The Remarried Family: An Annotated Bibliography, 1979–1982

This bibliography was developed to provide professionals and interested others with a reference source for information on stepfamilies. The focus is on the remarried family and the characteristics common to its formation and integration. The bibliography is divided into six sections to facilitate easy reference. The sections are not mutually exclusive, however, and articles could be placed under more than one heading. The six sections are I. Demography/Legal Issues; II. Remarriage as a Transition; III. Remarriage Formation: Restructuring Relationships; IV. Children in Remarried Families; V. Treatment Issues; and VI. How-To Books. To complete this project, the published research literature from 1979 through 1982 was searched under the subject headings of blended families, second marriages, remarried families, stepfamilies and reconstituted families. Regret is expressed for any overlooked material.     

Family Therapy Training Research – An Updating Review

This paper provides an update of research into the training of family therapists. Issues from the overarching contexts of adult learning, professional training and current themes in the practice of family therapy are briefly outlined. The early organization of the training research field is seen as being programme orientated, lacking a multi-perspective approach (particularly that of the trainee) and not making use of qualitative research methods. The more recent empirical research is reviewed with these issues to the fore. The paper concludes by providing a new set of research questions, many of which can be addressed by qualitative methodologies and by calling for the research process to be an essential ingredient of training for family therapists aided by the development of the trainer/researcher role.     

Reentry Experiences and Professional Developments of International Marriage and Family Therapy Graduates in Taiwan

Reentry research has received much less attention than research on cultural adjustment in a foreign country, especially in the marriage and family therapy (MFT) field in the United States. Lack of research on international students’ job experiences and professional developments during reentry does not provide further information to evaluate the quality of MFT education in the United States. This study was intended to extend the reentry literature and specifically to understand personal and professional reentry experiences and cross-cultural transformation of MFT returnees in Taiwan. Thirteen participants were interviewed, and the resulting data was analyzed using constructivist grounded theory. Analyses results demonstrated macro contextual factors that situated unique personal and professional reentry phenomena for international MFT graduate in Taiwan. The returnees strived to explore their MFT identity and interpret cross-cultural differences by developing four coping strategies (e.g., not wanting to fit in, doing what you were supposed to do or could do, processing with others, and therapists’ multicultural awareness) that were associated with three conditions, such as personal networks linking to professional networks, supervision, and training in MFT. Findings suggested that reentry adaption was varied and fitting into Taiwanese society might not be the final goal for the returnees. Training implications in the MFT field were provided based on the findings.     

Marriage and Family Counseling

This article provides an overview of marriage and family counseling, including the growth and interest of this specialty within the American Counseling Association (ACA). Areas discussed include the evolution of marriage and family counseling within ACA, standards for training, credentialing, and unique ethical considerations when counseling couples and families.     

Marriage and Family Therapists' Endorsement of Myths About Marriage

Marriage and family therapy training programs aim to provide students with research-based knowledge about marriage and divorce. A group of 223 California-based clinical members of the American Association for Marital and Family Therapy (AAMFT) was surveyed on their endorsement of 21 myths about marriage. Therapists provided correct responses to an average of 9.4 of these items. Endorsement of specific myths correlated with varying demographic, professional and family of origin variables. Implications for therapist training, practice, and future research are discussed.     

Cross-Cultural Supervision in Marriage and Family Therapy

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the various cultural factors that influence the supervisor-trainee relationship when at least one of these individuals is a member of an ethnic minority group in the United States. Marriage and Family Therapy supervisors and students were asked to compare and contrast their experiences working with ethnic minority and white persons. Findings indicate that both supervisors and students express great value in cross-cultural supervisory experiences, but report that these opportunities are very limited.     

Family Dynamics and Attitudes Toward Marriage

To examine our hypothesis that family experiences would be associated with attitudes toward marriage, we administered the Family Environment Scale (FES; Moos & Moos, 1986) and a Marriage Attitudes Questionnaire (MAQ; adapted from Long, 1987) to 40 unmarried college students. Correlational analyses indicated that for the conflict subscale of the FES, only two of the six marital expectation questions approached significance. However, family expressiveness (another subscale of the FES) was significantly correlated with three of the marital expectation questions and approached significance with a fourth question. These results indicated that higher expressiveness in the family was significantly related to positive attitudes toward marriage. We concluded that family dynamics need to be studied from multiple perspectives to identify factors that influence marital expectations.     

Assessment and Diagnosis in Marriage and Family Counseling

Assessment in marriage and family counseling is discussed conceptually and then illustrated in a review of techniques covering 10 topic areas related to marital and family functioning. Overviews of specific methods of assessment are presented. Assessment and its relationship to diagnosis, with special reference to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual series, are examined. Implications for counselors are considered. An extensive list of references is also presented.     

威廉·梅尔的婚姻家庭观

威廉.梅尔以圣经为依据阐述了男女两性的差异及互补性,认为男女的差异和互补性是婚姻的重要基础和必要条件。他指出,婚姻是肯定人位格的实在,是能使人相爱的实在,是创造生命的实在,是神圣的实在。以一男一女的婚姻为基础而形成的家庭是爱的文明的第一个学校并且对社会作出了卓越的贡献。在我们这个变化急剧的时代,梅尔的思想给了我们很多有益的启示。