This article examines effects of separation and divorce on children in the context of possible psychological maltreatment. Common behavior patterns of children in this situation are discussed in terms of those that are acceptable and those that must be considered harmful. (Author/DB)

Examined data on 1,023 married women from 1987-88 National Survey of Families and Households. Found that mothers with at least one boy reported significantly lower propensity to divorce compared to mothers with only girls. Fathers in families with boys were more engaged with children, which was associated with mothers perceiving less disadvantage…

Used survey data from 619 husbands residing in Bangkok, Thailand, to assess their use of physical force against their wives. Results provide strong support for importance of socioeconomic status, marital instability, and verbal marital conflict as predictors of Thai wife abuse. (Author/NB)

National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data on 1,640 children aged 6-14 indicate that children's anxiety and depression/withdrawal were increased by prior parental marital conflict or disruption. Children remaining in high-conflict environments generally exhibited lower levels of well-being than children with high-conflict experience whose parents…

We examined the psychological and physiological functioning of a community sample of children exposed to marital violence, comparing them to a clinical comparison group without marital violence exposure. Results replicated past findings of elevated levels of trauma symptomatology in this population. Further, children exposed to marital violence…

This meta-analysis summarizes results from 30 randomized experiments that compare behavioral marital therapy with no-treatment control with distressed couples. Results showed that behavioral marital therapy is significantly more effective than no treatment (d=.585). Although behavioral marital therapy research studies tend to be conducted under…

Marital adjustment, verbal aggression, and physical aggression have long been associated in the marital literature, but the nature of their associations remains unclear. In this study, the authors examined these 3 constructs as risk factors for physical aggression during the first 2 years of marriage in 634 couples recruited as they applied for…

Infidelity is a common issue with which distressed couples and their therapists grapple. However, there are no data on the efficacy of commonly used therapies to treat couples in which there has been an affair. In the present exploratory study, the authors examined the therapy outcomes of a sample of infidelity couples (n=19) who had participated…

A community sample of 295 mothers, fathers, and children M age 11-14 years, SD2.32 years rated marital distress, maternal and paternal psychological symptoms, and child adjustment. The predicted direct relations between these family and child variables were demonstrated for both fathers and mothers. Tests of pathways among these variables were…

In this research we study the identity verification process and its effects in marriage. Drawing on identity control theory, we hypothesize that a lack of verification in the spouse identity (1) threatens stable self-meanings and interaction patterns between spouses, and (2) challenges a (nonverified) spouse's perception of control over the…

Studying the characteristics of attempted suicide is helpful in knowing the background of some completed suicides and improving prevention or intervention strategies. This current study analyzed data of 74 suicide attempters and 92 accident injured patients admitted to 6 hospital emergency rooms in an area of Northeastern China and found both…

The present study examined the midlife outcomes of 548 adults who became parents before the age of 20. Participants were from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) and were followed prospectively from age 18 until age 53. Their life-course development was compared to sample members who gave birth at the mean age for the WLS. Midlife outcomes were…

A number of factors came together in the 1970s to create a social problem called "battered wives". Then, beginning in 1977, there was an attempt to create a social problem called "battered husbands." So far, such attempts have been unsuccessful. This analysis compares the issue of battered husbands and battered wives to…

Explores the extent to which state divorce laws have an independent effect on divorce rates. Two findings, using regression analysis, are (1) a strong relationship exists between permissiveness of divorce laws and divorce rates; (2) the relationship remains when effects of variations in economic development and social costs are controlled. (Author)

The Parental Attitude Research Instrument (PARI) was administered to 34 wives of nuclear submarine personnel under counterbalanced conditions of father presence and absence. Significant differences were found on seven subscales as a function of the father's status. (Author/SDH)