Defensive projection is discussed as a mechanism important in understanding interpersonal relations. Projections are seen as an important source of both misperception of spouse and reduced self-awareness, leading to resentment and a rigid marital system. In conjoint marriage counseling, the counselor may intervene to correct perceptual distortion.…

Deals with the marital dynamics characteristics of the period immediately prior to a decision to divorce. The concept of a marital Point of No-Return (N/R) is introduced. Guidelines for working with the concept are presented. (Author)

Reports on the effect of the legal process in Pennsylvania on adjustment to marital separation. The data suggest that, although the majority of respondents found fault or encountered difficulty with the legal system, these problems did not necessarily result in reported poorer adjustment following the separation. (Author)

Examines the health and contentment of husbands of employed women and husbands of housewives, replicating an earlier study. Improvements in sampling, measurement, and analysis procedures were incorporated into the restudy. Husbands of employed women evidenced no more signs of marital discord and stress than did spouses of housewives. (Author/BEF)

To better serve the growing number of Spanish-speaking couples and families in the U.S., it is useful to have a battery of instruments to assess the nature of their marital distress. This article presents the standard assessment battery that Brigham Young University uses to evaluate marital distress. (Contains 11 references and 1 table.) (GCP)

Examines the clinical profile of children who have witnessed severe marital discord in comparison with normative children. Results indicate that the witnessing group of children has lower social competence, has more behavior problems, and exhibits more internalizing and externalizing behaviors than the comparative normative sample. (Contains 56…

Marital estrangement, positive feelings toward spouses, and locus of control among a national sample of 323 female counselors who were either married or formerly married to alcohol-abusing or to non-alcohol-abusing male partners were examined. Statistically significant differences between groups were found. (Contains 36 references.) (Author)

Couples' dilemmas revolve around vantage points in their relationships. The purposes of this article are to discuss direct ways of assisting students to integrate theory into practice, to provide an integrated picture of how varying empirical findings dealing with couples could be pieced together to train beginning therapists, and to better assess…

Assessment of community couples (N=272) revealed that more women than men reported physically aggressing against their partners at premarriage and 18 months. At 30 months, men and women did not report significantly different rates of aggression. Likelihood of physical aggression at 30 months given aggression before marriage and at 18 months was…

Describes interactional approach to using standardized self-report instruments as part of assessment of couples entering marital therapy or enrichment. Presents most prominent and well-researched measures of marital satisfaction, instability, and intimacy, and evaluates how well these measures can fulfill necessary assessment functions. (Author/NB)

Used combined questionnaire and register data on 39,000 Norwegian men and women to show that psychological well-being was strong predictor of subsequent marital dissolution over 2- to 4-year period. Strength of relationship was particularly strong in short run but remained significant throughout period of observation. (Author/NB)

Provides a practical step-by-step model to guide all family therapists when working with couples involved in marital violence. Encourages therapists to determine whether violence is occurring, select a treatment modality, and either make arrangements to treat or refer to appropriate therapist. Five steps are outlined for use when conjoint couple…

Examined the interaction between marital distress and spouses' attributions and expectancies regarding the marital relationship in predicting depressive symptoms in a mixed sample of 59 clinic and nonclinic couples. Best predictor of depression for both sexes was measure of disaffection, reflecting emotional distance and alienation in the…

Drawing on Durkheim's theory of social integration, an analysis of states' spending for public welfare and their divorce rates for 1960, 1970, 1980, and 1985 showed that the welfare state is not a destabilizing influence on family life as critics have charged. Past divorce rates were shown to have the most significant influence on current divorce…

Considered perceptions of relationship quality (positive communication, caring gestures, recollections of happiest times) in 81 discordant clinic and 51 nondiscordant community couples. Spouses in nondistressed community marriages reported more frequent and higher quality positive communication and longer lasting and more recent happiest memories…