By making the husband and wife legal adversaries, the traditional divorce process only reinforces and escalates anger and distrust. In contrast, mediation employs principles of cooperation and conflict resolution. A description of family mediation is provided and includes guidelines for deciding issues about money and children. (Author)

A group of 32 two-profession couples in three different age groups with children were interviewed together to determine if there was a relationship between their employment pattern and their distribution of family involvement at home. (Author)

The effects of wives' employment status on wives' and husbands' evaluations of their own marital adjustments are examined in two recent national surveys. (Author)

While very few of the respondents were without very close ties of any kind, those with extensive primary-group resources were more likely to be women rather than men, younger rather than older, married rather than single, and in high- rather than low-status occupations. (Author)

An examination of the economic, service, social and emotional support systems of Chicago area widows indicates an infrequency of appearance of the extended kin. Children and, in the case of younger widows, parents, are frequent contributors to these support systems. (Author)

Considers voluntary first home buying as a stressful event in the life cycle of the family whether or not that move involves relocating to another city or state. Focuses on how this major transition affects the couple relationship of the first time home buyers. (ABB)

Interviewed great-grandparents (N=40) about the meaning and significance of great-grandparenthood. Results indicated most found the role to be significant and emotionally fulfilling, providing a sense of personal and familial renewal, diversion to their lives, and a mark of longevity. Found two styles of great-grandparenthood: remote and close.…

Describes Family Times, a program of home-based learning activities to provide knowledge, skills, and ideas for enhancing family life. (JOW)

Asserts that sole custody has not met the needs of the divorced family. Discusses the benefits of joint custody as an alternative that more realistically defines the postdivorce relationship between the child and both parents. The linkage between joint custody and divorce mediation is also discussed. (Author)

Advances proposition that many current measures of kinship strength may paradoxically indicate inadequate or weakened kinship structures. Presents nonproximity indicators of kinship contact and service delivery that can measure strength of kinship bonds. States principles for assessing at what distance kin can deliver which services. (Author/NB)

Examined influence of interpersonal conflict, affection, and distress concerning dependency and caregiving satisfactions in predicting caregiver strain and negative emotion in 98 family caregivers. Found that interpersonal conflict between elderly carereceiver and caregiver predicted greatest amount of variance in both caregiver strain and…

A case study of a family with an eight-year-old Downs Syndrome son describes the parents' reactions to an outburst by their adolescent daughter who felt she bore too much responsibility caring for her disabled sibling. A counselor's analysis of the family's difficulties and solutions discovered through family meetings are included. (VW)

At-home observation of 40 sibling dyads was conducted to describe sex-role characteristics of school-aged same-sex and cross-sex siblings. Male dyads interacted less than other sibling groups, while older sisters in female or male-female dyads engaged in the most teaching and managing. Older sister dyads exhibited the greatest role asymmetrics.…

Examined hypothesis that, when grandmother-granddaughter contact is low, grandmother-granddaughter relationship is mediated by middle generation and, when contact is high, grandmother-granddaughter relationship is direct and bypasses middle generation. Data from 126 young adult granddaughter-mother-grandmother triads support hypothesis when…

"Covert suicide" refers to self-destructive behavior whose suicidal intent is denied by the adolescent and his/her family. Such behaviors are considered to be an outcome of certain family dynamics and processes. Case examples are given, and issues presented to the clinician in assessing and making initial interventions are discussed. (Author/BL)