This project asks families what mealtime together means to them. The topic of family mealtime appears comparatively infrequently in academic literature, and any meaning that families associate with mealtime has seldom been studied directly. This particular research investigates meanings of the understudied mealtime event by interviewing three or four generations of family members from five different families. Attention is paid to emerging standards of rigor for qualitative research, namely applicability through the selection of families who have a history of practicing a family mealtime tradition, truth value in faithfully representing the interviewees perceptions, and auditability by including detail of the research process. Findings are consistent with the available literature, with survey results, and with folk wisdom. Here are the major findings: As anticipated, the interview families report a decline in meals eaten together. Not anticipated was one important reason for the decline, namely, family adherence to the notion that the individual's freedom to choose takes precedence over the group interest when there is conflict at mealtime. Even so, interviewees affirm their determination to maintain a strong mealtime tradition. Families intend to show love through meal preparation, they value working together, the believe in the spiritual importance of family life, they want to protect the mealtime from outside intrusion, and they like being able to talk about whatever is important to each of them. Mealtime is a time of connection and bonding. Families enjoy being all together as a family. They miss getting together regularly for whatever reasons. And they particularly value their Sunday dinner time. All ages unanimously advise others to adopt a family mealtime tradition. The core assertion is that the family mealtime plays a major role in constructing the family unit.

Somatoform disorder is a prevalent mental health disorder in the United States. This disorder costs the United States one billion dollars annually. Medical providers report somatoform disorder is difficult to treat. Previous studies have shown that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is effective at reducing symptoms of somatoform disorder. Unfortunately, little research has been done on treatment outcomes and cost of somatoform disorder, particularly by profession to reduce health care costs for somatoform patients and providers. Administrative data from CIGNA for 149 somatoform disorder cases were analyzed to determine the cost, number of sessions, dropout rates, and recidivism rates for somatoform disorder. These same variables for somatoform disorder were also analyzed by profession for medical doctors, psychologists, master's nurses, master's social workers, marriage and family therapists, and professional counselors. Descriptive statistics showed that the recidivism rates and number of sessions for somatoform disorder is higher than average. Drop-out rates were consistent with the average. Analyses revealed no significant difference in total cost by profession, but did indicate a significant difference in cost per session for medical doctors. Analyses indicate lower level (M.S.) providers have no significant difference in drop-out rates and recidivism rates compared to higher level (Ph.D.) providers.

The purpose of the current study was to explore the direct and indirect influences of both paternal and maternal anxiety on adolescent self-esteem as mediated by parental criticism and autonomy allowance. Participants included 331 parent-child triads with a child between the ages of 12 and 15 from the Flourishing Families Project. Findings suggested that maternal anxiety had a significant negative influence on adolescent self-esteem while paternal anxiety did not. Also, the influence of maternal anxiety on adolescent self-esteem was carried directly rather than indirectly through autonomy allowance and parental criticism; however, this influence was only significant prior to adolescent gender comparisons. Furthermore, maternal autonomy allowance was positively associated with self-esteem for male adolescents with male self-esteem being more sensitive to maternal autonomy allowance than female self-esteem. In addition, maternal anxiety was associated with an increased use of parental criticism. For fathers, anxiety was associated with restricted autonomy allowance and increased use of parental criticism. Findings may be helpful to both parents and clinicians in identifying how parental anxiety influences parenting and adolescent self-esteem.

The current study examined forgiveness within the parent-adolescent relationship. Theoretical foundations and definitions of forgiveness were examined, after which a relational approach to forgiveness was explored. The direct influences of the quality of mother- and father-child relationships (parent and observed reports) and modeled marital forgiveness on early adolescents' forgiveness toward both mothers and fathers (child report) were examined; the mediating roles of parent forgiveness of child and adolescent social-cognitive skills (empathy and emotional regulation) were also analyzed. Mother, father, and child self-reported questionnaires and in-home observational data were taken from Time 1 and Time 3 (two years later) of the Flourishing Families Project and included reports from 334 two-parent families with an early adolescent child (M age of child at Time 1 = 11.24). Structural equation modeling was utilized to examine relationships between the variables. Mother- and father-child relational variables (both parent self-reports and observed reports at Time 1) were found to be significantly related to mother and father forgiveness of the adolescent child two years later. Interestingly, only mother forgiveness of the child was significantly related to adolescent forgiveness of the mother. Further, father forgiveness of mother (spouse report at Time 1) was directly related to adolescent forgiveness of the father. In addition, direct significant paths from parent-child relational variables to adolescent forgiveness were from the mother's report of connectedness with the child as well as observed reports of father-child connectedness. Significant indirect paths were also found: Observations of warmth within the mother-child dyad influenced adolescent forgiveness toward parents via empathy, while father's report of connectedness influenced adolescent forgiveness via emotional regulation. Finally, empathy and emotional regulation were the most salient direct precursors of adolescent forgiveness of parents. The relevance of modeling for forgiveness research, unique contributions of mothers and fathers, differences by reporter, developmental aspects of forgiveness in adolescence, and the importance of studying forgiveness within the parent-child relationship were discussed.

Research done in the United States has linked household division of labor to marital quality. Research shows that satisfaction with division of labor is associated with greater marital happiness. There is minimal research in other countries on the relationship between division of labor and marital quality. China, with a history of gender inequality and emerging women's rights, makes an ideal setting for examining the relationship between division of labor and marital quality. In addition to measuring the influence of division of labor and satisfaction with division of labor on marital satisfaction, this study includes a scale on childcare related tasks. The data used in this study were collected between 1995 and 2001, from 446 couples, in Beijing and Hangzhou, China. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used for dyadic analysis. Results show that traditional division of labor and wives' satisfaction with division of labor positively affect Chinese husbands' marital satisfaction. Contrary to US research, results do not show a statistically significant effect between division of labor and Chinese wives' marital satisfaction. Results also show that higher levels of wives' responsibility for childcare predicts lower levels of marital satisfaction for husbands. Implications for culturally sensitive counseling are discussed.

