bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dissecting Life with a Jewish Scalpel: A Qualitative Analysis of Jewish‐Centered Family Life*
Authors: Semans Maureen P. , Fish Linda Stone
Published: May 2004

This article highlights findings from a qualitative analysis of the ways in which Jewish families identify how Judaism influences their lives. A theoretical sample of two religious and two cultural families were chosen from a larger sample of 48 Jewish families in Central New York. The qualitative part of this study, which was part of a larger multimethod investigation, was done in order to gather inductively any data that would allow the researchers to build a theory about a particular type of ethnic identity—Jewish identity—and how it affects family dynamics. Eleven categories emerged from this study, which suggest that this particular type of ethnic identity influences many family dynamics, for example, styles of communicating, parenting, values, and family rituals. The participants seem to dissect the world with a “Jewish scalpel.” This “scalpel” informs their daily interactions, their parenting styles, and their childrens' self‐perceptions.
Family Therapists, Community, and Civic Renewal
Authors: Doherty William J. , Beaton John M.
Published: May 2004

In this article, we review family therapy's history regarding community concerns and broader societal issues; offer a model of levels of therapists' involvement with communities and community systems; and propose that family therapists join the citizen activation movement by becoming catalytic partners with families in communities. We call for a new kind of community practice that is driven less by therapist‐defined problems and professional expertise, and more by community‐defined problems and families' own expertise.
Save the Young—the Elderly Have Lived Their Lives: Ageism in Marriage and Family Therapy*
Authors: Ivey David C. , Wieling Elizabeth , Harris Steven M.
Published: May 2004

The paucity of literature addressing mental health issues concerning geriatric populations represents the perpetuation of ageist practices and beliefs in the field of marriage and family therapy. The purpose of this study was to assess whether client age and clinical training relate to the evaluation of couples who present for conjoint therapy. Written vignettes describing two couples, one older and one younger, who report issues involving the absence of sexual intimacy, increased frequency of arguments, and increased use of alcohol were evaluated by practicing marriage and family therapists, therapists‐in‐training, and individuals with no clinical background. It was hypothesized that respondents' views would vary in connection with the age of the couple and with the three levels of participant training. Results indicate that client age and participant training are associated with perceptions of individual and couple functioning. Our findings suggest that the relational and mental health concerns experienced by elder couples are not perceived as seriously as are identical concerns experienced by younger couples. Contrary to our expectations the observed differences between views of the two age conditions did not significantly differ between levels of participant training. Training and experience in marriage and family therapy may not significantly mitigate vulnerability to age‐discrepant views.
The Structure of Interpretations in Family Therapy: A Video‐Enhanced Exploration*
Authors: Trierweiler Steven J. , Nagata Donna K. , Banks Josette V.
Published: May 2004

A method for assessing the structure of interpretations of family therapy events is described. Family sessions were videotaped; each participant then independently reviewed the tape, stopping it to indicate any significant events and describing the importance of each identified sequence. Qualitative approaches to analyzing the stop points are described, using data from six families and their therapist. This combination of direct session experience and reflective interpretation provides a much‐needed perspective on the meaning of sessions and psychotherapeutic interaction. Research and clinical implications for scientifically examining the structure of shared interpretations in family therapy are discussed.
Rating Scale of Therapists' Systemic Responses in an Individual Treatment Context*
Authors: Kung Winnie W.
Published: May 2004

This study involves the development of a process study instrument that measures therapists' systemic responses in an individual treatment context. The scale captures the quintessential elements of the family systems approach, namely, interventions that address interactional sequences of behaviors and contextual concerns. Two hundred and thirty sessions from 15 clients were rated using this scale. An interrater reliability of .62 was attained at the session level; at the client level, reliability reached an average of .89. Analyses with the 15 cases did not reveal a significant relationship between process variables and outcome measures. However, exploratory analysis of 11 clients, excluding cases that might have other overriding factors that impact treatment outcome, revealed significant findings confirming the predictive validity of the scale.
Repeating the Errors of Our Parents? Family‐of‐Origin Spouse Violence and Observed Conflict Management in Engaged Couples*
Authors: Halford W. Kim , Sanders Matthew R. , Behrens Brett C.
Published: May 2004

Based on a developmental social learning analysis, it was hypothesized that observing parental violence predisposes partners to difficulties in managing couple conflict. Seventy‐one engaged couples were assessed on their observation of parental violence in their family of origin. All couples were videotaped discussing two areas of current relationship conflict, and their cognitions during the interactions were assessed using a video‐mediated recall procedure. Couples in which the male partner reported observing parental violence (male‐exposed couples) showed more negative affect and communication during conflict discussions than couples in which neither partner reported observing parental violence (unexposed couples). Couples in which only the female partner reported observing parental violence (female‐exposed couples) did not differ from unexposed couples in their affect or behavior. Female‐exposed couples reported more negative cognitions than unexposed couples, but male‐exposed couples did not differ from unexposed couples in their reported cognitions.
Wife Abuse and Battering in the Sociocultural Context of Arab Society*
Authors: Haj‐Yahia Muhammad M.
Published: May 2004

