Most research on the mental health of fathers with children on the autism spectrum has been cross-sectional. Little is currently known about the trajectories of fathers' mental health across their parenting journey. Using longitudinal latent class analysis, this study aimed to: (1) report on the estimates of fathers' psychological distress across…

Lifespan theoretical notions have long acknowledged that regulative capacities of the self are relatively robust well into old age. This general trend notwithstanding, people often differ substantially throughout life in their levels of and change trajectories in self-esteem. One prime contributing factor may be perceptions of social inclusion.…

Two studies investigate subjective wellbeing (SWB) homeostasis. The first investigates the contribution of job satisfaction (JS) and partner satisfaction (PS) to the homeostatic defense of SWB. The extant model of homeostasis does not include either variable. The second study investigates the relationship between Homeostatically Protected Mood…

Parent involvement in play, learning, and everyday home activities is important for promoting children's cognitive and language development. The aims of the study were to (a) examine differences between mothers' and fathers' self-reported involvement with their children, (b) explore the relationship between child, parent and family factors, and…

Asperger syndrome (AS) is a disorder resembling autism in its problems with social interaction and cognitive flexibility. Today, a number of adults with AS marry and rear children. Yet there has been little research into the quality of their marital and parental relationships. This study explored romantic attachment style, marital satisfaction and…

Background: This study aimed to explore the factors that predict functioning in families with a child with Down syndrome using a mixed methods design. The quantitative component examined the effect of maladaptive and autism-spectrum behaviours on the functioning of the family while the qualitative component explored the impact of having a child…

This report examines whether the presence of children in marriage differentially influences the risk of wives or husbands initiating separation. The analytic sample consists of 9,118 first marriages from the Households, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey (2001). Using event history and competing risks analysis, I find weak evidence…

This 1992 study was conducted to ascertain the incidence of sexual difficulties in individuals diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) living in New South Wales, Australia. New South Wales is a state lying roughly 29-36 [degrees] south of the equator. This is currently the largest study conducted. The anonymous questionnaire completed by 283…

Evaluated marital fairness, or subjective balance between spouses' gains and losses, by surveying 134 married Australians representing 5 family life cycle phases. Findings showed husbands felt more equitably treated both initially and after children's departure than during phases with children in home, wives showed little variation with phase, and…

Objectives: Our goal was to investigate the physical and mental health of mothers who care for a child with Rett syndrome. Methods: We assessed maternal physical and mental health by using the SF-12 version 1 physical component summary and mental component summary scores as the outcome measures of interest. Mothers (n = 135) of children with Rett…

Compared problem-solving behaviors of four samples of couples, sorted by marital happiness/distress and culture (German and Australian). Results showed cultural differences in frequency and functional significance of negative verbal communication, along with cross-culturally consistent marital behaviors associated with marital distress. (Author/TE)

Assessed psychological well-being and marital adjustment of mothers, voluntarily childless wives, and infertile women. Infertile women reported lower levels of personal well being. Voluntarily and involuntarily childless women were more pleased with the amount of freedom and flexibility they had in their lives, and infertile women reported more…

Assessed the role of marital discord in the outcome of a program training parents in behavioral techniques (behavioral parent training), and the effects of an adjunctive treatment of partner support training (PST) on outcome. Families with an oppositional or conduct disordered child underwent child management training alone or with PST. Measured…

A study was conducted of the effectiveness of marriage counseling with respect to marital status and the long-term stability of relationships. Data were gathered from clients of approved Australian marriage counseling agencies (n=540) who took a pre-counseling survey during a 4-week period in October-November 1987 and a post-counseling survey 8…

The Australian 1981 Census results show that the coventional nuclear family is still by far the most prominent family form in Australia. However, since the first family statistics were collected in 1966, other family forms and nonfamily living arrangements have been increasing. This paper examines changes in factors determining family structure…