Patients' Perspective on Family Therapy for Anorexia Nervosa: A Qualitative Inquiry in a Chinese Context

This article presents a qualitative study of the subjective experiences of 24 Chinese adolescents and young women who have been suffering from anorexia nervosa and who have received family treatment from a university‐based family treatment centre in Hong Kong. In‐depth post‐treatment interviews were conducted and have been transcribed and thematised using content analysis. The narratives that have emerged have facilitated hearing the clients' and their family members' voices, especially in the areas of (a) perceived concepts of family therapy, (b) the perceived therapeutic relationship and its linkage to positive change, (c) perceived intervention strategies as employed in family treatment, and (d) the participants' own role in problem‐solving. The study has enabled the author to refine the family treatment model, which has been adapted from the Micucci's (1998) model, with additional components introduced by the author to enhance family treatment in a Chinese context.     

WHY FAMILY THERAPY SHOULD GO BEYOND HOMEOSTASIS: A KUHNIAN REPLY TO ARIEL,CAREL AND TYANO

The thesis of “Beyond Homeostasis” is (a) that the discourse of family therapists unquestionably shows that family therapists have tended to see homeostasis as a trait of families; and (b) that such a view of homeostasis is inconsistent with the systemic paradigm. Therefore, family therapy should go beyond such an understanding of homeostasis. Ariel et al. may have failed to grasp this argument; they have certainly chosen to ignore it. Ariel et al. have provided a logical empiricist explication of the nonsystemic version of homeostasis which is portrayed in the discourse of family therapists. I still argue that family therapy should go beyond such an understanding of homeostasis.     

Family Theory and Research in Great Britain

This paper argues that the development of family research and theory in Great Britain has been strengthened by the fluidity of boundaries between various disciplines and methodolo- gies employed in the explanation of family life. Indeed, changes in the definition of family have been at the heart of the diversity and fluidity characteristic of the study of family. Studies of economic issues, gender and class distinctions, and family processes have involved vari- ous perspectives in research and theory building. Future directions for research suggest the need to explore linkages between British scholars and the wider community of family scholars, topics related to family morality or obligation, further development of qualitative and quantitative methods in family research, and continued exchanges between scholars and policy makers.     

中国传统家训的特点及其对当代教育的启示

中国的传统家庭教育是中华文化与文明的重要组成部分。传统的家训基本可以分为帝王家训、名人家训和女性家训三种。尽管在不同的历史时期各类家训的内容有一些区别和不同的侧重，但是总的目的都是为了引导子女能够学会做人做事，并强调首先要具备“德”和“序”。     

An Exploration of Family Environment,Adolescent Perceptions,and Home-Based Intervention

ABSTRACT

Home-based family intervention has become a successful approach to treatment in the field of social work and family therapy. Studies in this area have usually focused on the outcome of nonplacement as the measure of success; few studies have reported specifically on changes in family environment and adolescent perceptions following home-based intervention. Using the family life cycle as a theoretical framework, this study assessed changes in family environment and adolescent perceptions from pretest to post-test in families receiving home-based family intervention. Findings indicate that the family environment improved in cohesion, conflict, and independence; and adolescents improved in self-concept and peer security from pretest to posttest. Suggestions for aftercare are presented.     

Female-headed families: a comparative perspective of the Caribbean and the developed world

Official statistics indicate that 22-44% of women in CARICOM countries are sole heads of households. Some have argued that there are so many female-headed households in the Caribbean simply because those societies have failed to realize the nuclear family norms espoused by the American sociologists of the 1950s. On the contrary, family formations are adaptations to economic and social conditions, with the nuclear family being only one of many family forms. Women have long been acknowledged as the backbone of Caribbean families. In the dominant culture of the region, marriage is not considered necessary for procreation, so women may choose to have and raise children independently. The female-headed household widely seen in the Caribbean is becoming more widely seen in the West. The notion that single-parent families are dysfunctional needs to be re-examined and equal recognition and support given to all family forms.     

Rights and the role of family engagement in child welfare: an international treaties perspective on families' rights, parents' rights, and children's rights

According to international human rights treaties, what rights do family members, parents, and children have in family engagement in child welfare decision-making? A socio-legal analytical approach produces a typology of rights, then applies the typology to eight countries' approaches to family engagement to show that strong bundles of rights are available in some countries, but not in others. This study reveals international treaties have articulated many rights necessary to family engagement, but some rights are missing.     

