A two-month longitudinal program evaluation was conducted of a four-hour mandated parent education program for divorcing parents of minor children. To expand on Brandon’s (2006) program evaluation of the same program, the present study sought to examine knowledge gain and behavior change in participants. Using a retrospective post-then-pre design, 139 participants reported their knowledge gain in two areas: (a) the impacts of divorce and of putting children in the middle of conflict, and (b) strategies to reduce conflict with one’s former spouse. Two-month follow-up interviews were used to assess behavior change in two areas: (a) using techniques to manage post-divorce conflict with one’s former spouse, and (b) implementing strategies to keep children out of the middle of conflict. The participants reported knowledge gain and behavior change in each of the four respective areas. It was found that knowledge gain in both areas and behavior change in using techniques to manage post-divorce conflict did not vary as a function of parent gender, race, or parenting stage. However, results indicated behavior change in implementing strategies to keep children out of the middle of conflict varied only as a function of parenting stage (F(1) = 8.45, p < .01). It was also found that knowledge gain in regards to the impact of divorce and putting children in the middle of conflict predicted behavior change in regards to implementing strategies to keep children out of the middle of conflict (p < .05). The results of this study are intended to suggest improvements for the program as well as to provide insights for other parenting education programs for divorcing parents.

Despite the prevalence of remarriages and stepfamilies in North American society, there is a relative paucity of research regarding aspects of marital quality in stepfamilies relative to the abundance of empirical examination of first marriages. Related to the absence of clear norms and roles for remarried partners and stepfamily members, clinicians have noted that remarried individuals tend to hold beliefs and expectations of remarriage and stepfamily relations that are better suited to biologically-related nuclear families, as opposed to recognizing the unique and often complex circumstances of stepfamilies. As such, remarital quality may be particularly prone to disappointment due to unfounded expectations and beliefs that become problematic for adjustment of partners and their children. Similarly, the few guidelines for interactions between former spouses who continue to co-parent their shared children may lead to dissatisfaction for remarried parents attempting to manage these relationships. The current study aimed to predict two aspects of remarital quality – dyadic adjustment and relationship commitment – with a measure of the changes in one’s beliefs over time about remarriage and stepfamilies, while also accounting for remarriage length and the self-reported well-being of the responding remarried parents. Changes in beliefs about co-parenting with one’s former spouse were also assessed as potential predictors of co-parenting communication quality, which has sometimes been found to correlate with remarital quality. An online questionnaire was completed by 112 remarried mothers who shared parenting of their minor children with their former spouses. A small sample of 33 remarried fathers also participated, providing an initial comparison group with which to tentatively explore gender differences in changes in beliefs and their association with remarital and co-parenting quality. Most respondents reported remarital satisfaction and average communication quality with former spouses, providing little evidence for the spillover of conflict that has been noted previously. Emerging as predictive of better current remarital quality included a reported decline over time in the beliefs that stepfamilies only have a slim chance of success, and a belief that stepfamilies are “second-best” compared to nuclear families. Mothers who recalled the greatest decreases in these beliefs over time also reported more positive remarital adjustment at present, compared to those whose beliefs did not change as much. The earlier that these beliefs changed, the greater the benefits were to remarital adjustment. Change in beliefs was also predictive of co-parenting communication, more so than individual well-being. Few sex differences were noted. These findings suggest that changes in beliefs regarding marital transitions and co-parenting relationships are important for adjustment in these relationships and have potential to act as targets for intervention to facilitate smooth transitions to remarriage and stepfamily life. Highlighting the need for remarrying couples and their children to have opportunities to develop positive beliefs and expectations about stepfamilies, possible applications in terms of public policy, community education, peer support, and family resources are discussed.

