Liability of Newness: Assessing Couple Social Support When Starting A New Business Venture

Study purpose was to investigate adapted social support instruments of nurturance and affiliation with male and female entrepreneurs and spouses starting a new business. Family Fundamental Interpersonal Relationship Orientation theory was the theoretical grounding. Business structure differed by entrepreneur gender in both direct and indirect spousal involvement. Both couple types were highly connected with their firms having high nurturance and affiliation scores. When couple discrepancies were compared, more male entrepreneur couples had shared meaning on business‐oriented nurturance questions compared with female entrepreneur couples. The opposite was true for shared meaning on relationship‐oriented nurturance. For all affiliation questions, more male entrepreneur couples had shared meaning than did female entrepreneur couples. Clinical applications of resulting instruments are discussed.     

Strength of Intercultural Couples in the Transition to Parenthood: A Qualitative Study of Intermarried Parents in Japan

This qualitative research used a strength-based approach to examine how intercultural couples in Japan managed their cultural differences during the transition to parenthood. This study reveals the strengths of intercultural couples, namely, the resources they have acquired and the lessons they acquired throughout the marriage process. These made the intercultural couples resilient and able to maintain a mutually satisfactory relationship. Prior to parenthood, the main resources were Intrapersonal, Strength Shared by Two, and Acceptance by Extended Family and Friends. Once the intercultural couples became parents, two new resources appeared: Growth of Parent–Child Relationship and Enhanced Partnership. Regarding the lessons learned, Couple Communication, Adjusting and Respecting, What-is-Best-for-Us, and Self-Care were identified. The couples were successfully turning cultural differences into minor issues or even opportunities. The findings not only may help practitioners to support intercultural couples but also provide implications for all who are involved in intercultural settings.     

Economic Security and Financial Management Issues Facing Same-Sex Couples

Same-sex couples experience economic rights and responsibilities in a context that differs from that of married couples. Financial management and economic security issues facing same-sex couples have received little attention to date. These issues are examined in this article within changing legal and social conditions. Family professionals should be knowledgeable about the context and scope of these important issues facing same-sex couples to be able to educate their constituent groups appropriately, deal with clients in therapy, and inform and influence policy makers.     

Conflict Patterns and Family of Origin Conflict in Newly Initiated Remarriages

ABSTRACT

The poor marriage material hypothesis explains the high divorce rate in remarriages as a function of the qualities of people who have previously been divorced. This study sought to test whether conflict in the family of origin and in the present marriage could substantiate the poor marriage material hypothesis by discriminating between couples in their first marriage versus those in a marriage with a history of divorce. A sample of 66 newlywed married couples, half in first marriages and half in remarriages, were recruited through marriage licenses and student referrals. Family of origin conflict discriminated between first and remarried couples. Namely, wives' exposure to interparental conflict significantly increased the odds that they were presently married to a husband who had previously been divorced. Differences between first and remarried couples' own conflict patterns were largely unremarkable with the exception of remarried couples seeing their partners as being more compliant and unassertive relative to those in first marriages.     

Financial challenges in remarriage

Remarried couples, especially those with children from a previous marriage, face financial complexities unknown to couples in their first marriages. The few empirical investigations which have explored this feature of stepfamily life have revealed that couples often have a difficult time with the financial functioning aspect of their remarriage. While further research is needed to examine the dynamics of the financial aspects of remarriage, educators and counselors need to begin to help remarried couples to develop management strategies for coping with their unique situations. Recommendations for a workshop are made and resources are listed.Supported in part by Utah State University Vice President for Research. Scientific contribution Number 1480 from the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station.Jean M. Lown received her Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Family Economics and Consumer Studies. Currently Dr. Lown is assistant professor, Department of Home Economics and Consumer Education, UMC-2910, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322.Elizabeth M. Dolan is associate professor, Department of Family and Consumer Studies, Pettee Hall, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824. Drs. Lown and Dolan are collaborating on a research investigation into the dynamics of financial management in remarried families.     

Relationships between marital quality,social, and familial interactions by residential location: Implications for human service professionals

Gerontological literature is reviewed concerning the factors contributing to marital quality of later life couples. Data are presented which compare the marital quality of older couples residing in a retirement facility and elderly couples living in the community-at-large. The couples' interactions with friends and frequency of visits with children are examined in terms of the relationship between these variables and marital quality of the subjects. Implications for practice are discussed.Ellie Brubaker is Associate Professor of Sociology at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. Dr. Brubaker holds a Ph.D. in Social Work from the Ohio State University. Her current research is in the area of social service delivery to older families.Linda Ade-Ridder is Assistant Professor in the Department of Home Economics and Consumer Sciences and an associate of the Family and Child Studies Center at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Dr. Ade-Ridder received her Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Living at the Florida State University in 1983. Her current research is being conducted on the roles of women, including women in older marriages and eating disorders in women.     

