Postdivorce Relationships in Families and Children's Psychosocial Adjustment

Divorced mothers and their school-aged children in 50 single-mother families and 37 stepfather families reported on mothers' ex-partner relationships, children's relationships with both parents, and children's well-being. A 2 (family structure) × 2 (gender) multivariate analysis of variance revealed a main effect of gender: Mothers with sons report higher levels of ex-partner relationship satisfaction. An interaction effect was also found: Boys in single-mother families report more acceptance and fewer conflicts than boys in stepfather families. Multiple regression analysis revealed that mother–ex-partner relationships are associated with children's problem behavior, whereas child–nonresidential father relationships are associated with positive aspects of children's well-being. The results indicate that family structure itself is not associated with child adjustment. What matters most is the quality of family relationships.     

The Effects of Parental Divorce: A Culture-Specific Challenge for Young Adults in South Korea

Extensive research into the offspring of divorced parents has indicated associations between parental divorce and developmental outcomes for young adults. Nevertheless the impact of cultural variation on the lives of young people with divorced parents has been neglected. Qualitative research using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to examine the experiences of six Korean adults of divorced parents, who detailed the impact of parental divorce on their lives and told us how their feelings toward their parents and their own ideas about family formation had been reevaluated. Overall, participants expressed concerns in common with other children of divorce and concerns specific to their Confucian cultural context, namely ambivalent feelings toward their parents' divorce, confusion about traditional filial piety, and a view of the self as damaged and needing reinvestment.     

Divorce and Coparenting: A Qualitative Study on Family Mediation in Italy

This qualitative study intended to assess how intergenerational transformative family mediation is a resource in promoting and supporting coparenting during the transition of divorce. There were 2 goals: to assess parents’ perceptions of key topics of family mediation and to compare their perceptions concerning different moments of the intervention. Fifteen Italian parents were interviewed using an ad hoc semistructured interview. Data were analyzed using the textual analysis software T-LAB. Findings showed mediator, pragmatic aspects, and family relationships as the most salient aspects of mediation. Significant differences emerged among the beginning, the middle phase, and the end of this intervention.     

Adolescents' Physiological Reactions to Their Parents' Negative Disclosures About the Other Parent in Divorced and Nondivorced Families

The purpose of this study was to determine how adolescents in divorced and nondivorced families respond psychologically and physiologically to their parents' negative disclosures when talking about their parents' relationship. The study also investigated how parents respond to their own disclosures about their relationship with the other parent. In general, the results illustrate the important role that adolescents' feelings of being caught can contribute to their well-being. The findings also supported the hypothesis that the valence of parental disclosures was a more important consideration than its frequency in the understanding of adolescents' reactions to their parents' disclosures, especially for adolescents from divorced families. Disclosure valence was also associated with parental anxiety, such that disclosure negativity predicted elevations in parents' anxiety during the discussion. Ultimately, children from divorced families who already felt caught between their parents and whose parents tended to disclose negative information about the other parent to them were more likely than other adolescents to report feeling anxious during that conversation. The results for changes in physiological arousal were not significant and were not consistent with the results for self-reported anxiety.     

The Social Relationships and Social Support of Aging Mothers Whose Adult Daughters Are Mentally Ill

Guided by a conceptual framework highlighting multiple facets of social relationships and social support, this study examined the extent to which aging mothers of adult daughters with a serious mental illness were socially integrated with members of their network. It further examined the relational content of these mothers’ social ties as tangible or intangible support and the nature of their supportive exchanges with network members, particularly their adult daughters with mental illness. A structured face-to-face interview was conducted with 22 aging mothers of these adult daughters. Two methods of analysis were used to analyze data: counting and content analysis. Findings showed aging mothers of daughters with mental illness were socially integrated with relatives and nonrelatives, evidenced relational content of tangible and intangible support in their social ties and engaged in bidirectional and asymmetrical support exchanges with network members, including their daughters with mental illness. These findings suggest that social resources in the form of social relationships and support are embedded in the networks of aging mothers who have adult daughters with serious mental illness. Practitioners should assess support contributions to the aging mothers of adult daughters with serious mental illness from a wide range of social relationships including their daughters.     

