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The present study aims to identify those resilience factors that enable remarried families to withstand and rebound from the disruptive challenges they face. A parent and a child from 38 families independently completed seven questionnaires and answered an open-ended question. The following resilience-associated factors were identified: (1) supportive family relationships, (2) affirming and supportive communication, (3) a sense of control over outcomes in life, (4) activities and routines that help the family to spend time together, (5) a strong marriage relationship, (6) support from family and friends, (7) redefining stressful events and acquiring social support, and (8) spirituality and religion within the family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In couple therapy, one partner's private disclosure of infidelity presents a potentially polarizing issue involving the therapist's decision to facilitate disclosure or accommodate non-disclosure. Some therapists may assume accommodating an infidelity secret is the most compassionate and efficient option. We consider this decision in the context of therapy ethics of equal advocacy and confidentiality, implications for individual and relationship healing, and pragmatic aspects of conducting therapy. We conclude that measured disclosure of infidelity, determined by the aggrieved spouse, best resolves the potential collision of multilateral advocacy with confidentiality and offers the best prospects for a working therapy alliance and couple healing and renewal. A clinical protocol for facilitating disclosure of infidelity secrets is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Softening is empirically related to therapy outcome. enactments are conceptualized as an effective mechanism for relational mediation and a potentially useful tool for fostering softening. Recent scholarly work has expanded upon existing operationalization of enactments by sequencing them developmentally and adapting them to varying levels of couple reactivity and volatility (butler & gardner, 2003). This research utilized qualitative methodology to test questions raised by this developmental model of enactments. Results indicated that volatile couples generally viewed carefully structured, enactments with micro-process intervention more positively than they viewed free-form enactments with therapist coaching. Less volatile couples, however, accommodated both kinds of enactments and reported advantages for each. overall, findings provide tentative support for the appropriateness of a component additive approach to enactments, as described in butler and gardner's developmental model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability of therapists to adequately address the presenting problems of couples impacts the process and outcome of therapy. Although research has examined the types of problems that couples commonly experience, little is known about problems among midlife couples. Midlife marital problems were examined using data from a national random sample of 632 married people between the ages of 40 and 50. The results indicated that the most common problems were financial matters, ways of dealing with children, and sexual issues. Values, commitment, spiritual matters, and violence were the least common problem areas. There were few differences when gender, remarriage, and length of marriage were considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the exponential growth in Internet use has led clinicians to question the impact of this technological advancement on couples and families. However, most clinical research has focused on how sexual content or interactions online affect individuals. With the exception of Internet infidelity, family researchers have yet to assess the impact of Internet sexuality on couples with respect to their relationship or their sexual satisfaction. Consequently, little is known about the implications of online sexual content on couples' sexual and emotional relationships. Therefore, research is needed to explore the impact of Internet sexuality on dyadic sexual satisfaction and intimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined reports of marital problems from couples at different stages of the life course. Data were collected from 160 couples during intake at a family therapy clinic. Couples were asked to indicate their presenting problem, as well as their level of severity in 14 problem areas, such as communication and financial issues. Results indicated that presenting problems were generally the same, regardless of whether the couple was newly married, in the child-bearing years, or married over a decade. Moreover, wives reported more problems in their relationships than did husbands, especially among wives married longer than 10 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forgiveness is an issue that recently has received increasing attention in the psychological literature, yet little empirical research has been conducted on this topic. This article presents initial support and validation of an inventory based upon Gordon and Baucom s (1998) three-stage synthesized model of forgiveness in marital relationships. This model places forgiveness in the framework of a reaction to a traumatic interpersonal event. One hundred seven community couples completed several measures of marital functioning, along with the new measure of forgiveness. The measure achieved internal reliability, and a confirmatory factor analysis suggested that the resulting subscales are a good fit with the data. Further results offered preliminary support for the inventory s validity and its relation to various