The Relationship Between Social Support and Family Relationships Among Low-Income Couples Attending Relationship Education

Results are mixed for relationship education (RE) interventions with low-income couples. For couples who experienced positive changes, it is not clear what aspects of program models contributed to change. Many low-income couples attend government-funded RE with limited access to social and community resources. Program models often provide related resources complimentary to RE skill-building. We examined the relationship between income, social support, and family functioning for low-income, ethnically diverse couples (N = 856) who attended RE, as well as the mediating effects of social support on family functioning outcomes. Analyses included three separate dyadic models that examined associations among constructs at baseline and immediately following the RE intervention. Results demonstrated relationships between participants’ reported social support and family functioning such that (a) social support was associated with baseline family functioning for both men and women; (b) men’s baseline social support was influenced by women’s baseline family functioning; and (c) men’s and women’s social support change score had a positive influence on their own family functioning change score. However, social support was not a significant mediator of change in family functioning. Implications for RE practice and research are also discussed.     

Family Secrecy in Family Therapy Practice: An Explorative Focus Group Study

The aim of this focus group study was to explore the experiences of family therapists working with family secrecy. Our study highlights that family secrets present important and compelling challenges for family therapists. Furthermore, our study reveals that there seem to be some basic strategies family therapists use in dealing with these challenges in therapy sessions. One basic strategy is that family therapists try to guard their position of being a trustworthy therapist for each family member by avoiding becoming stuck in family secrecy. Furthermore, therapists explore ways to guide the family toward the disclosure of the secret in order to alleviate the toxicity of the secrecy. This highlights the importance of the systemic model and how influential this perspective is in family therapy practice. Some participants, however, have in addition a second strategy they sometimes use: talking with the family about secrecy without aiming to disclose the secret. In the discussion section of the article we reflect on the possibility that in the strategic choices family therapists make conceptual issues might be involved. Furthermore, we stress the importance of further research.     

The Impact of Comprehensive Community Initiatives on Population-Level Child,Youth, and Family Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Comprehensive community initiatives (CCIs) represent a popular method for creating systemic change, yet there is a dearth of evidence on their effectiveness (Zaff, Pufall Jones, Donlan, Lin, & Anderson, 2016). This article presents a systematic review of the evidence on the population-level impact of CCIs, focusing specifically on documented effects from studies using an experimental or quasi-experimental design. Of 1,947 articles identified through a database and hand search, 25 articles examining six different CCIs—most of which employed prevention science frameworks—met the review inclusion criteria. The results of this review show that CCIs can strengthen protective factors and reduce risk factors, delay initiation of and reduce substance use, and reduce the likelihood of, and delay engagement in, violent and/or delinquent behaviors. Impacts have been documented as soon as one year after initial intervention, and as early as 7^th grade, with effects sustained as long as seven years post-intervention, and as late as a year post-high school. However, relative to the prevalence of CCIs as a practical intervention, the evidence base is small, potentially dated, and focused on a narrow set of outcomes and populations. Recommendations for interpreting the evidence base are discussed, including methodological limitations and implications for future work.     

教师教学效能感：结构与影响因素的研究

为研究区分教师教学效果的一个重要变量──教学效能感,采用教师教学效能量表对３８２名中学教师及其相应的在校大学生进行了测查．因素分析结果表明,教师数学效能感可以分为一般教育效能感和个人教学效能感两个方面,这与班杜拉的自我效能理论和Ａｓｈｔｏｎ的教师教学效能感模型相一致．通过对可能影响教师数学效能感因素的考察发现,教龄因素对教师一般教育效能感和个人教学效能感有不同的影响,随教龄的增加,教师的一般教育效能感呈下降趋势,而个人教学效能感表现出上升的倾向．特别是,在校大学生与已从事教育工作的教师,在教学效能感的两个维度上存在着显著的差异;性别和学历因素对教师教学效能感不存在显著的影响．     

Fathers’ and Mothers’ Involvement with Their Adolescents

We explored mothers’ and fathers’ time spent with their adolescents and found that mothers reported spending more time with their adolescents than did fathers. Developmental patterns were found for some aspects of time involvement, with both mothers and fathers reporting higher involvement with younger adolescents. Ratings of time-spent were not associated with adolescents’ self-reported emotional/behavioral problems. Both mothers and fathers agreed that mothers had more responsibility for adolescents’ discipline, daily care, and recreational activities. Mothers and fathers reported comparable levels of satisfaction with this arrangement. Mothers, and to a lesser extent fathers, reported greater satisfaction with the division of labor when fathers showed higher levels of responsibility for adolescents’ activities. Satisfaction with the division of labor was inversely related to interparental conflict. Few differences were found based on adolescent gender for any of these variables. Results are discussed within the context of mother–child and father–child relationships and family functioning.     