The Economic Organization of Extended Family Households by Race or Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status

This study examines differences in the amount of economic support or mutual benefit derived from extended family living arrangements by studying differences in monetary contributions to essential household expenditures across family units in extended family households. Using the 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation, multivariate regression and selection models are estimated to assess racial differences in family contributions toward household expenses in extended family households. Extended family households have very unequal monetary contributions toward household rent and utilities, although Hispanics have less unequal monetary contributions when compared with other racial groups. Hispanic and Asian extended family households experience decreasing inequality in financial contributions as the income of each family increases, whereas no relationship between financial contributions and income is found for Whites or Blacks. This suggests a different cultural orientation to extended family living arrangements for Asians and Hispanics when compared with non‐Hispanic Whites.     

Developments in Family Psychiatry in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, Family Psychiatry began at the Ipswich Hospital, in 1949, mainly as a reaction to the then prevailing practice of child psychiatry. The family became the unit not only of theoretical formulations, but also of clinical psychiatric practice. Family psychopathology is understood in terms of real experience; family diagnosis is arrived at by taking into account the total dysfunctioning of the family, and family therapy, a part of Family Psychiatry, is applied with the aim of benefiting the family as a whole. Developments in the inpatient field have followed. The efforts of a number of British workers have been directed to the problem of schizophrenia and the family.     

孝道持家和乐融融

孝顺是中华民族的传统美德。车亚华夫妇15年来不辞辛苦的照顾着生病卧床的两辈老人。他们用自己的孝心和无微不至的关心陪伴着三个老人度过他们的晚年．     

Towards a Cultural Analysis of the Modern Family: Beyond the Revisionist Paradigm in Japanese Family Studies

Under the influence of the "new history of the family" of the past few decades, a revisionist view of the "modern family" has emerged among family theorists in Japan. In spite of the significant merits of this new paradigm, I have argued that the failure of its proponents to address certain theoretical and presuppositional issues has discouraged a cultural analysis of the modern family. In recent years, one of the foremost theorists to attempt to bring cultural analysis fully into sociological discourse has been Jeffrey Alexander. I have drawn extensively on Alexander's discussion of Durkheim's later thought as the key to a cultural program in the field of sociology. In doing so, I have suggested that one effect of the transition to modern society is the sacralization of what Durkheim termed the "domestic order". Furthermore, in considering the mechanism by which the central emotional axis of the family comes to revolve around either the parent–child bond or the conjugal bond, I have postulated the existence of a "sacred" dyad—in the Durkheimian sense—within the family unit.     

A perfect fit: connecting family therapy skills to family business needs

The purpose of this article is to encourage family therapists to become more interested in family business practice. It does so in three ways: (a) highlighting the number of therapists already involved in family business issues; (b) showing the parallels between family business and family therapy by applying family business research findings to couples therapy; (c) discussing how family therapists already have the practice wisdom to be effective in working with family business clients. Limitations of this practice are also discussed along with suggestions for overcoming them.     

Family life of older black men

This report explores family structure and functioning among 58 men whose ages range from 65 to 96. In comparison to women in this study, men are no more likely to be isolated from their family. In fact, more men are married and live with others, and there are no significant differences in other indicators of family integration. There were no significant differences in the instrumental and expressive supports from members of the extended family. Those men who are married have a strong relationship with their wives. Most fathers have active relationships with their children but are closer to sons over daughters and proximal children over distant ones. Collateral relationships include strong bonds with siblings and siblings' children. Those with few family relationships have pieced-together networks of friends and kindred.     

Spanning Borders,Cultures, and Generations: A Decade of Research on Immigrant Families

The authors review research conducted during the past decade on immigrant families, focusing primarily on the United States and the sending countries with close connections to the United States. They note several major advances. First, researchers have focused extensively on immigrant families that are physically separated but socially and economically linked across origin and destination communities and explored what these family arrangements mean for family structure and functions. Second, family scholars have explored how contexts of reception shape families and family relationships. Of special note is research that documented the experiences and risks associated with undocumented legal status for parents and children. Third, family researchers have explored how the acculturation and enculturation process operates as families settle in the destination setting and raise the next generation. Looking forward, they identify several possible directions for future research to better understand how immigrant families have responded to a changing world in which nations and economies are increasingly interconnected and diverse, populations are aging, and family roles are in flux and where these changes are often met with fear and resistance in immigrant-receiving destinations.     

