Autonomy and Conjugal Love: A Reply to Golash

In my response to Golash I distinguish between two steps in my original argument. The first relates to the special value of conjugal (two-person) love relationships. I defend this step against criticisms, arguing that the two-person relationship provides a form of recognition that is of special importance to us and cannot be found in other sorts of relationship. The two-person relationship is one that, at least as private individuals, we have special reason to pursue. The second step concerns the claim that the special value of such relationships tends to promote the autonomy of those who have them. It is this second step that is important for the argument that a liberal state – one, at any rate, that takes itself to be in the business of safeguarding the pre-conditions of autonomy – could have reason to favour marriage or some form of civic partnership over other forms of intimate adult tie. However, I admit that Golash puts forward plausible – if anecdotal – arguments against this second step. I therefore agree that I need to be more tentative about this step than I was in the original paper.     

Sex and the Statehouse: The Law and the American Same‐Sex Marriage Debate

Abstract : Same‐sex marriage remains a point of contention in American politics. The recent history of this conflict suggests that the Court's attempt to frame issues of sexual politics through paradigms of the right to choose and the tolerance principle, and constitutional ‘liberty’ and ‘equality’ cases raises difficult questions of justice. This article proposes that a Lutheran response, grounded in an understanding of the orders of creation, might interrogate these assumptions, particularly about the appropriate reach of government in sexual and family matters.     

Longitudinal associations between relationship problems,divorce, and life satisfaction: Findings from a 15-year population-based study

Relationship problems are negatively associated with life satisfaction. Bottom-up theories assume that relationship quality affects life satisfaction while top-down theories assume that global personality dispositions affect evaluations of relationship quality. Only bottom-up theories imply that the negative association between relationship problems and life satisfaction will be removed when the relationship is ended and that divorce thus may be a positive event for persons from troubled relationships. In this study associations between relationship problems, divorce, and life satisfaction were examined among 369 heterosexual couples. Relationship problems predicted life satisfaction 15 years later in both men and women. This association was significantly stronger among not-divorced than among divorced couples. Among couples with severe relationship problems those who divorced had higher life satisfaction at 15-year follow-up than those who remained together while the reverse was true among less troubled couples. The findings thus support bottom-up theories of life satisfaction.     

Marriage in India: Clinical Issues

This article considers some of the common issues with which marital couples in India struggle. These issues arise from the way that Indian families are typically structured and the rules that govern family relationships. Ideas from the social constructionist and contextual approaches are suggested as helpful interventions.     

Career Paths of Eminent Researchers in Marriage and Family Therapy

The mental health field of marriage and family therapy (MFT) needs more MFT researchers and more research to validate and verify the effectiveness and efficacy of MFT for the treatment of various mental health and relational problems. Knowing more about how successful researchers have developed their careers would be useful in both inspiring and guiding young MFT researchers toward success. Three eminent researchers whose careers have focused on MFT (James Alexander, John Gottman, and Howard Liddle) and their publications served as the research sample. Research questions addressing types of research, research samples, research questions, therapy model development, funding, and paths of the research careers were answered using content analysis. Results support guidelines that include having a focused research interest area, adhering to the scientist-practitioner model, obtaining funding, maximizing the utility of research samples, and generating publications.     

Psychophysiologic effects of applied tension on the emotional fainting response to blood and injury

OBJECTIVE: The present study was designed to investigate the psychophysiologic effects of "Applied Tension" (AT) on the emotional fainting response to blood and injury in a controlled experiment. METHOD: Twenty-two persons reporting to generally feel faint or to have fainted at the sight of blood or injury and 22 participants classified as Non-Fainters were randomly allocated to a treatment or control condition. Psychophysiologic responses were continuously monitored while individuals watched a video depicting open-heart surgery and a control film. Prior to the surgery film, participants in the treatment condition were instructed in the use of AT. RESULTS: All participants classified as Fainters showed a diphasic response pattern while watching the surgery film. This response, however, was significantly attenuated in Fainters in the treatment condition. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that AT provides an effective treatment strategy for the prevention of fainting responses in persons with a fear of blood and injury.     

Orpheus and Eurydice: a creative agony

The archaic story of the Thracian musician Orpheus and his bride Eurydice is heard first as an ancient myth of marriage and death, wedding and separation. The mixture of expectation and dread in its sentiments is sounded still today in the contemporary wedding songs and funeral laments of the Mediterranean and the Balkans. Similar sequences of engagement and withdrawal, ascent and descent, change and metamorphosis are found in the adventures and vicissitudes of other mythic figures. Its premise of the soul's transmigration and its promise of psychic transformation inspired the religious ruminations and philosophic speculation of many centuries. The shifting keys in the songs of Orpheus and the cries of Eurydice score the shocking emotions of epiphanal moments, the creative 'agon', and a depth psychological passage. With its crescendos and denouements, the Orpheus/Eurydice phenomenon suggests the range of experience as one both engages reality and reaches toward meaning.     

Evaluation of the 14-h together relationship and financial education program for couples

A 14-h version of TOGETHER, a relationship and financial education program for couples (Author, 2015), was evaluated by comparing pre- and post-intervention changes in psychological distress, relationship functioning, and financial management in couples that participated in this shorter 14-h workshop (14HW) version, in the original 20-h workshop (20HW) version, or in a control group that received no intervention. The total sample included 649 community couples (14HW group: 320; 20HW group:182; control group: 147) recruited from the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Self-report data were analyzed through dyadic multilevel models to test mean differences within each group (control, 14HW, and 20HW) and across groups from pre-intervention to post-intervention controlling for demographic differences and baseline measurement of variables. Compared to the 20HW version, the 14HW format had lower attrition and greater participation. In addition, improvements in positive conflict management, relationship quality and satisfaction, and commitment, and reductions in negative conflict management and difficulties paying bills were not significantly different from the 20HW group, but they were significantly different from the control group. Participants reported high levels of program satisfaction. Limitations and programmatic implications, as well as the need for further evaluations of the 14HW version, are discussed.     

Forgiveness,its factors,and unforgivable acts in romantic relationships: A mixed-methods study

Using a mixed-methods approach, this study investigates forgiveness, the factors of forgiveness, and unforgivable acts, and analyzes relational and gender differences in participants' qualitative answers. Open-ended questions were answered by 649 participants from Slovakia (532 dating, 117 married; 517 women, 132 men). Responses were analyzed qualitatively using the Consensual Qualitative Research-Modified method, then transformed into quantitative data in order to statistically compare the groups. The results showed that dating individuals tended to see forgiveness as working on the relationship, whereas married individuals viewed forgiveness as an emotional process. Married individuals were more likely to report that shared commitments helped them to forgive. Dating partners tended to look at the situational context. Men were more likely to report that forgiveness was key to the relationship. When forgiving their partner, men focused on internal factors, whereas women needed an apology and acts of love. Infidelity was the most common unforgivable transgression. Therapists may benefit from a more nuanced understanding of forgiveness in dating and married individuals.