Despite increasing public, professional, and scientific interest in the problem of wife abuse and battering, little has been written about the importance of sociocultural sensitivity in intervention with abused and battered women in Arab society. In this article, I describe central family values in that society and discuss their relevance to wife abuse and battering. Specifically, the discussion focuses on values such as mutual family support and interdependence, family reputation, women's inferiority and male supremacy, and family cohesion and the relevance of those values to wife abuse and battering. In addition, I present Arab women's perspectives on this problem, as revealed in their responses to open‐ended questions that were part of larger studies conducted by me. In this regard, five dimensions of their perspectives are considered: (1) Women's definitions of violence against women; (2) their awareness of the problem; (3) their justification or condemnation of violence against women; (4) their awareness of the risk encountered by battered women; and (5) their approach toward coping with the problem. The results are discussed from the perspective of the sociocultural context of Arab society. The article concludes with recommendations for socioculturally sensitive intervention with battered women in this society.
Social Networks and the Elderly: Conceptual and Clinical Issues, and a Family Consultation
Authors: Sluzki Carlos E.
Published: May 2004

After a general introduction to the construct “social networks,” this article discusses the progressive transformation of the personal social network—family, friends and acquaintances, work and leisure relationships, et cetera—as individuals reach an advanced age. This is followed by a summary and discussion of a clinical consultation, with an emphasis on the reciprocal influence between individual and social network.
The Deconstruction of Magic: Rereading, Rethinking Erickson*
Authors: Sparks Jacqueline A.
Published: May 2004

This article examines the case history writings of Milton Erickson as literary texts. A deconstructive analysis reveals that the modernist assumption of therapist as magical healer disguises the role clients play in their own change. Hypothetically constructed case transcripts contrasted with excerpts from Erickson (see Rossi, 1980) illustrate how the inclusion of client voice enriches understanding of therapeutic change.
Evolving the Biobehavioral Family Model: The Fit of Attachment*
Authors: Wood Beatrice L. , Klebba Kendra B. , Miller Bruce D.
Published: May 2004

The 1993 Biobehavioral Family model (BBFM) posits that family relational patterns and biobehavioral reactivity interact so as to influence the physical and psychological health of the children. The revised 1999 BBFM incorporates parent‐child attachment as a pivotal construct. The current study tests the 1999 BBFM by predicting, in asthmatic children, that child perception of parental relationship quality, triangulation of child in marital conflict, and parent‐child security of relatedness will be associated with hopelessness and vagal activation (one mechanism of airway compromise in asthma). In this study, 22 children with asthma (11 males/11 females, aged 8 to 16), watched, alone, an emotionally challenging movie, then engaged in family discussion tasks (problem solving, loss, conflict, cohesion) and completed the Children's Perception of Interparental Scale, the Relatedness Questionnaire, The Multidimensional Scale of Anxiety in Children, and the Hopelessness Scale for Children. Heart rate variability, measured at baseline and throughout the movie and family tasks, was used to compute respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA)—an inferential measure of vagal activation. The child's perception of parental conflict showed trends of association with triangulation and insecure father‐child relatedness. Triangulation and hopelessness also were associated with insecure father‐child relatedness, all of which were associated with vagal activation. Insecure mother‐child relatedness was correlated only with hopelessness. Anxiety was not related to any variables. These findings lend support to the 1999 BBFM, and suggest a key role for parent‐child attachment.
Further Evidence That the Family Assessment Device Should Be Reorganized: Response to Miller and Colleagues*
Authors: Ridenour Ty A. , Daley James G. , Reich Wendy
Published: May 2004

Ridenour, Daley, and Reich's (1999) factor analyses of the Family Assessment Device (FAD) indicated that the FAD be reorganized. Miller and colleagues (2000) contend that the FAD be used in its original format based on the FAD's theoretical foundation; however, this does not preclude the importance of scientific scrutiny of an instrument's construct validity to determine how well an instrument represents its theoretical base. Subscale factor analyses (exploratory and confirmatory), item‐level factor analysis, and the clinical and psychometric studies cited by Miller and colleagues suggest a more parsimonious FAD configuration and were consistent with Ridenour and colleague's factor analyses.
Why Fix What Isn't Broken? A Rejoinder to Ridenour, Daley, & Reich*
Authors: Miller Ivan W. , Ryan Christine E. , Keitner Gabor I. , Bishop Duane S. , Epstein Nathan B.
Published: May 2004

