Compared 10 compulsive eaters and their spouses with 10 compulsive drinkers and their spouses. Interview data revealed pattern suggesting that couples were often unable to process feelings and resolve conflicts. For subject, couple relationship seemed to affect and perpetuate compulsive behavior. Results point to need to redefine construct of…

Addresses some problem areas that dual-career couples encounter; reviews proposed solutions for these problems; specifies the necessary personal requirements for mastering these solutions; and suggests some of the unresolved developmental conflicts that can interfere with such mastery. (Author/ABB)

Examined whether adult attachment was predictive of conflict resolution behaviors and satisfaction in romantic relationships. Both adult attachment dimensions, Avoidance and Anxiety, were predictive of conflict resolution behaviors and relationship satisfaction. Gender differences existed in conflict resolution behaviors, but they were not as…

Argues that, properly understood, divorce mediation represents a rejection of a legal model of divorce and a substitution of a mental health model, and shows how such a model would be applied to the disputes between separating and divorcing couples. (Author/MCF)

Previous ethnographic studies have suggested that debriefing can have positive effects on the therapeutic process. This research project attempts to augment the previous work in this area by comparing and contrasting clients' perceptions of their therapists' role as debriefer vis-a-vis a third-party debriefer. (Author/MKA)

Describes a two-year treatment of a case of marital abuse. Used psychoanalytic and family systems theory to understand the processes contributing to the emergence of violence. Documents resistances to total change. (Author/ABB)

Presents a theoretical approach with some practical strategies for resolving marital and family conflicts. The steps are: owning one's position, understanding the other person's position, and resolving the conflict. The method serves as a model resulting in the development of more effective communicators and communication patterns. (Author/BEF)

Presents an outcome investigation of the role of anger management in parent-adolescent conflict. Eighteen parent-adolescent dyads were randomly assigned either to a conflict resolution group treatment or combined conflict management and conflict resolution group treatment. Findings suggest that the combination treatment group parents and teens…

Describes the Marriage Contract Game, designed to help couples negotiate relationship and task problems in an explicit, rational manner. Discusses the game's conceptual ties to modes of behavioral family intervention and to the social psychology of bargaining. Concludes with an example of the game's application to a distressed couple. (Author/JAC)

The use of poetry in couples' groups is suggested to facilitate group process and break down resistance. Techniques include the use of reactions to a poem or song, the construction of poems, and the development of images. Poetry can help clients express feelings and examine communication patterns. (Author)

To determine if empirically derived dependent variables could differentiate typical conflict and accord discussions, couples engaged in conflict and accord discussions on topics rated prior to and following discussions. Discriminators were volume, criticism, disagreement and sarcasm. Variables which did not differentaite topics were swearing, rate…

Suggests that intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts are influential in marital relationships. Results indicate happy couples had predispositions for productively managing conflict; clinical couples had higher aggressiveness predispositions. Happy couples also had more loyalty to their communities, more energy for tasks, and more positive…

Examined factors that influenced the concordant perceptions of 28 distressed and 28 nondistressed husbands and wives and trained coders who observed samples of their own and another couple's problem solving. Correlational analyses suggested greater insider-outsider perceptual agreement for distressed than nondistressed couples and for negative…

Evaluated the effectiveness of a structured educational program to train premarital couples in communication and mutual problem-solving skills. Couples (N=26) participated in a problem-solving training program, while similar couples (N=28) participated in a relationship discussion group. The problem-solving group showed a greater increase in…

Discusses the competencies basic to Adlerian therapy--including influencing psychological movement, working with the family communication system, focusing on the real issue, aligning goals and dealing with resistance, stimulating social interest, encouragement, and tentative hypotheses, and antisuggestion. A specific process for helping the family…