Used vignettes and self-reports to examine adolescents' and mothers' reasoning about family conflicts. Found that mothers and adolescents differentially evaluated reasons for parental requests and adolescent noncompliance. They also differed in their judgments of the likelihood of particular justifications succeeding or leading to conflict. (BC)

This article reviews the literature on the inadequacy and adequacy of parenting by persons with mental retardation and offers new foci for research. It examines issues in predicting parenting inadequacy based on parental knowledge and skill, health care and safety, decision making, interaction, and child outcomes in terms of cognitive delay and…

Examined the relationship between sibling conflict and marital satisfaction, spousal conflict, family emotional climate, and family problem-solving processes that involve siblings. Results indicated that equal treatment by parents, family harmony in family discussions of sibling problems, and parent perceptions of family cohesiveness were…

This article provides an overview of sociological perspectives and knowledge about social aspects of families coping with visual impairment. Special attention is given to the importance of the social structures and dynamics of families as social networks, the social construction of impairment experiences by families, family social support…

This study examined 72 children at risk of abuse and the relevant adults, to identify variables predictive of child abuse risk. The measures used (New York Child Protective Services Review Document, Magura-Moses Child Well-Being Scales, and Beck and Jones List of Problems and Conditions) each had predictive value for case decision making.…

Problem-based learning allows students to tackle significant academic subject matter. A Canadian high school social studies teacher energized students by choosing a relevant problem (the changing family), organizing subject matter around it, making students responsible for shaping and directing their own learning, using small teams, and requiring…

Substance abuse among U.S. Blacks is discussed as the concomitant of a chaotic, rapidly changing, and exploitative society. The impact on families and children of drug and alcohol use is viewed as a personal issue; however, it is a public issue because its causes lie in the social structure. (SLD)

Reviews nonbehavioral parent-child psychotherapy research, summarizing generic principles as to outcome. Focuses on these conditions affecting outcome and process of treatment: amenability of person to treatment, comprehensiveness of treatment, treatment duration, and treatment intensity. Creates profile of intervention roles among poverty level,…

Presents suggestions for helping stepfamilies cope with problems they may encounter: (1) helping the children move from loss to reconnection; (2) being patient with everyone in the new family; (3) cultivating communication and negotiation; and (4) sensitizing school personnel and society. (SM)

This article describes concepts underlying the idea of the "family as a system"; compares and contrasts four approaches to family therapy (those of Virginia Satir, Jay Haley, Murray Bowen, and Salvador Minuchin); and offers suggestions to teachers referring parents for family counseling. (DB)

Presents case studies of four troubled young people in the correctional system after participation in adventure courses. Case studies show that, although troubled youth may leave an adventure course with positive behaviors and good intentions, poor family interactions and negative community environments made youth unable to sustain the positive…

Recounts two homeless teenagers' struggle to stabilize their lives and graduate from high school. To help other heroic, homeless students, high schools should adopt flexible admission criteria, attendance policies, course offerings, and class assignments and provide special education services, transportation vouchers, and emotional support when…

Interviews with 21 families who had lost the farm operator or a young person in a fatal farm accident revealed that, in every family, economic difficulties (operating the farm, providing for the family, and managing resources of time, energy, and capital) were entangled in the grief process. Implications for rural counselors and mental health…

Estimated the number of Brazilian children under 14 whose mothers are HIV-positive, living with AIDS, or dead due to AIDS. Found that of the 210,150 children, 17,600 were HIV-positive Findings underscore the urgent need for new programs to increase the longevity of persons with AIDS and to decrease the likelihood of child displacement and severe…

Explores mothers' perceptions of how homelessness and shelter life affect their family relationships. Participants report increased closeness and interaction with their children, but disruption in disciplinary and provider/caretaker roles. Shelter conditions, mother's emotional state, child's emotional state, temperament, and behavior affect…