Ridenour, Daley, & Reich (2000) suggest that the Family Assessment Device should be reorganized. We disagree and provide further reasons why such a reorganization is unwise.
Witnessing, Wonder, and Hope*
Authors: Weingarten Kathy
Published: May 2004

This article is based on a keynote address I gave in South Africa at the Eighth International Conference of The South African Association of Marital and Family Therapy. The phenomenon of witnessing is explored in a number of contexts, and a distinction is made between witnessing with and without awareness, and from an empowered or a disempowered position. I propose that the African philosophy of ubuntu—emphasis of which is on the self in community, in contrast to the Western emphasis on the individual—be a better fit for my view of hope, which, I propose, is not just a feeling but, rather, something people do.
Resolving Disease Management Problems in European‐American and Latino Couples with Type 2 Diabetes: The Effects of Ethnicity and Patient Gender*
Authors: Fisher Lawrence , Gudmundsdottir Maria , Gilliss Catherine , Skaff Marilyn , Mullan Joseph , Kanter Richard , Chesla Catherine
Published: May 2004

The management of type 2 diabetes requires major life style changes. How patients and family members resolve disagreements about disease management affects how well the disease is managed over time. Our goal was to identify differences in how couples resolved disagreements about diabetes management based on ethnicity and patient gender. We recruited 65 Latino and 110 European‐American (EA) couples in which one spouse had type 2 diabetes. Couples participated in a 10‐minute videotaped, revealed differences interaction task that was evaluated with 7 reliable observer ratings: warm‐engagement, hostility, avoidance, amount of conflict resolution, off‐task behavior, patient dominance, and dialogue. A series of 2 × 2, Ethnicity × Sex ANOVAs indicated significant effects for Ethnicity and for the Ethnicity × Sex interaction, but not for Sex. Latino couples were rated as significantly more emotionally close, less avoidant, less hostile toward each other, and had less dominant patients than EA couples; however, Latino couples achieved significantly less problem resolution and were more frequently off‐task than EA couples. These findings were qualified by patient gender. The findings highlight important differences in how couples manage diabetes based on ethnicity and patient gender, and suggest that effective family‐based programs of intervention must take both characteristics into account.
Parent Coping Styles and Schizophrenic Patient Behavior as Predictors of Expressed Emotion*
Authors: Hall Michael J. , Docherty Nancy M.
Published: May 2004

Several studies have examined relationships between levels of expressed emotion in relatives of individuals with schizophrenia and the coping strategies these relatives employ. In an attempt to elucidate these relationships, 44 parents were assessed using the Camberwell Family Interview and the Strategic Approach to Coping Scale. Associations between these measures were examined. Additionally, interactions between parent coping style and patient aggression were assessed with respect to expressed emotion. The results indicate that scores on the coping scale generally were not directly related to levels of expressed emotion. However, an interaction was found between parent coping style and patient behavior which predicted level of expressed emotion. This finding supports the idea that research into the variables underlying expressed emotion should include the assessment of both parent and patient characteristics and examine the interactions between these variables.
Family Connectedness and Women's Sexual Risk Behaviors: Implications for the Prevention/Intervention of STD/HIV Infection*
Authors: Landau Judith , Cole Robert , Tuttle Jane , Clements Colleen D. , Stanton M. Duncan
Published: May 2004

The present study explores the relationship between connectedness with the intergenerational family and women's sexual risk‐taking as a guide to the development of family‐focused prevention and intervention. Cross‐sectional interview data from a pilot study were analyzed for correlations between a number of self‐reported, risky sexual practices, the range of extended family members with whom the respondent was in contact, and awareness of stories pertaining to intergenerational family history. Structured interviews were administered by female interviewers to 56 women from two contexts: a STD (sexually transmitted disease) Clinic (N =26) and an inner‐city, Hispanic Community Organization (N = 30). Knowledge of stories about grandparents or great‐grandparents was a robust predictor of lower sexual risk‐taking in the STD Clinic sample. This relationship persisted, but only at the trend level in the Community Organization sample. In both the total sample and the STD subsample, the number of categories of extended family members with whom a respondent was in at least monthly contact was correlated with less sexual risk‐taking. Given the fundamental importance of the family system as the primary social unit, these findings argue for further family theory‐based research and for its potential application in the development of health prevention and intervention. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
Solution‐Focused Brief Therapy: A Review of the Outcome Research*
Authors: Gingerich Wallace J. , Eisengart Sheri
Published: May 2004