Merging Family and Firm: An Integrated Systems Approach to Process and Change

The blurring of family and business in family businesses can create tremendous stress for all family members. Scholars have been unsuccessful in applying task-oriented, business-based models to a business in which the boundaries between task and family blur and overlap. This article integrates current research and theory related to family interaction, organizational dynamics, and family businesses to present a conceptual framework that details the complex inner workings of family businesses and helps guide those who study and work with them.     

Art,Science and Curiosity: Research and Research Methodologies in Australian Family Therapy 1979–2000

This article presents an historical analysis of the development of research and research methodologies in an Australian context. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy was chosen as the site of the analysis. The first section of data consists of the articles that represent themselves as ‘research’ in the period from 1979 (the journal's inception) to 2000. These texts have been analysed using bibliometric analysis. The second section of data consists of commentary articles about research in family therapy. This data has been analysed using discourse analysis. Overall, I have been interested in how family therapists have defined ‘research’; how family therapists have chosen to inquire; representations of the researcher in Australian family therapy; associations between theoretical or clinical developments and the methodologies that have been chosen for inquiries. Findings from the study reveal very limited representations of research in the journal for the period under review, and an apparent struggle for family therapists to undertake a discussion about what research actually is. Questions are raised around how this has occurred, and some ideas are presented as to how research knowledges can be included in debates around theory diversity in family therapy.     

Children Living With Uninsured Family Members: Differences by Family Structure

Despite increased access to insurance through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, uninsurance rates are expected to remain relatively high. Having uninsured family members may expose children to financial hardships. Eligibility rules governing both private and public health insurance are based on outdated expectations about family structure. Using 2009–2011 data from the National Health Interview Survey (N = 65,038), the authors investigated family structure differences in family‐level insurance coverage of households with children. Children living with married biological parents were the least likely to have uninsured family members and most likely to have all family members covered by private insurance. Controlling for demographic characteristics and income, children in single‐mother families had the same risk of having an uninsured family member as children in married‐parent families. Children with cohabiting biological parents had higher rates of family uninsurance than children with married biological parents, even accounting for other characteristics.     

The importance of family functioning to prevention of placement: A study of family preservation services

Family preservation services have been found effective in preventing the placement of children outside their homes. Most studies of family preservation services focus on the successful prevention of placement of children in out-of-home care, and relatively few studies have examined how such services affect family functioning. Recent research has begun to examine the relationship between family functioning and prevention of placement. This research has demonstrated improved family functioning for those families who received family preservation services.A version of this paper was first presented at the Sixth National Doctoral Dissertation Symposium, 1993, Ohio State University.     

‘No Coward Soul is Mine’: A Family Systems Analysis of the Bronte Family

The Bronte family produced three major authors of the Victorian period, only one of whom, Charlotte, lived to enjoy her fame. Since the beginning, this family has elicited controversy, myth and speculation. The authors attempt an analysis of the complex dynamics of the Brontes, including its constituent ‘family cultures’, parent‐child alliances, sibling bonds and rivalries, the traumatic effects of three early deaths, and the strong theme of secrecy and ‘protection’ in a family dominated by Branwell Bronte's instability and eventual alcoholism. The authors speculate on how this family might have presented for treatment, and invite readers to consider how they, as family therapists, might have responded.     

Family Law and Family Systems: Multidisciplinary Training for Professionals

The Family Court in New Zealand has become the crucible for the mixing of legal and mental health professionals. Low key workshops convened by family therapists for multidisciplinary groups have made successful use of family therapy models and expertise to provide a base for the conciliation and mediation alternative to the adversary system so common in law and in earlier family litigation. Enhanced cross-disciplinary understanding and morale appear to have accompanied the more formal learnings in family therapy, and the programme as detailed is included as one possible structure on which such experiences might be offered by other therapists in other places.