Client discourses on the process of seeking same-sex couple counselling

How same-sex couples manage the process of seeking help for their relationships is an under-researched area. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 people who had engaged in same-sex couple counselling, and were analysed using discourse analysis. The ways in which the couples positioned themselves as part of a ‘minority group’, or part of a generic group of couples struggling with relationship issues, impacted on how they discussed seeking help. We conclude that counsellors and psychotherapists need to be aware of the ways in which couples construct their relationships, and mindful of the tricky navigations around similarity to, and difference from, different-sex relationships. The impact of this on couples seeking therapeutic help is considered.     

Overprotective Parenting: Helping Parents Provide Children the Right Amount of Risk and Responsibility

Overprotective parenting in low-risk environments may have negative consequences for the psychosocial development of children and youth. Though not well studied, a number of different bodies of literature can be used to speculate on the reasons for overprotective parenting and the impact it has on children. In this article, the social and familial dynamics leading to overprotection are discussed. It is shown that overprotection among middle-class families may result from poorly informed parents regarding the psychosocial developmental needs of their children for risk and responsibility and a lack of familiarity with population-wide data which shows that many of today's youth are safer that at any previous time in history. Focusing on the “risk-taker's advantage,” this article uses a case example to illustrate a three-part model of intervention to help challenge overprotective parenting while opening up safe opportunities for youth to experience manageable amounts of risk and responsibility.     

Nest membership determines the levels of aggression and cooperation between females of a supposedly communal digger wasp

Females of communal and eusocial Hymenoptera differ greatly in the treatment of conspecifics: communal species lack the nest membership-bias treatment via nestmate (NM) recognition, which is typical of eusocial Hymenoptera. Therefore, an analysis of social interactions can suggest whether a given bee or wasp is communal or eusocial. For this reason, we observed females of the digger wasp Cerceris rubida in experimental dyadic encounters. Because this species had previously been labeled "communal," we expected to find little evidence of a NM bias with respect to cooperation or aggression when paired with NMs and non-nestmates (NNM). Contrary to expectation, females were highly cooperative toward NMs and highly aggressive toward NNMs. Variation in the intensity of aggression toward NNMs partially stems from the degree to which the paired females differed in size. From these results and quantitative comparisons with studies on solitary, communal, and eusocial bee species, it appears that C. rubida has a more complex social organization than previously believed and, in particular, that females of this species exhibit NM recognition, a trait associated with eusociality.     

Differences in Individual and Dyadic Coping Among Low and High Depressed, Partially Remitted, and Nondepressed Persons

Investigations of the individual and interpersonal coping resources of depressed persons are underrepresented in the field of research on depression. Whereas some studies have been conducted on depressed couples evaluating individual coping or social support from others, only a few studies have addressed the topic of dyadic coping, or the way both partners cope together. In the present effort, male and female participants with a current or past diagnosis of depression, all of whom were married or cohabiting in a close relationship, reported on their individual and dyadic coping and were compared on these variables with a matched group of control participants. Results corroborate previous findings on deficits in individual coping, and to a lesser degree in dyadic coping.     

Predictors of Partner Engagement in PTSD Treatment

A telephone survey was conducted to identify predictors of treatment engagement in 83 cohabitating female partners of 83 Vietnam theater veterans with combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The survey assessed veterans for their trauma history and PTSD symptoms. Partners were assessed for caregiver burden, patient–partner involvement, PTSD treatment engagement, self-efficacy relating to PTSD, beliefs about benefits of PTSD treatment, and PTSD treatment barriers. Significant predictors of partner PTSD treatment engagement were the couple’s income, patient–partner involvement, and partner caregiver burden. These findings have implications for family interventions that may increase partner PTSD treatment engagement and improve PTSD treatment outcome.     