Solution‐focused brief therapy (SFBT) is a new and increasingly used therapeutic approach that focuses on helping clients construct solutions rather than solve problems. The approach evolved in a clinical context amid many anecdotal reports of success from both therapists and clients, but it has not been subjected to controlled empirical testing until very recently. In this article we critically review all of the controlled outcome studies of SFBT to date (N = 15) to assess the extent to which SFBT has received empirical support. Five studies were well‐controlled and all showed positive outcomes—four found SFBT to be better than no treatment or standard institutional services, and one found SFBT to be comparable to a known intervention: Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depression (IPT). Findings from the remaining 10 studies, which we consider moderately or poorly controlled, were consistent with a hypothesis of SFBT effectiveness. We conclude that the 15 studies provide preliminary support for the efficacy of SFBT but do not permit a definitive conclusion. Our critique highlights areas where methodology in future studies can be strengthened to provide more conclusive evidence of SFBT efficacy.
Family Transactions and Relapse in Bipolar Disorder*
Authors: Rosenfarb Irwin S. , Miklowitz David J. , Goldstein Michael J. , Harmon Lisa , Nuechterlein Keith H. , Rea Margaret M.
Published: May 2004

This study examined whether patient symptoms and relatives' affective behavior, when expressed during directly observed family interactions, are associated with the short‐term course of bipolar disorder. Twenty‐seven bipolar patients and their relatives participated in two 10‐minute family interactions when patients were discharged after a manic episode. Results indicated that patients who showed high levels of odd and grandiose thinking during the interactions were more likely to relapse during a 9‐month followup period than patients who did not show these symptoms during the family discussions. Relapse was also associated with high rates of harshly critical and directly supportive statements by relatives. Patients' odd thinking and relatives' harsh criticism were significantly more likely to be correlated when patients relapsed (r = .53) than when they did not relapse (r = .12). Results suggest that bipolar patients who show increased signs of residual symptomatology during family transactions during the post‐hospital period are at increased relapse risk. The data also suggest that relatives of relapsing patients cope with these symptoms by increasing both positive and negative affective behaviors. Moreover, a bidirectional, interactional relationship between patients' symptoms and relatives' coping style seems to capture best the role of the family in predicting relapse in bipolar disorder.
Couple Dynamics of Change‐Resistant Smoking: Toward a Family Consultation Model*
Authors: Rohrbaugh Michael J. , Shoham Varda , Trost Sarah , Muramoto Myra , Cate Rodney M. , Leischow Scott
Published: May 2004

Smoking is North America's leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality. Although effective cessation treatments exist, their overall effect is modest, and they rarely reach the high‐risk, health‐compromised smokers who need them most. Surprisingly, despite evidence that marital relationship variables predict the success of cessation efforts, family systems ideas have had little impact on current intervention research. We review and critique the cessation literature from a systemic viewpoint, illustrate two couple‐interaction patterns relevant to the maintenance of high‐risk smoking, and outline a family‐consultation (FAMCON) intervention for couples in which at least one partner continues to smoke despite having heart or lung disease. Taking into account ironic processes and symptom‐system fit, FAMCON focuses on the immediate social context of smoking, aiming to interrupt well‐intentioned “solutions” that ironically feed back to keep smoking going, and to help clients realign important relationships in ways not organized around tobacco usage. Currently in its pilot‐testing phase, FAMCON is an adjunctive, complementary approach designed to include collaboration with primary‐care physicians and to make smokers more amenable to other, evidence‐based cessation strategies.
Mother and Child Perceptions of Child Functioning: Relationship to Maternal Distress
Authors: Kinsman Anne M. , Wildman Beth G.
Published: May 2004

The relationship between maternal distress and mother's reports of psychosocial problems in their children has been well‐documented. However, relatively little research has investigated the relationship between maternal and family distress and young children's perception of their own functioning. Using a brief questionnaire designed for use with children, data were collected from 166 mothers and their children aged 5–12 years. Children provided information about their own daily functioning, and mothers provided information about their own, their child's, and their family's psychosocial functioning. Findings indicated that while children generally agreed with the reports of their mothers, children of distressed mothers self‐reported better daily functioning than their mothers did. Distressed mothers tended globally to report negatively about themselves, their child, and their family. The present findings suggest that when assessing mothers or children, the reports of children should be considered as well as the reports of mothers.
Triangulation and Adolescent Development in the U.S. and Japan*
Authors: Bell Linda G. , Bell David C. , Nakata Yojiro
Published: May 2004

Using an indirect measure of family structure, relationships between parents and adolescents were studied in 99 U. S. and 60 Japanese families. As two‐person relationships tend toward instability under stress, a third person may be drawn in to stabilize the system. Parents, for example, may avoid the tension in the marital relationship by focusing together on an adolescent's problem, or pull the adolescent into a coalition with one parent. Either way the parents are said to have “triangled” the adolescent. In this study, a relationship is found between parents avoiding tension in their own relationship and their tendency to triangle an adolescent. Triangled daughters, in both cultures, had lower scores on ego development, supporting the hypothesis that such patterns can be detrimental to the adolescent's personal development. The discussion includes comments on cross‐cultural research.
Comparing the Second‐Order Factor Structure of the Family Environment Scale across Husbands' and Wives' Perceptions of Their Family Environment*
Authors: Chipuer Heather M. , Villegas Tracy
Published: May 2004

