The colorful misbehavior of college students trumps considerations of college students' relationships with their families. With broad coverage of behaviors such as binge drinking, on-line gambling, and risky sexual behavior, the image of the college student is one of a person worrying about what time the bar opens, rather than problems at home.…

Determined whether spouses in nondistressed marriages show greater equity and reciprocity of exchange and a greater degree of congruence than spouses experiencing marital distress by examining interactive patterns of self-disclosing behavior using the Self-Disclosure Coding System. Within-couple reciprocity patterns revealed highly similar…

Examined Orten and Soll's typology and Homer's conceptualization of runaways as "running from" or "running to" something; expanded context to include interactions with family and professionals. Used case study and survey of nine adolescent runaways from residential setting to explore hypotheses. Found majority ran away from…

Investigates behavioral characteristics of 223 runaway and homeless youth who sought services from programs in New York. Results suggest that behavioral indicators of maltreatment can be observed among runaway and homeless youth. Indicators vary as a function of gender, maltreatment, and reasons for seeking assistance. (RJC)

Compared interpersonal and behavioral observational systems in their ability to differentiate families with a bulimic-anorexic daughter using the modified Marital Interaction Coding System (MICS) and the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB). Results showed both measures successfully discriminated between groups, accounting for…

A concept of seductive mother-toddler relationships was initially validated. Subsequent research showed "seductiveness" was stable, though transformed, from 24 to 42 months; the same mothers were not found to be seductive with male or female siblings; mothers seductive with boys were derisively hostile toward daughters. (Author/RH)

Compared film programs on family violence and alcoholism, in an alcohol rehabilitation program. Patients (N=77) were evaluated for their reactions to the two film programs. A majority of patients rated the film program on family violence very highly, indicating a need for such interventions in alcohol rehabilitation. (JAC)

Identifies different patterns of wife abuse, using a multivariate quantitative taxonomic procedure to delineate five homogeneous subgroups of abused women. Found that abuse occurs differentially in stable and unstable relationships, with differences in individual histories and responses of the victim to her assailant. (Author/JAC)

Findings indicate that wives attempt to treat husbands' alcoholism at home long before they seek professional help. Wives' strategies reflect their changing beliefs about alcoholism, about their marital relationships, and about their failure to cope. Home treatment strategies of amelioration under stress contribute to the stress as well.…

This paper considers 168 child fatalities due to house fires in Scotland. It concludes that the fires were largely a direct result of adult activities, including behavior patterns involving alcohol and inadequate child supervision. (DB)

Investigated the perceptions of 42 abused wives about their husbands and marital situations during counseling immediately following incidences of wife abuse. Results showed wives generally perceived their husbands as extremely possessive and often irrational. Wife abuse was often symptomatic of other marital problems. (JAC)

In England and Wales, females are more prone to commit suicide than homicide. Homicidal offenders are more likely to victimize members of their own families and decidedly more prone to kill themselves. These tendencies are tentatively related to the possible development of a subculture of self-directed violence. (Author)

As part of a larger research effort, a study was conducted to determine the coping strategies used by families undergoing unemployment. Data were collected from a 95-item questionnaire (developed and tested at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln) that was mailed to 150 persons and/or their spouses who were currently unemployed or had been…

Evaluation of 11 children from 5 exile families with at least 1 parent having been subjected to torture found children were anxious, depressive, and regressive with psychosomatic symptoms, sleep disorders, and family and school problems. Coping strategies including isolation and withdrawal, mental flight, eagerness to acclimatize, and strength of…

Observational data was taken in the homes of 17 abuse, 17 neglect, and 19 control families to discover whether there are distinctive patterns of day-to-day interaction that distinguish abusive and neglectful families from families with no known history of abusing or neglecting their children. The observational code was recorded through the…