Reviews empirical evidence addressing relationship between divorce, family composition, and children's well-being. Although not entirely consistent, pattern of findings suggests that children's emotional adjustment, gender-role orientation, and antisocial behavior are affected by family structure, whereas other dimensions of well-being are…

Technology affects family life, size, structure, and relationships and blurs distinctions between home and work. It is imperative to keep sight of human values and a human agenda and to insist that technology serve people, not drive policy. (SK)

Notes that internal and external threats could squeeze ranch and farm families out of business. Offers six-step Consensus Management Model that combines strategic planning with psychoeducation/family therapy. Describes pilot test with intergenerational ranch family that indicated improvements in family functioning, including reduced stress and…

Illustrates the role of the family in linking sociopolitical changes to adolescent development by outlining some differences in structures of families of East and West Germany. Synthesizes survey data on this topic. Areas discussed include family formation, unmarried couples and parents, maternal employment, public child care, divorce and…

Outlines a family stress and coping model that can be used to guide counseling interventions. Families are considered as to where they fall along a variety of continua; e.g., how cohesive the family is, and according to the coping and problem solving each family employs. (LKS)

Focuses on the narrative activity between parents and children to coconstruct both the meaning of a spousal narrative dispute as speech event and what it meant that such an episode had been videotaped. The family members codrafted a revised account of their story realm that seems to minimize chaos and maximize order and emphasize that "father…

Examined the distinguishing features of African American social support networks from an ecological perspective. Found that African American families function within an ecological framework with implications for support received and network membership. Types of support network and membership are experienced differently across family structure,…

Investigated parent division of power in family decision-making, as reported by 880 Israeli Arab and Jewish adolescents. Found that Arab subjects perceived more paternal and less maternal power than Jewish subjects. Gender differences and differences between ethnic and religious subgroups in each culture were found, reflecting the different…

Reviews: "Child in the Family: Developing Child Series"; "Parents, Kids and Books: The Joys of Reading Together"; "Toys"; "Traits of a Healthy Family"; and "Excellent Beginnings: Helping Schools Reach Families." (DR)

Interviewed and physically assessed 102 married men in an attempt to develop a biopsychosocial model of male domestic violence. Used Tobit analysis to identify significant predictors. Analyzed separately, each domain was significantly related to male domestic violence. When considered together, only the biological and social domains yielded…

Home observations recorded how 33-month-old younger siblings act as third-party interveners in family disputes. Disputes usually involved house rules when mother was absent. Children who supported elder siblings had more harmonious sibling relationships than those who did not support their siblings. Results demonstrate ways in which children are…

Addresses the many ways in which rituals can be useful in understanding and working therapeutically with stepfamilies. Rituals allow for multiple meanings and new ways of understanding and doing things and provide an array of therapeutic possibilities for therapist and family. (JBJ)

Examined adolescents' perceptions of their family environments and suicidal behavior. Fifteen suicidal adolescents, 14 psychiatric controls, and 14 normal controls rated their families on cohesiveness, adaptability, parent-adolescent communication, parental caring, and parental overprotectiveness. Suicidal adolescents rated their families as least…

Analyzes research on workplace family policy. Highlights salient themes such as corporate culture, gender and class differences regarding support for policies, and government role. Articulates theoretical framework for understanding barriers to progressive family policies in workplace, identifying competing social, cultural, and psychological…

Reviews research that indicates parents and children, although spending little time together, remain satisfied with their relationships, largely a result of consistent, but detached, parental support. Argues that consequences of maternal employment, divorce, and single-parent family structure have been exaggerated and that researchers need to…