The social and emotional well-being of divorced residential parents

Social and emotional well-being of 141 divorced mothers and 36 divorced fathers were examined. All parents had children living in their households. There were no differences between mothers' and fathers' reports of psychosomatic symptomatology, life satisfaction, life-area rankings, family cooperation, social support from relatives, and satisfaction with the contact with their former spouses. Mothers reported more health improvements since the divorce and higher levels of family esteem than fathers did. These findings are discussed in relation to the expectations associated with and the enactment of social and familial roles.This study was partially funded by the University of Minnesota Experiment Station. The author would like to thank M. J. Hogan for her support of this project and Jo Lynn Cunningham for her helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper.     

Parenting after Weight Loss Surgery: A Conceptual Model and Two Case Reports

The ways families approach eating, shape, and weight can result in stress for individual family members and challenge the overall functioning of the family. This is further complicated among families with a parent who has history of obesity or undergone weight loss surgery (WLS). Although WLS can positively impact other family members, it can also exacerbate conflicts regarding feeding and weight. Such conflicts can involve uncertainty regarding the extent to which the entire family should make the dietary changes recommended for the post-WLS parent. Conflict might also center on the appropriate level of concern regarding the children’s risk of developing (or maintaining) obesity. This paper uses two case examples to describe the application of a specialized, time-limited intervention: Parent-Based Prevention following Bariatric Surgery (PBP-B). The program was developed to address the unique challenges and concerns that arise after, or are exacerbated by, WLS. Each detailed case example illustrates a common child-feeding challenge and the employment of key PBP-B strategies throughout the course of treatment. In the first case, the parent who had undergone WLS believed the family’s current eating behaviors were the same as those that had led to her own overeating, obesity, and co-occurring psychiatric symptoms, while her husband disagreed. In the second case, both parents were concerned about their son’s weight, yet due to their prior eating histories, they felt unable to construct boundaries around the feeding experience. Both cases follow families through the entire intervention and illustrate key points and challenges. These cases underscore the need for novel treatment modalities to support families following parental WLS.     

How to grow up or (nearly) die trying: developing trust in one’s own capacity for growth

This paper is a single case study describing intensive psychoanalytic psychotherapy with an adolescent girl, an apparently bright and capable girl who was struck down at 15 by a double blow of trauma and loss. She cracked along her fault lines which, it is argued, were created during the ordeal of her psychic birth in the first year of life. It is proposed that ordinary Oedipal humiliations precipitated anxiety about dependency. While any adolescent is likely to have to grapple with these difficulties, the terrible life events that befell this girl compounded her dependency just when she might have been moving towards independence. In addition, the ordinary task of mourning childhood and familiar family relationships was obscured by the new and devastating losses that needed to be mourned. Unable to face this task, she spurned the support of her loving family and any potential good object and instead became dependent on manic over-achievement and grievance. The paper traces how the intricacies of the patient’s internal world slowly unfurled through the transference and countertransference and through her story as she told it to her therapist. The therapist describes the slow and difficult process of making links between that story and their experiences together in the consulting room. The theoretical concepts that enabled these links to be made are outlined and the ways in which they guided the therapist’s technique are discussed.     

Stress,self-esteem,and mental health: How does gender make a difference?

Questionnaire responses of 804 women and 127 men were compared to assess sex differences in college students' stress levels and reactions to stress, and the extent to which their self-esteem, interpersonal self-confidence, and self-concepts are associated with their experiences with stress. The men and women reported similar stress levels in most areas of life, but the women reported greater stress regarding family relationships and concern about their mental health. The women reported that when they are under stress, they experience more symptoms of depression and anxiety, and are more likely to express their anger and feelings, whereas the men reported that they become more active in response to stress. For both men and women, levels of stress and reactions to stress were associated with self-esteem, interpersonal self-confidence, and self-concepts. The results indicate that sex differences in dysfunctional reactions to stress can be explained by sex differences in self-concept more persuasively than can differences in areas of stress.The author wishes to thank the presidents of the seven colleges for their support and encouragement; the Seven College Study Advisory Board, campus coordinators, and staff for their contributions; and the students for their interest and participation. The author also expresses her appreciation for the support of the Henry A. Murray Research Center of Radcliffe College. This research was supported in part by a grant from the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation.     

