Showing papers in "American Journal of Family Therapy in 1980"
TL;DR: The Marital Status Inventory (MSI) as discussed by the authors ) is a Guttman-like scale that measures the likelihood of marriage dissolution and is used to measure the degree of marital problems.
Abstract: The development of a 14-item intensity scale measuring likelihood of marriage dissolution is described. The Marital Status Inventory (MSI) forms a Guttman-like scale. Preliminary discriminant validity data are presented for the self-report scale indicating that couples presenting with marital problems score significantly higher than couples seeking parent-child related therapy. The predictive validity of the scale remains to be demonstrated, but the MSI is reported for use by researchers and clinicians.
208 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a model of prevention research which stresses the importance of empirically derived interventions is developed and applied to the problem of preventing marital distress, and empirical evidence on the role of communication factors in the development of marital problems is reviewed.
Abstract: The rising incidence of divorce and marital distress has been the subject of national concern for many years. Efforts have been directed at ameliorating the impact of divorce and marital distress on couples and their families through programs such as divorce counseling and marital and family therapy. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the goals of understanding the development of marital distress and developing and evaluating prevention programs for premarital couples. A model of prevention research which stresses the importance of empirically derived interventions is developed and applied to the problem of preventing marital distress. The empirical evidence on the role of communication factors in the development of marital problems is reviewed. The research indicates that communication deficits are associated with the development and maintenance of marital distress. A behavioral premarital intervention program which is based on these findings and the techniques developed by be...
90 citations
TL;DR: In this article, 50 couples completed questionnaires designed to test two assumptions of a major assessment instrument in behavioral marriage therapy, the Spouse Observation Checklist, and the assumption that this checklist represents the universe of marital pleasing and displeasing events received some support.
Abstract: Fifty couples completed questionnaires designed to test two assumptions of a major assessment instrument in behavioral marriage therapy—the Spouse Observation Checklist. The assumption that this checklist represents the universe of marital pleasing and displeasing events received some support. Generally, couples rated items appropriately as pleasing, displeasing or neutral, and correlations between item occurrence and marital happiness measures were as predicted. The assumption that couples can reliably observe their own behavior was not supported. Comparisons of independent spouse reports revealed agreement levels that were greater than chance but less than the minimums usually employed in observational research. Furthermore, agreement indices were significantly correlated with measures of daily happiness in the relationship and, to a lesser extent, of general marital happiness. The implication of these findings for collecting observational data via the self-reports of couples is discussed.
77 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the Guerney Relationship Enhancement Program was used to assess the short-term and long-term effectiveness of relationship enhancement on the self-disclosure and empathy skills of premarital dating couples.
Abstract: The purpose of the present study was to assess the short-term and longterm effectiveness of relationship enhancement on the self-disclosure and empathy skills of premarital dating couples. Nineteen couples were given the Guerney Relationship Enhancement Program over an eight week period, while 18 other couples were given a lecture/discussion program on relationship development. Behavioral assessments of self-disclosure and empathy skill levels were taken prior to training, immediately following training, and six months after training. Results indicated that from both pretest to posttest and pretest to follow-up, the relationship enhancement couples, relative to the lecture/discussion couples, demonstrated a significant increase in both self-disclosure and empathy skill levels. Discussion centers on the implications of the durability of the skills learned as well as on suggestions for future research on skill generalization to social interactions with others.
53 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used a between-subjects design, additional response measures, and additional positive communication training to increase reported marital happiness in a study using a within-subject design.
Abstract: Reciprocity counseling had previously been found to increase reported marital happiness in a study using a within-subject design. Fifty-five couples served in the present study using a between-subjects design, additional response measures, and additional positive communication training. The reciprocity counseling provided behavioral contracting, communication training and instruction in mutual reinforcement, whereas the control procedure encouraged discussion of the problems. The reciprocity counseling produced significantly more improvement than the discussion-type counseling for the three marital adjustment measures after four sessions. The improvement was maintained during the 24 months of follow-up.
36 citations
TL;DR: The Marital Status Inventory (MSI) as mentioned in this paper is designed to determine the severity of marital counseling cases in terms of the potential for dissolution of the marriage and differentiates effectively between couples seeking marital counseling and couples seeking help with parent-child problems.
Abstract: The Marital Status Inventory (MSI) is designed to determine the severity of marital counseling cases in terms of the potential for dissolution of the marriage. The instrument differentiates effectively between couples seeking marital counseling and couples seeking help with parent-child problems. For all cases, MSI scores were found to relate significantly to husbands' and wives' marital satisfaction in the areas of companionship and sex.
28 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the integration of two of the more prevalent approaches to marital and family therapy: the behavioral (social learning) and the family systems (communication theory) approaches.
