In this study, demand/withdraw patterns and feeling caught were tested as mediators of family communication patterns and young adults' mental well-being. Participants included 567 young adults from divorced and nondivorced families. For young adults in nondivorced families, family conversation orientations had both a positive, direct effect on…

The family is centre stage of many current policy agendas and this is an exciting time to expand the understanding of the wider benefits of learning as a family and in a family. This article aims to open up new discussions and debate on using the concept of "family capital". The author states that as the debate on the social value of…

The Asia Barometer Survey of 1,038 respondents shows that most Singaporeans are happy and enjoy life, although they do not feel a correspondingly high level of accomplishment. Good health, a comfortable home, a job, time with family and having enough to eat emerged as key priorities in life. While Singaporeans are most satisfied with their…

The present study was designed to investigate trajectories of identity development and their relationship to family functioning in a sample of Hispanic adolescents and their primary caregivers. Two hundred fifty adolescents completed measures of identity coherence and confusion and of family functioning, and parents completed measures of family…

Two studies investigated associations between family instability (changes in parents' intimate partners, work hours, residence, children's schools) and adolescent adjustment. In Study 1 (N = 141, M age = 15.23 years), instability was associated with increased caregiver-reported externalizing and internalizing behaviors (including youth-reported…

The impact of childhood chronic health conditions like spina bifida (SB) is a shared family experience. However, the lived experience of siblings is not well known. One hundred and fifty-five brothers and sisters of a child with SB responded to an open-ended question included in an anonymous self-administered mail questionnaire designed to enhance…

The loss of a child during pregnancy or infancy raises challenging questions about how to communicate with very young siblings about the family's loss. What to say and how to say it varies with the developmental level of the child and the circumstances of the loss, as well as the family's culture, values, and beliefs. Children need open and honest…

This study examined the relationships of adolescent acculturation orientations to adolescent and parent reports of family functioning and behavior problems in a sample of 338 Hispanic families. Acculturation orientations are derived from the model proposed by Berry. Results indicate that integrated adolescents, who both maintain heritage culture…

An extensive literature documents that a lower level of acculturation is associated with better health outcomes among U.S. immigrants, despite the many hardships these families face. It is likely that cultural practices and strong family networks contribute to this phenomenon, which has been termed the "healthy immigrant effect". This article…

This study used ethnographic data to examine the nature and functions of transnational relationships of low-income Latin American women who had immigrated to the United States and were living in areas of extreme poverty. Findings indicated that these Latin American mothers utilized transnational ties to help maintain the cultural identities of…

Nineteen variables measuring environmental process, environmental press, and child rearing practices and attitudes were used to perform a cluster analysis of families with trainable mentally retarded (TMR) children. Five different family types were identified: (1) cohesive, harmonious; (2) control-oriented, somewhat unharmonious; (3)…

Mothers (N=67) of moderately mentally retarded children perceived their family climate as not encouraging such intense relationships in expressiveness or as much personal growth in independence and recreation orientation as six mothers of nondisabled children. (Author/CL)

Found both positive (intellectual and cultural) and negative (greater conflict) impacts on the family environment as a result of mature married women returning to college. (Author/GC)

Learning that a child has a lifelong developmental disorder is stressful and challenging to any family, yet it is clear that some families adapt and adjust more readily than others. In this article, it is proposed that a diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is especially likely to be experienced as ambiguous loss. Interviews with mothers…

Family therapists have used genograms as an assessment tool for years to examine the interactions and relationships of family members across generations. This article discusses how a therapist can use a genogram creatively to help clients examine the impact of family relationships on healthy and unhealthy lifestyle patterns and how those…