Eddie M. Clark’s research while affiliated with Saint Louis University and other places

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Publications (93)


Community Engagement to Inform Multilevel Analyses of the Role of Neighborhood Factors in Cancer Control Behaviors in African Americans
  • Article

January 2025

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10 Reads

Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention

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Asli McCullers

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Background Although community engagement has had a substantial presence in public health research, community input to inform geospatial and health analyses remains underutilized and novel. This article reports on community engagement activities to solicit stakeholder perspectives on the role of neighborhood conditions in health and cancer. We discuss how this community input refined an a priori conceptual model to be tested in the larger Families, Friends, and Neighborhoods Study. Methods We conducted semistructured virtual interviews with 82 stakeholders (e.g., community and faith leaders, educators, and healthcare workers) across four states (Maryland, Connecticut, Alabama, and Missouri). Participants discussed the impact where a person lives can have on their health and cancer risk. We subsequently convened a virtual group discussion with 17 randomly selected interviewees. Our study team individually reviewed discussion notes, which were synthesized into a consensus document. Results In addition to constructs from the original conceptual model, participants identified neighborhood-level factors not present in the original model, including K-12 educational quality, local property investment, homelessness, public transportation infrastructure, proximity to healthcare facilities, environmental toxin exposures, access to healthy foods, and cost of living. These factors will be incorporated into the Families, Friends, and Neighborhoods Study analytic models. Conclusions Although geospatial analyses in health research have not traditionally employed community engagement techniques, this study illustrates the value of informing multilevel analytic models with the lived experiences of those negatively affected by neighborhood conditions that underlie the risk, prevention, and screening behaviors driving cancer incidence and mortality. Impact Future social epidemiology research can be enriched through community engagement.


Parental Apology Prompting by Transgression Type. N = 180
Parental Apology Prompting by Participant Gender and Child Gender. Fathers n = 67. Mothers n = 110. Daughters n = 74. Sons n = 104
Path Analysis. Solid lines indicate significant paths. Dashed lines indicate non-significant paths. Coefficients are standardized. Positive Parental Attitudes R² = 0.50. Parental Apology Prompting R² = 0.33. N = 180. *p < .05. **p < .01
Moderation Effect of Political Conservatism. Solid lines indicate significant associations. Dashed lines indicate non-significant associations. N = 180
Moderation Effect of Relationship Satisfaction. Solid lines indicate significant associations. Dashed lines indicate non-significant associations. N = 180
Parents’ Proclivity to Apologize to Their Romantic Partner is Associated with Positive Parental Attitudes on Apologies and Parental Apology Prompting
  • Article
  • Publisher preview available

December 2024

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27 Reads

Contemporary Family Therapy

The willingness to apologize and forgive is robustly associated with relational and personal wellbeing, and thus, it may be worthwhile for children to be taught about the importance of apologies and forgiveness through apology prompting from their parents. However, there is limited research on parental apology prompting, as well as on parental attitudes on the developmental importance of child apologies. Guided by Family System Theory, we investigated whether the proclivity to apologize to and forgive a romantic partner is associated with positive parental attitudes on apologies and parental apology prompting. We also examined the role of childhood experiences with apologies, and moderators of these associations. We recruited a sample of parents of 3–10-year-olds. Parents’ proclivity to apologize to their romantic partner and their childhood experiences with apologies were positively associated with positive parental attitudes on apologies and parental apology prompting. The association between the proclivity to apologize to the romantic partner and parental apology prompting was mediated by positive parental attitudes on the developmental importance of child apologies. The proclivity to retaliate against the romantic partner was negatively associated with positive parental attitudes on apologies and parental apology prompting. Political conservatism and romantic relationship satisfaction moderated the association between the proclivity to apologize to the romantic partner and parental apology prompting. Further, we share measures of childhood experiences with apologies and parental attitudes on apologies that may be useful for future research. Results suggest that it may be advantageous for parent couples to prompt apologies from their children.