The Family Environment Scale (Moos & Moos, 1986) is one of the most widely used environmental measures in clinical and family research. Clinicians and researchers often use the FES for comparing spouses' perceptions of their family environment, under the assumption that the underlying structure of the FES is the same for husbands and wives. However, no studies have actually compared the structure of the FES across spouse responses to the FES. Additionally, a review of the literature generally suggests a lack of consensus regarding the factor structure of the FES. Using confirmatory factor analyses, we examined whether the second‐order factor structures of the FES, as identified in the literature, were consistent across spouses' perceptions of their family environment. Husbands and wives in 130 nonclinical families responded to Form R of the FES. The findings supported the two‐factor solution presented by Fowler (1981) and by Boake and Salmon (1983), and did not differ across responses by husbands and wives. In contrast, responses by husbands and wives to the FES could not be modeled using the three‐factor solutions presented by Moos and Moos (1986) and by others. The importance of using a measure that is structurally the same across different groups of respondents is discussed.
Translation and Validation of the Spanish Version of the RELATE Questionnaire Using a Modified Serial Approach for Cross‐Cultural Translation*
Authors: Carroll Jason S. , Holman Thomas B. , Segura‐Bartholomew Geannina , Bird Mark H. , Busby Dean M.
Published: May 2004

This article describes the initial translation and validation of the Spanish version of the RELATionshhip Evaluation (RELATE) questionnaire with a sample of monolingual English speakers (n = 78), a sample of monolingual Spanish speakers (n = 18), and two samples of Spanish/English Bilinguals (n = 27 and n = 34). Cross‐cultural and cross‐language equivalence of the Spanish version of RELATE to the original English version were assessed using a Modified Serial Approach (MSA) for instrument translation. Face and content validity of the Spanish RELATE were established. Test‐retest reliability indices obtained with the translated version among the monolingual and bilingual Spanish speaking groups were consistently equivalent to, and in some cases higher than, the baseline reliability obtained with the monolingual English speaking group. Applications of the Spanish version of RELATE and use of the MSA or researchers and practitioners are presented.
Conflict and Healing in Family Experience of Second‐Generation Emigrants from India Living in North America*
Authors: Dugsin Romola
Published: May 2004

In this article, I describe a study that generates a substantive theory of healing from the conflict experienced by second‐generation emigrants from India living in North America. Qualitative methodology, specifically, the Grounded Theory method of data analysis and theory building, was used. Literature elucidating the differences between North American and Indian cultural values was used as a basis for exploration. Results suggest that cultural conflict stems from areas such as education and success, pressure from parents to maintain traditional cultural values, family bonds and lack of boundaries, parental control and abuse, and dating and marriage. The results of the conflict are discussed by participants in terms of loneliness and pain, lying, rebellion, or acceptance of cultural values. The factors that mediate the conflict and that determine the degree to which participants rebel or accept the cultural values seem to be linked to the approval and acceptance individuals received from their family or community and their level of self‐esteem. Finally, I discuss how individuals can heal from the conflict. Methods of healing include communication with and education for parents, therapy in the areas of anger, resentment, and self‐esteem, and developing an alternative support system, which may include other second‐generation individuals.
Genetic Probes of Three Theories of Maternal Adjustment: I. Recent Evidence and a Model*
Authors: Reiss David , Pedersen Nancy L. , Cederblad Marianne , Lichtenstein Paul , Hansson Kjell , Neiderhiser Jenae M. , Elthammar Olof
Published: May 2004

Studies focusing on genetic and social influences on maternal adjustment will illumine mother's marriage, parenting, and the development of psychopathology in her children. Recent behavioral genetic research suggests mechanisms by which genetic and social influences determine psychological development and adjustment. First, heritable, personal attributes may influence individuals' relationships with their family members. These genetically influenced family patterns may amplify the effects of adverse, heritable personal attributes on adjustment. Second, influences unique to siblings may be the most important environmental determinants of adjustment. We derive three hypotheses on maternal adjustment from integrating these findings from genetic studies with other contemporary research on maternal adjustment. First, mother's marriage mediates the influence of her heritable, personal attributes on her adjustment. Second, mother's recall of how she was parented is partially genetically influenced, and both her relationships with her spouse and her child mediate the impact of these genetically influenced representations on her current adjustment. Third, characteristics of mother's spouse are important influences on difference between her adjustment and that of her sister's These sibling‐specific influences are unrelated to mother's heritable attributes. The current article develops this model, and the companion article describes the Twin Mom Study that was designed to test it as well, as its first findings. Data from this study can illumine the role of family process in the expression of genetic influence and lead to specific family interventions designed to offset adverse genetic influences.
Genetic Probes of Three Theories of Maternal Adjustment: II. Genetic and Environmental Influences*
Authors: Reiss David , Cederblad Marianne , Pedersen Nancy L. , Lichtenstein Paul , Elthammar Olof , Neiderhiser Jenae M. , Hansson Kjell
Published: May 2004