aspect of marital functioning. Individuals placed into groups based upon their scores on this measure reported expected levels of global forgiveness, relationship power and closeness, and assumptions about themselves and their partners. The limitations of the study are identified, and clinical and research implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multicultural hermeneutics is introduced as a method of understanding and dealing with marital domestic violence. The brief review of literature covers four categories of hermeneutic tradition: (1) philosophical hermeneutics, (2) psychological hermeneutics, (3) narrative hermeneutics, and (4) multicultural hermeneutics. This paper proposes that multiple perspectives or an interdisciplinary scheme of hermeneutics help to understand the central issues of marital domestic violence. Korean women are vulnerable to Hwabyung (an anger syndrome), in the patriarchal and oppressive family context. Korean-American families are experiencing a certain degree of acculturation stress in transition as well as intergenerational conflict between first and second generations due to explicit and implicit cultural differences in the United States. One Korean-American family case is presented to show how marital domestic violence can be evaluated and treated better from the perspective of multicultural hermeneutics. A number of recommendations are also suggested to change the social and political context in which marital domestic violence occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have begun documenting the adaptive strategies of dual-earner couples in balancing family and work. This line of research provides therapists and dual-earners with research-based strategies for effective work-family balance. Data for this study were drawn primarily from interviews with 47 middle-class, dual-earner couples with children, who perceive themselves as successful in balancing family and work. The majority of these couples stated that striving for marital partnership or equality is an integral strategy to their success. This article details how these couples practiced marital partnership in ways that supported effective work-family balance; their descriptions clustered into six general partnership themes: shared housework, mutual and active involvement in childcare, joint decision-making, equal access to and influence over finances, value placed on both partners' work/life goals, and shared emotion work. Both quantitative and qualitative data indicated that these successful couples equally share housework and emotion work. Wives tend to perform slightly more childcare and to be primarily responsible for "organizing" family life. Wives perceive that husbands' careers are slightly more prioritized. Clinical applications for therapists working with dual-earner couples are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared a sample of spouses of workaholics and spouses of nonworkaholics on ratings of marital estrangement, positive feelings toward husband, and locus of control. A random national sample of 326 participants drawn from the membership list of the American Counseling Association was surveyed. Spouses of workaholics reported greater marital estrangement and less positive affect towards husbands and higher external locus of control than spouses of nonworkaholics. These findings were the first empirical results to corroborate clinical and case study reports. Clinical implications of these findings are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examines the role of perceived adequacy of social support provided by spouses for both marital and individual functioning. Married individuals from a college sample (N = 177) recorded the adequacy of specific supportive behaviors provided by the spouse on a daily basis for 7 days. Perceived support adequacy was correlated in the expected direction with marital quality, depressive symptomatology, and perceived stress. Furthermore, hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that perceived support adequacy accounts for significant unique variance in marital quality, depressive symptomatology, and perceived stress, even after controlling for social desirability. Discussion focuses on limitations of the study and implications of the findings for clinical work with couples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Often-quoted divorce statistics portray American marriages as highly stressed relationships that leave few survivors. The "medical marriage" is no less stressed than marriages in general, but a relationship between a doctor and spouse provides an additional dimension of tension. This study reviewed the impact of a 2-hour relationship dynamics lecture presented to 459 medical students on a psychiatry clerkship and addressed family dynamics, relationship choice, and relationship dysfunction. The study shows that this lecture on relationship dynamics has both professional and personal implications for medical students and is a promising tool for relationship maintenance of the practicing physician. Furthermore, a lecture format such as that presented here provides a vehicle for family therapy teaching for the practicing physician. