Suchergebnisse

Stepfamilies face many challenges. Research and clinical work with stepfamilies have tended to use the family systems or developmental perspectives, while overlooking how cognitive processes may influence stepfamily functioning. We fill this gap in the literature by analyzing a sample from the Relationship Evaluation (RELATE) questionnaire database to examine the influence of (step)parenting cognitions on stepparenting issues and relationship satisfaction. Results indicate that individuals who report placing top priority on their own biological children expect their stepchildren to be obedient to them, and those who believe that the children interfere with the new parental relationship report higher levels of stepparenting issues and lower levels of relationship satisfaction. Clinical implications and limitations are discussed.

The Family Strengths Inventory (FS I), and a demographic questionnaire were distributed to 218 college students (120 women and 98 men), enrolled at a large university in Western India to determine their attitudes toward family strengths. A second objective was to determine whether ten demographic variables : age, gender, type of parental marriage, family type, parental socioeconomic status, religiosity, maternal employment, number of siblings, familial decision-making patterns, and parental marital satisfaction were related to perceived family strengths. A third objective was to determine if the six factors identified as strengths in an American sample when using the Family Strengths Inventory were the same in the Indian sample. Results indicated that three demographic variables were significantly related to family strengths: gender, type of parental marriage, and familial decision-making patterns. Factor analyses showed that five factors explained 40% of the variance in FSI scores for the Indian sample. Implications for studying Indian family strengths using the Family Strengths Inventory are discussed.

As evidence of the benefits of marriage preparation continues to mount, so does the importance of investigating the characteristics of the interventions that are most helpful and for whom. In a sample of 1,409 individuals, this study compares perceived helpfulness of four marriage preparation interventions: class, community/church sponsored workshop, counseling, and self‐directed. All interventions were perceived as helpful, but class and self‐directed learning were rated more highly than counseling and workshops, independent of gender. Class and self‐directed learning participants had the highest improvement scores overall, with women reporting greater positive change than men. Implications for marriage preparation interventions are discussed.

This study utilized focus groups to assess the perceived needs and interests for marriage education among single and married Latino individuals. Individuals (n=53) at various points in the marital developmental life cycle were studied, from high school to married people with children. Professionals working with Latinos also participated (n=l2). Participants were asked 14 open-ended questions to assess various elements of marriage education including content, cost, convenient locations, sources of information, perceived barriers to getting service, and how to get people involved in programs. Findings showed that most females were concerned about domestic violence and infidelity while males were more concerned about financial stability, communication and parenting skills. Professionals echoed many of these findings. Implications for Latino marriage education are discussed.

The 32‐item Attitudes About Romance and Mate Selection Scale (ARMSS) was developed to measure constraining beliefs about mate selection. Using factor analysis, seven factors were identified roughly corresponding to Larson's (1992) constraining beliefs about mate selection. The final instrument consisted of four distractor items to help disguise the nature of the instrument plus 28 items on seven subscales: (a) One and Only, (b) Love Is Enough, (c) Cohabitation, (d) Complete Assurance, (e) Idealization, (f) Ease of Effort, and (g) Opposites Complement. Reliability and validity evidence was demonstrated. Results showed few gender differences in the degree to which constraining beliefs about mate selection are held by single young adults. However, significant differences were found when age, religious affiliation, and ethnicity were considered. Implications for using the ARMSS in premarital counseling and education are discussed.

Compared to first marriages, remarriages have consistently demonstrated higher rates of divorce. Theories used to explain this phenomenon include the family process and selection perspectives. Researchers have attempted to address selection bias in this area but have not yet employed propensity score analysis to bolster causal inference. The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy of covariate control methods for handling selection bias compared to propensity score methods and to examine whether a direct causal link between marriage order and relationship stability can be inferred after using propensity score greedy matching and propensity score weighting procedures. We analyze a sample of 1,679 first married and 410 remarried individuals drawn from the Relationship Evaluation Survey. Results provide support for the selection perspective and suggest that a direct causal link between marriage order and relationship stability should not be inferred. Implications, limitations, and future directions for research are discussed.

The Knox & Sporakowski attitudes toward romantic love scale, a list of 13 desired qualities in a prospective partner, and a demographic questionnaire were distributed to a total of 641 young adults at three international universities in America, Turkey, and India. The sample consisted of 200 American young adults in Western U.S., 223 Turkish college students in Central Turkey, and 218 Indian young adults enrolled at a university in Western India to determine their perceived attitudes toward romanticism. The second objective was to investigate whether age, gender, and parents' marital status were related to romanticism. A third objective was to examine cultural differences in the American and Turkish respondents' attitudes about preferred qualities in a potential mate. Results showed that the American young adults were most romantic, followed by the Turkish students, and Indians had the lowest romanticism score. Female college students in all three cultures were significantly more romantic than males. Age and parents' marital status were not related to romanticism. Cultural differences were found in conjunction to desired qualities in a prospective partner. American and Turkish young adults differed significantly in their attitudes toward the following attributes: having similar political ideologies, being well educated, being affectionate, having a good job, having similar interests, and not having a prior marriage. Gender differences were also found with regard to desired qualities in a potential partner. Males and females differed significantly in their rankings of having a good job, being physically attractive, having similar political ideologies, being well educated, and not having a prior marriage. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.

Summary Using data from a sample of RELATE (the RELATionship Evaluation Survey) respondents in stepfamilies (N = 560), this study examined the association between relationship quality (satisfaction and stability) and stepparenting issues. Although stepparenting issues can negatively impact romantic partners in stepfamilies, we suggest that high-quality communication may be a protective factor for individuals and couples stressed by their relationship with a nonbiological child. Findings Our results show that stepparenting issues are negatively associated with satisfaction and stability, but is partially mediated by clear-sending communication. Further, this mediation is stronger for women when considering satisfaction and for men when considering stability. Applications Our results show that stepparenting issues can be a strong sense of discord among romantic couples. Yet, they also indicate that clear-sending communication in relationships can substantially reduce the negative association of these issues with relationship quality. This finding suggests that therapeutic models that focus on emotionally focused couples therapy, structural family therapy, or address issues within the family system may be best for addressing common problems in stepfamilies.