The Anguish of the Korean Woman’s Soul: Feminist Theologians on a Real-Life Issue

This paper explores the conflict between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law in traditional Korean families. In Korea, mothers-in-law sometimes dominate and even denigrate their daughters-in-law. This situation may be caused by the accumulated frustrations of oppressed Korean women that are then vented against their daughters-in-law, intensifying the suffering of women in Korea. The daughter-in-law is now demeaned not just by the men in the family but also by an older woman in the family who has power over her because of age and her status as the mother of the younger woman’s husband. The two women are both victims of a society dominated by men. Women in this culture tend to view their suffering as their destiny, even though they are pained by the unequal treatment. It is possible for a faith community to accept and heal these damaged souls, but some faith communities hurt the women even more in the name of God or sacred authority. This paper provides an analysis of the reality of women’s predicament in Korea and suggests ways in which theology can be a creative and productive resource for these oppressed persons.     

Applying Continuity Theory to Older Adult Friendships

Continuity theory provides a rationalization for understanding older adult friendships. Older adults do not have to anticipate disengagement but can exercise their choice to actively participate in establishing and maintaining friendship structures. The role of friend is one a person can choose to maintain. Friendships are dynamic and progress on a continuum with beginnings, periods of endurance and change, and endings. Continuity theory provides ways to understand why particular people have developed and adapted distinct friendship and social support networks. This insight provides social service professionals, gerontologists, and family members ways to enable older adults to remain in their communities longer and maintain support stability.     

ECOLOGICAL SAINTS: ADOPTING A GREEN GAZE OF THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF SAINT MARGUERITE BOURGEOYS

During this time of ecological crisis, spiritual guides are needed to provide inspiration and impel action. In the Roman Catholic tradition, saints act as role models and are associated with particular causes, locations, or professions. Who, then, are the ecological saints, whose witness can inspire hope and action in support of the environment? This article explores that question in two ways. First the writings and accounts of saints who are traditionally connected to the environment are examined to produce six indicators of the beliefs, characteristics, and actions of ecological saints. Second, a green gaze is applied to Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys, a seventeenth-century educator who lived in what would become Montreal, Canada, by comparing her writings and accounts of her life to the six indicators of an ecological saint. Identifying more ecological saints can promote environmental responsibility, and the six indicators of an ecological saint can be the lens through which beloved saints are re-examined.     

Assessing Individual Family Members' Constructions of Family Problems

Much contemporary family therapy theory and practice takes into account clients' cognitive constructions of their family problems. Recent calls for therapists to elicit and work with clients' causal explanations and narratives parallel accumulating evidence in the social-clinical literature about the predictive importance of attributions in family relationships. In this article, we introduce the Constructions of Problems Scale (CPS), provide preliminary evidence of its reliability and validity, and suggest ways in which it can be used clinically to reveal new areas for questioning and to generate new ideas. The CPS is a brief questionnaire that can be used to create a profile of each individual family member's private constructions. To complete the CPS, each family member writes a free-form narrative of the presenting problem and then rates his or her perceptions of the contributing causes. The CPS profiles can be used to compare the perspectives of different family members and to assess cognitive constructions at different points in treatment. We discuss its potential for these and other clinical uses.     

Counseling adolescents with problem pregnancies

The whole gamut of problems involved in counseling pregnant teens, from the national statistics and psychosocial context to the goals of counseling and follow-up are discussed. In the U.S. 40% of women have become pregnant by age 20 (1982 data), making this one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy worldwide. Many factors contribute to this problem: adolescent development with its unresolved conflicts; teenage cultural myths about sex roles, such as the idea that it is harmful to deny sex to males; cultural roles for women such as being passive and therefore unprepared with contraception. The teen pregnancy, then, evokes a personal, interpersonal, moral and medical crisis. Goals for counseling are to help the young woman mjake a fully integrated, final decision; provide emotional support and referral information; to help her use the experience for growth. The decision often has to be rapid, because many teens delay revealing their pregnancy out of fear, yet prenatal care is essential, while a second trimester abortion should be avoided. Decisions about whether to bear the child, involve the father, the family, where to live, how to get financial support become complex. Even the counselor's background can be counterproductive, especially when the teen chooses STET unlikely to succeed. Issues of client's autonomy and confidentiality regarding family, the male partner, and even local regulations may confuse the process. Follow-up counseling may be indicated, for post-abortion or pregnancy support, for future contraception, for a committed relationship, or for balancing her needs versus her sexual partner's.     