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although research has established a clear relationship between depression and marital distress, the causal direction of this relationship cannot be determined from the existing data. Drawing on sex role theory, the learned helplessness model of depression, and a review of empirical research, this article explores inequity in marital power as a potential third variable that explains how depression and the quality of the marriage are related. The aim of the article is to generate more broad- minded thinking about how marital power, depression, and marital distress are interrelated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is estimated that 50-66% of married men and 45-55% of married women engage in extramarital sex (EMS) at some time during their marriage, and almost hall come to therapy because of it. The meaning extramarital involvement holds for couples is socially defined and covers a broad spectrum, ranging from nothing more than a transgression to a severe threat to the marital bond. This complexity of meaning is true not only for clients but for therapists as well, and is further complicated by the fact that the meaning therapists assign to extramarital affairs determines the treatment options they choose, and thus can affect the couple. In general, couples define extramarital sex as problematic for the relationship, and marital and family therapists have generally been consistent with this view. As a result, they tend to use a problem-oriented therapeutic approach. The present article discusses the sociocultural definitions of extramarital sex that influence the reasons couples construct for involving themselves in EMS. If presents information on their typical psychological reactions, taking into account current research. This article attempts to address this issue by first presenting a review of what we know, the research on EMS, and then concentrating on marital meaning systems--their development and maintenance-focusing on social constructionist themes and therapy, which serve to shift the focus of a problem-oriented approach toward a search for the strengths of the EMS couple. Lastly, a four-stage social constructionist therapeutic model is proposed. The four stages of therapy with couples who have experienced an extramarital affair are 1) Joining the Family Meaning Systems, 2) Inviting the Couple to Explore Their Present Meaning Systems, 3) Inviting the Couple to Expand Their Meaning Systems, and 4) Stabilizing the New Meaning Systems. It allows the couple to construct new meanings around the EMS issue so that they can find workable... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes that the concept of privacy preference has relevance for marital therapy. Because of the specific nature and uniqueness of privacy in intimate relationships, despite the existence of several general measures of privacy preferences, there is a need for a scale that is centered on aspects of privacy preferences of particular relevance to married or cohabiting couples. The article describes the Relational Privacy Preferences Scale (RPPS), which assesses individuals' privacy preferences in regard to Solitude, Reserve with Partner, Possessiveness, and Neighbor Avoidance, using items of specific relevance to marriage and cohabitation. The results of a field study assessing the RPPS show the scale to be reliable and to possess a sound factor structure. Data from a married or cohabiting subsample of the field sample reveal negative associations between Reserve with Partner and Solitude with several aspects of relationship satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the stressor's and enhancers associated with being in marriage and family therapy (MFT) graduate programs for students and their families. Results indicated that both trainees and their spouses found the graduate school experience to be significantly more enhancing than stressing. There was no significant difference in the stress reported by trainees with children and in that of trainees without children however, spouses with children reported the most stress. When time in graduate school was held constant, programs requiring a thesis or dissertation were perceived as more stressful than those with no such requirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cognitive-behavioral model for treating couples' negative reactions to infertility is described. After a discussion of why the cognitive-behavioral approach can competently address the goals of couples coping with infertility, three phases of treatment are outlined: assessment, therapy, and closure. Areas for assessment include the individual spouse, the marital relationship, and the familial and social network. Therapeutic components entail identification and validity testing of appraisals and attributions regarding infertility and marriage, redirection of the couple's energies toward alternative sources of satisfaction, communication and problem-solving techniques to facilitate express ion of emotions and needs and resolution of the infertility crisis, and improving the couple's sexual relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shame is a basic emotion, essential to human development, and is both a personal and a relational experience. Shame emerges as one becomes aware of oneself in relationship to others. This study related individual experiences of shame, inferiority, alienation, self-esteem, and gender to perceptions of equity, intimacy, and competency in marital relations. The study involved a heterogeneous sample of 199 subjects. There were no significant gender-based differences in shame intensity. Intensity of shame was positively correlated with perceptions of complementary and symmetrical marital equity styles and negatively correlated with perceptions of parallel marital equity styles, intimacy, and competency. Alienation was a robust predictor and accounted for more variance than inferiority, self-esteem, or gender in perceptions of marital relationships. Findings suggest that shame is a different experience from low self-esteem and influential in perceptions of marital dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored marital adjustment