: A meta-analysis of acute laboratory social stressors and emotion inductions. Psychological Bulletin, 135, 823-853.
20. Department of Defense. (2007). Causality information. Washington, DC: United States Department of Defense. Retrieved from http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/castop.htm
21. DiPaola, B. M., Roloff, M. E., & Peters, K. M. (2010). College students' expectations of conflict intensity: A self-fulfilling prophecy. Communication Quarterly, 58, 59-76.
22. Domingue, R., & Mollen, D. (2009). Attachment and conflict communication in adult romantic relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 26, 678-696.
23. Doss, B. D., Simpson, L. E., & Christensen, A. (2004). Why do couples seek marital therapy? Professional Psychology, 35, 608-614.
24. Ellison, K. (2004). Stress and the police officer. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
25. Feltgen, J. (1996). Domestic violence: When the abuser is a police officer. The Police Chief, 4, 42-49.
26. Floyd, K. (2004). An introduction to the uses and potential uses of physiological measurement in the study of family communication. Journal of Family Communication, 4, 295-318.
27. Floyd, K. (2006). Communicating affection: Interpersonal behavior and social context. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
28. Floyd, K., Pauley, P. M., & Hesse, C. (2010). State and trait affectionate communication buffer adults' stress reactions. Communication Monographs, 77, 618-636.
29. Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. (1988). Coping as a mediator of emotion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 466-475.
30. Frisby, B. N., Byrnes, K., Mansson, D. H., Booth-Butterfield, M., & Birmingham, M. (2011). Topic avoidance, everyday talk, and stress in romantic military and non-military couples. Communication Studies, 62, 241-257.
31. Fullerton, C. S., McCarroll, J. E., Ursano, R., & Wright, K. M. (1992). Psychological responses of rescue workers: Firefighters and trauma. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 62, 371-378.
32. Hays, T. (1994, September 28). Daily horrors take heavy toll on New York City police officers. The News, p. 2A.
33. Houser, M. L., Horan, S. M., & Furler, L. (2008). Dating in the fast lane: How communication predicts speed-dating success. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 25, 749-768.
34. Howard, G., Donofrio, H., & Boles, J. (2004). Inter-domain work-family, family-work conflict and police work satisfaction. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 27, 380-395.
35. Hunter, J. E., & Hamilton, M. A. (1992). Path (Version 4.0) [Computer software].
36. Jackson, A., & Maslach, C. (2007). After-effects of job-related stress: Families as victims. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 3, 63-77.
37. Kahn, R., Wolfe, D., Quinn, R., Snoek, J., & Rosenthal, R. (1964). Organizational stress. New York, NY: Wiley.
38. Kiecolt-Glaser, J., McGuire, L., Robles, T., & Glaser, R. (2002). Psychoneuroimmunology: Psychological influences on immune functioning and health. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70, 537-547.
39. Kirschman, E. (2004). I love a cop: What police families need to know. New York, NY: Guilford.
40. Lazarus, R. (1966). Psychological stress and the coping process. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
41. Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York, NY: Springer.
42. Malis, R. S., & Roloff, M. E. (2006). Features of serial arguing and coping strategies: Links with stress and well-being. In R. M. Dailey & B. A. Le Poire (Eds.), Applied interpersonal communication matters: Family, health, and community relations (pp. 39-65). New York, NY: Peter Lang.
43. Maki, S., Booth-Butterfield, M., & McMullen, A. (in press). Does our humor affect us?: An examination of a dyad's Humor Orientation. Communication Quarterly.
44. Malarkey, W., Kiecolt-Glaser, J., Pearl, D., & Glaser, R. (1994). Hostile behavior during marital conflict alters pituitary and adrenal hormones. Psychosomatic Medicine, 56, 41-51.
45. Matsakis, A. (2005). In harm's way: Help for the wives of military men, police, EMTs & firefighters. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
46. Maynard, D., Maynard, N., McCubbin, H. I., & Shao, D. (1980). Family life and the police profession: Coping patterns wives employ in managing job stress and the family environment. Family Relations, 29, 495-501.
47. McCafferty, R. L., McCafferty, E., & McCafferty, M. A. (1992). Stress and suicide in police officers: Paradigms of occupational stress. Southern Medical Journal, 85, 233-251.
48. Merolla, A. J. (2010). Relational maintenance and non-co-presence reconsidered: Conceptualizing geographic separation in close relationships. Communication Theory, 20, 169-193.
49. Miller, L. (1994). Civilian posttraumatic stress disorder: Clinical syndromes and psychotherapeutic strategies. Psychotherapy, 31, 655-664.