Children and Political Violence from a Social Ecological Perspective: Implications from Research on Children and Families in Northern Ireland

The effects on children of political violence are matters of international concern, with many negative effects well-documented. At the same time, relations between war, terrorism, or other forms of political violence and child development do not occur in a vacuum. The impact can be understood as related to changes in the communities, families and other social contexts in which children live, and in the psychological processes engaged by these social ecologies. To advance this process-oriented perspective, a social ecological model for the effects of political violence on children is advanced. This approach is illustrated by findings and methods from an ongoing research project on political violence and children in Northern Ireland. Aims of this project include both greater insight into this particular context for political violence and the provision of a template for study of the impact of children’s exposure to violence in other regions of the world. Accordingly, the applicability of this approach is considered for other social contexts, including (a) another area in the world with histories of political violence and (b) a context of community violence in the US.     

A Model of Mindful Parenting: Implications for Parent–Child Relationships and Prevention Research

This paper introduces a model of “mindful parenting” as a framework whereby parents intentionally bring moment-to-moment awareness to the parent–child relationship. This is done by developing the qualities of listening with full attention when interacting with their children, cultivating emotional awareness and self-regulation in parenting, and bringing compassion and nonjudgmental acceptance to their parenting interactions. First, we briefly outline the theoretical and empirical literature on mindfulness and mindfulness-based interventions. Next, we present an operational definition of mindful parenting as an extension of mindfulness to the social context of parent–child relationships. We discuss the implications of mindful parenting for the quality of parent–child relationships, particularly across the transition to adolescence, and we review the literature on the application of mindfulness in parenting interventions. We close with a synopsis of our own efforts to integrate mindfulness-based intervention techniques and mindful parenting into a well-established, evidence-based family prevention program and our recommendations for future research on mindful parenting interventions.     

Children living with violence within the family and its sequel: A meta-analysis from 1995–2006

Based on 37 articles published in international refereed journals between 1995 and 2006, this meta-analytical review attempted to study the sequel of children living with family violence. It specifically attempted to identify the overall effect size of family violence on children's adjustment outcomes. Moderators that exerted their effects on the relationship were also studied. The overall effect size generated from the 353 study-level effect sizes was rather small (Z_r = .201). Moderating analysis on study designs, sample sources, child developmental stages and gender did not show significant heterogeneity in effect sizes, while there was significant dispersion in effect sizes among different types of child adjustment outcomes. Results of this study are basically resonant with the meta-analyses of Kitzmann et al. [Kitzmann, K. M., Gaylord, N. K., Holt, A. R., & Kenny, E. D., (2003). Child witnesses to domestic violence: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71, 339–352] and Wolfe et al. [Wolfe, D. A., Crooks, C. V., Lee, V., McIntyre-Smith, A., & Jaffe, P. G., (2003). The effects of children's exposure to domestic violence: A meta-analysis and critique. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 6, 171–187], but add new information in that the report source of family violence was not a significant moderator, while that of child adjustment outcomes was.     

The Process of Systemic Change in Filial Therapy: A Phenomenological Study of Parent Experience

This phenomenological study represents the first qualitative exploration of parents’ experiences of the process of filial therapy from a systemic lens. Filial therapy is a treatment approach that teaches parents how to conduct weekly thirty minute play times with their target child at home in an effort to improve the parent–child relationship. Previous research has focused almost exclusively on the impact of this model on this relationship; however, the results from this focus group study (n = 8) indicate several relational shifts that occur within the greater family and societal contexts and suggest potential reasons for treatment gain maintenance over time.