Explores the concept of rituals and presents six elements of rituals. Teaching parents how to develop simple family rituals can assist with issues and positively impact children's lives. Within the sacred space of rituals, families form deeper bonds and children develop lasting images of their parents' love. (Author/JDM)

This paper utilizes coordinated practice and research observations of the personal and familial accommodations made to disability of an adult member. No assets accrue from disability; a family has only those potentials it had earlier which may be abandoned or poorly used by a family in its coping endeavors, or utilized fully in making needed…

Evaluated effectiveness of Self-Esteem: A Family Affair program with families that had adolescent children. Families, randomly assigned to treatment (N=13) or control (N=14) groups, were measured for self-esteem, family adaptability, family cohesion, and family conflict. A significant difference between treatment and control families on measures…

Ratings by mother, father/stepfather, and adolescent of 28 stepfamilies and 28 first-marriage families revealed lower family cohesion, adaptability, and quality in male parent-adolescent relationship in stepfamilies. Length of remarriage, amount and quality of contact with biological father, and adolescent gender were not related to family…

Describes the characteristics and ideosyncracies, hopes, and struggle for survival of the Northeastern Spanish community. (DM)

The reason for studying the characteristics of a healthy family is to encourage and strengthen the family and to move toward an enriched family life by using the characteristics as bench marks. Six characteristics are discussed as the essence of a healthy family: (1) commitment; (2) togetherness; (3) appreciation; (4) good communication; (5)…

This report describes a method of intensive, therapeutic assessment of families. The approach was developed as part of a research effort designed to study coping styles in adolescence. The various steps of the procedure are discussed both from the point of view of therapeutic value as well as from the point of view of findings obtained. A number…

Suggests that public school education in the last 50 years has been altered most dramatically by the interstate highway system and no-fault divorce. Blames the highway system for destroying the sense of community and capacity for delayed gratification and challenge. Argues that no-fault divorce has resulted in loss of family values and…

This collection of seven abridged symposium papers discusses contemporary social conditions which affect the nuclear family and suggests directions for intervention. The introduction declares that the family remains the single most important unit in civilized society. Its destruction is seen to be the destruction of society as we know it. The…

This study examined the quality and characteristics of black families in South Africa. The research focused on three areas: values and norms regarding marriage and family life, the deterioration of traditional and parental authority, and parenting skills. The fieldwork was done during the years 1988-1990 and consisted mostly of group interviews…

Fifty-two families of students successful in public school and 40 families of students requiring alternative school programs completed self-report instruments on their perceptions of parent-adolescent communication and family functioning. The alternative school programs included residential and day treatment programs for adolescents with emotional…

A study was conducted to explore whether the methods employed by the Cooperative Extension Service in its dissemination of practical skills and knowledge are of help to today's families. In order to examine these factors, two leadership programs for women sponsored by the Cooperative Extension Service in Alaska were studied. One group, the…

Four hypotheses are tested in this study: (1) that there is no significant difference between students in regard to the total number of stated problems of adjustment; (2) that there is no significant difference between the two groups in adjustment related to either health and physical development, school, home and family, money, work, the future,…