and the effects of illness in a sample of 46 married pairs with chronic physical illness. Approximately half of the sample consisted of pairs in which both spouses were ill, while one-half was made up of pairs with only one spouse ill. Regardless of spouse health, marital adjustment scores for levels of cohesion were significantly higher than reported norms, while levels of consensus were significantly lower. The inverse relation of cohesion and consensus is interpreted as indicating conflict-regulated oscillation and as describing a configuration of interaction which may be specific to married pairs with physical illness. In contrast, spouse health was round to significantly affect how illness was perceived, responses to illness, relations with physicians, and content of communication between spouses. Greater imbalance and potential stress occurred in marriages with only one spouse ill. It is concluded that spouse health is more important than sex of caretaker in determining reactions to illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topic is introduced with some personal references; then negative societal attitudes toward diverse family types, particularly stepfamilies, are discussed. The paper outlines and discusses the importance of understanding stepfamilies in terms of basic human needs and indicates the benefits of such an approach. This is illustrated with case examples. Some useful therapeutic guidelines and suggestions are mentioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forty-eight married couples completed Snyder's Marital Satisfaction Inventory and were also categorized with the Bem Sex-role Inventory as androgynous, gender role congruent, gender role incongruent, or undifferentiated. Analyses of variance showed that androgynous couples featured more wives who were dissatisfied regarding child issues. Data are also presented for differential patterns for the individual marital satisfaction indices. Results are compared to data on individual gender-role determinants and are conceptualized in terms of gender-role and communication theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the impact of economic stressors and discusses how Adlerian marital therapy strategies can be tailored to help middle-income couples deal with such stressors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many authors have noted the importance of the marital relationship for regulating mood. Marriage is asserted to be a primary source of both social support and interpersonal stress. In the current investigation, an index of salient social support irrespective of source and an index of salient interpersonal stress irrespective of source were found to be related to level of negative affective symptoms. As predicted, the marital relationship was found to be the most frequently named source of support, but co-workers were named equally often as a source of interpersonal stress. Marital satisfaction was found to be the most consequential interpersonal variable for predicting level of negative affect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the effects of mastectomy for breast cancer on individual and marital adjustment. Subjects consisted of 20 spouse pairs in which the wife had single mastectomy for Stage I/II breast cancer 2.5 years prior to testing. Each spouse completed paper-and-pencil inventories measuring individual psychological adjustment and marital adjustment. Results indicate that both husbands and wives had adapted to mastectomy and were functioning well as individuals. In contrast, measures of marital adjustment indicated serious problems with extremes of cohesion and adaptability, suggesting psychological fusion and fluidity of reactions. Low levels of consensus suggest a mechanism for maintaining balance and counteracting pathogenic processes in the marital relation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the marital adjustment of couples in which one spouse was suffering from chronic pain syndrome. Specifically, the relationship of the patients' perceived level of chronic pain intensity, level of patients' somatizing, level of spouses' somatizing, and marital adjustment in patients with a medical diagnosis of chronic pain syndrome was investigated. The literature indicated that marital adjustment would be affected by the degree of caretaking and somatization within the relationship. Using a regression analysis, the results of this study indicated that the patients' level of somatizing and the spouses' level of somatizing, neither individually nor additively, accounted for the variance in spouse or patient marital adjustment. In contrast to most clinical discussions, this study indicates that marital adjustment is not necessarily diminished in couples in which a spouse suffers from chronic pain syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation examined perceptions of family functioning, marital satisfaction, and parent-child bonding in 65 families (child, mother, father) with one or more depressed parents and 26 families with no depressed parent. Intrainformant agreement between offspring and their parents across family functioning measures was examined for the two proband groups. Results revealed more dysfunction in family adaptability, cohesiveness, and parent-child bonding and lower levels of marital satisfaction in the depressed as compared to the nondepressed proband group. Analyses of intrainformant data revealed no significant differences in levels of agreement between informants from the two proband groups for any of the raters. There was, however, significant agreement between informants in both proband groups. Thus, differential reports of family functioning are attributable