Focuses on the effects divorces of children have on the kinship networks of the older generation. Found a common source of expansion among paternal grandmothers who retained relationships with their former daughters-in-law and her relatives at the same time that they added new relatives with sons' remarriages. (Author/ABB)

Examined three dimensions of divorce-related stressors (occurrence, perceived disruptiveness, and area of life change) in 80 divorced parents 6 to 12 months post decree. Findings showed men and women generally reported similar levels of stress associated with divorce-related experiences. Results support importance of area of life change and…

Examined effects of marital disruption on the academic aptitude and achievement of fourth-grade children. Analyses showed children in recently dirupted single-mother families had greater problems in some but not all areas of school achievement and performance than children in early disrupted single-mother families or children in never disrupted…

Compared divorced men and women in regard to previous levels of marital adjustment and problems experienced in former marriages. Used personality traits assessed at the beginning of each marriage to predict problem ratings reported after divorce. Results indicated that wives reported more problems in their former marriage than husbands. (BH)

Examines hypothesized consumption and finance-handling differences between couples who subsequently become divorced or remained happily married. Happily married couples were found to practice role specialization, with greater influence of the wife and less husband dominance in family finance handling, and greater joint and wife influence in…

Presents two articles which examine the relationship between intimacy and self-disclosure in 10 clinical and 10 nonclinical couples using the Self-Disclosure Coding System (SDCS). Results suggested positive self-statements, time spent talking, and affective manner discriminated between the two groups and were related to intimacy. (JAC)

Hypothetically, earlier marriages are more likely to dissolve, but reasons for this are as yet unclear. A longitudinal analysis of a cohort of 259 couples revealed that those who married later, had more education, and did not experience unemployment, were more likely to remain in a stable marriage. (KH)

Examined husbands' appraisals of five marital events which were recorded daily for 90 consecutive days. Subjects (N=20) appraised events according to four qualities: desirability, changingness, meaningfulness, and control. Found no differences in how husbands from distressed and nondistressed marriages viewed events. (Author)

Describes two broad-band factor scales of marital distress constructed to supplement existing profile scales of the Marital Satisfaction Inventory. The two new scales, labeled Disaffection and Disharmony, both discriminated between normative and clinical samples. Distinct distributions support the concept of two separate, interactive components of…

Examined susceptibility of marital observations to purposeful faking. Behavioral observations of couples' problem-solving behavior during a conflict-eliciting task were obtained under neutral instructions and under instruction to fake. Evidence for differential responsiveness of marital types to faking instructions was limited and evident only in…

Undergraduates completed Jones's Irrational Beliefs Test and reported impressions of actors portraying couples on videotape. Disagreeing couples were rated as experiencing more negative feelings, sharing less affection, having less stable relationships, and being less compatible than agreeing couples. Observers high in irrational beliefs reported…

Focuses on the spousal relationship of gay men who had been married. Describes the man's disclosure of his homosexuality, the wife's response, and the interactional effects on the marriage relationship. Suggests the wife appeared to be an enabler of his transition to a homosexual life-style. (Author/JAC)

Results indicate the Marital Interaction Coding System is a dependable and valid measure of marital interaction. Generalizability theory is cost effective and provides quality data. It presents a comprehensive view of reliability and validity. (JAC)

An increasing number of persons are going to confront the problems associated with adjusting to the termination of a marriage. Experiences of males and females are quite different, particularly in such areas as stress associated with divorce, property settlements, changes in social participation, and effects on income. (Author)

Children with divorced parents, children from intact but rejected families, and children from intact and accepted families were evaluated for self-esteem levels on the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. Findings of this study do not indicate that children experiencing crisis of divorce suffer loss in self-esteem. (Author/BEF)