Pastoral counseling with alcoholics and their families

The pastor is often in contact with the alcoholic and his or her family. Providing help to alcoholics and their families is a spiritual, humanistic, and therapeutic challenge. Recent developments have favored a family systems orientation to working with alcoholic families. This orientation acknowledges the family as contributor to maintaining alcoholic behavior and includes the family in treatment. Specific family systems concepts are discussed and how they relate to the dysfunctional unit which houses an alcoholic. Implications for pastors and specific role definitions are explored. Krebs' therapeutic model is expanded to: 1) evaluate, 2) support, 3) refer, and 4) support, as appropriate for the pastor working with alcoholics and their families.     

Cross-Border Family Therapy: An Innovative Approach to Working with Latina Refugee Women in Therapy

In the era of transnationalism, family therapists working with immigrant women are provided with the space to be innovative in their search for alternatives to Eurocentric approaches. Doing so can help therapists to best serve working-class immigrants and refugees who arrive in North America to escape violence and poverty. The case presented in this article highlights the cross-border interconnectedness between a Salvadoran refugee woman in Canada and other people in her life. The woman's sources of resilience were her emotional and spiritual connections with her extended family and community members who lived in her country of origin and in the United States. Implications for practice are presented last.     

Family Resilience and the Management of Fibromyalgia: Implications for Family Therapists

Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) is one of the most troubling rheumatic disorders for patients, significant others, and the health care providers who treat them. Responses from 150 participants provided valuable information on the relationship between family resilience and the management of fibromyalgia. Self reported family stressors, strains, and distress were significantly associated with an increase in health problems/functional disability, whereas family hardiness and family social support were associated with a decrease. Family stressors and family strains were also positively associated with the frequency of medication use. Medical family therapy interventions that consider the familial context are recommended for treatment. Additional implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed. J. Cameron Preece, PhD, Sage Health Care, PLLC, 339 Allumbaugh Street, Boise, ID 83704. Jonathan G. Sandberg, PhD, Department of Marriage and Family Therapy, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244. (jgandbe@syr.edu) Special thanks go to Linda Stone Fish, PhD, for her support and guidance throughout the study.     

Therapeutic Action in the Work of a Playful Clinician: A Reflection on Dr. Silber’s Reimagining of Humpty Dumpty

ABSTRACT

In my discussion of Dr. Silber’s paper, Reimagining Humpty Dumpty: The Therapeutic Action of Play, I mirror Dr. Silber’s playful posture in her use of the Humpty Dumpty fable to talk about children and their care by society. My reflections on Dr. Silber’s therapeutic work with her two young patients focus on her co-creating meaning with each child’s parents as well as with the child. I discuss that by holding in her mind both the subjectivities of the child and his parents, Dr. Silber is able to practice a fundamentally relational therapy. I would have liked to have heard more about her emotional reactions in her work with both cases as another important dimension of her work. Finally, I emphasize through my play with Humpty Dumpty several ways that society can support children and families that are essential for their development: parental leave, developmentally approptiate expectations for children in school, and the facilitation and protection children’s open ended time and ability to play.     

Motor vehicle accidents and adolescents: An empirical study on their emotional and behavioral profiles,defense strategies and parental support

Background: Research has limitedly focused on adolescents’ emotional–behavioral functioning preceding road collisions and on the role of family support. Objective: To verify whether the rates of motorbikes collisions among adolescents are associated with their emotional–behavioral functioning, their use of specific defense strategies and family support. Method: N = 150 adolescents who visited an emergency department for road accidents were selected and completed self-report questionnaires assessing emotional–behavioral functioning, difficulty in identifying and describing emotions, use of defense strategies and perceived family support. Results: Higher rates of motorbike collisions are associated with more maladaptive emotional–behavioral functioning. Higher perceived family support is associated with lower rates of collisions. Conclusions: Recidivism of motor vehicle collision among adolescents can be considered as a form of acting-out caused by their psychological difficulties.     