This is the first report of the Twin Mom Study, an investigation of three hypotheses concerning influences on maternal adjustment. These hypotheses concern the role of the marital and parent‐child relationships in mediating genetic influences on maternal adjustment and on the importance of the mothers' marital partners as a specifiable source of influences on their adjustment not shared with their sisters. The study's sample of 150 monozygotic (MZ) twins and 176 dizygotic (DZ) twins was drawn randomly from the Swedish Twin Registry and is, with some small exceptions, likely to be representative of women in the Swedish population. The sample included the marital partners of these twins and their adolescent children. Self‐report and coded videotapes were a source of information about family process. Results reported in this first report focus on comparability of American and Swedish samples on scales measuring psychiatric symptoms, and on an analysis of genetic and environmental influences on nine measures of mothers' adjustment. Results suggest comparability between the US and Sweden. Genetic influences were found for all measures of adjustment, particularly in the psychological manifestations of anxiety and for smoking. The pattern of findings also underscored the importance of influences unique to each sibling within the twin pair, thus focusing attention on the potential role of marital partners in maternal adjustment. Results also suggested that experiences shared by the twin sisters, experiences unrelated to their genetic similarity, may influence their fearfulness and alcohol consumption. Our model did not include these influences and thus must be amended.
Roman Catholic Couples: Wrath and Religion*
Authors: Marsh Robert , Dallos Rudi
Published: May 2004

Qualitative methods were used to research the effects of the religious beliefs and practices of ten Roman Catholic couples on the ways in which they managed anger and conflict in their marital relationship. The couples were interviewed separately, twice each, using Grounded Theory techniques in the first, semi‐structured interview, and Repertory Grids in the second. Religious beliefs supported a broad range of positions on anger management from self‐control through to the thoughtful expression of anger. It is suggested that religious beliefs and practices can be thought of as expanding or restricting “space” by reducing the intensity of anger experienced and by providing an opportunity for reflection which enabled participants to take greater responsibility for their part in conflicts. The relationship with God affected the “space” in the couple relationship by meeting some of the unmet needs of individuals and by detouring anger away from the spouse to God where it was felt to be safely contained. This procedure was used more by wives; their husbands seemed more often to fear and avoid conflicts and the expression of anger. Links were made between the marital relationship and the relationship with God. It was proposed that these systems are both evolving interactively with changes in one resulting in changes in the other. However, there can be a delay before changes in one system can be integrated with conflicting beliefs or practices in the reciprocal system, which may result in ambivalent attitudes toward anger and conflict. Clinical implications and directions for future research were suggested.
The Heart of the Matter: An Essay about the Effects of Managed Care on Family Therapy with Children*
Authors: Pulleyblank Coffey Ellen , Olson Mary E. , Sessions Phebe
Published: May 2004

This essay is based on a pilot study that examined the effects of managed care on the treatment of children and families, with special attention to community mental health. We embarked on the pilot study to test the accuracy and generalizability of our impression that family therapy and other systemic practices have been marginalized in ordinary clinics and agencies, and to understand the reasons why. We interviewed managed care providers, researchers, family therapy trainers, and clinicians in the Northeast. Our findings led to seven themes that support our impression that, even though there is a consensus about the need for coordinated family‐based services, there is a disconnection between state policies, contractual requirements and what is actually occurring at the implementation level. This study suggests that our knowledge of human systems may be in danger of being disqualified and lost, with damaging consequences for the care of children. Yet, as systemic thinkers and practitioners, it is our belief that ethical and effective treatment need not be at odds with care that is cost‐efficient. The direction of our future research will be to study whether the involvement of all stakeholders at all levels of planning and training leads to systemic family‐based practices that consistently save costs and provide high‐quality care.
Does History End with Postmodernism? Toward an Ultramodern Family Therapy*
Authors: Linares Juan Luis
Published: May 2004

Although the end of history has often been announced, human thought continues to renew itself, always incorporating, in each of its stages, important aspects of what has come before. In this sense, neither family therapy in general, nor its more particular postmodern orientations, have led to a radical break with the past. Neither can they claim to have reached a comfortable, definitive position. The subjectivist turn that introduced postmodernism into the systemic model has enriched it with important theoretical and practical elements, such as the critique of a therapist's supposed objectivity, circular and reflexive questioning, or the technique of externalization. This article proposes to take the renewal of systemic family therapy farther by addressing still unresolved issues, such as the role of the individual in relational systems, the place of emotions, or the construction of a relational psychopathology. The term “ultramodern family therapy” is proposed until such time as there is agreement upon a better one.
Family Therapy with Unmarried African American Mothers and Their Adolescents
Authors: Becker Dana , Liddle Howard A.
Published: May 2004

