Remarried Couples in Premarital Education: Does the Content Match Participant Needs?

Although premarital education has been found to reduce risk factors of divorce, the use of premarital education has primarily been examined in first marriages, or in groups combining both first and later marriages. In this qualitative study, 8 remarried couples’ perceptions of the premarital education they received were explored. The coexisting core categories of the desire to create a loving relationship yet fear of repeated marital failure emerged. The results implied that remarried couples carried an additional fear of marital dissolution, which in conjunction with the complex tasks associated with stepfamily formation, promoted attachment insecurities. Clinical applications are included.     

Boundary Ambiguity and Borderline Personality Traits: Implications for Treatment for Adolescent Girls in Foster Care

This article explores the relationship between boundary ambiguity and borderline personality traits in adolescent girls in foster care. Boundary ambiguity is a family systems concept: family members are uncertain about who is in or out of the family—in either psychological or physical presence or absence. In foster care, it can be assumed that an adolescent girl has experienced trauma significant enough to be removed from her family. The connection between early childhood trauma and attachment disruption in addition to the connection between insecure/disorganized attachment and borderline personality disorder leads to the conclusion that these same adolescents are at high risk for developing borderline personality traits. The sample consists of 40 caseworkers from New England’s child protection departments and therapists from residential programs working with adolescent girls. They completed the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure for Adolescents to determine the presence of personality disruption as well as a variation of Pauline Boss’s Boundary Ambiguity Scale #1, and demographic questionnaires. The results find a significant correlation between boundary ambiguity and borderline personality traits. These findings provide directions for future research in clinical treatment and child welfare policy making.     

Religiosity as a Moderator of Family Conflict and Depressive Symptoms among African American and White Young Grandmothers

ABSTRACT

This study examined the association between religiosity, conflict in the mother-daughter relationship, and depressive symptoms among 83 African American and white grandmothers. Interviews were conducted during the early stages of adaptation to grandparenthood due to the birth of a baby to a teenage daughter. The results of this study suggest that religiosity is associated with less depressive symptoms. In addition, religiosity moderates the relationship between conflict and depressive symptoms for African American grandmothers. Specifically, highly religious African American grandmothers experiencing low conflict with their daughters reported lower depressive symptoms than those who were less religious. These findings were not evident for white grandmothers. The implications of these findings for grandmothers in families with teenage mothers are discussed within the context of race, religiosity, family relationships, and psychological well-being.     

Got One Another's Backs: Mother-Teen Relationships in Families Escaping Intimate Partner Violence

This Life Story study gained a comprehensive picture of experiences of young adolescents (ages 12–14) accompanying mothers in emergency domestic violence shelters. A holistic, chronological approach in interviews with an ethnically diverse sample of youth and their mothers (N = 27) yielded insights into perspectives on relationships. This article focuses on the complex thematic finding “interconnected family boundaries,” a central dynamic in mother-youth relationships characterized by emotional closeness, highly cohesive boundaries, and interdependence in problem solving regarding family issues. Participants identified this dynamic as essential for adaptation yet entailing losses. Discussion considers theoretical triangulation and implications for research, intervention, and practitioner education.     

Foster Parents' Understanding of Children's Problematic Attachment Strategies

ABSTRACT

Foster mothers and biological mothers were interviewed regarding their understanding of children's insecure attachment strategies and their knowledge of foster care issues. In addition, parent sensitivity was assessed and case workers in the foster care system reported on foster mothers' effectiveness. As expected, foster mothers reported significantly more attachment-related difficulties with their foster children than biological mothers reported with their natural children. Foster mothers were not significantly different from biological mothers in their understanding of attachment strategies, knowledge about foster care issues, or sensitivity. Case workers' reports of foster parent effectiveness were significantly related to foster parents' knowledge about foster care issues but were not significantly related to parents' understanding of attachment strategies. We discuss the importance of sensitivity to attachment issues among foster parents.     

Parental Divorce and Romantic Attachment in Young Adulthood: Important Role of Problematic Beliefs

In the current study 45 university students with either divorced or continuously married parents were surveyed about their romantic attachment, positive emotionality, depressive symptomology, self-esteem, and, when applicable, their retrospective beliefs about their parents’ marital dissolution. Findings revealed that parental divorce did not predict attachment insecurity, depression, or low self-esteem. In fact, adult children of divorced parents (ACDP) reported increased compassion, awe, enthusiasm, and perspective taking. Among ACDP, a composite factor representing increased fear of abandonment, peer rejection, and maternal blame was positively associated with adult attachment anxiety, even while controlling for parental conflict and divorce-related socioenvironmental disruption. Results are discussed in terms of their support of a complex understanding of the long-term effects of parental divorce, and in their inconsistency with a purely pathogenic model of parental divorce.     

“见不到阳光的女人”--论杨绛短篇小说中的女性书写

由于受到西方女权主义文学批评的影响,从20世纪70年代末到80年代初,中国文坛上不断涌现出了诸多的女性写作者,杨绛就是其中的一位。在杨绛的短篇小说中,不仅深刻蕴含着作者对女性意识的探讨,同时也有对以男权话语为中心建构的社会秩序不合理性的批判,以及她试图消解男权文化传统的努力。     

Secure Body Attachment and the Prevention of Eating Disorders: A Case Application

Drawing on attachment theory, the author explores the particular physical presence of the body as a significant aspect of the attachment relationship between two people, most notably between two females (the mother and the daughter). Recognizing the nature of one’s body attachment as a protective and a risk factor provides a greater understanding of the potential for resilience, as well as the presence of vulnerability in relationship to one’s body. Through a case application, the author argues that without a model of secure attachment to the body, a female is more likely to develop an attachment to cultural ideals as an extension of primary relationships and at the expense of her own body, moving her from exposure to action in the form of an eating disorder.     

父母教养观念、亲子关系对幼儿社会性发展的影响

本研究以724名5-6岁幼儿及其父母作为研究对象,调查父母教养观念、亲子关系高分组和低分组幼儿的社会性发展差异,同时考察父母教养观念、亲子关系对幼儿社会性发展的影响,结果发现:无论是父母教养观念还是亲子关系,高分组和低分组幼儿的社会性发展水平均存在显著性差异;父母教养观念和亲子关系呈显著的正相关,并共同影响幼儿社会性的发展。因此要转变父母教养观念,塑造良好的亲子关系;要树立积极的挫折教育观,提高幼儿的抗挫能力。     

从“丰田召回”事件看品牌依恋的双向作用

企业营销环境的复杂化、动荡化以及经营规模的不断扩张进一步加剧了企业营销管理控制的难度,也是企业负面营销事件频发的主要原因。因此,从顾客对品牌的依恋入手,分析品牌依恋对负面营销事件的双向作用,说明企业必须重视内外环境建设以应对不利事件。