As subsystems within the stepfamily structure compete for limited resources, conflicts arise among subsystems and within subsystems among persons with membership in different subunits. Stepfamilies can become more unified through recognition of prior loyalties, negotiations to resolve conflicts, and techniques to redefine the boundaries between…

Delineates and examines the psychodynamics of the paranoid wife syndrome and its concomitant characteristic intrapsychic and interpersonal dynamic phenomena. Diagnostic indications and treatment modalities and strategies are noted. (Author)

Counselors must deal with loss in their own lives before helping provide strategies for students and clients. In addition to coping with death, clients may grieve over the loss of home, job, personal relationships, and body appendages. Counselors must be ready to offer services, alternatives, and understanding. (JAC)

The role of family relational problems in the assessment and treatment of psychopathology in children, including the relationship between family and individual disorders, is considered. The study of family relational problems is placed in historical and theoretical contexts and in relationship to assessment issues. Current diagnosis and…

In order to identify causes of spousal abuse, current research efforts have attempted to reconstruct the communicative components of physically aggressive encounters within the family. An interactionist model of intrafamily violence, proposed by D. A. Infante, suggests that the interaction of personal, situational, and societal conditions may lead…

This paper reviews the social science literature dealing with gender relations in marriage and the issues of wife abuse. It is argued that the old anti-woman biases of the literature have not really diminished under the impact of feminism. The sexist assumptions and victim-blaming focus of the new battery literature are examined through…

Addresses the issue of incestuous sexual abuse of children, focusing on the definition and prevalence of the problem and associated myths, immediate and longterm consequences and symptoms, and a multidisciplinary approach to prevention and treatment. (JC)

Like the family, the schools may be viewed as a self-contained social system with a unique organization and unique patterns of expectations that are binding on its members. The article reviews why it is becoming increasingly difficult for the school to stand in as surrogate for the family. (MH)

Studied separation, divorce, and the postponement of marriage which have nearly doubled the number of adults who keep up a home without a spouse since 1970. Assesses teenage marriages as particularly unstable. Discusses other variables including children's sex, mother's education level, custody, and remarriage. (Author/JAC)

Surveys some of the representative literature reflecting attitudes and practices imposed on women addicts or female members of drug/alcohol abusing family systems. Explanations based on a study of healthy family systems are given with interpretations anchored in cultural rather than sexist phenomena. (Author)

Fluctuations in biological processes over time, defined as periodicities, affect all facets of life including family relationships. Periodicities may be a factor in marital and family problems and should be studied by child and family experts. (Author/JAC)

Reviews the literature on the role of family distress in the treatment of children's behavior disorders. Describes a system for integrating marital- and child-focused treatments and makes suggestions for improving the design of studies assessing the impact of contextual factors on parent-child interaction. (FMW)

This working paper discusses the effects of recent legislative changes regarding divorce in Australia. The introduction describes the 1975 Family Law Act and gives a summary of its principles. The second section presents background information to the Act and lists the philosophical principles behind its formation. The third section describes…

This paper reviews the literature on the elderly prisoner, defined in the majority of studies as 50 or 55 years of age. A discussion from several surveys dealing with the numbers of older adult felons is presented and the crimes that brought these older men to prison are described. Some of the characteristics of older prisoners are discussed,…

Asserting that the welfare reform proposals of the mid-1990s drew attention to the problem of domestic violence among individuals receiving public assistance who are among the poorest of the poor, this report examines what is known from past research on domestic violence that may inform policies related to marriage and child well-being. In…