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Examining the Association Between Willingness to Self-Disclose to Romantic Partners and Physical Health: The Mediating Roles of Relationship Factors and Self-Esteem

Couple and Family Psychology Research and Practice

Previous research showed that having a high level of self-disclosure to a romantic partner can increase positive relationship outcomes (e.g., Hammonds et al., 2020). In addition, being in a romantic relationship can be beneficial for individuals’ health (e.g., Braithwaite et al., 2010). The present study investigated the relationship between self-disclosure in romantic relationships and physical health and explored potential mediators for this relationship. Participants were recruited online from CloudResearch completing questionnaires on self-disclosure, physical health, romantic relationship factors, COVID-19 stress, and demographic questions. Controlling for COVID-19 stress, participants who were more willing to self-disclose to their romantic partners had better physical functioning. In addition, relationship factors and self-esteem mediated the relationships between self-disclosure and physical health. The positive relationships between willingness to self-disclose and both trust and relationship satisfaction were stronger for women than for men. This study provided a further understanding of how self-disclosure to a romantic partner is associated with physical health, suggesting that health care providers could encourage clients to self-disclose more to their partners to improve their physical health. In addition, health care providers can assist in improving clients’ relationship quality and boosting their self-esteem as part of interventions to enhance their physical health.


Path analysis on unmarried participants. Note. N = 646. *p <.05. **p <.01
Path analysis on married participants. Note. N = 1,504. *p <.05. **p <.01
Interaction of relationship status and gender to predict health. Note. N = 2,150
The Association Between Relationship Status and Health: The Role of Relationship Quality, Past Relationship Experiences, and Gender

Contemporary Family Therapy

Given inconsistencies in the literature, we examined the role of relationship quality, past relationship experiences (i.e., prior marital experiences and unmarried cohabitation experiences), and demographic characteristics (i.e., gender and age) in the association between relationship status and health. We analyzed data from the 2010 Married and Cohabiting Couples Study, a cross-sectional survey study conducted in the United States. Data were collected from married and unmarried individuals in cohabiting mixed-gender relationships (N = 2,150). Participants completed self-report measures online. We conducted t-tests, multiple regressions, path analyses, and an ANOVA to test hypotheses. Key findings were that (a) relationship quality had a stronger association with health than relationship status, (b) prior marital experiences and unmarried cohabitation experiences were negatively associated with health, (c) married women significantly reported better health than unmarried women, and (d) married men and unmarried men did not significantly differ in reported health. Descriptive statistics showed that younger adults may perceive their health more positively than older adults regardless of relationship status. Future research should consider historical context, recruitment of diverse participant samples, and more precise operational definitions of health.


Graph of cluster bar mean of z-scores of the positive religious cluster (Cluster 1), negative religious cluster (Cluster 2) and low religious cluster (Cluster 3)
Identifying Variation in Physical Health Behaviors and Depressive Symptoms among Religiosity Clusters of African American Adults in the United States

Journal of Religion and Health

Religiosity is an important factor in the lives of many African Americans, who suffer a greater health burden than their White counterparts. In this study, we examined associations between dimensions of religiosity with health behaviors and depressive symptoms in a sample of African American adults in the United States. Participants (N = 2086) completed five measures of religiosity (religious involvement, positive and negative religious coping, scriptural influence, belief in illness as punishment for sin) and measures of several health behaviors, cancer screening behaviors, and depressive symptoms. Using cluster analysis to examine the deep structure of religiosity, three clusters emerged: Positive Religious, Negative Religious, and Low Religious. In general, the Positive Religious group engaged in more healthy behaviors (e.g., fruit and vegetable consumption, fecal occult blood test) and fewer risky health behaviors (e.g., smoke and consume alcohol), and reported fewer depressive symptoms than did the Negative Religious and/or Low Religious groups. Theoretical implications and implications for interventions by clergy and mental health professionals are discussed.


