Abusive, discordant, and satisfactorily married couples were compared on self-report measures of general assertion, spouse-specific assertion, spouse-specific aggression, and spousal physical aggression in their families of origin. Low levels of spouse-specific assertion were characteristic of discordant couples whether abusive or not. Spousal…

Studied emotional intimacy as a possible intervening variable between spiritual intimacy and marital satisfaction. Indicated that the effect of spiritual intimacy, if any, is indirect, operating through emotional intimacy on marital satisfaction. Differences in spouse perceptions seem more related to emotional distance than are similarities…

Reviews highlights of papers presented at first meeting of the International Standing Working Group for the History of Early Childhood Education held in August, 1984. The presentations covered the following three categories: (1) institutional early childhood education, (2) family education, and (3) sources and methods. (DST)

Critically reviews two books addressing themes on childhood and family history. One deals with family life among affluent planters in pre-Civil War North Carolina and the other details the concept of childhood in the 16th century. Concludes that themes of discovery of childhood and modern family emergence merit possible reevaluation. (TRS)

Describes the modern family fable that places an overemphasis on material possessions, prestige and success, leaving children feeling like possessions of little worth because there is a vacuum where children seek depth and commitment to form their own values and beliefs. (HOD)

Examines data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to compare family experiences of Black and White children born in 1950-1954 with children born in 1980. Discusses one-parent households and proportion of children's lives spent in various family types. Suggests children's experience depends on famly type at birth. (NRB)

Examines how traditional family life-cycle stages are associated with three categories of variables: residential satisfaction, community integration, and risk. Results suggest that there are differences by life-cycle stage in measures representing each category. The nature of associations differed depending upon the specific variable studied.…

Questionnaires measuring parents' stress, life satisfaction, and perception of the child were administered to single and married mothers of disabled children. No differences between these groups were found on total scores or on subscale scores. Item differences related to family life in general rather than rearing a disabled child. (Author/BL)

Proposes a group training approach for teaching child management skills to parents. Describes the course's focus on parent and child behavior, outlines the physical, verbal, cognitive, and performance skills that a parent participant would acquire, and discusses its emphasis on creating parent-child relationships that are full of empathy and…

Analyzes data on the marital stability of young parents from the 1972 National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. Reports that the birth of the first child strengthens the short-run stability of marriages: disruption rates of 5 to 8 percent were lower than estimated rates had the child not been born. (KH)

Two representative family studies are reviewed to illustrate how they could have benefited from the inclusion of alcohol-related data. Three suggested alterations in methodology are offered to close this "alcohol gap." Lastly, the discussion offers several explanations for why alcohol abuse has been so uniformly ignored by family researchers.…

In this article, the last of the Recollections series, the author remembers her "bookish" childhood. (Editor/RK)

Men (N=30) attending childbirth preparation classes were interviewed before and after the birth of a first child. The data suggest that developing some kind of coherent role was more important to men's adjustments to postpartum family life than developing any particular role of high or low home life sharing activity. (Author)

This study investigates change in the husband-wife relationship, Lamaze training and age of the infant in relation to adjustment difficulty in the transition to fatherhood. Results indicate that items related to the husband-wife relationship are highly correlated with total adjustment difficulty and perceived change. (Author)

Recombined families are faced with the same challenges as "ordinary" families. However, the relationships that unite the members of the recombined family are more complex, which causes a potentially higher number of difficulties than in other families. This brochure, in French- and English-language versions, was designed to address these…