Abstract: This paper describes our integration of two of the more prevalent approaches to marital and family therapy: the behavioral (social learning) and the family systems (communication theory) approaches. A discussion of the development of family rules from a behavioral point of view is presented as an example of conceptual integration. However, the major intent of the paper is to present a rather detailed explication of the authors' multivaried strategies for intervention, which are designed to integrate and innovate upon the major behavioral and family systems treatment techniques.
26 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the family-related variables that might contribute to child abuse, including characteristics of abusing parents, childhood experiences of abusive parents, marital relationships of abusive families, and the perceptions and expectations that abusing parents have of their abused children.
Abstract: The physical abuse of children by their parents is a family matter and should be viewed within the context of the family unit. Unfortunately, few child abuse studies have directly examined the family unit. Rather, most studies focus on characteristics of individual members of abusing families or on dyadic relationships within abusing families. Therefore, the present paper examines the family-related variables that might contribute to child abuse. This review is divided into two parts. Part I discusses methodological considerations and parent-related aspects of abusing families, including: characteristics of abusing parents, childhood experiences of abusing parents, marital relationships of abusing parents and the perceptions and expectations that abusing parents have of their abused children. Part II of this review, which will appear in a later issue, will cover child-related aspects of abusing families, parent-child interactions in these families, environmental conditions associated with child a...
25 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe the training and supervisory components of a doctoral level, pre-internship clinical experience, designed to teach Ph.D. candidates a contextual or systemic approach to therapy.
Abstract: This paper describes the training and supervisory components of a doctoral level, pre-internship clinical experience, designed to teach Ph.D. candidates a contextual or systemic approach to therapy. The training occurred in a university-based departmental clinic which balanced the three interdependent areas of training, service and research. The therapeutic orientation was a problem-focused, goal-oriented, directive therapy candidates a contextual or systemic approach to therapy. The training designed to view and treat individuals in their social contexts. From this perspective, students were able to gain experience with individuals, couples and families. The paper discusses the function and components of the weekly supervision seminar and describes the integrative and sequential use of several innovative supervisory methods such as live supervision, peer consultation and videotape playback supervision.
21 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that social psychologists have ignored the insights of family therapists such as Bateson (1972), Boszormenyi-Nagy and Spark (1973), Satir (1976), and Watzlawick and Weakland (1977), and that this is a mistake because: the family therapy approach provides some unique insights into the nature of intimacy; existing case material adds a richness to descriptions of intimate relations; and the system's framework gives us a useful analytic tool for analyzing social encounters.
Abstract: Recently, social psychologists have begun to devote considerable attention to defining intimacy and enumerating the characteristics of intimate relationships. In this paper, we argue that theorists have ignored the insights of family therapists such as Bateson (1972), Boszormenyi-Nagy and Spark (1973), Satir (1976), and Watzlawick and Weakland (1977), and that this is a mistake because: The family therapy approach provides some unique insights into the nature of intimacy; existing case material adds a richness to descriptions of intimate relations; and the system's framework gives us a useful analytic tool for analyzing social encounters. We provide some examples of how systems theorists would look at intimacy, supplement our theoretical analysis with cases material, and present some concluding comments.
21 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of paradoxically worded messages on the outcome of marital enrichment was analyzed and discussed, and 56 couples were evaluated before and after a course of six sessions of six marital enrichment.
Abstract: The field of paradoxical therapy has mushroomed in a variety of conceptual and methodological ways. One of the latest methods is the use of paradoxically worded letters that will be given to couples and families, usually at the outset of therapy. To check on the validity of this approach, 56 couples were evaluated before and after a course of six sessions of marital enrichment. One group received no enrichment. A second group received enrichment. A third group received linearly worded messages at the end of the fourth session of enrichment, while a fourth group received paradoxically worded messages. The effect of these messages on the outcome is analyzed and discussed.
TL;DR: In this article, the reliability and validity of three measurement scales appropriate for assessing the effects of family education programs were evaluated using the Adlerian approach. But the results indicated high reliability for the scales and the beneficial aspects of the family education program.
Abstract: The Adlerian approach to family education is receiving increasing attention. The Adlerian philosophy reflects a systematic approach with special emphasis upon the family constellation. The family is viewed as a total unit, and the individual needs of the family members are seen as family group needs with each meinber attempting to establish his/her place within the family structure. The purpose of the present study was twofold: first, to determine the reliability and validity of three measurement scales appropriate for assessing the effects of family education programs, and second, to determine the effects of a family education program using the Adlerian approach. The data indicated high reliability for the scales and the beneficial aspects of the family education program.
TL;DR: A review of the early attempts to classify the field of family therapy, including Haley's caricatures, the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry's (1970) classification, Beels and Ferber's (1969) antitheoretical model, and others is presented in this article.
