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…

The parent of a head injured young adult recounts her family's problems learning to cope and gives other examples of the effects of head injuries on sons and daughters, husbands, and wives. Successful and unsuccessful patterns of family coping are noted. (DB)

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)

Comparisons between observed behaviors of fathers in a structured interaction situation with their five-year-old daughters and their reported behaviors as obtained from an interview are studied. Several consistencies and some differences were found. Consistencies occurred more often in fathers' helping and demanding behaviors, as well as in their…

In this article, theories of sexual abuse of children and treatment programs are reviewed. Familial patterns and signs of psychological distress are identified. (Author)

Observations of conflictual family interaction have revealed that several distinctive behavior patterns tend to occur during the course of a family dispute. Patterns such as negative reciprocity, positive reciprocity, and coercion have been described and utilized as predictors of marital satisfaction and parent-child relations. This study examined…

Effective handling of court cases of incest involving a child calls for an understanding of the dynamics of the child's family. This paper outlines characteristics of the parents involved and treatment considerations. (Author/SE)

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…

This literature review of family factors associated with externalizing behavior disorders such as hyperactivity and aggression in preschoolers found that: (1) preschoolers with externalizing disorders had families who were more likely than comparison families to have at least one type of negative characteristic; and (2) family characteristics were…

A pattern common to marital breakdown and divorce is described in which one partner seeks closeness and reassurance while the other desires separateness and independence. The roots of these dynamics in the spouses' families of origin are discussed. Recommendations for family therapy are treated briefly. (Author)

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)