Changes in couple,parenting, and individual functioning following Family Expectations program participation

The current study investigated changes in couple, parenting, and individual functioning following participation in Family Expectations, a relationship and parenting education program for new or expectant parents. The sample comprised 339 couples who participated in most sessions of the Family Expectations program and completed assessments at three different time points over a 12-month period. Study analyses examined: (a) change shortly following completion of the program, (b) associations between short-term change and subsequent change in outcomes at 12-month follow-up, and (c) differences in short-term change between married and unmarried couples. Significant improvements were observed in all three domains at short-term follow-up. Short-term changes, particularly for psychological distress, were predictive of long-term change in multiple domains. Few moderation effects by marital status were evident; those that appeared suggested stronger effects for married participants compared to unmarried. Study findings inform ongoing discussions into the utility of federally-funded relationship and parenting programming.     

FAMILY GOAL RECORDING: AN ADAPTATION OF GOAL ATTAINMENT SCALING FOR ENHANCING FAMILY THERAPY AND ASSESSMENT*

Family Goal Recording is proposed as a systemic approach for measuring change in the presenting concerns of couples and families. This paper describes the procedures for using Family Goal Recording as an outcome measure for family therapy and a device to enhance goal attainment. In addition, the results of an initial study on the reliability and validity of this method are presented.     

Entwicklungstendenzen im in- und ausländischen Familienrecht — zu drei Jahresberichten (Teil 2)

Based on the annual ?International Surveys of Family Law“ (1994–1996) the article deals with recent developments in family law. The activities of various legislators in the period reviewed seem to have been focused on reforms in the field of unmarried couples living as married, especially homosexual couples, and on the abolition of any remaining regulations discriminating against illegitimate children. Another point of interest is domestic violence.     

Therapist Ratings of Frequency and Severity of Marital Problems: Implications for Research*

In order to ascertain fruitful directions for marital therapy research, practicing marital therapists were asked to provide information regarding the clinical relevance of potential research topics. A structured questionnaire was mailed to 250 members of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. Therapists treating at least five couples were asked to rate the frequency, severity, and treatment difficulty for 29 problems commonly experienced by distressed couples. Therapists' responses indicated the clinical relevance of a number of potential directions for research. Communication and alcoholism were most strongly endorsed as priority areas for future marital therapy research.     

Foster parenting together: Assessing foster parent applicant couples

This study examined family and marital context, parenting knowledge and attitudes, and mental/emotional health in a sample of 99 heterosexual foster parent applicant couples to determine whether there were distinct sub-groups in the sample with regard to marital/family context, psychological symptoms, and parenting attitudes and knowledge; to describe those sub-groups; and to examine whether those sub-groups experienced different rates of approval to foster and placement of children in their homes. The sample included only applicant couples who completed all questionnaires and 30 h of MAPP training over 10 sessions. Due to sample size, we estimated one Latent Class model for marital/family context and psychological symptoms, and another for parenting attitudes and knowledge. Analysis revealed two distinct classes of applicant couples for marital/family context and psychological symptoms, designated as Problematic Family Context (PFC), 60% of the sample and Nonproblematic Family Context (NFP), 40%. Significantly more NFP were approved to foster and had children placed in their homes 14 months later. Latent Class Analysis also revealed Problematic (35%) and Non-problematic (65%) sub-classes for parenting attitudes and knowledge; however, both classes were about equally likely to be approved to foster and to have children placed in their homes. These findings underscore the importance of screening during foster parent training and suggest that the MAPP training was partially successful in selecting applicants with the most foster parenting potential.     

Family Structure,Policy Shocks,and Family Business Adjustment Choices

This research used survey data collected between 2005 and 2006 in rural Kentucky to empirically investigate how different types of rural households in Kentucky cope with the changes in economic environment during the post-tobacco buyout by employing two different family business models, the Agricultural Household Model and the Sustainable Family Business Model. Data were analyzed using a multinomial probit model. The results indicate that multi-generational households were more likely to invest in low risk investments and less likely to employ a family member off-farm than couples with young children. Therefore, family structure plays an important part in the types of adjustment strategies chosen by farm families. The results also indicate that the Sustainable Family Business Model is a better predictor of the observed correlation between family structure and family farms’ choices of adaptation strategies.     

