Family, Life Course, and Society Commons^™

Making The Case For Marriage, Jennifer Crockett, Marissa Beebe, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

In a recent report from the National Marriage Project, scholars David Popenoe and Barbara Dafoe Whitehead wrote, "Marriage is a fundamental social institution. It is central to the nurture and raising of children. It is the ‘social glue’ that reliably attaches fathers to children. It contributes to the physical, emotional and economic health of men, women and children, and thus to the nation as a whole. It is also one of the most highly prized of all human relationships and a central life goal of most Americans."

Strengthening Marriage Through Marriage Enrichment Programs, Bradley Owens, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

The Family: A Proclamation to the World states that marriage partners have "a solemn obligation to love and care for each other" (¶ 6). This love and care requires intentional effort. One way to make this effort is through marriage enrichment programs.

Couples That Play Together Stay Together, Staci Albrechtsen, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

The famous saying "families that play together stay together" could also extend to include "couples that play together stay together." Joint leisure activity and recreation are the fancy names experts use to describe play. In other words, they describe adults having a fun time together. Play is not just for kids. You are never too old to participate in wholesome, fun, recreational activities, and doing so has benefits.

Nurturing Love And Respect In Marriage, Megan Northrup, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

The Family: A Proclamation to the World reminds us that we have an obligation to love and serve our marriage partner. To love them effectively, we have to know and understand their inner world—their likes, dislikes, thoughts, and feelings. Taking the time to do this and then acting on what we learn is a powerful way to nurture love and respect in our marriage. Researcher John Gottman1 calls this process enhancing our "love maps."

Increasing Intimacy In Marriage, Derek Willis Hagey, Amber L. Brewer, Rachel V. Jamieson, Robert F. Stahmann, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

Intimacy is the closeness of your relationship with your spouse -- emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, sexually, and in many other ways. Intimacy is not an end goal but rather a journey that lasts throughout your marriage. Marriage and family researchers Schaefer and Olson4 describe attaining intimacy as "a process that occurs over time and is never completed or fully accomplished" (p. 50). As you both grow and develop, each of you changes. If you neglect intimacy in your marriage, you will grow apart. The time to work on intimacy is now.

Creating Shared Meaning, Megan Northrup, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

Culture is not limited to countries or nations. Even two people who share a life together can create their own culture. They can have customs, traditions, stories, and beliefs that bind them and give meaning to their life together.

Building A Fondness And Admiration System, Megan Northrup, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

No one's perfect, including you and the person you're married to. Maybe she squeezes the toothpaste from the middle or he leaves the toilet seat up. Maybe she is bull-headed and he is annoyingly indecisive. Maybe one of you is a workaholic and another spends too much money.

Strengthening Your Relationship With Regular "Couple Meetings", Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

Our country is more health-conscious than ever. Millions seek out a variety of health assessments, ranging from simple blood pressure checks to a thorough analysis of blood chemistry. The result: America's health is better than ever.

Moving From Gridlock To Dialogue, Megan Northrup, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

Do you feel hopelessly stuck over a problem that you and your spouse just can't solve? If so, learning to cope with the conflict may seem impossible, and you might fear your relationship is doomed. But don't despair. Many couples learn to deal with their gridlocked problems and build happy, successful relationships.

Handling Conflict In Marriage, Trampas J. Rowden, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

Disagreements and arguments crop up in even the best marriages. It's how conflict is handled that is an important key to marital success or failure.

Current research confirms that poorly handled conflict between married couples can negatively influence mental, physical, and family health. Feelings of anger, bitterness, and unhappiness (sometimes leading to separation and divorce) often result.