African American Couples in the 21st Century: Using Integrative Systemic Therapy (IST) to Translate Science into Practice

The complexity of the African American community in the United States continues to evolve. The growing number of professional African Americans who grew up in the postcivil rights era combined with the persistent reminders of inequity paints a complex backdrop for understanding African American relationships. The majority of our knowledge about African American couples disproportionately comes from nonclinical social science fields such as sociology and demography. Unfortunately, the scholarly literature on how to work with African American couples is relatively scant. This paper seeks to add to this limited literature by providing clinicians and scholars with a proposed set of issues to consider when conceptualizing and treating African American couples. In particular, the complexity and nuance needed to work with African American couples are best done by using an integrative model. Thus, this paper will discuss how the Integrative Systemic Therapy (IST) model is particularly well suited for working with African American couples. This paper will summarize the science on African American marriages with a focus on salient factors such as gender, SES, and trust, which will then be translated into clinical practice by utilizing a case example. The case example will be of a middle‐class couple in order to delineate the challenges and the growing heterogeneity of African Americans. The article will conclude with a commentary on the evolving heterogeneity of African Americans, which sheds light on how an integrative perspective is important for disentangling and embracing the growing complexity of African American couples.     

The moderating effect of differentiation: Education and health in married couples

This study had four hypotheses based on Bowen Family Systems Theory. First, to determine the similarity in couple members' levels of differentiation, a latent profile analysis was performed. About 67% of couples reported less than a point difference on average between their scores on the differentiation subscales used. Second, whether differentiation was associated with physical health was determined by comparing the means of health indicators for couple members across the latent profile classes, and it was found that health and differentiation were related as expected. Finally, to determine whether differentiation moderated the associations between education, stress, and health, a group comparison procedure was performed for an Actor–Partner Interdependence Model. Evidence suggested that differentiation moderated some of these associations.     

Romantic attachment,dyadic coping,and parental adjustment across the transition to parenthood

This study explored the mediating role of common dyadic coping (common DC) on the longitudinal associations between attachment‐related anxiety and avoidance and parental adjustment to the first year postpartum. A total of 92 Portuguese couples completed self‐report questionnaires of romantic attachment, common DC, parenting stress, and parental confidence. Results showed that more avoidant parents (at mid‐pregnancy) engaged less in common DC (at 6 weeks postpartum), which consequently increased their partner's parenting stress (only in mothers) and decreased their partner's parental confidence (in both parents) at 6–9 months postpartum. Anxious attachment did not predict parents' adjustment directly or indirectly. Interventions aimed at preventing adjustment difficulties to early parenthood in more avoidant parents should focus on enhancing their common DC strategies soon after childbirth.     

Adult Attachment and Dyadic Adjustment: The Mediating Role of Shame

Although it is widely recognized that adult attachment is associated with romantic relationship quality, the mechanisms involved remain poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of external and internal shame on the association between attachment and dyadic adjustment. A battery of self-report measures was completed by 228 Portuguese participants and a serial multiple mediation model was tested. Data showed that, in the population under study, attachment dimensions were associated with worse dyadic adjustment through high external and internal shame. Internal shame alone also mediated the association between attachment avoidance and dyadic adjustment. This study identifies a new putative mechanism linking adult attachment and intimate relationship functioning that may be targeted in couples therapy to promote a better dyadic adjustment and relationship functioning.     

Heterosexist discrimination and relational sacrifice of same-sex couples

Drawing on the family stress process model and using data from 141 same-sex couples (N = 282 partners), we examined associations between heterosexist discrimination and relational sacrifices (i.e., willingness and behaviors). We also examined the moderating roles of both partners' internalized homophobia and state-level liberalism on same-sex marriage legalization. Actor-partner interdependence moderation models were conducted. Most of our findings supported hypotheses from the family stress process model. One individual's experiences of greater heterosexist discrimination were related to the partner's higher levels of sacrifice willingness and the individual's own higher frequency of sacrifice behaviors. Such associations emerged (a) among couples living in more liberal states that legalized same-sex marriage earlier, and (b) when the individual's partner reported lower levels of internalized homophobia. Yet the moderating role of an individual's internalized homophobia was the opposite of our hypothesis. When individuals reported high (versus low) internalized homophobia, individuals' experiences of more discriminative events were related to partners' higher levels of sacrifice willingness. Collectively, our study findings highlight that—when investigating how same-sex couples forge and maintain romantic bonds—researchers should consider their experiences in the social cultural context of heteronormativity, which includes the focus on discrimination, stigma, and affirmative laws and policies.