Using data of 775 nonresident father families and 1,407 resident father families from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, this study examined whether neighborhood disorder was associated with fathers' supportive involvement in child care. Bivariate analysis indicated that mothers and children of nonresident father families were more…

The purpose of the present study was to learn about the self-perception of women who live with alcohol-addicted partners. It was hoped that avoiding to label the women in advance as codependent would facilitate a better understanding of their lives and self-perceptions. The qualitative naturalist methodology used was based on a feminist framework.…

This study examined executive functioning in college aged adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs; n = 84) and non-ACOAs (188). We examined whether characteristics of the family environment and family responsibility in one's family of origin were associated with executive functioning above the contribution of ACOA status. ACOAs reported more…

Evaluated Stress Management and Alcohol Awareness Program (SMAAP) for children from alcoholic families, in which 79 children of alcoholics between the ages of 9 and 13 participated in 8-week school-based curriculum on alcoholism, self-esteem enhancement strategies, and coping strategies. Found greater positive coping strategies, decreased…

Examined maternal ratings of family functioning and children's depression, anxiety, and problem behaviors among 53 families. Women (n=26) with alcohol-dependent partners reported significantly more marital and family disruption and higher levels of child problem behaviors. Both fathers' alcohol dependence and family risk factor index accounted for…

Examined rituals in alcoholic and nonalcoholic families. Data from 241 adolescents, 114 mothers, and 104 fathers revealed that children of alcoholics and children from nonalcoholic families differed on their report of meaning associated with family rituals. Found significant interactions between father-adolescent family ritual scores and…

Analyzed data on services offered to battering males in a survey of 90 agencies. Found that most agencies are young, inadequately funded, and provide diverse services independent of each other, and that batterers exhibit characteristics that need specific treatment. Described a developing model for successful treatment. (JAC)

Findings indicate that wives attempt to treat husbands' alcoholism at home long before they seek professional help. Wives' strategies reflect their changing beliefs about alcoholism, about their marital relationships, and about their failure to cope. Home treatment strategies of amelioration under stress contribute to the stress as well.…

Reviews literature on marital status and well-being. Review finds little support for selection hypothesis which asserts that the relationship between marital status and well-being is spurious because emotional maturity explains both conditions. However, the evidence is consistent with protection/support hypothesis that a marital partner who…

Investigated the degree to which current alcohol abuse and psychopathology in adult children of alcoholics (COAs) are associated with the COAs' reports of family disruption, family coping, and individual child coping when the child lived with the parent. Family disruption and coping strategies were found to influence the subsequent adult…

Focuses on alcoholism in the husband/father. Disturbed personality and decompensation hypotheses were not supported by the data. Suggests systems theory alone is inadequate to conceptualize the inconsistency of the alcoholic, and his impact on the family. Proposes a combination of systems theory and Hill's (1949) crisis theory. (Author)

Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis that parental distress would mediate relations between parental lifetime alcohol and physical health problems and child behavior problems. Results indicated that sons of parents with alcohol and physical health problems are at elevated risk for behavior problems, partly related to…

Reported that parental alcoholism is prognostic of childhood behavior problems, both directly, through genetic and modeling effects, and indirectly, through parental distress and physical problems. It was hypothesized that the heightened rate of behavior problems in children of alcoholics could be traced to the combination of negative interactions…