Marital Unit Research Articles

Improving marital relationships: strategies for the family physician.

Marital conflict and divorce are prevalent in our society, and patients frequently ask family physicians to assist them with marital difficulties. These difficulties are often associated with a decline in health, resulting in additional stress to the marital unit. A MEDLINE search was undertaken using the key words "family medicine," "marital therapy," "marital counseling," "brief psychotherapy," and "short-term psychotherapy." The bibliographies of generated articles were searched for additional references. The authors used the resources of their individual behavioral science libraries, as well as their clinical experiences. With adequate training, many family physicians can include marital counseling skills in their clinical repertoires. Family life cycle theory provides a framework for understanding the common stresses of marital life and also guides the family physician in recommending strategies to improve marital satisfaction. The physician's role is twofold: (1) to identify couples in crisis, and (2) to provide preventive strategies geared to assist couples in achieving pre-crisis equilibrium or higher levels of functioning. For physicians whose practices do not include marital counseling, an understanding of the basic techniques can be beneficial in effectively referring appropriate couples for marital therapy.

Reminiscence: A Closer Look at Content

This descriptive research examined the content of reminiscences of 21 cognitively intact elderly women registered in an adult day-care program. Content analysis of transcripts from a semistructured interview were used to discover categories of reminiscence events and contexts. Three categories of events emerged: activity centered, person centered, and possession centered. This sample reminisced most about activities and least about possessions. The predominant physical contexts of the reminiscences were the everyday places where the reminiscer lived her life: home, school, and workplace. Social contexts that were most predominant were the family, marital unit, and work situation. Socioeconomic status and ethnicity also served as contexts for reminiscence units.

Family systems in premarital counseling

Rooted in Bowenian family systems theory, a format for pastoral premarital counseling is described. Examples are cited which show how couples can be helped to look at the formation of their own marital unit by studying each partner's “family of origin” system.

The Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory (BLRI): current and potential uses with family systems.

The search for and measurement of important relationship qualities have always been of interest to family therapists. Within a Rogerian perspective, empathy, regard, and congruence are believed to be among the most important indicators of the quality of human relationships. These variables, or conceptually similar ones, are also important in several current models of family functioning. Barrett-Lennard (1,2) developed an instrument, the Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory (BLRI), to measure empathy, regard, and congruence. Although the major use of the BLRI has been in psychotherapy outcome research (13), several studies have shown that it is a sensitive indicator of marital satisfaction and of changes occurring in marital-improvement programs. The present study is a factor analysis of the BLRI based on data from 345 women who rated levels of empathy, regard, and congruence in their relationship with their husbands. The results robustly confirm the three-factor structure of the BLRI in what is believed to be the first factor analysis in the context of a family member rating a relationship within the family. The replication of the BLRI's structure in a new relationship context suggests that the dimensions tapped by the BLRI may have some generality and warrant further exploration in a family-systems context. Several advantages of the BLRI over other currently available instruments are discussed, as are potential uses of the BLRI in systems research beyond the marital unit.

Differential Models of Social Work Groups with Family Violence

This paper examines the research literature on multiple forms of family violence and proposes three social work group models to apply to this widespread phenomenon. The models proposed are group work with wife abusers, groups of reciprocated violent marital dyads and multiple violent family unit groups. The theoretical approach of each model is discussed as well as group composition, goals, tasks, structure, relational-interactional systems, worker role and means of service delivery. Important problems in group development of each model are identified and suggestions for worker intervention are outlined.

Decision and Adaptation

Review of the literature shows that while women's adaptation to retirement has been closely studied, little is known of the female retirement decision. No gender differences in adaptation have been demonstrated. Hampered by poor data sets and design, and responsive to the prejudicial assumption that women had low work commitment, early adaptation studies found that women workers adjusted poorly to retirement, often more poorly than men. However, these results have not been confirmed. Recent research shows that most women adjust well, and no consistent gender differences have been found. Gender differences are much more likely to be observed in the decision to retire. Analysis of the timing of retirement among married couples indicates that the characteristics of the spouse influence individual retirement decisions. The effects of these characteristics differ in strength and direction, depending on gender. Future research on female retirement should focus on decision making in the marital unit.

Social adjustment in victims of sexual assault.

This study investigated the social adjustment of rape victims for 1 year following their assaults. Ninety-three rape victims were seen approximately 2 weeks after the assault and at 1,2, 4, 8, and 12 months postrape. A matched control group of nonvictims was seen at the same intervals. To control for the effects of repeated testing, three additional groups of victims were assessed only once at either 2, 4, or 8 months postrape. All participants completed a social adjustment scale, which yielded a total adjustment score as well as subscale scores for five areas of adjustment: work; economic; social and leisure; marital, parental, and family unit; and extended family. Victims exhibited disruption in overall social adjustment and most of the subscale roles for the first few months following their assaults. By 4 months postrape, most of the subscales had stabilized at levels similar to the nonvictims'. Work adjustment continued to be affected through 8 months postrape. Single-testing control victims appeared to have more problems in social adjustment, particularly with regard to relationships with relatives.