The relation between perceived partner responsiveness and sexual communication in romantic relationships

March 2024

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98 Reads

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2 Citations

Sexual and Relationship Therapy

Sexual communication can be challenging to initiate. Nevertheless, people with a responsive romantic partner may feel more comfortable with sexual communication. Thus, we examined whether there is an association between partner responsiveness and greater sexual communication, and whether greater sexual communication may potentially mediate associations between responsiveness and positive relationship outcomes (i.e., intimacy types, sexual satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction). We recruited participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk (N = 119) and a sample of undergraduate students (N = 89) to complete online measures. As hypothesized, partner responsiveness was associated with greater sexual communication. Results from structural equation modeling showed that sexual communication mediated associations between responsiveness and intimacy types, and the association between responsiveness and sexual satisfaction in both samples. Interestingly, sexual communication only mediated the association between responsiveness and relationship satisfaction in the sample of undergraduate students. Other notable differences between the samples are discussed, such as differences in age, relationship length, and sexual satisfaction. These results show the importance of sexual communication for romantic relationships, and that even non-sexual partner characteristics may impact a sexual relationship.


Results from structural equation modeling. Note. Solid lines indicate significant associations. Dashed lines indicate non-significant associations. Coefficients are standardized. N = 160. *p < .05. **p < .01
The Association of Self-Esteem and Sensation Seeking with Sociosexual Orientation and Sexual Risk-Taking

February 2024

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128 Reads

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1 Citation

Sexuality & Culture

People tend to differ in sociosexual orientation (i.e., attitudes, behaviors, and desires about casual sexual relationships) and the inclination to engage in risky sexual behavior (i.e., unprotected sex with short-term partners). Regarding casual sexual relationships, some people (a) have a more positive attitude about them, (b) desire them more, and (c) have them more. Relatedly, some people take sexual risks more than others. Personality variables have been associated with sociosexual orientation and sexual risk-taking in prior research, but the associations have been inconsistent. Given that casual sexual relationships tend to be more prevalent on university campuses, we used a sample of undergraduate students to examine associations between personality, sociosexual orientation, and sexual risk-taking. Specifically, we were interested in whether self-esteem has an indirect association with sociosexual orientation through extraversion, and whether sensation seeking has an indirect association with condom use through sociosexual orientation. Participants (N = 160) completed an online survey, which included measures of the Big Five personality traits, narcissism, self-esteem, sensation seeking, sociosexual orientation, and condom use. Self-esteem was positively associated with extraversion, and in turn, extraversion was positively associated with sociosexual orientation. Sensation seeking was positively associated with sociosexual orientation, and in turn, sociosexual orientation was negatively associated with condom use. Interestingly, the direct association of self-esteem with sociosexual orientation was negative. Self-esteem was positively associated with condom use, and sensation seeking was negatively associated with condom use. Results may be helpful to sexual health educators and university counselors.


Predictors of Relationship Dissolution

December 2023

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37 Reads

Human beings have a fundamental need to belong (Baumeister and Leary, 1995), and thus we value social connections, including romantic relationships. Although most of the time we desire to stay with our romantic partner ‘forever’, the dissolution of romantic relationships still occurs for several reasons. Romantic relationships remain stable when romantic couple members are relationally satisfied and committed, but there are many instances in which that is not the case or does not become the case throughout time. As a result, it is important to understand predictors of relationship satisfaction and commitment and how romantic couples could maintain high levels of satisfaction and commitment. We discuss predictors such as approach motivation (Gable and Gosnell, 2013; Impett et al., 2005), communal motivation (Clark and Mills, 1979, 2011; Muise et al., 2012), and investment size (Rusbult et al., 1986). Next, we discuss individual differences that may serve as enduring vulnerabilities (Karney and Bradbury, 1995) in relationships, including personality traits (Altgelt et al., 2018), sociosexuality (French et al., 2019), and romantic attachment insecurity (Fraley et al., 2000). Afterwards, we discuss relationship maintenance strategies, as the absence of these strategies has been demonstrated to be detrimental to relationships. Examples of relationship maintenance strategies include endorsing specific relationship and sexuality beliefs (Knee et al., 2003; Maxwell et al., 2017) and engaging in self-expanding activities (Aron et al., 1995). We not only discuss predictors of relationship dissolution, but we additionally aim to examine how individuals can prevent the dissolution of their relationships in the future.


