<p>The purpose of this study was to examine the values Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) clinicians and researchers hold regarding effective dissemination strategies. Professional role was measured using self-report. Using Carnine’s three gaps in dissemination as a foundation, a questionnaire was created to measure perspectives about dissemination strategies. It was hypothesized that clinicians would value accessibility and usability more highly, whereas researchers would value trustworthiness more highly. Clinicians were also hypothesized to perceive current dissemination strategies as less effective. Subjects were recruited for an online study through social media and online correspondence with MFT programs, yielding 38 subjects. An exploratory factor analysis found that the questionnaire scales did not measure the constructs as originally intended. New constructs were created using the results of the factor analysis. A General Linear Model was used to determine if participants’ ratings on these new scales differed based on professional role. No significant results were found, indicating that researchers and clinicians have similar attitudes about effective dissemination strategies. Qualitative questions were also coded in order to find common themes answering why dissemination is important, how dissemination strategies are currently being used, and what barriers are still present in the dissemination process. The implications for clinical work and research are explored. Limitations and future directions are also discussed.</p>

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The purpose of this study was to determine the significance between advice, marital expectations, and marital satisfaction. This study also explored the sources couples use to gather information, or rather where they receive premarital advice, and if it was helpful. Included in this study were husbands (n = 56) and wives (n = 56) who had been married less than one year, to classify them as newlyweds. The relationship between sources of information and expectations was found to be highly significant for variables related to family of origin. It was also found that a high percentage of couples gather information from informal sources rather than from more formal methods such as premarital education classes and premarital therapy. Expectations were found to be moderately to highly significant determinants of marital satisfaction.

Both approval and disapproval of one's social network have been shown to predict relationship outcomes. Additional research has shown that attachment can buffer the negative effects of various factors (e.g., depression) on relationships. This thesis researches the effects of disapproval of friends and family and attachment on relationship outcomes. More specifically this study looks at the potential moderating effects of couple-specific attachment behaviors on the relationship between social network disapproval and relationship quality. The RELATE data set was used to study couples and their relationship quality. The study looked at 858 married couples and found that one's own attachment behaviors moderate their own family disapproval on their own relationship quality for both men and women. Own attachment behaviors also moderated own friend's disapproval on own relationship quality for men and women. Partner's attachment behaviors moderate own friend's disapproval on own relationship quality for men and women; the main effect of partner's friends and family disapproval became non-significant with that test. The findings give evidence that attachment behaviors of both partners play a role in buffering the negative effects of the lack of social approval on relationship outcomes.

Relationship initiation is an integral part of romantic relationship development and a key developmental task of emerging adulthood (Arnett, 2004). In addition, relationship initiation practices (such as dating) have the capacity to impact the fluctuating levels of attachment insecurity (whether anxiety or avoidance) that an individual experiences over the course of emerging adulthood (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007). In the present study, I utilized latent growth curve modeling to examine whether certain dating variables (first dates, second or more dates, relationship breakups, dateless weeks) compiled over a 32 week dating history, as well as age and gender could predict change in attachment anxiety and avoidance over four time points in a sample of 309 Latter-day Saint (LDS) emerging adults. Results indicate that dateless weeks and second or more dates predicted the rate of change (i.e. slope) of attachment anxiety and that the overarching model accounted for 25% of the variance in the slope of anxiety. Findings also showed that age predicted initial levels (i.e. intercept) of attachment anxiety and that gender predicted initial levels of attachment avoidance. Findings were discussed in terms of theoretical significance and clinical application.

The purpose of the study was to gain an increased understanding of what the L.D.S. person feels during the process of divorce and postdivorce readjustment by (1) developing an interview guide to obtain the necessary data on divorce, (2) determining how strong the feelings of failure, guilt, and trauma were at different phases of the divorce process, (3) determining how the feelings of failure, guilt, and trauma were related to membership in the L.D.S. Church, its teachings, and contacts with Church authorities, and (4) gaining insights which might provide a basis for later investigation.