Jealousy and Nontraditional Marital Units

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article ArticleNo AccessJealousy and Nontraditional Marital UnitsKENNETH SOLOMON, and MONA SOLOMONKENNETH SOLOMONSearch for more papers by this author, and MONA SOLOMONSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:1 Apr 2006https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.136.2.241-bAboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail "Jealousy and Nontraditional Marital Units." American Journal of Psychiatry, 136(2), pp. 241-b–242 Access content To read the fulltext, please use one of the options below to sign in or purchase access. Personal login Institutional Login Sign in via OpenAthens Purchase Save for later Item saved, go to cart PPV Articles - American Journal of Psychiatry $35.00 Add to cart PPV Articles - American Journal of Psychiatry Checkout Please login/register if you wish to pair your device and check access availability. Not a subscriber? Subscribe Now / Learn More PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5 library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development. Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.). FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited byNone Volume 136Issue 2 February 1979Pages 241-b-242 Metrics PDF download History Published online 1 April 2006 Published in print 1 February 1979

La composition du ménage paysan en France au XIXesiècle : une analyse économique du mode de production domestique

Avant le regain d'intérêt qui s'est manifesté pour l'histoire de la famille depuis quelques années, on présumait que le ménage d'antan se composait, le plus souvent, d'une famille élargie comprenant non seulement les parents et leurs enfants, mais aussi des aïeux, tantes, cousins, ou autres apparentés. Cette vision de la famille était, en fait, une des prémisses fondamentales de la sociologie parsonienne. Le passage de la famille élargie du monde préindustriel à la famille conjugale de la société industrielle représentait une instance de « différenciation structurelle », concept essentiel de la théorie du changement social élaborée par cette école. Une série d'arguments convaincants montrait bien que la famille conjugale était en « harmonie » (fit) avec les exigences de la modernisation et de l'industrialisation.

PSYCHIATRIC ILLNESS???MARITAL UNITS AND DIVORCE

This is the third in a series of reports from a controlled study of divorce. Using only marital units in which both members of the unit were interviewed, 40 divorced couples and 28 control couples, we found that the frequency of occurrence of a psychiatric disorder in one or both members of the units was significantly greater for the divorced couples (92 per cent vs. 43 per cent respectively, p There were discrepancies in the reporting of symptoms of psychiatric illness for the divorced probands when the probands' interviews were compared to the psychiatric symptoms reported for them by their interviewed ex-spouses. The ex-husbands reported fewer symptoms of depressive illness for their ex-wives, and the ex-wives reported more symptoms of excessive drinking for their ex-husbands than were found when interviewing the divorced probands themselves. Information obtained from our divorced probands indicates that the incidence of psychiatric illness is approximately the same in their ex-spouses not interviewed as in the interviewed divorced probands. However, a greater proportion of these noninterviewed ex-spouses were antisocial personalities than were the interviewed divorced probands.

A U. S. Department of Marriage and the Family

Although the idea of federal intervention in an increasing number of domestic areas still evokes spirited debate in some circles, the case for an active federal role on behalf of some of our most cherished institutions, such as marriage and the family, can be persuasively made. Today with federal expansion into nearly every sector of the domestic scene, more moneys are appropriated for H.E. W. and H. U.D. than any other national agencies. However, governmental inattention to directly assisting marriage and family life has been regretably inadequate. Rapid advancement into a post-industrial society has jettisoned marital and familial units into ill-adapting systems characterized by stress-overload, bewilderment, hostility, and isolation. While there hadve been promptings for direct environmental regulation for children and families, these efforts have been thwarted by sporadic pressure, and insufficient and uninfluential advocacy. The institution of marriage has been nearly excluded from concern. This paper suggests a reexamination of governmental involvement, and after a careful analysis of pertinent research on marriage and family support systems, proposes the creation of a cabinet-status U. S. Department of Marriage and the Family. The historical background, rationale, constitutionality, and political opportuneness of the proposed department are discussed, and its seven major functions are identified.

Premature ejaculation treated by the dual sex team method of Masters and Johnson.

The treatment of premature ejaculation has always carried a poor prognosis and recovery in an established case is uncommon. In 1970, in their book “Human Sexual Inadequacy”, Masters and Johnson reported the treatment of 186 cases of premature ejaculation with only four failures. Their technique is based on the use of a dual sex team comprising a male and a female therapist who treat the “marital unit”, not just the dysfunctional male. The present authors report initial success in the treatment of two premature ejaculators using a shortened version of the Masters and Johnson programme, requiring only seven treatment sessions. One case is described in detail to indicate the disturbed interpersonal dynamics which may undarly the development of premature ejaculation and to illustrate the manner in which the treatment principles are applied in its management. The success of the technique seems to derive from a reduction of anxiety in the coital situation and a strengthening of trust and confidence in the relationship between the marital partners.

Treating the Marital Unit

Treating the Marital Unit