A study examined the impact of teaching communication on the marital roles of communication teachers and their spouses. Subjects, two male and two female communication professionals and their spouses, tape recorded their responses to eight discussion questions in a comfortable conversational format. Four themes emerged from the transcripts of the…

The accepted assumption among researchers is that control has trait-like features; under controlled conditions, individuals experience a sense of control by interacting with the environment, experiencing personal influence and evaluating perceived outcomes (Rotter, 1966 and Bandura, 1974). It seems reasonable, therefore, to examine the sense of…

For the past decade dual-earner marriages in which wives are junior partners have been a major topic in marriage and family literature. In marriages which consider wives as senior partners (WASPs), however, the wife's career is emphasized. In an effort to study the rewards and costs of WASP marriages and to discover the structural conditions under…

This booklet provides advice to widows and widowers on dealing with their spouse's death based on the experiences of others. The stages of bereavement and mourning are discussed, focusing on giving oneself permission to mourn. The most urgent financial and legal decisions a widow or widower is faced with are listed and discussed. These include…

This paper describes a set of therapeutic tactics employed in the treatment of court-ordered spouse abusers at a community-based counseling center. The introduction states that the term therapeutic tactics was chosen to describe a class of interventions which are closer in nature to strategic ploys used in a contest rather than collaborative…

As growing numbers of families are being supported by two employed parents, it becomes increasingly important that clinicians and researchers understand the factors affecting how successfully families cope with the demands of this life style. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the structure of spouses' social…

Arguing that American newspaper dynasties seldom have been studied in terms of the families that founded and maintained them, this paper examines the family origins of the powerful Otis/Chandler Los Angeles "Times" dynasty. It focuses on the growing newspaper involvement of Eliza Otis (wife of Harrison Gray Otis), beginning in the…

This is a participant's workbook for a workshop on coping with conflicts and targeted to married couples, especially those in young marriages, and to employees of businesses or corporations. The session titles are: (1) Mismatching Scripts; (2) Changing Scripts; (3) PIESS (Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, Social, Spiritual) Needs; (4) Getting…

Economic well-being after retirement depends on an individual's portfolio which includes income from Social Security, pensions, transfers from public or private sources, and accumulated wealth. Any event which interrupts the savings process can have an adverse effect on an individual's economic status after retirement. Dissolution of marriage,…

The number of male primary caregivers has increased as social change has reduced the availability of female family members to fulfill the caregiving role. This study examined the perceived and actual role of caregiver by older men, especially in homemaker activities, and how this aspect of the caregiving role is impacted by age. Subjects (N=74)…

Retirement is recognized as a family experience, affecting retirees, their spouses, and their children. This study examined how the retirement transition affects the middle class, healthy, and financially secure male retiree and his wife. In-depth interviews were conducted with 92 couples from the Boston area in which the husband had been retired…

This study depicts the divorce process over three time periods: predivorce decision phase, divorce proper, and postdivorce. Research has suggested that persons with a more internal locus of control experience less intense and shorter intervals of stress during the divorce proper and better postdivorce adjustment than do persons with a more…

Surprisingly little research has studied the relationship of sex roles and marital adjustment, although one would assume these variables would be related. In addition, no significant relationships have been found between androgyny and marital satisfaction. To study the relationship of sex roles, particularly androgyny, to marital adjustment, 55…

Since married women typically curtail their employment behavior to accommodate the needs of their family, it is often assumed that women have a relatively weak and unstable work commitment. However, it is erroneous to infer work commitment from behavior, since work behavior is motivated and constrained by a myriad of personal and social…

Splitting, a primitive defense mechanism of young children in confusing or ambivalent situations, in psychoanalytic theory is characteristic of those with borderline or narcissistic diagnoses. It may recur in adults negotiating co-parenting relationships following divorce and remarriage. Two types of splitting may occur: self-other in which the…