Examined childbearing behavior of approximately 733 black and 2,986 white cohabiting and married women at 2 stages in marital life course. Found that, for both first unions and first postmarital unions, rate of childbearing within cohabitation more closely approximated rate of childbearing within legal marriage among black women than white women.…

Presents Ethics Model of Marriage and Family Counseling and its underlying assumptions. Analyzes six basic counseling values in relation to microsystems of counselor and client, mesosystem of counseling process, and societal value context as the macrosystem. Utilizes discussion of suicide to apply these values to the model. Includes 17 references.…

Discusses theoretical, conceptual, and methodological issues in research on marital quality and then selectively reviews research findings. Concludes that, although quantitative research on marital quality in the 1980s produced only a modest increment in understanding the causes and consequences of marital success, it laid foundation for greater…

Responds to previous article by Waring et al. on controlled trial of cognitive marital therapy in severe marital discord. Focuses on suggestion of possibility that self-disclosure of personal constructs does not enhance marital intimacy. Contends that important reason why cognitive marital therapy did not prove more effective for subjects was lack…

Individual-level data from National Survey of Families and Households confirm underlying assumptions of restricted marriage market models and contradict notion that African-American women are rejecting marriage or see marriage as economically nonviable. Data suggest that marriage rates are lower among African-American women because…

Notes that working with marital and family problems complicates the concept of therapeutic responsibility. Discusses several societal contributors to ethical dilemmas in contemporary family therapy and summarizes an ecological framework for therapy on the basis of which a profile of the ethical family therapist is derived. (Author/NB)

Used health production model and microlevel data from Panel Study of Income Dynamics to estimate sex-specific proportional hazard rate models of death as function of recent marital transitions and poverty status. Found that spells of poverty increased hazard of dying for both sexes, whereas recent marital status transitions altered hazard of dying…

Examined interrelation of marital and parent-child relationship subsystems among 100 families with 3-year-old child who were participating in Pennsylvania Infant and Family Development Project. Results revealed more systematic associations between marital change patterns and father-child interaction than between marital change patterns and…

Used 1987-88 National Survey of Families and Households data to examine the prevalence of successful reconciliations among 506 white women. Approximately one-third of women attempting reconciliation were still married more than one year after reconciliation began. Religion had strongest relationship with success of reconciliation, followed by…

Asserts that therapists perceived as having strong spiritual orientation face challenges, especially when one spouse views him/herself as "spiritually one-up" and wants therapist to form spiritually based coalition against other. Describes dilemmas that therapists may face when clients perceive them as having spiritual expertise and presents…

Findings from interviews with 586 couples confirmed results of prior research which documented deleterious effects of depression on marriage; they did not support independent effect (either positive or negative) for concordance (when both spouses are depressed) on marital quality. Results provide evidence against general hypothesis that homogamy…

Presents three supervision modalities applicable to training marital and family counselors: live supervision, delayed review supervision (audiotape and videotape), and supervision through verbal reports. Discusses goals, supervisory considerations, advantages, and disadvantages of each modality. Concludes that key in using modalities is to…

Introduces a creative diagnostic tool, developed and clinically applied in individual, marital, and family therapy. The tool is based on the clients' creation of a family album in the form of a collage. It enables the therapist to touch the inner theater of the client, as well as to understand the interpersonal theater. (Author/MKA)

Recent research reports that marriage and family clinicians describe the use of standardized assessment as of little importance. However this contradicts the potential advantages of the use of standardized measures. This contrast may be explained by the hypothesis that students use what they are taught, thus promoting a review of assessment course…

States that current literature suggests that dreams are seldom used by marriage and family therapists, yet dreams can be powerful tools in therapeutic treatment. Includes clinical examples that demonstrate the effective use of dreams in marriage and family therapy. Discusses the interface between dream interpretation and systems therapy. (MKA)