Guided by recent literature and theory addressing pornography use, the current study examined the associations between pornography use and acceptance of pornography and whether they predict sexual satisfaction as reported by both husbands and wives. Using data from the Relationship Evaluation Questionnaire (RELATE) (N=335 couples), a common-fate approach was used to examine both common and unique attributes of husbands and wives among pornography use, acceptance of pornography, and sexual satisfaction. Results indicate that pornography use was positively associated with pornography acceptance, but that pornography acceptance did not mediate the relationship between pornography use and sexual satisfaction. Husbands’ pornography use was negatively associated with husbands’ unique sexual satisfaction while wives’ pornography use was positively associated with couples’ shared sexual satisfaction, but negatively associated with wives’ unique sexual satisfaction. Findings emphasize pornography use as being a coupling dynamic within marriages.

The psychosocial needs of couples impacted by aphasia are often unmet. Sixty-one marriage and family therapists' (MFTs) experiences, perceived knowledge, confidence, comfort, and barriers in working with couples impacted by aphasia, and their interactions with speech-language pathologists (SLPs) were investigated using survey methodology. All MFTs were licensed, practicing in the US, and had at least 3 years of experience. Participants completed the following in order: (a) a pre-intervention survey, (b) one of two intervention conditions, and (c) a post-intervention survey. Twenty-eight respondents were randomly assigned to an education-alone intervention and 33 respondents were assigned to an education plus Relationship-Centered Communication Partner Training program (RC-CPT). The results of the present study suggest that MFTs who participated in this survey consider providing therapy to couples impacted by aphasia to fall within their scope of practice and already feel comfortable with various skills needed to provide therapy to this population. Aphasia education alone and education plus RC-CPT can both improve MFTs' knowledge, confidence, and comfort in working with couples impacted by aphasia but being shown a model of RC-CPT likely helped MFTs better visualize therapy, which bolstered changes in respondents' perceptions. Future development of RC-CPT should prioritize MFT involvement as collaborators and consultants. Continuing education courses and interprofessional collaboration are needed to better address the psychosocial needs of people with aphasia (PWA) from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Family businesses are a specific type of businesses that combine the family system with the business system. In this new system, emotions play an important role due to the long term relationships that exist amongst family members. This emotional component provides family businesses with unique advantages as well as challenges. Marriage and family therapists (MFTs) understand human relationships from a systemic approach. This specific training allows MFTs to be particularly well suited to help family businesses better deal with relational issues they might face by providing families with a different perspective for solution. Currently there is no consensus regarding the specific training MFTs should undergo in order to be better prepared to provide consulting services to family businesses. To meet this need, the purpose of this study is to identify the content for a model curriculum for MFT graduate students in family business consultation. A modified Delphi method with a mixed methods approach was used to obtain the content that a model curriculum should have. The Delphi method was used to obtain consensus on the opinions of MFT experts in family business consultation. A mixed methodology was used to triangulate the data obtained and to enrich the data gathered from a quantitative analysis. The results of this study show that marriage and family therapists wishing to pursue a career as family business consultants would benefit from additional training in the following specific areas: multidisciplinary theoretical approaches to understanding family businesses, consultation as a business, differences between consultation and therapy, and supervised practice. These results allowed the creation of curriculum components that could be used for a family business consultation course, workshops, and other educational events. Specialized training can help therapists provide better services to family businesses as well as an additional career avenue for the field of family therapy. / Ph. D.

Using survey data gathered by both Internet and mailed questionnaires, 125 graduates of COAMFTE-accredited marriage and family therapy (MFT) programs imparted information about their perspectives on their MFT training, their current and desired career practices, and their advice to MFT trainees and graduates about maximizing career options. The results demonstrated that MFT graduates attach many different meanings to the training and career experiences they've had. Marriage and family therapists work in a variety of settings, including agency and administrative work, private practice, academia, pastoral settings, school settings, medical administration and education, and residential treatment settings. Some graduates have left the MFT field to pursue other career avenues. The average income for MFT graduates in this sample was approximately $52,000 for doctoral-level graduates and $36,000 for masters-level graduates. Although approximately 72% of the participants reported satisfaction with their current professional position, several themes emerged in the data which indicate areas in which graduates felt unprepared when they entered the work force. Those areas include: information about the contemporary mental health marketplace, such as working with managed care and insurance companies and the political ramifications of being a marriage and family therapist in a professional climate dominated by other mental health disciplines. MFT graduates also reported lacking sufficient training in diagnosis and use of the DSM. Among the most valuable training experiences for participants were the clinical internship/practicum and the associated supervision received. Implications for the training and socialization of MFTs into the world of professional practice are discussed, along with suggestions for future research. / Ph. D.