The adverse effects of marital dissolution and dissatisfaction point to a need for interventions, such as premarital preparation, to improve marital quality. Although several studies support the potential for premarital preparation to improve couples' marital satisfaction and interpersonal skills, results from other studies are mixed. Moreover,…

This study examines men's domestic aggression as a function of attachment insecurities, considering the mediating roles of the demand-withdraw communication pattern and relationship satisfaction. The sample included 55 Canadian men undergoing counseling for relationship difficulties including aggression. The men completed questionnaires assessing…

This clinical practice pattern survey had two unique aspects. It was a national survey of American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) members in Canada that included all AAMFT membership categories, including student, affiliate, associate, clinical, and supervisor. It compared practice pattern data for clinical members from Canada…

A fair number of parents-to-be expect parenthood to be the impetus for improving their couple relationship, but this expectation is likely to be disconfirmed for most of them. With a focus on childrearing attitudes, the author investigates the factors differentiating parents-to-be who have overly optimistic expectations about parenthood from those…

Understanding couples' relationship problems is fundamental to couple therapy. Although research has documented common relationship problems, no study has used open-ended questions to explore problems in couples seeking therapy in naturalistic settings. The present study used a reliable coding system to explore the relationship problems reported…

Discusses those couples in which each has reached a plateau in individual therapy and is referred for concurrent marital therapy to break the impasse. States that projective identification is the major defense used by these couples. Suggests a time-limited, issue-focused approach lasting two-six months. (Author/BH)

Compared couples receiving 2 marital therapy approaches and control group over 10-week treatment period. Integrated systemic therapy (IST) and emotionally focused approach (EFT) both were found to be superior to control and to be equally effective in alleviating marital distress, facilitating conflict resolution and goal attainment, and reducing…

Examined relationship of marital adjustment and level of disability of persons with multiple sclerosis (n=104) to emotional adjustment. Found emotional adjustment significantly related to perceived level of marital adjustment, but no relationship found for level of disability. Results suggest, although marital adjustment is important for emotional…

Conducted three studies of in-session changes in emotionally focused couples therapy. Found that couples' conflict interaction at end of treatment was more affiliative and interdependent than at beginning of treatment and that peak session conflict interaction was deeper in level of experience and more affiliative than interaction in poor session…

Investigated relationship between problem-solving self-appraisal, specific coping efforts, and marital distress in 75 couples. Findings showed less problem-solving confidence, tendency to avoid different problem-solving activities, and poor strategies to control behavior in distressed spouses. Three coping efforts--optimistic comparisons,…

Compared combined 4-session communication skills training and 8-session Emotionally Focused couples therapy (EFT) to 12 sessions of EFT and to wait-list control. Both treatments achieved superior gains at posttest compared to control group on measures of marital adjustment and target complaint improvement (but not on intimacy and passionate love),…

Evaluated effectiveness of marital therapy designed to enhance intimacy through self-disclosure of personal constructs. Couples in therapy (n=22) and controls (n=19) showed significant reduction in symptoms of nonpsychotic emotional illness. Couples in therapy subjectively reported improvement. Found significant pattern of improvement for wives in…

Assessed Emotionally Focused Marital Therapy at initial contact, after an eight-week waiting period, after eight therapy sessions, and at eight-week follow-up. Couples reported no significant changes on measures of dyadic adjustment, intimacy, target complaint reduction or goal attainment after the waiting period, but they reported significant…

Reports on a marriage preparation program using a small discussion-group format and pre- and postwedding sessions, emphasizing communication patterns and conflict resolution. Evaluation shows that spouses in such a program are less likely to engage in destructive conflict with each other, and that spouses would seek assistance in solving problems.…

Examines developments in empirical research in family therapy training since Kniskern and Gurman's (1979) review. Assesses present knowledge concerning training outcomes in marital and family therapy from six studies of the development of instruments for measuring the outcome of training and nine studies which actually evaluate training outcome.…