Much research has explored the cost effectiveness of psychotherapy for schizophrenia. However, to date, no studies have investigated the cost effectiveness of family and individual therapy for schizophrenia in the "real world" of managed care. The purpose of the present study is to compare the cost effectiveness of individual and family therapy for schizophrenia in one leading Health Care Insurer: CIGNA. Six years of outpatient data (2001–2006) and more than 2,100 unique schizophrenic outpatients are included. Research questions in this study concern the total treatment costs, the cost effectiveness, recidivism rates and the dropout rates of individual and family outpatient therapy. The findings show that family therapy is a more cost effective treatment than individual therapy by having lower total treatment costs and recidivism rates. However, family therapy has higher dropout rates than individual therapy.

Traumatic symptoms are common for survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), and such symptoms are often compounded by the presence of shame. While much is known regarding the negative impact of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on CSA survivors, less is known regarding the relationship between PTSD and shame and little to no research has investigated the impact of PTSD on intimacy mediated by shame for CSA survivors. The current study sought to fill this gap in the literature by exploring this phenomenon. Data was randomly collected from households in the following cities: Chicago, IL; New York City, NY; Salt Lake City, UT; and San Francisco, as well as the Utah State Penitentiary. Those who had completed the Trauma Symptom Checklist-33 (TSC-33), the Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationships scale (PAIR), and Internalized Shame Scale (ISS) were included in the dataset. Exclusionary criteria included females under 18, males, those who had not experienced sexual abuse, and those who had not completed the requisite scales. In all, 318 participants met criteria for the current study. The current study hypothesized that: (1) trauma symptoms would be negatively related to intimacy, (2) internalized shame will be negatively related to intimacy, and (3) internalized shame will significantly mediate the relationship between trauma symptoms and intimacy. The hypotheses were analyzed utilizing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and the associated AMOS 19 and MPlus software. Results found that trauma symptoms negatively impact intimacy and that shame has a mediating impact on this phenomenon. Further, shame was found to be a full mediator. While results of the current study illustrate the mediating role of shame on trauma symptoms, this mediation is within a relational rather than an individual context. Consequently, the current study fills an important gap in the literature regarding the interplay between shame and trauma for CSA victims within a relational context. Results of the current study give direction regarding the treatment of trauma and point to the importance of addressing shame in survivors of sexual abuse.

In this study, I present grounded-theory analyses of the decision-making process surrounding divorce or reconciliation based on in-depth interviews with 31 individuals thinking about divorce. The overall model of the divorce decision-making process included negative experiences leading to a bad relationship or an unsustainable marriage, the wilderness crossroads, the vast wilderness, and a development of an exit strategy. Repair attempts that were made are what helped the couple move towards a sustainable marriage or closer to divorce. The findings of the present study suggest that the decision-making process to divorce or reconcile can be a chaotic and confusing one—a wilderness—yet the participants sensed that it was necessary for themselves and others to endure this process before leaving the vast wilderness. The study discovered that a bad relationship does not present a straightforward path to divorce because the marriage has its own characteristics and considerations apart from the relationship. Within the vast wilderness there emerged seven key considerations in the decision-making process, namely: (1) the emotional and physical impact (on self); (2) children; (3) friendship and positive memories with spouse; (4) religion, prayer and hope; (5) commitment to marriage; (6) social impact and support of family and friends; and (7) finances. These considerations were focused on the marriage and were conceptually distinct from the romantic relationship of the couple. Marriage considerations were more salient and important than considerations of the spousal relationship, and they were crucial in the decision-making process to stay married or to divorce. I concluded by discussing implications of the study for individuals, clinicians, policy makers, and researchers.

While there has been research published on social withdrawal during childhood, little work has been done on the effects of social withdrawal during emerging adulthood. Since emerging adulthood is a time of transition and initiation to new environments and social contexts, it would be expected to be a time of great anxiety for individuals predisposed to social withdrawal (shyness). Shyer emerging adults are at risk for internalizing behaviors, lowered self-concept, and delayed entry into romantic relationships, therefore, they may also be more challenged when it comes to enacting prosocial behaviors. In addition, the inability to self-regulate emotions may mediate this relationship. This study utilized a sample of 774 college students (538 women, 236 men; 79% Caucasian; M = 20 years old) to test these hypotheses. Results showed that emerging adults who were more socially withdrawn were less likely to exhibit prosocial behaviors toward strangers, friends, and family members. In addition, results showed that the inability to self-regulate emotions, or cope, mediated this relationship in all cases. Implications include the salience of emotional self-regulation as a prerequisite to prosocial behavior directed toward multiple others and the possibly detrimental influence of shyness on relationship and community involvement during emerging adulthood.

This study examined the mediating impact of couples' attachment behaviors on the relationship between poor quality family-of-origin experiences and marital communication quality. The couple data for this study was collected from the Relationship Evaluation (RELATE) database (see www.relate-institute.org). An Actor Partner Interdependence Model using structural equation modeling was used to evaluate 261 marriage relationships. Results indicated that the relationships between family-of-origin experiences and communication quality are significantly related, with more family-of-origin problems associated with poorer positive communication skills. When attachment behaviors (accessibility, responsiveness, and engagement) were added to the model, it significantly mediated the relationship. Implications for clinicians treating couples who present with communication problems are discussed, as are directions for future research.