Almost two‐thirds of African American births are to unmarried mothers, and these single parents are among the most economically vulnerable in the United States. The effects of chronic stressors such as poverty can compromise the ability of these mothers to parent effectively, particularly during the developmental period of adolescence, typically a stressful phase of parenting. This article describes a multidimensional family therapy (MDFT) approach to working with African American adolescents who have drug and/or behavior problems. It is maintained that addressing the intrapersonal functioning of African American single mothers is vital if they are to re‐establish the attachment bonds necessary for the maintenance of essential parental influence in the lives of their adolescents. Through systematic attention to the parent as an individual, leading to a balance between self‐care and care for others, parental supervision is more easily achieved and relational impasses between parent and adolescent more equitably resolved.
Intergenerational Transmission: Individuation and Intimacy Across Three Generations
Authors: Lawson David M. , Brossart Daniel F.
Published: May 2004

This study examined the transmission of intergenerational family processes across three generations, employing Williamson's construct of Personal Authority in the Family System (PAFS) as a theoretical backdrop. From a PAFS perspective, psychological health is viewed as directly related to the degree of individuation and intimacy (PAFS) experienced within the family of origin. Overall, the results provided a degree of support for the intergenerational transmission hypothesis. The strongest predictor of the transmission process was from the participant/parent relationship to the participant/spouse relationship (spousal fusion/individuation). Separate male and female analyses of the Spousal Fusion/Individuation model found a moderate effect for females and a large effect for males. A small effect was found in predicting nuclear family triangulation from parent and spouse variables, although there was no gender effect. The findings suggest that degree of individuation and its related constructs are more critical in the transmission process than is intimacy.
Development of the Family Therapy Enactment Rating Scale
Authors: Allen‐Eckert Hilary , Fong Elizabeth , Nichols Michael P. , Watson Neill , Liddle Howard A.
Published: May 2004

This report describes the development of a new scale designed to establish how therapists intervene and clients respond during effective enactments in family therapy sessions. The Family Therapy Enactment Rating Scale (FTERS) was developed by clinically trained investigators who observed 27 videotaped family therapy sessions and listed therapist interventions and client responses during four phases of enactments: pre‐enactment preparation, initiation, facilitation, and closing commentary. Interrater reliabilities for the FTERS were calculated by training 6 undergraduate volunteers to rate independently a sample of 12 enactments. When reliabilities were found to be relatively low, a second study was conducted in which the FTERS was revised and reliabilities were calculated with a different sample of 21 videotaped enactments and a new group of 6 undergraduate raters. Reliability for the FTERS was found to be sufficiently robust to make this measure of therapist interventions and client responses a useful instrument for evaluating what takes place during enactments. Findings on the FTERS were used to offer tentative guidelines for effective initiation and facilitation of enactments in family therapy sessions.
Healing Traumatized Children: Creating Illustrated Storybooks in Family Therapy*
Authors: Hanney Lesley , Kozlowska Kasia
Published: May 2004

In this article we describe the therapeutic practice of creating illustrated storybooks in family therapy with traumatized children. Illustrated stories offer a predictable structure to sessions and facilitate engagement and participation of children in therapy. The therapeutic emphasis of storybooks can be adjusted to take into account a child's life story, verbal capacity, level of anxiety, and traumatic hyperarousal. The creation of storybooks is an active process that embraces important aspects of trauma‐specific interventions, including expression of trauma‐related feelings; clarification of erroneous beliefs about the self, others, or the traumatic event; and externalization of traumatic stimuli into artwork, allowing for exposure and habituation of the arousal response. A focus on visual images together with narrative takes advantage of children's developmental capacities and spontaneous pleasure in the creation of art, thus minimizing anxiety and enhancing feelings of mastery, competence, and hope. The creation of storybooks is compatible with family interventions that foster a safe family context, strengthen attachment relationships, insure appropriate structure and boundaries, and enhance parenting capacity as well as those interactions that facilitate understanding and dialogue between family members.
Notes for a Cultural History of Family Therapy*
Authors: Beels C. Christian
Published: May 2004

The official history of family therapy describes its beginnings as a daring technical and philosophical departure from traditional individual treatment in the 1960s, inspired especially by the “system thinking” of Gregory Bateson. This celebrated origin story needs to be supplemented with a longer and larger history of both practice and thought about the family, and that is the subject of this article. The longer history goes back to the founding of social work by Mary Richmond, of pragmatism by William James, and of the organic view of social systems intervention by John Dewey. Seen against this background, family therapy is, among other things, a consequence of the development of persistent elements of American professional culture, experience, and philosophy. The taking of this historical‐anthropological view discloses also the origins of two other histories that have made their contribution to the development of family therapy: a science of observing communication processes that starts with Edward Sapir and leads to contemporary conversation analysis, and a history of mesmerism in the United States that culminates in Milton Erickson and his followers.
A Two‐Factor Model for Predicting When a Couple Will Divorce: Exploratory Analyses Using 14‐Year Longitudinal Data*
Authors: Gottman John Mordechai , Levenson Robert Wayne
Published: May 2004