to variations in perception of functioning, rather than to different levels of internal consistency in reporting across raters in depressed and nondepressed proband groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pursuit of self-esteem is considered a core motive in human life. The role of self-esteem maintenance in marital systems described as "devaluing-closed" and "accepting-open" is described. Negative distortions or misattributions of spousal behavior are considered as having value in maintaining individual self-esteem in a "devaluing-closed" marital system. Relevant empirical research and a clinical example of attempts to maintain self-esteem by attributing badness to spouse is presented. Several possible therapy interventions in "devaluing- closed" systems are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the passive-aggressive personality and provides an Adlerian formulation of the PAP in couples functioning. It points out the similarities of this formulation to DSM-III-R, cognitive therapy, and transactional analysis. A specific treatment plan incorporating several types of intervention for helping such couples lead more effective marital lives is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analysis of Euripides' Iphigenia in Aulis from an integrative perspective that examines both the systemic relationships within the royal family and the individual psychodynamics of each member. The play has special relevance to the father-daughter dynamic in contemporary family-owned businesses. Two case studies illustrate modern day examples of the sacrifice of the daughter for the "good" of the family business. The second case study describes the healing of the daughter's wound through the use of Comprehensive Family Therapy, which involves the synergistic use of individual, marital, and family therapy principles and techniques. In the approach, the practitioner utilizes a theoretical model of optimal family process in the family- owned business, which is useful for assessment and goal-setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have hypothesized that providing care to an elderly relative can negatively affect marital relationships of caregivers. However, no research has directly examined this issue. This study explored the impact of elderly depression and impairment, mental caregiving, caregiver/elderly person relationship closeness, spouse burden, and caregiver burden on caregiver marital happiness (and adjustment) in 90 multigenerational families. No significant relationship was found between these variables and caregiver marital adjustment. A causal model involving the six independent variables and caregiver marital happiness was developed and tested. Elderly depression and caregiver burden directly affected level of caregiver marital happiness. The other four independent variables affected caregiver marital happiness indirectly through caregiver burden. Implications for marriage and family therapists are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article emphasizes that the focus and content of marital therapy supervision may differ from those of family therapy supervision. Attention is paid to the differences between consultation and supervision, the contract between supervisor and supervisee, the dynamics and content of the supervision process, and the evaluation of what has transpired. Several cases are utilized to illustrate aspects of the joint venture that occurs in supervision. The dynamic evolution of the process unfolds in this presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using concepts from social science disciplines as well as social work and couples therapy, this article advocates a therapeutic stance for mutuality between husband and wife. The authors' premise is that sexist attitudes in our society have mitigated against the development of mutual relationships. The paper discusses issues accompanying sexism, such as domination and subordination and gender identification as a basis for conflict. Husband-wife therapists recount their approach to altering the expressions of sexism that mar their clients' relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For this study, 75 married couples completed several instruments measuring attitudes toward self-disclosure, intimacy, their partner, and the marriage. Comparisons were made between husbands and wives on variables such as intimacy and self-disclosure. Satisfaction was related to the variables of intimacy and self-disclosure, and the perceptions that the marriage partners had of one another's behavior. Husbands and wives tended to give similar responses on the self-disclosure and intimacy variables. The important differences seemed to be that men's attitudes were more distant regarding intimacy than were women's, and that women's satisfaction with the marriage was more affected by their own perception of the marriage than by the husband's attitudes as reflected by his scores on instruments used in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the conceptualization of unilateral relationship enhancement (URE) and a URE treatment program developed for use with the spouses of alcohol abusers unmotivated to enter treatment. Enhancing the marital relationship through a unilateral program is described as an important step in the preparation of the spouse to function as a positive rehabilitative influence with his or her alcohol-abusing partner. This article presents the part URE plays within a unilateral family therapy for alcohol abuse, procedural guidelines and criteria for use, a case example, clinical results based on some 68 spouses of uncooperative alcohol abusers, benefits and limitations, and other areas of possible