Gender in family therapy supervision

While gender has taken its place as a fundamental construct in family therapy theory, little has been written about gender in family therapy supervision. This paper attempts to redefine gender as it pertains to families, family therapy, and family therapy supervision; call attention to aspects of gender as they apply to training in family therapy and family therapy supervision; and suggest ways that family therapy supervisors can sensitize themselves to issues of gender so that they can be more effective in supervision.The author gratefully acknowledges her husband, Victor Nelson, STM, and Eric McCollum, PhD, for their comments on an earlier draft of this paper and for helping with the idea that men are raised to fix things, women to make them better.     

Rat pups prefer their siblings to their mothers: Possible implications for the development of kin recognition

Previous experiments have indicated that for rat pups some learning of their kin's characteristics is required for kin recognition. By differentially scenting the mother and litter with artificial odours, the possible role of each in the development of this ability can be assessed. 12- and 20-day-old rat pups were given a preference tests between the odour associated with their mother and an odour associated with their littermates. It was hypothesized that, because of the importance of the mother to her pups, individuals would preferentially acquire information from her and thus exhibit a preference for that odour. The results, however, did not support this: Both 12- and 20-day-old rat pups were found to prefer their littermate's odour to that of their mother. A further experiment revealed this did not reflect an aversion to their mother's odour. This preference for sibling littermates probably reflects the greater exposure of littermates to one another. The possible advantages of learning about one's kin from littermates are discussed.     

Legal recognition of same-sex relationships in the United States: a social science perspective

Whether and how civil society should recognize committed relationships between same-sex partners has become a prominent, often divisive, policy issue. The present article reviews relevant behavioral and social science research to assess the validity of key factual claims in this debate. The data indicate that same-sex and heterosexual relationships do not differ in their essential psychosocial dimensions; that a parent's sexual orientation is unrelated to her or his ability to provide a healthy and nurturing family environment; and that marriage bestows substantial psychological, social, and health benefits. It is concluded that same-sex couples and their children are likely to benefit in numerous ways from legal recognition of their families, and providing such recognition through marriage will bestow greater benefit than civil unions or domestic partnerships. Trends in public opinion toward greater support for legal recognition of same-sex couples are discussed.     

Agency triangles: problems in agency-family relationships

This article focuses on ways in which helping agents, including family therapists, become part of the problem they are treating. Particular emphasis is placed on triangular patterns that frequently develop when one agency involves another in carrying out its functions and in diffusing conflict with a client and his or her family. We refer to this process as an agency triangle. Case examples of such triangles involving various service systems (e.g., schools, courts, mental health centers) are presented, followed by discussion of how agency triangles can be prevented.     

Social Support from Family and Friends and Subjective Well-Being of Older African Americans

This study examines the impact of informal social support from family and friends on the well-being of older African Americans. Analyses are based on a nationally representative sample of older African Americans from the National Survey of American Life (n = 837). Three measures of well-being are examined: life satisfaction, happiness and self-esteem. The social support variables include frequency of contact with family and friends, subjective closeness with family and friends, and negative interactions with family. Results indicate that family contact is positively correlated with life satisfaction. Subjective closeness with family is associated with life satisfaction and happiness and both subjective closeness with friends and negative interaction with family are associated with happiness and self-esteem. There are also significant interactions between family closeness and family contact for life satisfaction, as well as friendship closeness and negative interaction with family for happiness. Overall, our study finds that family and friend relationships make unique contributions to the well-being of older African Americans. Qualitative aspects of family and friend support networks (i.e., subjective closeness, negative interactions) are more important than are structural aspects (i.e., frequency of contact). Our analysis verify that relationships with family members can both enhance and be detrimental to well-being. The findings are discussed in relation to prior research on social support and negative interaction and their unique associations with well-being among older African Americans.