This literature review aims to understand who is and is not being served by Head Start among families experiencing adversity; the range of recruitment, selection, enrollment, and retention (RSER) strategies that programs use with families experiencing adversity; the factors that shape the use of RSER strategies; and the effectiveness of specific…

The purpose of this review was to examine the literature on parent training for parents of children with autism. Families with a child diagnosed with autism often face a discrepancy between their need for services and the availability of services either because they live in geographically distant areas or because they are on a long wait list for…

There are 1.2 million school-age children with military parents in the United States, and approximately 90% attend public schools. On average, military children move three times more often than their civilian peers. Tensions at home, enrollment issues, adapting to new schools, and a lack of familiarity with military culture by public school…

This review of international literature assesses the impacts that the relationship breakdown of parents has on children and factors that can provide support should this occur. The parental separation process causes significant albeit short-term distress for most children, with a minority reporting longer-term outcomes such as socio-economic…

This report examines the involvement of the child welfare system in children's care and protection when parents are incarcerated, with a focus on kinship care. Kinship care is defined as care in which relatives other than a child's parent assume parenting responsibilities for the child. It is a common care arrangement for children of incarcerated…

Calls for a recognition of existential issues in family therapy. Notes the importance of "big questions" to families, reviews the roots of existential philosophy therapy, and offers an example of the usefulness of connecting existential thought to the family field by discussing differentiation/fusion from an existential perspective. (BH)

Explores the fundamentalist Christian focus on perfectionism and its possible contribution to an increase in dysfunctional individuals, family systems, and societies. Several Bible verses are analyzed and the results of their misinterpretation discussed. The need for a program of spiritual growth, as expressed by Alcoholics Anonymous, as opposed…

For millions of people, gambling offers a harmless and entertaining diversion from everyday life. For others, however, gambling represents a moment of overwhelming compulsion. Gambling for these individuals is tied to their self-esteem. They rarely have non-gambling hobbies and many times they have experienced a "big win." The average…

This literature review categorizes sexual victimization into general areas of intrafamilial and extrafamilial sexual abuse. Generalizations are drawn from existing data regarding both victims and perpetrators. Sex- and age-related findings are discussed relative to victims, while the analysis of incidence describes perpetrators of sexual abuse of…

This review of literature focuses on the dynamic interdependence of the process of remarriage. Systems analysis identifies boundary and roles as two constructs which depend on the functioning and interrelationship of four subsystems: primary family; personal; interpersonal; and secondary family. Functional remarried families confirm family…

Some of the problems facing parents of handicapped children are considered, and the importance of families planning for the future of their children with chronic disabilities is stressed. In addition to the problems encountered by parents who raise non-handicapped children, parents of a handicapped child must cope with community rejection,…

This article reviews the meaning and origins of child maltreatment in relation to children with disabilities. The heightened risk of abuse that is faced by such children arises from dynamics within the familial and community context of the child. (Author/DB)

Research on the impact of cancer on the family is reviewed with regard to both the clinical course of cancer and the developmental stages of the family system. Combining these two dimensions provides insight into the current literature regarding cancer's impact on the family, intervention strategies, and future directions. (Author/EMK)

This synopsis of the outcome literature on marital and family treatment (MFT) drew three conclusions. First, intervening at the marital/family level with nonalcoholic family members can motivate an initial commitment to change in the alcoholic who is unwilling to seek help. Second, MFT alone, or with individual alcoholism treatment, produces…

Identifies 20 major issues in remarriage families from the professional literature and places issues in 4 categories: initial family issues, developing family issues, feelings about self and others, and adult issues. Discusses each issue using citations from the primary sources. Offers many suggestions for counselor assessment and intervention.…