Willingness to self‐disclose in romantic relationships only marginally predicts COVID stress but there are indirect effects of self‐esteem and relationship commitment

September 2023

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86 Reads

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1 Citation

Social and Personality Psychology Compass

Disclosing personal feelings could reduce stress during a difficult time, such as the COVID‐19 pandemic. The current study examined the linear and curvilinear relationships between willingness to self‐disclose to a romantic partner and COVID stress. Participants completed questionnaires online regarding willingness to self‐disclose, COVID stress, relationship factors, and self‐esteem. Results showed a marginally significant inverted U‐shaped curvilinear relationship between willingness to self‐disclose and COVID stress, suggesting the trend that individuals who were willing to self‐disclose at a low or high level had lower COVID stress compared to individuals who were willing to self‐disclose at a medium level. This relationship was mediated by commitment and self‐esteem. Future research could examine the impact of self‐disclosure on COVID stress using an experimental or longitudinal design.



Citations (76)


... In addition to these, researchers could examine whether meta-parenting (i.e., thinking about parenting; Hawk & Holden, 2006;Holden et al., 2017) influences the results. Moreover, perceived romantic partner characteristics (e.g., Farrell et al., 2015;Forster et al., 2021;Reyes & Clark, 2024), such as partner responsiveness, may matter for the proclivity to apologize and forgive in the romantic relationship. Perhaps partners who are perceived to be highly responsive are more likely to be forgiven. ...

Reference:

Parents’ Proclivity to Apologize to Their Romantic Partner is Associated with Positive Parental Attitudes on Apologies and Parental Apology Prompting
The relation between perceived partner responsiveness and sexual communication in romantic relationships
  • Citing Article
  • March 2024

Sexual and Relationship Therapy

... Personalized messages, i.e., those tailored for individual people based on demographic, behavioral, or theoretical constructs [38], have been shown to elicit higher levels of attention and behavior change relevant to prevention and screening [39][40][41][42]. This aligns with the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion [43], which posits that individuals process certain messages with greater "elaboration," or careful attention to message content; this in turn prompts attitude change that is more stable and related to future behavior [41]. ...

Understanding How People Process Health Information: A Comparison of Tailored and Nontailored Weight-Loss Materials

Health Psychology

... Research in personal relationships suggests that self-disclosure, especially when sharing content about personal experiences such as moments of happiness and depression, can lead to increased trust from the recipient. (Collins and Miller, 1994;Ma and Clark, 2023). We argue that when leaders show vulnerability through self-disclosing a traumatic loss, it can help subordinates understand the values and beliefs of their leaders and may make them see their leaders as more charismatic -or influential and inspiring. ...

Willingness to self‐disclose in romantic relationships only marginally predicts COVID stress but there are indirect effects of self‐esteem and relationship commitment

Social and Personality Psychology Compass

... The ability to age successfully and safely within the community is correlated in part with one's SES, for example, their level of income and education (McMaughan et al., 2020). The majority of the participants within this program were disproportionately affected by their SES status and SDOH (e.g., limited health care access, chronic health conditions, and inadequate housing support; Administration for Community Living, 2021; Schulz et al., 2022). The SES status and SDOH were vital components to address during the implementation of this CAPABLE program; through the accomplishment of participants' self-directed goals, structured CAPABLE team support, the provision of community resources to aid with living expenses, and effective home modifications. ...

Disability and Health in African Americans: Population Research and Implications for Occupational Therapy Community-Based Practice

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

... This view, as Erickson (1995, p. 121) notes, is in stark contradiction to postmodernist thought whereby 'not only are we not able to locate the real self now, but it was never there to begin with'. It is also to ignore empirical research indicating the powerful influence of environmental factors in the construction of 'the self' (Ma & Clark, 2021). There are indeed moves to 'crip authenticity', arguing that authenticity is dynamic and in flux, changing as context changes (Abrams and Abes, 2021, p. 272). ...