Abstract: This article presents a review of the early attempts to classify the field of family therapy, including Haley's (1962) caricatures, the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry's (1970) classification, Beels and Ferber's (1969) antitheoretical model, and others. A recent paradigmatic scheme (Ritterman, 1977) based on the pretheoretical assumptions of the family theorists is examined in detail, extended to encompass more of the field and critiqued from the perspectives of its overall validity and utility. Finally, a new paradigmatic model based on the formal aspects of the family therapy theories is presented.
TL;DR: In this paper, a board game-based family problem-solving training is used to encourage children to develop a rational, democratic family atmosphere and to facilitate children's cognitive and social development.
Abstract: A rational, democratic family atmosphere appears to facilitate children's cognitive and social development. Family problem-solving training is a behavioral family intervention designed to encourage such an atmosphere while remedying parents' and children's specific long-standing complaints. During training the family writes a series of contingency contracts without the advice of a therapist but guided by a board game. Each time they play this game, the family practices a strategy of problem solving which they can use in their informal discussions, and they become familiar with a formal approach to problem solving which they can use at home long after training ends. The contracts which the family carries out at home during training resolve their major complaints. This paper describes training in sufficient detail to permit dissemination and replication. Innovative replications require theoretical information about the core features of an intervention; such features which should remain constant reg...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the marital satisfaction and behaviors of 32 couples at one and two months following the births of their first children and found that spouses at two months postnatally were more likely to reciprocate both irritating and rewarding behaviors than at one month.
Abstract: This study examined the marital satisfaction and behaviors of 32 couples at one and two months following the births of their first children. Self-report measures of daily satisfaction and daily spouse-observed behaviors were analyzed for patterns approximating those associated with distressed marital interaction identified through earlier social learning studies. Over the time period from 30 to 60 days postnatally, increases were found in spouses' tendency to reciprocate one another's behavior. Except for helpful behaviors involved with care of the infant, spouses at two months postnatally were more likely to reciprocate both irritating and rewarding behaviors than at one month. Nonsignificant decreases in marital satisfaction were accompanied by a mixed pattern of change for spouse-observed behaviors. Predicted changes over time in the proportions of pleasing and displeasing behaviors were evident in only half the comparisons. Increases over time were found for the predictability from spouse-rep...
TL;DR: In this article, a behavioral contract was used to change several behaviors in a married couple's relationship and a multi-assessment package was developed to determine the effect of the behavior change on the couple's relationships.
Abstract: A behavioral contract was used to change several behaviors in a married couple's relationship. A multi-assessment “package” was used to determine the effect of the behavior change on the couple's relationship. A multiple baseline, single-subject design demonstrated that the treatment “package” was responsible for producing behavior change and changes in levels of satisfaction. Further research should concentrate on which components of the “package” may be the most critical. Multi-assessments provide the therapist or researcher with concrete data on a couple's progress in behavioral marital therapy.
TL;DR: Gurman and Kniskern as discussed by the authors argued that a single-minded application of behavioral principles to marriage therapy was insufficient for effective clinical practice and argued that psychodynamically oriented and systems-oriented methods, when applied monolithically to marital problems, are also subject to ser...
Abstract: Only two years ago, my colleagues and I participated in a published debate over the sufficiency of a predominantly behaviorally oriented approach to marital therapy (Gurman and Kniskern, 1978c; Gurman and Knudson, 1978; Gurman et al., 1978; Jacobson and Weiss, 1978). This debate has stimulated a good deal of discussion (e.g., Colapinto, 1979; Taggart, 1979), presumably because it focused attention on a number of issues which are fundamental to how clinicians conceive of marital conflict and treatment, which had not received enough of a public airing for some time. In that debate, my colleagues and I argued that a single-minded application of behavioral principles to marriage therapy was insufficient for effective clinical practice. While behavioral marital therapy (BMT) was the focus of that particular interchange, in several other places I have taken the position that psychodynamically oriented and systems-oriented methods, when applied monolithically to marital problems, are also subject to ser...
TL;DR: The clinical use of hypnosis in its treatment is outlined with emphasis on careful diagnosis and constructive imagery production, and two hypotheses are suggested to explain the cure of this sexual dysfunction.
Abstract: Sexual abulia is described as a pathological condition where sexual desire is depressed or absent. Reasons for preferring the current descriptive label are proposed. The clinical use of hypnosis in its treatment is outlined with emphasis on careful diagnosis and constructive imagery production. Results of hypnotic treatment with 10 abulic patients are given. A detailed clinical case illustrates the procedure of hypnotherapy in treating an extreme case of sexual abulia. General conclusions are drawn and two hypotheses are suggested to explain the cure of this sexual dysfunction. The need for further research is stressed.
TL;DR: Child-related characteristics of abusing families, childrearing patterns in these families, the abusing family's relationship to the extra-familial environment, and typologies of abusing Families are reviewed.