application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers various methods of assessment and implications for treatment of marriages in which one partner expresses the desire to exit the marriage and the other partner wants to keep the marriage intact. The type of marriage discussed is the devitalized marriage. The type of stance or attitude toward the marriage is either ambivalent or postambivalent by the distancing partner and preambivalent by the partner who wishes to remain married. The article stresses the point that the therapist must take the threat to leave the marriage seriously but not always at face value. Treatment procedures are considered in the light of the assessment possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of a new observational measure of marital interaction using a Q-sort methodology is described. The Q-sort is one way of obtaining observer measures of marriage which complements both microcoding and global ratings of marital processes. High interrater agreement was obtained in coding the marital interaction of couples participating in a 2-year study of families with a preschool child. Evidence of construct validity is presented in terms of how the Q-sort relates to CISS ratings, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, and the Relationship Inventory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the marital pattern of the "anxious man of prominence," a variation of a pattern described previously by the authors known as the "collapsible man of prominence" (Bird et al., 1983). We summarize our findings relating to the affair and marital crisis which bring the couple to clinical attention, personality characteristics of the spouses, characteristic marital interaction and dynamics, and approaches to psychotherapeutic treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article demonstrates how family pyschologists can use valid and reliable tests, questionnaires, instruments and observational procedures specifically designed for assessing and evaluating marital and family systems to create marital/family diagnostic profiles that can be used in clinical practice and consultation. The current practice of using psychological tests that have been developed to measure and assess individual personality factors, traits, characteristics, unconscious dynamics, etc., is questioned on both theoretical and practical grounds, as is the use of diagnostic instruments and procedures for purposes other than those for which they were intended, when more appropriate instruments and procedures are readily available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship of the discrepancy between couple's actual level of intimacy and desired level of intimacy and marital adjustment was explored using data from 185 randomly selected couples who completed the Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationships and the Marital Adjustment Test. Multivariate and univariate regression analyses indicated that the discrepancy between actual and desired intimacy of husbands and wives was highly predictive of marital adjustment (R² = .665). Particularly interesting was that couples with low intimacy scores who did not desire more intimacy had good marital adjustment. The relationship between intimacy and marital adjustment was curvilinear, and wives' marital adjustment was more affected by intimacy than husbands'. Implications for marital therapy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compares compulsive eaters and their spouses with compulsive drinkers and their spouses. Through intensive interviewing, a pattern evolved revealing that these couples are often unable to process feelings and resolve conflicts. In order to cope with the resulting feelings and distance, the IPs, and often their spouses, engage in compulsive behaviors. The spouses' attempts to control and change the IPs' compulsivity exacerbates it; the couples" communication is organized around the compulsive behaviors. Thus, more feelings and conflict result which cannot be expressed constructively and resolved, perpetuating the cycle. The paper offers insight into and operationalizes the codependent nature of these relationships and implications for treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For professionals, job loss is becoming an increasingly common occurrence in the United States. That loss often creates a change in the family structure, a blurring of boundaries, a new context for the family. A Couples" Seminar is presented to help spouses confront that new context experientially and adapt to it in such a way that makes restructuring of their obsolete patterns possible. This preventive approach is designed with the recognition that professional workers tend to be reluctant to seek professional help in spite of their suffering due to job loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expectations of individuals entering dual-career relationships have evolved over the past two decades. Although beliefs and values have become more egalitarian, actual practices continue to demonstrate asymmetry in regard to sharing career and family responsibilities. The strain of this discrepancy, as well as other stresses of this lifestyle, will be discussed. This paper focuses on coverage of relevant treatment areas described in the literature, followed by a case example and analysis. An integrated multilevel approach is recommended because of the structural complexities and intricate psychological and interpersonal adaptations inherent in dual-career relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Military couples, because of their lifestyles, may have unique marital stressors. This study investigated whether