Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling Commons^™

Review Of Social Work With Children And Their Families: Pragmatic Foundations. Christopher G. Petr. Reviewed By Dorinda N. Noble, Louisiana State University., Dorinda N. Noble

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Petr, Christopher G. (1998). Social Work with Children and their Families: Pragmatic Foundations. New York: Oxford University Press.

Marital Decision Making Scale: Psychometric Properties, Kathy Szynklewski Babel

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The psychometric properties of a revised version of the Marital Decision Making Scale (MDMS) were evaluated in this investigation. Sixty-eight couples served as participants. Distressed couples (n=34) were recruited from a community-based outpatient mental health clinic where they were seeking conjoint therapy for relationship problems; demographically matched nondistressed couples (n=34) were recruited from the community through a local survey research firm. The MDMS showed high internal consistency, test-retest reliability, interjudge agreement, and convergent and discriminant validity. A second independent sample of 60 couples (30 distressed couples and 30 nondistressed couples) was also recruited to cross-validate the results found with the …

Family-Of-Origin Distress And Intimacy In Later-Life Couples, Paul James Birch

Theses and Dissertations

Married couples aged 55-98 were surveyed regarding their perceptions of family-of-origin distress, their affective communication and problem solving communication skills, and their emotional intimacy. Two 2-way ANOVAs were performed with husbands' (model 1) and wives' (model 2) emotional intimacy scores as dependent measures and family-of-origin distress scores as the independent measures. Then both models were re-analyzed with affective communication and problem solving communication entered as co-variates. Results suggested that for both husbands and wives, emotional intimacy was affected by family-of-origin distress. Additionally, intimacy was affected by the distress in their spouses' family-of-origin in both models. Post-hoc analyses suggested that as …

Social Support In Marriage: Translating Research Into Practical Applications For Clinicians, Kieran T. Sullivan, Lauri A. Pasch, Kathleen A. Eldridge, Thomas N. Bradbury

Psychology

How spouses support one another may be important in understanding and preventing marital distress, but has received relatively little attention. Instead, the behavioral model of marriage and corresponding treatment protocols have focused on the importance of good conflict management skills in preventing and treating marital distress. This paper outlines recent research indicating that couples social support skills predict marital outcome two years later, above and beyond conflict management skills. These results indicate that successful prevention and treatment programs may need to incorporate support skills training as well as conflict management training. Practical implications of this research are outlined, and specific …

Childhood Sexual Abuse: Long Versus Short Term Effects, Joyce Skinner

Graduate Research Papers

Research over the past decade indicates that a wide range of psychological and interpersonal problems are more prevalent among those who have been sexually abused than among individuals with no such experiences. This paper summarizes what is currently known about these potential impacts of child sexual abuse. The various problems and symptoms described in the literature on child sexual abuse are reviewed in a series of broad categories including post-traumatic stress, emotional pain, avoidance, an impaired self, and interpersonal difficulties. Research has determined that the extent to which a given individual manifests abuse-related distress is a function of an undetermined …

The Biography Of A Scale: Contextual Factors That Influence The Measurement Of Family Functioning, Ludwig Geismar

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The subject of instrument relevance is addressed by examining issues that have arisen in the use of a single scale over a forty year period. The issues revolve around the impact of varying social conditions, changing ethos, differential respondent receptiveness, and evolving research technology. Extended use of an instrument, it is argued, yields information that transcends the conventional techniques for testing instrument adequacy. The lack of opportunities in social work for accessing information on extended use of measurement tools is due, among other factors, to a preoccupation with working on subjects that are new and original and to a lack …

Ackerman Lecture, Suzanne Iasenza

Center for LGBTQ Studies (CLAGS)

The First Annual Dr. John Patten Memorial Lecture was held November 14 at the Hunter College of Social Work. CLAGS agreed to cosponsor the lecture, developed to honor the life and work of Dr. John Patten, faculty member of the Ackerman Institute for Family Therapy, Medical Director of the Institute's AIDS Project, and co-founder and co-director f the Institute's Gay and Lesbian Family Study Project. Dr. Patten was also co-founder and senior editor of In The Family Magazine, a family therapy-oriented magazine for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and their relations. He died of AIDS on October 4, 1995.

The Kinetic Family Drawing As A Measure Of Minuchin's Structural Family Concepts Among Hispanic American Families With Substance-Abusing And Nonsubstance-Abusing Adolescents, José Osorio-Braña

Dissertations

Problem. There is a need for validation of new cultural-sensitive tests for assessing the Hispanic population in the United States that will take into account their cultural competence in the psychological evaluation practice. The purpose of this study was to explore the suitability of the Kinetic Family Drawings as a measure of Minuchin's Structural Family Theory among Hispanic American families with substance-abusing and nonsubstance-abusing adolescents.