Abstract: A number of family variables associated with child abuse are reviewed. Few studies have examined the abusing family as a unit, so it is necessary to pool bits and pieces of information on individuals or dyads in these families to get a sense of what they are like. Part I of this review (Berger, 1980) covered methodological issues in the child abuse literature and parent-related characteristics of abusing families. Part II, the present paper, reviews child-related characteristics of abusing families, childrearing patterns in these families, the abusing family's relationship to the extra-familial environment, and typologies of abusing families. Finally, the material covered in Parts I and II is summarized and discussed. Suggestions are made for improving the quality of future studies in this area.
TL;DR: Emphasis is placed on preparing the clients for the consultation, providing background information to and preparing with the consultant for the session(s), and transferring “power” to the consultant and back again to the primary therapist.
Abstract: This paper addresses the issue of the use of consultants by experienced family therapists. The authors discuss the need for consultation under different circumstances and review a number of models currently being utilized. Emphasis is placed on preparing the clients for the consultation, providing background information to and preparing with the consultant for the session(s), and transferring “power” to the consultant and back again to the primary therapist.
TL;DR: Abusive parents and nonabusive parents were compared on three self-report behavioral marital questionnaires as discussed by the authors, and the results indicated that both groups reported having only mildly distressed marital relationships.
Abstract: Abusive parents and nonabusive parents were compared on three self-report behavioral marital questionnaires. The questionnaires—the Marital Status Inventory, the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test, and the Areas of Change Questionnaire—have been used in pre-post evaluations of treatment and in the discrimination of distressed from nondistressed marriages. The results indicated that both groups reported having only mildly distressed marital relationships. The report presents initial normative data on the questionnaires for abusive parents and nonabusive parents who were seeking help with child management problems.
TL;DR: In this article, the paradox of the power of powerlessness is defined in terms of the resource exchange theory of Foa and Foa (1974), and power is conceptualized as the possession of resources (e.g., love, status, money, etc.).
Abstract: Power and the paradox of the power of powerlessness are defined in terms of the resource exchange theory of Foa and Foa (1974). Power is conceptualized as the possession of resources (e.g., love, status, money, etc.). The Karpman triangle is used to illustrate the power behind the victim's powerlessness.
TL;DR: In this article, the conceptual models of the family as developed by sociology and related academic disciplines and by the clinical disciplines are reviewed and correspondences are observed between the major sociological models (structure-functional, interactional-situational and family developmental) and the major clinical models (family structural, family process and multigenerational).
Abstract: This article reviews the conceptual models of the family as developed by sociology and related academic disciplines and by the clinical disciplines. Striking correspondences are observed between the major sociological models (structure-functional, interactional-situational and family developmental) and the major clinical models (family structural, family process and multigenerational). The general paradigms underlying the models of both disciplines are identified (structural, process and historical).
TL;DR: It was discovered that schizophrenics tend to be aligned with the same sex parent and these findings may help explain the psychosexual identification difficulties of schizophrenics.
Abstract: Differences and similarities between schizophrenics and their siblings in terms of their parental relationships were examined by use of projective tests and questionnaires. The results indicated that schizophrenics were differentiated from their siblings in their tendencies to see themselves as symbiotically attached to their mothers and failing to be accommodated to by their fathers. In addition, it was discovered that schizophrenics tend to be aligned with the same sex parent. It was suggested that these findings may help explain the psychosexual identification difficulties of schizophrenics.
TL;DR: A special issue of the American Journal of Family Therapy as mentioned in this paper focused on recent developments in Behavioral Marital Therapy (BMT) and explored the relationship between childbirth and marital distress, but only three papers bear directly on clinical issues, although all of them have clinical implications.
Abstract: This special issue of the American Journal of Family Therapy focuses on recent developments in Behavioral Marital Therapy (BMT). At first glance, one might expect an issue with such a title to be devoted exclusively to clinical practice. Yet only three of the six papers bear directly on clinical issues, although all of them have clinical implications. Two of the nonclinical papers are validational studies of assessment instruments associated with BMT. The sixth paper explores an important theoretical question regarding the relationship between childbirth and marital distress.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe predictable legal behaviors and suggest to the family therapist strategic responses to improve skills as an expert witness in the court context, in order to transfer the art of influencing interpersonal situations, the effectiveness of his/her testimony will be enhanced.
Abstract: The family therapist is frequently called upon to testify as an expert witness. For many family therapists, the courtroom is an unfamiliar environment with different ground rules and basic assumptions. Testifying can be a difficult experience as the mental health professional faces different situational role demands than those encountered in usual therapeutic settings. If the family therapist can transfer to the court context the art of influencing interpersonal situations, the effectiveness of his/her testimony will be enhanced. This paper describes predictable legal behaviors and suggests to the family therapist strategic responses to improve skills as an expert witness.