This article examines 14‐year longitudinal data and attempts to create a post hoc model that uses Time‐1 data to “predict” the length of time the marriage will last. The sample consists of the 21 couples (of 79 studied) who divorced over a 14‐year period. A two‐factor model is proposed. One factor is the amount of unregulated volatile positive and negative affect in the marriage, and this factor predicts a short marriage length for the divorcing couples. A second factor is called “neutral affective style,” and this factor predicts a long marriage length for the divorcing couples. This model is compared to a Time‐1 model of ailing marriage in which Time‐1 marital satisfaction is used to predict the timing of divorce.
Searching for a Two‐Factor Model of Marriage Duration: Commentary on Gottman and Levenson
Authors: DeKay Michael L. , Greeno Catherine G. , Houck Patricia R.
Published: May 2004

Gottman and Levenson (2002) report a number of post hoc ordinary least squares regressions to “predict” the length of marriage, given that divorce has occurred. We argue that the type of statistical model they use is inappropriate for answering clinically relevant questions about the causes and timing of divorce, and present several reasons why an alternative family of models called duration models would be more appropriate. The distribution of marriage length is not bimodal, as Gottman and Levenson suggest, and their search for a two‐factor model for explaining marriage length is misguided. Their regression models omit many variables known to affect marriage length, and instead use variables that were pre‐screened for their predictive ability. Their final model is based on data for only 15 cases, including one unusual case that has undue influence on the results. For these and other technical reasons presented in the text, we believe that Gottman and Levenson's results are not replicable, and that they should not be used to guide interventions for couples in clinical settings.
Clinicians' Fidelity to a Manual‐Based Family Treatment as a Predictor of the One‐Year Course of Bipolar Disorder
Authors: Weisman Amy , Tompson Martha C. , Okazaki Sumie , Gregory Jennifer , Goldstein Michael J. , Rea Margaret , Miklowitz David J.
Published: May 2004

This study assessed whether therapist adherence to the family focused treatment model1 for patients with bipolar disorder and their relatives was associated with patient outcomes at one year after treatment entry. A total of 78 videotaped sessions of FFT consisting of 26 families with a member with bipolar disorder (3 sessions/family) were rated on fidelity using the Therapist Competence/Adherence Scale (TCAS; see Endnote 1, p. 130). Patients' outcomes (relapse status) were assessed using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and selected items from the Schedule of Affective Disorders and the Schizophrenia‐Change (SADS‐C) scale (measured at 3‐month intervals for 12 months). Contrary to expectations, therapist fidelity was not related to overall outcome as assessed by the BPRS and the SADS‐C. Among patients who did relapse, higher levels of cooperation among therapists predicted a later date for relapse than did lower levels of cooperation. Surprisingly, and in opposition to the study's hypotheses, patients who were hospitalized because of relapses had therapists who were rated as more competent in their ability to conduct the problem‐solving module of FFT. Study implications are discussed.
The History of Couple Therapy: A Millennial Review
Authors: Gurman Alan S. , Fraenkel Peter
Published: May 2004

In this article, we review the major conceptual and clinical influences and trends in the history of couple therapy to date, and also chronicle the history of research on couple therapy. The evolving patterns in theory and practice are reviewed as having progressed through four distinctive phases: Phase I–Atheoretical Marriage Counseling Formation (1930–1963); Phase II–Psychoanalytic Experimentation (1931–1966); Phase III–Family Therapy Incorporation (1963–1985); and Phase IV–Refinement, Extension, Diversification, and Integration (1986–present). The history of research in the field is described as having passed through three phases: Phase I–A Technique in Search of Some Data (1930–1974), Phase II–Irrational(?) Exuberance (1975–1992), and Phase III–Caution and Extension (1993–present). The article concludes with the identification of Four Great Historical Ironies in the History of Couple Therapy.
Attachment, Social Rank, and Affect Regulation: Speculations on an Ethological Approach to Family Interaction*
Authors: Sloman Leon , Atkinson Leslie , Milligan Karen , Liotti Giovanni
Published: May 2004

The attachment and social rank systems are biological‐evolutionary systems that can serve as models for conceptualizing family interaction. By exploring both their unique and interrelated impact on affect regulation, we can differentiate between processes that foster healthy growth and those leading to individual psychopathology. This perspective facilitates the integration of biological and psychological models, and has therapeutic implications. It also integrates well with other family therapy models.