Clinical Guidelines for Working With Stepfamilies: What Family,Couple, Individual,and Child Therapists Need to Know

This article draws on four decades of research and clinical practice to delineate guidelines for evidence‐informed, clinically sound work with stepfamilies for couple, family, individual adult, and child therapists. Few clinicians receive adequate training in working with the intense and often complex dynamics created by stepfamily structure and history. This is despite the fact that stepfamilies are a fundamentally different family form that occurs world‐wide. As a result many clinicians rely on their training in first‐time family models. This is not only often unhelpful, but all too often inadvertently destructive. The article integrates a large body of increasingly sophisticated research about stepfamilies with the author's four decades of clinical practice with stepfamily relationships. It describes the ways in which stepfamilies are different from first‐time families. It delineates the dynamics of five major challenges stepfamily structure creates: (1) Insider/outsider positions are intense and they are fixed. (2) Children struggle with losses, loyalty binds, and change. (3) Issues of parenting, stepparenting, and discipline often divide the couple. (4) Stepcouples must build a new family culture while navigating previously established family cultures. (5) Ex‐spouses (other parents outside the household) are part of the family. Some available data are shared on the impact of cultural and legal differences on these challenges. A three‐level model of clinical intervention is presented: Psychoeducational, Interpersonal, and Intrapsychic/Intergenerational Family‐of‐Origin. The article describes some “easy wrong turns” for well‐meaning therapists and lists some general clinical guidelines for working with stepfamily relationships.     

Profession Differences in Family Focused Practice in the Adult Mental Health System

There is a large gulf between what psychiatric services should (or could) provide and what they do in practice. This article sought to determine practice differences between the differing professions working in adult mental health services in terms of their family focused work. Three hundred and seven adult mental health professionals completed a cross‐sectional survey of family focused practices in adult mental health services. Findings highlight that social workers engaged in more family focused practice compared to psychiatric nurses, who performed consistently the lowest on direct family care, compared to both social workers and psychologists. Clear skill, knowledge, and confidence differences are indicated between the professions. The article concludes by offering direction for future profession education and training in family focused practices.     

Estructura morfológica y recuperación léxica

Resumen

El objetivo principal de esta investigación es el de contribuir a un mayor conocimiento del papel que desempeña la estructura morfológica de las palabras en la organización del léxico interno y, por consiguiente, en las estrategias que emplean los sujetos para acceder a la representación mental de las palabras. Más en concreto, se trata de ver cuál es la relación existente entre la representación de la forma base de una palabra (por ej., flor) y la de formas derivadas de la misma (por ej., florero, florecer, florido) de cara a una posible simplificación del inventario mental de entradas léxicas.

Se han realizado tres experimentos, basados en una tarea de decisión léxica y en la utilización de la técnica de «priming» o presentación previa de un supuesto elemento facilitador del reconocimiento de cada estímulo. Se midió la latencia de respuesta para clasificar los estímulos como palabras o no-palabras del idioma. Los dos primeros experimentos se efectuaron bajo la modalidad visual de reconocimiento y el tercero, bajo la modalidad auditiva. En todos los casos, las comparaciones relevantes se establecen entre los TRs correspondientes a una misma palabra en condiciones experimentales diferentes: según vaya precedida por sí misma, o por una relacionada morfológicamente, o cuando no vaya precedida ni por sí misma ni por otra relacionada (condición de control).

Los resultados obtenidos bajo las dos modalidades perceptivas son coincidentes y ponen de manifiesto que: 1) se da un efecto de facilitación en el reconocimiento, tanto al presentar una palabra precedida por sí misma (repetición) como al presentarla precedida por otra relacionada morfológicamente; 2) el efecto de facilitación por repetición es significativamente superior al de facilitación por relación morfológica; y 3) dentro de este último no aparecen diferencias significativas entre la facilitación de la forma base por la derivada y la de ésta por aquélla.