But couples need not settle for these experiences. Partners can realize, as stated in The Family: A Proclamation to the World, that "marriage between a man and woman is ordained of God" (¶ 1) and that successful and happy marriages "are established …

Baby Makes Three, Amberlie Lane, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

Expecting the first baby is an exciting time for most couples. Most couples understand that having a baby will call for certain sacrifices, but many don’t fully comprehend the challenges their marriage will face once two become three. The Family: A Proclamation to the World states that “husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to care for each other and for their children” (¶ 6). While babies do bring joy and rejoicing, they can be demanding and stressful. In these circumstances, attending to the baby’s needs may take precedence over caring for one’s spouse.

Immunized Against Infidelity: "Affair-Proofing" Your Marriage, Megan Northrup, Robert F. Stahmann, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

The Family: A Proclamation to the World emphasizes the sacredness of marriage and declares that men and women should "honor marital vows with complete fidelity" (¶ 7). The importance of fidelity and God's disapproval of adultery have been emphasized throughout the Judeo-Christian scriptural tradition.

Coping With The Chronic Illness Of A Spouse, Shelece Mcallister, Susanne Olsen Roper, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

Sometimes couples are faced with problems they do not anticipate. One such issue is that of chronic illness. A chronic illness is a medical condition that lasts for a long time, sometimes for the rest of someone's life. Chronic illnesses include conditions like diabetes, arthritis, and cancer, among many others. Chronic illnesses may appear quickly or gradually, and they are often unexpected. As a couple, be informed about the illness you are facing. Seek out information from your doctor and from reputable medical websites. Organizations may exist to help those with your spouse's chronic illness. Learning about the condition will …

Everyday Marriage, Rachel Loser, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

Everyday marriage is what most marriages are used to. As couples learn to love everyday marriage, they will find their marriage satisfying, renewing, and nourishing.

Helpful Resources For Pornography Addictions And Other Problematic Sexual Behaviors, Jill Christine Manning

Forever Families

This workbook is acompanion to In the Shadows of the Net: Breaking Free of Compulsive Online Sexual Behavior (2001). The book is well-laid out and has a professional tone throughout. The approach is holistic in that it takes into consideration one's stage of change, level of self-awareness, relapse prevention, triggers, psychological defenses, relationship patterns and lifestyle factors. The workbook also goes into quite a bit of detail as to why sexual behavior online is problematic.

Benefits Of Couple Prayer, Andrew S. Brimhall, Mark Butler

Forever Families

Prayer can be defined as a two-way personal communication between an individual or couple and God. It is a vibrant, vital link with a Supreme Being that gives meaning to a person's life. Prayer allows individuals, couples, and families to come closer to God through healing. Prayer can be meditative (silent), colloquial (asking for abstract things like guidance or forgiveness), petitionary (asking for materialistic things), or ritual (memorized or read from a book). While it can be all of these things, it can also enrich the quality of marriage and family life. In fact, The Family: A Proclamation to the …

Staying Connected With Each Other, Megan Northrup, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

Each of the below mini-scenarios represents a couple connecting in some small way:

• When Russ walks in the door, Carol looks up from her newspaper and says, "How was your day?"
• When Christine and Steven are walking down the grocery aisle he asks, "Aren't we almost out of milk?"
• When Jay peers over Liz's shoulder to see what she's doing, she turns and gives him a quick kiss on the chin.

Nurturing Friendship In Marriage, Megan Northrup, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

Good marriages seem rare these days, but a leading marriage expert says it's not complicated—or even necessarily difficult—to make a marriage last. Friendship, says John Gottman1, is at the core of a strong marriage.

Solving Your "Solvable Problems", Megan Northrup, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

According to researcher John Gottman1, marital conflicts fall into just two categories: solvable and perpetual. Perpetual conflicts show up over and over again. They probably will never disappear from your relationship because they come from fundamental differences in personality: She wants to have a baby but he doesn't want children; he hates clutter but she is a pack-rat; she wants a religious home but he is an atheist.

