Dialogue Presented at AHEA Anniversary Meeting (60th, Boston, June 24, 1969)

Investigated the perceptions of 42 abused wives about their husbands and marital situations during counseling immediately following incidences of wife abuse. Results showed wives generally perceived their husbands as extremely possessive and often irrational. Wife abuse was often symptomatic of other marital problems. (JAC)

Examined the circumstances surrounding child maltreatment in 328 families. Results showed that physical abuse tended to be associated with child behaviors; emotional cruelty was associated with adult conflict that enlarged to involve the child; and neglect was characterized by failure of parents to assume parental responsibilities. (JAC)

Reviews research dealing with conjugal violence and critically evaluates the usefulness of these findings for clinical practitioners. Suggestions for joining with violent spouses, overcoming initial resistances, and keeping violent spouses in treatment are offered. Situations for which marital therapy may not be considered the treatment of choice…

Addresses problem areas encountered by families with learning-disabled children: parental self-blame and mourning, family life, the child's biological-psychological-social growth, and the child's achievement of independence. Argues that social workers have skills needed for effective remedial intervention. (RH)

Briefly sketches responses of consumer and homemaking educators to the personal dilemmas caused by unemployment. Programs described range from skills development, employability enhancement, and career exploration, to stress management and therapeutic counseling. (SK)

Chronicles the growing frequency of child abductions by divorced parents who are warring over child custody. Outlines the school's role in prevention of such kidnappings and how to recognize new students who are kidnap victims and help to return them to their rightful parents.

Describes the clinical use of the Marital Satisfaction Inventory (MSI), a multidimensional self-report measure of marital interaction. Two case studies of couples in marital therapy are presented. The MSI is presented as a cost-efficient procedure, permitting objective assessment across multiple areas of a couple's relationship. (Author/JAC)

Describes the theory of self-defeating behaviors and discusses the theory's relevance for treatment of families' systems dysfunctions. Presents a case study illustrating the theory's application in a family systems approach for counselors. (RC)

Presents a strategy for intervening into rigidly homeostatic family systems. Identifies system rules which reveal "nodal" themes. Describes four types of nodal themes and clues for identifying them within families. Suggests ways of using system rules and nodal themes in developing paradoxical interventions. (Author/RC)

Data from a sample of 2,143 adult men and women were used to explore the relationship between wives' dependency on marriage, and wife abuse. Results indicated that it is economic and not psychological dependency which keeps women in severely abusive marriages. (Author)

Employed a two-factor analysis of variance design to investigate gender differences in recollections of parent-to-parent violence. In two samples females reported more parent-to-parent violence than males. These differences occured independently of self-reported histories of the subjects' own violence. (Author)

Argues that strictly systematic methods of service delivery can lead to the failure of child welfare rather than to its success. Holds that the current system for dealing with child abuse, because of its lack of flexibility and its contradictory roles of helper and prosecutor, breaks down effective, informal helping systems. (Author/GC)

The Child and Family Justice Project, designed to help communities improve the quality of life for their children and families, is described in terms of its development, evaluation, and its long range effects. (Author/MP)

Examines several dimensions of adolescent suicide, including theories of suicide, methods of assessing lethality, and methods of counseling the suicidal person. (Author/GC)