Method. The Kinetic Family Drawing (KFD), the Structural Family Interaction Scale-Revised (SFIS-R), and the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales (FACES II) were administered to 141 families, 74 with an adolescent with substance-abusing problems and 67 …

Crisis Of Infertility: Effects Of Length Of Treatment On Emotional And Marital Adjustment, Christie L. Markestad

Graduate Theses

Twenty infertile couples participated in the present study to investigate whether infertile couples receiving medical treatment experience changes in their emotional, marital and sexual adjustment as a result of the length of time they have been in treatment. The couples were divided into three groups based on how long they had been seeking medical attention for infertility. The instruments administered were: SCL-90-R (Symptom Checklist), Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) and Index of Sexual Satisfaction (ISS). It was predicted couples who were in the initial stages of treatment would experience increased levels of emotional, marital and sexual distress, however those levels would …

Hearing Metaphor: A Study Of Clients' Use Of Language In A Family Therapy Situation, Christopher Allen Whynot

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Metaphor is defined as a central function of language by which different realms of experience are conjoined and which operates at the nexus of internal and social processes. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used in an exploratory study of metaphor use by families in therapy. Significant differences were found in quantity of metaphor use along gender and generational axes. Content analysis also identified some suggestive differences with respect to issues of agency and imagery along lines of gender and parenting status. Categories nominated from the identified metaphors are also suggestive of the differential dilemmas faced by the clients. The study …

Effects Of Adventist Engaged Encounter On Role Expectations And Growth In Premarital Relations, Jeffrey O. Brown

Dissertations

Problem. There is a growing concern in present society over what have come to be known as 'family values.' At the heart of these values lies marriage, and the erosion of this ancient institution has caused practitioners and researchers alike to focus on possible opportunities afforded by premarital intervention. With the proliferation of enrichment programs, there is a need in the church for an evaluation of Adventist Engaged Encounter (AEE), the largest group premarital intervention program in the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, especially as it relates to two of its primary foci: role expectations and growth.

Method. Demographic details were obtained …

The Relationships Between Marital Adjustment, Family Functioning, Task Management And Family Relationship Concerns In Couples Incorporating A Second Child, Amy Diguiseppe Bade

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among variables identified as potentially significant during the transition to second time parenthood. The theoretical framework for this study was based on the Circumplex Model of family systems (Olson, Sprenkle & Russell, 1979; Olson, Russell & Sprenkle, 1983), and a five domain structural model of marital and family adaptation (Cowan & Cowan, 1988).

The convenience sample consisted of 49 Caucasian middle class couples all expecting their second child. This was a one group pretest-posttest design with the birth of the second child functioning as the independent variable. The dependent variables …

Gender-Based Division Of Child-Rearing Responsibilities: A Developmental Investigation, Thomas R. Klock

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

The "Significant Other" In Marital And Family Therapy, Nathan Hurvitz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The significant other (SO) is derived from the social behaviorism of G. H. Mead which is comparable to contemporary cognitive behaviorism. The SO is defined as an analytical concept by examining interaction in social acts; it includes attributes associated with the family member's role-reciprocity, meanings, affect, self-concept and modeling; and it is associated with concepts such as transformation, attribution and social interchange. The process by which the therapist becomes an SO to the family members individually and jointly, and how he or she utilizes transformation, attribution and social interchange are outlined.

The Divorce Experience And Its Impact On The Father-Child Relationship, Susan Coffman, Ellen Lane, Erika Worth

Dissertations and Theses

This project began with the notion that an in-depth examination of perceived changes in the parent-child relationship as reported by the noncustodial father would be both beneficial to mental health professionals as well as to paraprofessional groups and organizations working with divorced fathers. The authors were aware of much related research pertaining to the children of divorced parents and also the plight of divorced mothers, but felt there to be a lack of data concerning the noncustodial father and thus identified this area as an important mental health concern.

Recent Role Changes Made By Women And The Effect These Changes Have Had On Marital Adjustment, Nancy L. Scolar

Dissertations and Theses

Sex Roles, A History. From Insects to humans, gender is associated with specific behavior. Below the mammals there are sex differences in dominance that are correlated with androgen function on the inside, and with certain types of stimulation on the outside. In higher forms, the increasing complexity of brain development means increasing capacity for modification through experience and learned modes of adaptation to the environment.

By the time the primate level is reached, social influences have become so intricate and compelling as to clearly foreshadow culture.

According to Elizabeth Janeway in her article Reflections on the History of Women, in …

Verbal Accessibility And Authoritarian Family Ideology: A Study Of 50 Graduate Social Work Students And Their Spouses, Linda Louise Metz

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis is the fourth in a series of empirical investigations concerned with symbolic interaction in marriage. Its basic assumption is that personal predispositions of marital partners as well as the social context of their marriage influences marital intimacy particularly the partner's readiness to communicate verbally with each other about important attitudes and feelings.

Fifty married graduate students attending Portland State University School of Social Work and their spouses comprised the sample. The subjects responded to three instruments: (1) a personality scale (Authoritarian Family Ideology – AFI) developed by Jane Loevinger, (2) a measure of verbal accessibility (VA), and (3) …

Multi-Family Group Treatment Of Multi-Problem Families: Preliminary Study, Judith S. Duckman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

No abstract provided.

The Adjustment Of Eighty Correspondence Club Members As Indicated By Two Adjustment Inventories, Maurice R. Seaquist

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

It is the purpose of the present thesis to determine the adjustment of a sampling of correspondence club members. The hypothesis is that the social adjustment of these individuals is inferior to that of the individuals used in two personality inventories. In addition, answers to these questions are sought:

1. Is there a common need or problem that motivates these men and women to seek companionship through correspondence agencies?
2. What is their age, sex, cultural and geographical background?
3. What are the physical qualities and economic status of the members and what qualities and status are they seeking in the members they …