distressed military couples, compared to distressed civilian couples, are at greater risk for specific marital problems. Prior to marital therapy, 30 military and 30 civilian couples completed a marital satisfaction assessment packet containing the Areas of Change Questionnaire, the Marital Adjustment Scale, and the Marital Status Inventory. Results indicated same-sex differences across groups, and cross-sex differences within groups. Most importantly, military wives were more likely to be physically abused than civilian wives, and they more often requested that their husbands drink less, work late less, and express more emotion. Military men were less encouraging of their wives having nonsexual outside relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a review of the article about family measurement techniques of family competence. The article has discussed about the development, the reliability and validity, and the clinical usefulness of the Beavers-Timberlawn Family Evaluation Scales. The popular observational rating scales were constructed to measure family competence, the primary dimension of the Beavers-Timberlawn Model of family functioning. It has noted that other prominent models of family functioning have relied primarily on self-report measures to tap the family member rather than the observer perspective on the functioning of a given family unit.

The article examines the issues related to informed consent and decisions to employ conjoint or one-spouse formats in therapy with discordant couples. The legal statutes reflected in mental health law have historically stemmed from interpretations of medical law. The use of informed consent in medical treatment calls for the professional to provide a clear description of potential hazards from treatment and to obtain formal consent for treatment from patients. In light of the commonly accepted practice of conjoint marital therapy as well as empirical evidence suggesting risks of one-spouse marital intervention, it seems that the precepts of informed consent may be applied in instances of serving only one spouse without obtaining informed consent from both marital partners. This article features a discussion of this notion as well as options for ensuring informed consent as protection for both the therapist and his/her client(s). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While skills development may help some dual-career couples, for others such methods may result in feelings of frustration until certain developmental difficulties are resolved. This article: 1) addresses some problem areas that dual-career couples encounter; 2) reviews proposed solutions for these problems; 3) specifies the necessary personal requirements for mastering these solutions; and 4) suggests some of the unresolved developmental conflicts that can interfere with such mastery. The list of conflicts, proposed solutions, and typical impeding developmental difficulties is not meant to be exhaustive. Rather, this article is intended to convey a way of conceptualizing ‘problems surrounding problem solving’ for dual-career couples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article attempts to provide an introduction of marital therapy coding procedure developed by Marcia Brown Standridge. The Brown Standridge Marital Therapy Interaction Scale addressed the need for research on the specific components which contribute to the effectiveness of marital therapy. The scale was designed specifically to determine the differential effectiveness of predetermined marital therapy interventions in bringing about proximal change in couple interaction. It was also developed after traditional coding systems were found either not to include the therapist in the coding schema or not to pick up on common conflictual messages routed to a partner by way of the therapist.

This article features an examination of the unique features affecting ethical treatment decisions in the engagement and termination phases of marital and familial therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depressive symptomatology and marital satisfaction during pregnancy and after delivery were studied in 51 couples. Measures of these constructs were obtained during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy and 6 weeks postpartum for all couples. In addition, women also reported on their depressive symptomatology and marital satisfaction at 3 and 9 weeks postpartum and participated in an interview assessment of their depressive symptomatology during the second trimester of pregnancy and 9 weeks postpartum. Depression symptom severity decreased over pregnancy and the postpartum period for both men and women. Significant correlations were obtained between husbands' and wives' depressive symptomatology and between husbands' and wives' marital satisfaction at each of the three common assessment points. It was also found that husbands' marital satisfaction at 6 weeks postpartum was significantly correlated with their wives' satisfaction with the social support provided by them. The implications of the results of this study for preventive family therapy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides an overview on various papers related to family therapy. These papers include "The impact of depression in old age on close relationships," by E. Murphy, "The efficacy of parent training with maritally distressed and nondistressed mothers: A multimethod assessment," by G. H. Brody and R. Forehand and "Marital discord and problem areas: Longitudinal personality prediction of sex differences among the divorced," by M. D. Newcomb. Information concerning the journal of which the stated articles has been published is also discussed.