Presents findings of 1995 survey on the number of U.S. households experiencing hunger related to economic circumstances. Identifies characteristics of households more likely to experience hunger, including households with children, Black and Hispanic households with children, and female-headed households. Notes that about half the households…

Coping strategies of parents (n=89) of children with disabilities in special education classes were assessed on the Family Assessment Device-General Functioning Scale and the Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales. Results indicate that less frequent use of passive appraisal and more frequent use of reframing are associated with family…

By 1997, 5.4% of children under 18 were living with grandparents. Many are likely to be poor and uninsured. Grandparents face physical, psychological, emotional, and financial parenting challenges. Grandchildren often have psychological and emotional issues. Educational strategies designed specifically for these grandparents are needed. (Contains…

Reports on an evaluation of the first counseling service in Britain for children of divorce. Focuses on the qualitative outcomes of the counseling evaluation: namely, the children's and mother's satisfaction with the counseling, and the counselor's opinion of its success. Conclusions of study and implications for practice are discussed.…

A study of 30 adults with mothers (n=28) or fathers (n=2) who had mental retardation found that despite the problems they encountered in their childhood, many of which originated outside the home, most of the informants had maintained a valued relationships with their family and remained close to their mothers. (Contains extensive references.)…

This review of the literature on the relationship between domestic violence and adolescent aggression focuses on the added risks to the normative stresses of adolescence when the adolescent's family is characterized by conflict, the role of the family in the child's development of social competence, and warning signs of children affected by…

This retrospective study of 31 professional successful adults who were academic underachievers during adolescence found underachievement associated with: under involved and non-encouraging parents and teachers, negative parental attitudes toward work, family conflict, lack of career direction, and family transitions. Both the adolescents and their…

The colorful misbehavior of college students trumps considerations of college students' relationships with their families. With broad coverage of behaviors such as binge drinking, on-line gambling, and risky sexual behavior, the image of the college student is one of a person worrying about what time the bar opens, rather than problems at home.…

Two studies were conducted to test a theoretical model of the psychological and communicative links that mediate the impact of the chilling effect on the continued concealment of secrets in families. More specifically, we argued that individuals' continued concealment of a secret from aggressive family members would be mediated by the desire for…

The theme of this issue of a journal designed to focus on the prevention of various kinds of substance abuse is "children of alcoholics" (CoAs). The lead article, "Children of Chemical Dependency: Respecting Complexities and Building on Strengths," by Pamela Woll, examines chemically dependent family systems. The article begins…

A 3-year longitudinal study of children at risk for depression was completed, studying children (aged 8-16) of unipolar depressed, bipolar, chronically medically ill, and normal women. Nearly 100 children from 68 families were included, and the psychiatric status and functioning of the mothers and children were studied at 6-month intervals.…

This paper reviews family therapy with chronically dysfunctional families including the development of family therapy and current trends which appear to give little guidance toward working with severely dysfunctional families. A theoretical stance based upon the systems approach to family functioning and pathology is presented which suggests: (1)…

This paper discusses the problems of conducting research on a low-base rate sensitive family problem, parental child snatching, and proposes that telephone interviewing is a cost efficient and methodologically appropriate solution to these problems. The paper reviews the scant literature on parental child snatching by presenting what are…

This study examines some of the factors that influence divorce rates among the elite of an indigenous African population. The study discusses, on a comparative basis, the considerable disparity in the timing and patterns of divorce between the elite of Lagos and the married population of the United States. (Author)

The results from this study suggest that leisure activity patterns are differentially related to marital satisfaction, that husbands and wives are not influenced alike by leisure, and that the marital career period is a most critical variable in determining the influence of leisure. (Author)