Estos resultados se interpretan a la luz de los distintos modelos propuestos acerca de la representación léxica. Sin que sean cruciales para decidirse por uno de ellos en contra de los otros, sí que parecen apoyar la existencia de un código de representación abstracto que aglutina familias de palabras relacionadas morfológicamente en torno a una misma entrada léxica. En cualquier caso, y aun suponiendo que hubiera entradas léxicas distintas para cada forma particular, sería preciso postular algún mecanismo adicional que diera cuenta del papel que desempeña la información morfológica en la organización general del léxico interno.     

A Typology of Interactional Patterns Between Youth and Their Stepfathers: Associations with Family Relationship Quality and Youth Well‐Being

Stepfamilies are an increasingly common family form, many of which are headed by a resident mother and stepfather. Stepfather–child relationships exert notable influence on stepfamily stability and individual well‐being. Although various stepfather roles have been observed, more research is warranted by which stepfather–child interactions are explored holistically and across a variety of life domains (e.g., recreational, personal, academic, and disciplinary). Thus, the primary purpose of the current study is to explore varying interactional patterns between youth and their stepfathers. A latent class analysis is conducted using a representative sample of 1,183 youth (53% female; mean age = 15.64 years, SD = 1.70 years; 62% non‐Hispanic White) residing in mother–stepfather families from Wave I of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Latent‐class enumeration processes support a four‐class solution, with latent classes representing inactive, academically oriented, casually connected, and versatile and involved patterns of youth–stepparent interaction. Notable differences and similarities are evident across patterns with respect to family relationship quality, youth well‐being, and socio‐demographic characteristics. Differences are most stark between the inactive and versatile and involved patterns. Ultimately, the results showcase notable variation in youth–stepparent interactional patterns, and one size does not necessarily fit all stepfamilies. Family practitioners should be mindful of variation in youth–stepparent interactional patterns and assist stepfamilies in seeking out stepparent–child dynamics that are most compatible with the needs and dynamics of the larger family system.     

Caregivers’ emotional competence and behavioral responsiveness as correlates of early childcare workers’ relationships with children in their care

In the current study, we examined associations among early childcare workers’ emotional competence, observed responsiveness, comfort with socioemotional teaching practices, and the quality of their relationships with children in their care. The participants were 100 early childcare workers (72 center-based Early Head Start teachers and 28 family childcare providers). Results showed that caregivers’ emotion regulation ability was positively associated with caregiver–child relational closeness. Understanding and regulation of emotion were both positively associated with childcare workers’ comfort with socioemotional teaching practices. Their observed responsiveness was positively related to relational closeness and negatively related to relational conflict. Findings are consistent with aspects of the prosocial classroom model, which asserts that educators high in emotional and social competence tend to adopt childcare practices that result in supportive relationships with children. Results provide insight into whether childcare workers’ responsiveness to young children and their perceived socioemotional teaching practices provide a pathway between emotional competence and the quality of caregiver–child relationships.     

Relationship Education for Military Couples: Recommendations for Best Practice

Military couples have a number of distinctive strengths and challenges that are likely to influence their relationship adjustment. Military couples' strengths include stable employment, financial security, and subsidized health and counseling services. At the same time, military couples often experience long periods of separation and associated difficulties with emotional disconnect, trauma symptoms, and reintegrating the family. This paper describes best practice recommendations for working with military couples, including: addressing the distinctive challenges of the military lifestyle, ensuring program delivery is seen as relevant by military couples, and providing relationship education in formats that enhance the accessibility of programs.     

Risk and Protective Factors Associated with Childhood Obesity in a Sample of Low-Income,Single Female,Parent/Guardian Households: Implications for Family Therapists

The United States is in the midst of a childhood obesity epidemic that disproportionately impacts underserved and diverse populations. In this study, in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 16 low-income, single, female, parent/guardians of an overweight or obese 3- to 8-year-old from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. Following the tenets of the thematic analysis approach, interviews focused on identifying risk and protective factors influencing parental and child health behaviors associated with child weight status. Results from the interviews are organized according to the Socioecological Framework to help identify risk and protective factors at various system levels. Findings from this investigation have relevance for family therapists as they can inform clinical and advocacy-focused interventions with disadvantaged families affected by childhood obesity.