Reviews "Children and Youth in Limbo: A Search for Connections," a book by Nadia Ehrlich Finkelstein. The book develops a categorical scheme for providing care to children and adolescents in families with varying degrees of commitment and permanency, and stresses the need for youths to have and maintain "roots." (MDM)

Used perspective of cognitive social psychology to explore "child of divorce" prototype with college student subjects (n=403) in three studies. Employed free-recall task to generate descriptions of children from divorced families in first study; second and third studies tested hypothesis that people recall information about children from divorced…

Discusses psycholegal issues involved in intraspousal and interfamily law suits. Delineates six categories of lawsuits. Suggests that conflicts in families are already fairly extreme when adult children sue parents and that family lawsuits often make rifts irreparable. (Author/CM)

Generalizes concept of disenfranchised grief to understanding of recovery process for adult children of dysfunctional families. Describes recovery process of this population as parallel to grief process. Identifies two layers of unrecognized loss: loss of one's childhood and loss of one's fantasized and idealized parent. Suggests specific…

Assessed intrapersonal distress and impact of diabetes and vision impairment on marital functioning. Found significant degrees of intrapersonal distress and compromised family functioning. Of 18 subjects in committed relationship at onset of vision impairment, 9 later separated. Totally blind subjects were at greater risk for separation than were…

Voices of Pioneers section features Margaret Harrison of United Kingdom who founded HOME-START movement in Leicester, England, in 1973. Notes that HOME-START now has 150 programs throughout United Kingdom and in other countries and that program trains volunteers to offer support, friendship, and practical help to young families under stress in…

Adoption has significantly added to the landscape of possible family forms. Recent research efforts on adoption (1994-present) are reviewed and implications for family-counselor practice are explored. Attention is given to research on special-needs adoptions, adoptive-family process, birth-family reunions, and community perspectives on adoption.…

The purpose of this article is to elucidate the sources of controversy between the use of the terms Parental Alienation Syndrome and Parental Alienation and to delineate the advantages and disadvantages of using either term in the context of child-custody disputes. It concludes that families are best served when the more specific term, Parental…

Discusses the problems experienced at home by many children around the world. Shares the guidance of bishops as found in "Putting Children and Family First," a document prepared by committees of the United States Catholic Conference, and offers parents, educators, and catechists practical suggestions for implementing this strategy and improving…

This article addresses the inadequacies of counseling, therapy, and social work that occurs with low-income families. The author argues that many families who seek help arrive with problems that are usually assessed separately from their socioeconomic and cultural contexts. Careful questioning will often lead to the discovery that the onset of…

Runaway youth report a broader range and higher severity of substance-related, mental health and family problems relative to non-runaway youth. Most studies to date have collected self-report data on the family and social history; virtually no research has examined treatment effectiveness with this population. This study is a treatment development…

Fathers are involved in treatment for child and family problems to a far lesser extent than are mothers. This article reviews the level of fathers' inclusion in therapy, delineates possible barriers to fathers' participation in child-related treatment, and discusses factors associated with fathers' involvement in therapy. Empirically and…

In this article I will discuss the impact of my 2-year-old son's diagnosis and treatment of leukaemia. I will outline the background to being told he had leukaemia before describing the family dynamics that emerged during this time for me, my husband and our other child. My story will focus on managing the practicalities of a long stay in hospital…

We report a randomized trial of a revised Behavioral Family Systems Therapy for Diabetes (BFST-D) intervention. Families of 104 adolescents with diabetes were randomized to standard care (SC) or to 6 months of an educational support group (ES) or BFST-D. Family communication and problem-solving skills were assessed at 0, 6, 12, and 18 months by…

In compliance with Section 724 of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of July 22, 1987 (Public Law 100-77), this GAO report to Congressional Committees provides estimates of the number of homeless children and youth in all states. Estimates are reported, along with additional information on subgroups for whom it was not possible to…