Why Is Mom So Blue? Postpartum Depression In A Family Context, Amy Scoville, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

Elizabeth just couldn't understand herself. She had waited for this her whole life. When she was little, she had a whole nursery set up for her "baby" (a doll she had been given by her grandmother), and she would spend hours taking care of her. She loved to change her clothes, give her a bath, rock her to sleep, and do every other thing mommies do with their babies. She would dream of the day she could do those things with her own, real-life baby. So now that she could, why was it so hard? Why wasn't she finding any …

Adoption: Special Needs, Tanya Bailey, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

Unfortunately, being certain that adoption is right for you and being as prepared and qualified as possible will not ensure that you get a baby to adopt. Adopting an infant today isn't as easy as it used to be. In the first half of the 1900's there were more babies needing to be adopted than there were families to take them (p. 987).7 That changed in the 1970's. Abortion was legalized, birth control became more available, and single parenting became more socially acceptable. Fewer and fewer healthy babies were available for adoption. At the same time more people began having …

Adoption: Building A Solid Foundation, Tanya Bailey, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

Adoption touches most of our lives in some way. If you are not directly involved with adoption, most likely you know a neighbor, friend, or family member who is.

Sacrifice: An Unexpected Answer To Family Challenges, Jenny Stewart, Justin Dyer, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

Michael Ruse and Julie Dodger had been engaged for six months, but the closer they got to the wedding, the more concerned they were about the marriage. Julie was willing to move to a new location, and Michael was willing to attend all of her family gatherings. When they did the math, it should have worked out. But according to Julie, Michael didn’t earn enough, didn’t listen well enough, and didn’t compromise. And according to Michael, Julie was intolerant, disorganized, and high maintenance. They worried that their differences were irreconcilable.

Recognizing And Dealing With Childhood Depression, Amy Soto, Jared Warren, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

It is normal for children to experience moments of sadness and discouragement. However, sometimes children will experience prolonged feelings of sadness, anxiety, and hopelessness which may interrupt normal interest in ordinary, everyday activities such as going to school, playing, sleeping, and eating. Research shows that about 5% of children and 10% to 20% of adolescents experience significant depression.15

Moving Ahead After Divorce As An Adult, Sarah Taylor, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

Divorce can affect every aspect of a person's life, which can make the period of adjustment that follows very painful and overwhelming. This article discusses how individuals can take a positive approach to adjustment and provides practical ideas on how to heal from the pain and move on after divorce.

Coping With Grief In Perinatal Loss, Taelynn Johnson, Lynn Callister, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

Pregnancy is a time of great excitement and change. There is so much to look forward to when anticipating a new life. For this reason, the loss of a pregnancy is often heartbreaking, especially for the infant’s parents. In this article, we hope to provide important information to help you understand perinatal loss, as well as helpful sources to lead you towards healing during this most difficult time.

Caring For An Aging Family Member, Matthew G. Mellinger, Richard B. Miller, Jeremy Yorgason, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

As research has given us advances in health care, people in most parts of the world are living longer than ever. Although most people value long life, difficult challenges await older men and women who develop disabling conditions and those who care for them.

Becoming A Transitional Character: Changing Your Family Culture, Kristi Tanner, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

No family is perfect--today or at any point in history. But some families get it right a lot more consistently than others. These families cultivate caring and understanding relationships. They work together, play together, and laugh together. They are unified in purpose and in their commitment to one another. Family members support and encourage each other. Parents are dedicated to the success of their marriage and family. In essence, these families create a loving family culture.

Family Strengths: Time Together, Stephen F. Duncan, Kristi Mclane

Forever Families

When 1,500 school children in a national study were asked what they thought made a happy family, they didn't list things like money or cars-their number-one answer was doing things together. Children want parents to show interest in their activities, do things with them, and talk with them.

Family Strengths: Community And Family Ties, Stephen F. Duncan, Kristi Mclane

Forever Families

Strong families are connected to others in the community. They don't stand alone. You will find such families closely involved with extended families and friends, schools, churches, and local organizations that promote the well-being of individuals and communities. Parents support groups that help develop and educate their children.