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Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5622-1417
AccessType
Open Access Dissertation
Document Type
dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Program
Psychology
Year Degree Awarded
2023
Month Degree Awarded
February
First Advisor
Evelyn Mercado
Second Advisor
Ezra Markowitz
Third Advisor
Holly Laws
Fourth Advisor
Paula Pietromonaco
Subject Categories
Health Psychology | Personality and Social Contexts | Quantitative Psychology | Social Psychology
Abstract
The need to be and feel safe is a fundamental human need. Despite extensive theoretical arguments on the subject, and research on relevant concepts, empirical work on what it means to feel interpersonally safe (i.e., in the presence of others or in social environments in general) is scarce. This dissertation presents four investigations that seek to address this gap. It also seeks to highlight the consequences of feeling interpersonally safe for our mental and physical health, and to what degree healthy and high-quality close relationships influence how safe we feel. Chapter 1 is a literature review summarizing theories underlying these investigations and distinguishes subjective from objective safety. Chapter 2 validates a novel, comprehensive and multidimensional scale that captures perceived interpersonal safety. Chapter 3 examines the consequences of feeling safe for our mental and physical health across three developmental stages (adolescence, emerging adulthood, adulthood). Chapter 4 examines how secure attachment relates to increased feelings of safety. Chapter 5 investigates whether high-quality romantic relationships can increase overall perceptions of interpersonal safety. Finally, Chapter 6 concludes by highlighting the empirical, applied and theoretical contribution of the aforementioned investigations, concluding by posing suggestions for future research.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/32559917
Recommended Citation
Syropoulos, Stylianos, "On the Importance of Perceived Interpersonal Safety: Antecedents and Consequences of Living A Subjectively Safe Life" (2023). Doctoral Dissertations. 2782.
https://doi.org/10.7275/32559917
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/2782
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Included in
Health Psychology Commons, Personality and Social Contexts Commons, Quantitative Psychology Commons, Social Psychology Commons