I hope my partner can make me change: expected relational self-changes and relational outcomes

... The Belief in Illness as Punishment for Sin Scale (Holt et al., 2009;Schulz et al., 2021) consisted of eight items assessed in 4-point Likert-type format (strongly Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved. ...

Predictors of African American Belief in Illness as Punishment for Sin
  • Citing Article
  • November 2021

Spiritual Psychology and Counseling

... Therefore, it will be fascinating to identify social support as an underlying mechanism that links selected trait engagement, such as autotelic personality and proactive personality to employee engagement among registered nurses in public hospitals in Nigeria. Most previous research on social support has focused more on the direct effects of social support congruent with autotelic (Macey & Schneider, 2008), positive affectivity (As ım, 2015), proactive personality (Lin et al., 2022), and employee engagement (Wang & Lei, 2021), Also, previous studies on social support as a mediator between personality traits to work outcomes focused on other personality traits to other work outcomes, such as the Big five and subjective well-being (Okojie et al., 2023), Big five and mental health (Lewis et al., 2014), and Personality and Physical Functioning (Clark et al., 2022). ...

Social Support as a Mediator of the Personality-Physical Functioning Relationship in a National Sample of African Americans: A Two-Wave Longitudinal Study
  • Citing Article
  • August 2021

Journal of Black Psychology

... Not very many participants reported low levels of romantic relationship satisfaction in this study, but in future research, perhaps it would be fruitful to target people who recently experienced a severe partner transgression, such as partner infidelity (which may lead to relationship disillusionment and dissolution consideration). Also, romantic relationship satisfaction (and marital satisfaction) may be associated with life satisfaction (Hsu & Barrett, 2020;Jebb et al., 2020;Purol et al., 2020;Williams et al., 2021), and life satisfaction has been found to be positively associated with income (Cheung & Lucas, 2015;Pittau et al., 2010;Plouffe & Tremblay, 2017). Thus, perhaps there is an association between income levels and parental apology prompting. ...

Marital Status and Depressive Symptoms in African Americans: The Moderating Role of Social and Religious Resources
  • Citing Article
  • July 2020

Journal of Family Issues

... Social capital is considered an SDH related to better health status (Song & Jiang, 2022) and is an asset in community and neighborhood health that is of particular importance within the competencies of the family and community nurse in the area of health promotion (Kemppainen et al., 2013;Looman & Lindeke, 2005 Michael & Yen, 2014;Palumbo et al., 2019). The social capital of communities has been extensively studied in the field of genderbased violence (Benavides et al., 2018;Daoud et al., 2017;Ilabaca Baeza et al., 2022;Voith et al., 2021), alcohol consumption (Brenner et al., 2015;Jackson et al., 2014Jackson et al., , 2016Theall et al., 2009), cancer detection and screening (Beyer et al., 2016;Knott et al., 2020;Leader & Michael, 2013), or, in more current studies, related to the COVID-19 pandemic (Murayama et al., 2021;Ransome et al., 2021). However, most of this literature focuses on collecting negative health impacts in relation to the socio-demographic characteristics of a neighborhood. ...

Do neighborhood characteristics contribute beyond individual demographics to cancer control behaviors among African American adults?
  • Citing Article
  • December 2019

... In both networks, an inverse relationship between depressive symptoms and perceived meaning in life emerged. This finding mirrors associations found in general populations (Hedayati & Khazaei, 2014;Kleftaras & Psarra, 2012;Park et al., 2020) and among groups who experience chronic pain and/or disability (Almeida et al., 2020;Psarra & Kleftaras, 2013). From a clinical perspective, the centrality of depressive symptoms suggests that treating depression symptoms may have far reaching effects on both pain experience and other psychosocial factors. ...

Meaning in Life Predicts Decreased Depressive Symptoms and Increased Positive Affect over Time but Does Not Buffer Stress Effects in a National Sample of African-Americans