Nature of marital relations among chronic pain patients

Fifty-two chronic pain patients and their spouses were evaluated for their marital relations utilizing the FACES III. In most areas of family functioning the couples provided evidence of difficulties and demonstrated a significant level of agreement about the nature of the problems. On the circumplex model the couples were functioning at the mid-to extreme-range. This study suggests that marital difficulties among chronic pain sufferers may indeed be pervasive.     

Long-Term successful Marriages in Israel

Long-Term Marriages (LTM) in Israel is part of a larger on-going international research. Our study focuses on two related questions: Are all long term marriages successful and satisfying? Similar studies have been undertaken in the United States, Sweden, Germany, and Chile. This paper focuses on the Israeli results with a few cross-cultural comparisons. Israel adds several unique features to the research: the people to whom LTM applies have emigrated to Israel from 112 different countries, with different cultures and nationalities; how Holocaust survivors are distributed in comparison to the rest of the population; Israel has the lowest divorce rate in the west; family life being a highly valued norm among Jewish people, it will be interesting to determine what keeps couples together and whether the motives and ingredients for satisfying marriages are similar or different from other countries.     

Narratives of escape: A hermeneutic study of resiliency

This study examines the structure of narratives told by well-functioning adults who were at-risk as children. Participants told stories of their childhood based on pictures they selected from the TAT test (Thematic Apperception Test). Analysis of their narratives resulted in a set of hermeneutic rules which may be useful in interpreting the structure of narratives and in understanding the relationship between internalized images, reality construction, and resiliency. Two types of images were identified: negative images of stress and darkness and more positive images of escape and hope. Implications for helping clients develop images of strength and competence are discussed.The authors wish to thank an anonymous reviewer for his or her very helpful suggestions.     

A validity study of existential/dialectical marital questionnaire [EDMQ]: A psychometric questionnaire for assessing marital interaction

This paper reports the successful development of a psychometric questionnaire for analyzing marital functioning and interaction based on an existential/dialectical model originally presented by Charny as the basis for a clinical model for rating couples,Existential/Dialectical Marital Profile [EDMP]. The clinical model and psychometric questionnaire address five main areas of functioning in marriage: family management, companionship, relationship and communication, attraction and sexuality, and parenting; as well as five main dimensions of marital relationship: competence, commitment, respect, power, and closeness.Presented at the Conference of the International Family Therapy Association, Amsterdam, May, 1993. This study was completed as a master's thesis by Shlomit Asineli in collaboration with and under the supervision of Professor Israel Charny at the Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University.     

The personal well-being of single-parent family heads rearing their children by themselves: A comparative study

This article summarizes a study comparing the sense of well-being of divorced maternal and paternal single parents rearing their children by themselves with that of two-parent family heads. There were differences between the family's sense of well-being only in terms of the two extremes of their economic situation. In a good economic situation, single-parent families have a higher sense of well-being than the two-parent families; in a poor economic situation, the reverse is true. When the economic situation is average, their sense of well-being is similar. The concept of an androgynous sex role and a croblem-focused coping style (in that order) were important. Recommendations for other studies and directions for future thought about therapy procedures are included.This article is based on a doctoral dissertation submitted under the supervision of Professor M. Loewenberg at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, 1992.     

Training visual efficiency in myopic persons

Twenty-four myopic college students were paired into groups based on degree of visual impairment using the Snellen Illiterate E. One member of each pair was then assigned to a no-treatment control group or a training program composed of fading, social reinforcement and performance feedback. Results on trained stimuli (Snellen Illiterate E) were significantly different across experimental conditions at posttest while differences across experimental conditions at posttest on untrained stimuli (Snellen Letters) were not significant. The implications of these data are discussed with reference to areas for additional research.     

Toward a psychology of courage: Implications for the change (healing) process

Courage is a virtue which has been held in highest regard by all societies. In an age in which courage and its companions, human dignity and commitment, seem sadly lacking, it is imperative that we reacquaint ourselves with the implications of these attributes. In this paper we demonstrate the integral relationship between courage and intimacy and the importance of the concept of therapeutic caring to their development. We also introduce the theory of the double in which the self, in the act of intimacy, seeks to come together with its contradictory and disavowed attributes. These concepts are related to a psychotherapeutic paradigm in which we examine the requirements courage, intimacy, and caring impose upon practitioner and client.Paper presented at the 25th winter meeting of The American Academy of Psychoanalysis, New York City, December, 1981.     

Independence training as a method of enhancing self-help skills acquisition of the mentally retarded

This study examined the effectiveness of independence training which involved using social reinforcement, information feedback, modeling and evaluation of self and others in teaching showering behavior to institutionalized mentally retarded adults. A treatment and a non-treatment group of 36 subjects each were used to assess training and maintenance of the target behavior. Analysis of results showed that treatment and no-treatment groups did not differ on baseline scores. However, residents in the treatment group performed significantly better than no-treatment subjects on post-test and three-month follow-up. Staff were of the opinion at post-test that treatment was perceived to be acceptable and nonpunitive.