Although some couples avoid divorce for children's benefit, divorce may actually be a better solution than an unhappy home. Children's potential for creating stress between spouses may sometimes make divorce more likely. Counseling may provide alternatives. (JAC)

With the increase in the number of remarriages in which children are involved, stepfamilies are becoming a prevalent form of American family life. This paper examines the step-family literature and highlights the socialization difficulties present in this very unique adjustment process. (Author)

The dual career couple is forced to make a series of choices and compromises that impact the realms of marriage and career. The dilemmas that confront dual career marriages can be overcome only by compromise, accommodation, and mutual understanding on the part of the individuals involved. A revamping of human resources and recruitment programs is…

Marriages of respondents that ended in divorce were not as good as marriages of other couples they had known nor did the marriage meet expectations held prior to entering into the relationship. The most frequent problem was unfaithfulness. (Author)

Stages of adjustment for children and adolescents trying to cope with their parents' divorce are delineated, and the emotional processes involved with divorce itself are discussed. (LH)

Couples whose early wounds cause narcissistic and borderline defenses may benefit from treatment with a psychodynamically oriented couples therapist. This article presents a treatment method that helps partners become attuned to each other's underlying injuries and vulnerabilities. The goal is to rebuild damaged structures of the self and to…

Empirical research on behavioral marital therapy (BMT) was reviewed and it was concluded that BMT, with its emphasis on working on a strictly behavioral level with married couples, was an effective form of therapy. Six component analysis studies were then examined which showed a general trend in the studies indicating that strictly behavioral…

Reviews the literature linking four features of family structure to depression and maladjustment in adolescents and young adults: (a) parent-child overinvolvement, (b) parent-child role reversal, (c) marital instability, and (d) parent-child coalitions. Implications for the assessment and treatment of depressed college students are discussed.…

When training counseling students it is increasingly important to acquaint them with the clinical research literature exploring the efficacy of a particular treatment. In order to facilitate this educational process, some reviews of empirically supported treatments (ESTs) concerning marital problems are provided here. ESTs, also called…

Small isolated theories can be restated as choice and exchange theory; in effect, incorporating them into the theory. The procedure employed is to state the implicit or explicit propositions of the small theories in ordinary language, then restate and extend them. (Author)

There are four strategies spouses may attempt to employ in cases of conflict: authority, control, influence, and manipulation. Rates of marital dissolution are a function of the relative equality between spouses in terms of the types of conflict-resolution strategies they are able to employ. (Author)

A case study of Relationship Enhancement (RE) therapy with a couple, in which the woman was identified as having vaginismus, is presented including excerpts of transcripts from the therapy sessions. RE's effectiveness at improving communication skills and providing structure in which the couple could discuss the intimate issues affecting the…

Discusses ways in which infidelity is viewed within the context of three ethnic minorities in the United States: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans. Provides an overview of infidelity according to religious traditions. Presents case studies to explore clinical treatment of infidelity from an ethnically sensitive…

Although separation is a commonly experienced life transition, it is generally a stressful life event and is associated with negative mental health and health problems for women regardless of victimization history. The research clearly suggests that separation is a risk factor for lethal violence and injury; however, separation for women leaving…

This paper examines the impact of individual and family life transitions on marital relationships from a social exchange perspective. The first section of the paper reviews and integrates several social exchange perspectives, derived from both sociological and social psychological traditions, in particular the works of Thibaut and Kelly (1959),…