Underemployment: Individual and marital adjustment to income loss

Psychological and interpersonal adjustments to income loss were investigated by comparing 25 couples in which husbands were underemployed to 88 couples in which husbands had been continuously employed. Husbands were considered underemployed if they had lost 20% of their annual earnings. Via questionnaires, husbands and wives reported on attitudes and on attributions for their present financial circumstances. Underemployed husbands and their wives were less satisfied with their finances and their marriages than the comparison group. The components of depression and marital dissatisfaction, for under-employed and continuously employed couples, and the importance of gathering data from both spouses, are discussed.Research reported in this paper was supported by funds from the Agricultural Experiment Station, Regional Project W-167—Coping with Stress: Adaptation of Nonmetropolitan Families to Socioeconomic Change (Technical Paper #8358). An earlier version was presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Council on Family Relations, Dearborn, Michigan, November 5, 1986.The assistance of Tom Guss and Linda Ladd in gathering these data is gratefully acknowledged. The author also wishes to thank Petra Zengerle for statistical analysis; Alan Sugawara, Alexis Walker, Dorothy Price, Mari Wilhelm, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier draft.Anisa M. Zvonkovic received her Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University. Research interests include close relationships and the effect of socio-economic changes on interpersonal bonds. Address correspondence to Dr. Zvonkovic, Assistant Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331.     

Fertility Behavior of Interracial Couples

Despite the unprecedented rise in the number of intermarriages and multiracial individuals in recent decades, our understanding about the fertility behavior of interracial couples is limited. Using data from the 2002 and 2006–2015 National Survey of Family Growth, this study compares the risk of pregnancy and the pregnancy intentions of interracial couples with those of same‐race couples. Interracial couples' risk of pregnancy differed little from that of same‐race White couples, with the exception of White wife–Black husband couples, whose risk of pregnancy was higher than both same‐race White and Black couples. Neither socioeconomic disparities nor union characteristics explained their elevated pregnancy risk. Interracial couples' risk of unintended pregnancy mirrored closely that of same‐race couples from the husband's racial or ethnic group. Socioeconomic disparity was the primary driver of differences in pregnancy intentions between interracial and same‐race White couples.     

Essay Review: Enrichment and Therapy In Depth

Chernick, Beryl and Chernick, Noam. In touch .
Guerin, Philip J., Jr. Family therapy .
L'Abate, Luciano. Enrichment: Structured interventions with couples, families, and groups .     

Money,Marriage, and Children: Testing the Financial Expectations and Family Formation Theory

Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Survey (N = 2,954), a birth cohort study, this work examines how gains in earnings and income are associated with marriage and subsequent childbearing for low‐income couples. Using change models, results indicate that positive changes in earnings, controlling for baseline levels of earnings, were associated with greater odds of marriage. Cohabiting couples who became poor were associated with a 37% decrease in marriage likelihood. Neither earnings nor income was affiliated with additional fertility. Results are consistent with the Financial Expectations and Family Formation theory, which posits that positive economic circumstances are necessary for marriage, but are not associated with subsequent childbearing.     

Adaptation to unemployment: Effects of a mine closure on husbands and wives

The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of how individuals/couples respond to the unemployment of the primary breadwinner. Data were collected from 66 individuals (33 couples) shortly after becoming unemployed and again one year later. Results determined that the significant predictor variables of economic satisfaction, marital adjustment, and depression were primarily economic, marital, and emotional variables, respectively. Findings also showed that interaction existed among economic, marital, and emotional variables in predicting the three well-being outcomes. Additionally, differences were found in the pattern of results for husbands and for wives. Based on these findings, areas and hypotheses for future study are proposed.Carl A. Ridley received his Ph.D. from Florida State University. He is a Professor in the Division of Child Development and Family Relations, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721. His research interests include relationships and conflict management.Mari S. Wilhelm received her Ph.D. from Michigan State University. She is an Assistant Professor in the School of Family and Consumer Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721. Her research interests include financial management, socio-economic stress, financial stress and problems.     

The Real Book of Mormon Musical: Latter-day Saint Family Home Evening as a Weekly Ritual

Abstract

Scholars of religious ritual have noted that inadequate attention has been paid to religious ritual in the social sciences. Based on what has been done, it is apparent that sacred family rituals (when done well and with relational sensitivity) can enhance structure, meaning, and family unity. The present study examines the family-level ritual practice of weekly Family Home Evening among members of 26 Latter-day Saint (LDS) families (N?=?58 individuals). Qualitative analyses found the following three themes: (a) Family Home Evening as a Conversation; (b) Challenges of Family Home Evening; and (c) The Value of Family Home Evening. Primary data that support and illustrate the three themes are presented, along with implications and applications.