Family Social Work: The Past and the Present

SUMMARY

It is easy to blame the dysfunction of a family member on his or her behavioral patterns. I use the title, “It's the Relationship, Stupid!” not to talk down to family therapists, but to remind myself that the source of dysfunction is usually family relationships, especially the marriage relationship. This article gives several case studies for practical application of therapy techniques that focus on developing the “WE” of the family unit. One practical technique that I developed is a communication typology. The married couple (and family members) are divided into “Painters” and “Pointers.” This typology explains much of the conflict and mis-communication that leads to the breakdown of the “WE.” This article also presents dysfunction within the individual as a relationship problem and introduces the concept of the “spirit” of the individual as expressing the relationship the person has with self.     

Older Gay,Lesbian, and Bisexual Adults: Tools for Age-Competent and Gay Affirmative Practice

This article presents a demographic snapshot of older GLB adults, discusses the barriers to service provision, and melds aging competencies with that of affirmative practice with GLB individuals. Its goals are to delineate the specific knowledge, attitudes, and skills recommended for age-competent and gay affirmative practice with an aging GLB population.     

Psychotherapy with Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual,and Transgender Older Adults

A small literature has addressed psychotherapy with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) samples over the past two decades. Older adults have also been investigated in a growing number of psychotherapy research studies. However, psychotherapy specifically with LGBT older adults has not received adequate investigation. This review relies on converging lines of research to provide an integrated discussion of evidence-based psychological treatments (EBTs) with current research and clinical observations in the field of gerontology and suggests ways in which these topics can inform psychotherapy practice with LGBT older adults. We summarize current research on aging in several areas of practical interest to psychotherapists seeking to apply EBTs in their work with LGBT older adults. These areas include: adult development, coping, stigmatization, social context, and the effects of cohort membership. The results of these studies belie stereotypes regarding both the aging process, in general, and more specifically LGBT older adulthood, with significant implications for the practice of psychotherapy. EBTs are adaptable to a variety of issues encountered in later life by LGBT older adults, and these modifications to therapeutic technique are addressed throughout.     

Shattering the Myth of Invulnerability: Exploring the Prevention Needs of Sexual Minority Women Living with HIV/AIDS

Developing effective safer-sex programs for women living with HIV/AIDS (WLH/A) is a national HIV prevention priority. Existing programs focus predominantly on heterosexual women's experiences and ignore the needs of sexual minority women (SMW). Thus, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 sexual minority WLH/A to better understand their sexual risk behaviors and corresponding HIV prevention needs. Most of the interviewees were African American (75%) and poor (75%). We used strategies of Grounded Theory to code the interviews for key themes, which included the following: differences between relationships, risk, and protective behaviors in male and female relationships; links between substance abuse and unsafe sex; need for safer-sex or prevention programs to address SMW-specific skills and topics; and the importance of addressing women's resiliency and the social context of women's risk in prevention programs. Conclusions include concrete suggestions to make safer-sex programs more responsive to the needs of SMW.     

Sexual Orientation Victimization and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms Among Lesbian,Gay, and Bisexual Youth

This cross-sectional study utilized data gathered from 350 lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth, and examined the relationship between significant life experiences and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PSS), with an ultimate goal of analyzing contribution of sexual orientation victimization (SOV) to PSS among LGB youth. Results of bivariate analyses indicate that verbal and physical sexual orientation victimization, childhood gender atypicality, internalized homophobia, and stressful life events unrelated to sexual orientation were all individually related to PSS. Multivariate analysis showed that verbal and physical sexual orientation victimization explained a significant portion of variance, over and above the study's other variables. Internalized homophobia, stressful life events, and verbal sexual orientation victimization were found to be the most significant predictors of PSS among LGB youth.