50. Miller, L. (1998). Shocks to the system: Psychotherapy of traumatic disability syndromes. New York, NY: Norton.
51. Miller, L. (2002). Law enforcement traumatic stress: Clinical syndromes and intervention strategies. American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. Retrieved from:http://www.aaets.org/article87.htm
52. Mitchell, J. T. (1983). When disaster strikes: The critical incident stress process. Journal of the Emergency Medical Services, 8, 36-39.
53. Mitchell, J. T. (1988). The history, status, and future of critical incident stress debriefings. Journal of the Emergency Medical Services, 13, 47-52.
54. Mitchell, J. T. (1991). Law enforcement applications for critical incident stress teams. In J. T. Reese, J. M. Horn & C. Dunning (Eds.), Critical incidents in policing (pp. 201-212). Washington DC: United States Department of Justice.
55. Mitchell, J. T., & Bray, G. P. (1990). Emergency services stress: Guidelines for preserving the health and careers of emergency services personnel. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
56. Mitchell, J. T., & Everly, G. S. (1996). Critical incident stress debriefing: Operations manual. Ellicott City, MD: Chevron.
57. Neidig, P. H., Russell, H. E., & Seng, A. F. (1992). Interspousal aggression in law enforcement families: A preliminary investigation. Police Studies, 15, 30-38.
58. Nezlek, J. B., & Derks, P. (2001). Use of humor as a coping mechanism, psychological adjustment, and social interaction. Humor, 14, 395-413.
59. Patterson, B. (1992). Job experience and perceived job stress among police, correctional, and probation/parole officers. Journal of Criminal Justice and Behavior, 19, 260-285.
60. Pogrebin, M., & Poole, H. E. (1988). Humor in the briefing room: A study of the strategic uses of humor among police. Symbolic Interaction, 17, 147-163.
61. Rancer, A. S., Avtgis, T. A., Kosberg, R. L., & Whitecap, V. G. (2000). A longitudinal assessment of trait argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness between seventh and eighth grades. Communication Education, 49, 114-119.
62. Reznik, R. R., Roloff, M. E., & Miller, C. W. (2010). Communication during interpersonal arguing: Implications for stress symptoms. Argumentation and Advocacy, 46, 193-213.
63. Rogers, E. M., & Bhowmik, D. K. (1971). Homophily-heterophily: Relational concepts for communication research. Public Opinion Quarterly, 34, 523-538.
64. Roles, T. F., Shaffer, V. A., Malarkey, W. B., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (2006). Positive behaviors during marital conflict: Influences on stress hormones. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 23, 305-325.
65. Roloff, M. E., & Reznik, R. M. (2008). Communicating during serial arguments: Connections with individuals' mental and physical well-being. In M. T. Motley's (Ed.), Addressing communicators' dilemmas: Studies in applied interpersonal communication (pp. 97-119). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
66. Ryan, A. (1997). Afterburn: Victimization of police families. The Police Chief, 6, 63-67.
67. Segrin, C., Hanzal, A., & Domschke, T. J. (2009). Accuracy and bias in newlywed couples' perceptions of conflict styles and the association with marital satisfaction. Communication Monographs, 76, 207-233.
68. Seligmann, J., Holt, D., Chinni, D., & Roberts, E. (1994, September 26). Cops who kill themselves. Newsweek, p. 58.
69. Sewell, J. D., Ellison, K. W., & Hurrell, J. J. (1988). Stress management in law enforcement: Where do we go from here? The Police Chief, 1, 94-98.
70. Silva, M. N. (1991). The delivery of mental health services to law enforcement officers. In J. T. Reese, J. M. Horn & C. Dunning (Eds.), Critical incidents in policing (pp. 335-341). Washington DC: United States Department of Justice.
71. Smith, D. (1988). Firefighters: Their lives in their own words. New York, NY: Broadway Books.
72. Wanzer, M., Booth-Butterfield, M., & Booth-Butterfield, S. (1995). The funny people: A source-orientation to the communication of humor. Communication Quarterly, 43, 142-154.
73. Wanzer, M. B., Booth-Butterfield, M., & Booth-Butterfield, S. (1996). Are funny people more popular: The relationship of humor orientation, loneliness, and social attraction. Communication Quarterly, 44, 42-52.
74. Wanzer, M. B., Booth-Butterfield, M., & Booth-Butterfield, S. (2005). "If we didn't use humor we'd cry": Use of humor as coping in healthcare. Journal of Health Communication, 10, 105-125.
75. Wanzer, M. B., Sparks, L., & Frymier, A. B. (2009). Humorous communication within the lives of older adults: The relationships among humor, coping efficacy, age, and life satisfaction. Health Communication, 24, 128-136.
76. White, E., & Honig, A. (1995). Law enforcement families. In M. Kurke & E. Scrivner (Eds.), Police psychology into the twenty-first century (pp. 186-206). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.