Despite the prevalence of remarriages and stepfamilies in North American society, there is a relative paucity of research regarding aspects of marital quality in stepfamilies relative to the abundance of empirical examination of first marriages. Related to the absence of clear norms and roles for remarried partners and stepfamily members, clinicians have noted that remarried individuals tend to hold beliefs and expectations of remarriage and stepfamily relations that are better suited to biologically-related nuclear families, as opposed to recognizing the unique and often complex circumstances of stepfamilies. As such, remarital quality may be particularly prone to disappointment due to unfounded expectations and beliefs that become problematic for adjustment of partners and their children. Similarly, the few guidelines for interactions between former spouses who continue to co-parent their shared children may lead to dissatisfaction for remarried parents attempting to manage these relationships. The current study aimed to predict two aspects of remarital quality – dyadic adjustment and relationship commitment – with a measure of the changes in one’s beliefs over time about remarriage and stepfamilies, while also accounting for remarriage length and the self-reported well-being of the responding remarried parents. Changes in beliefs about co-parenting with one’s former spouse were also assessed as potential predictors of co-parenting communication quality, which has sometimes been found to correlate with remarital quality. An online questionnaire was completed by 112 remarried mothers who shared parenting of their minor children with their former spouses. A small sample of 33 remarried fathers also participated, providing an initial comparison group with which to tentatively explore gender differences in changes in beliefs and their association with remarital and co-parenting quality. Most respondents reported remarital satisfaction and average communication quality with former spouses, providing little evidence for the spillover of conflict that has been noted previously. Emerging as predictive of better current remarital quality included a reported decline over time in the beliefs that stepfamilies only have a slim chance of success, and a belief that stepfamilies are “second-best” compared to nuclear families. Mothers who recalled the greatest decreases in these beliefs over time also reported more positive remarital adjustment at present, compared to those whose beliefs did not change as much. The earlier that these beliefs changed, the greater the benefits were to remarital adjustment. Change in beliefs was also predictive of co-parenting communication, more so than individual well-being. Few sex differences were noted. These findings suggest that changes in beliefs regarding marital transitions and co-parenting relationships are important for adjustment in these relationships and have potential to act as targets for intervention to facilitate smooth transitions to remarriage and stepfamily life. Highlighting the need for remarrying couples and their children to have opportunities to develop positive beliefs and expectations about stepfamilies, possible applications in terms of public policy, community education, peer support, and family resources are discussed.

[pt] A coparentalidade pode ser compreendida como a articulação dos papéis parentais em torno dos cuidados globais e da responsabilidade conjunta pelo bem-estar de uma criança. O presente estudo teve como objetivo central desenvolver uma investigação sobre como os pais que se mantém casados vivenciam a coparentalidade nos dias atuais. Especificamente, buscou-se investigar como são realizadas a transmissão conjunta de valores e princípios educativos na família, a divisão das tarefas parentais e a articulação das opiniões divergentes do casal em torno do tema. Realizou-se uma pesquisa qualitativa por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas com quatro homens e quatro mulheres pais de pelo menos um filho entre dois e seis anos, pertencentes aos segmentos médios da população carioca. As entrevistas foram analisadas por meio do método de análise de conteúdo proposto por Bardin (2011) e do discurso dos sujeitos emergiram seis categorias de análise: um pai mais presente, divisão de tarefas e cuidados com os filhos, semelhanças e diferenças na educação dos filhos, resolução de conflitos, influências da família de origem e suporte coparental. A partir da análise do material coletado pode-se perceber que a partilha de responsabilidades e tarefas parentais entre os membros do casal é uma prática comum na atualidade. Os conflitos coparentais são percebidos como prejudiciais para a autoridade da díade parental e para o desenvolvimento saudável dos filhos sendo, portanto, evitados pelos casais. Há uma busca idealizada por uma relação coparental livre de conflitos e diferenças. / [en] Coparenting can be define as the articulation of parenting roles and the sharing responsibilities about a child. The main objective of this study was to develop an investigation about the coparental relationship. A qualitative analysis was carried out through semi-structured interviews with four men and four women. They were married, parents to at least one two-year-old to six-year-old child and belonged to segments of the middle class population of Rio de Janeiro. The interviews were analyzed through the content analysis method proposed by Bardin (2011) and from the subjects speech, six categories emerged: A more present father, Division of tasks and children s care, Resemblances and differences in raising practices, Conflict solving, Family of origin influence and coparental support. It s possible to notice the involvement of both parents on the childrearing tasks as a common practice. Coparental conflicts are seen as harmful to parent s authority and to children s development, being avoided by couples. There is an idealized search for a coparental relationship free of conflicts and differences.

Though mental health issues are prevalent amongst college students, pre-college environment and experiences are largely overlooked as potential factors in scientific literature. The current study examined the association of neighborhood disorganization, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and mental health outcomes in a sample of college students. Utilizing the ecological model of human development and risk-resilience framework, I examined co-parenting quality as a plausible protective factor against the negative effects of adverse childhood experiences and neighborhood disorder. Self-report measures of ACEs, co-parenting quality, neighborhood disorder, anxiety, and depression were completed by a sample of college students (N = 259; mean age = 19.2 years). Simultaneous multiple regressions indicated that more ACEs predicted more depression and anxiety symptoms. However, neighborhood disorder did not predict anxiety or depression, and co-parenting quality did not moderate the association between neighborhood and mental health or ACEs and mental health outcomes. Results highlight future researchers should investigate pre-college environment to better understand college student mental health.

[pt] Esta dissertação de mestrado pretende discutir a parentalidade após o divórcio e suas repercussões na vida dos filhos. A partir das transformações nas configurações da família contemporânea, investigaram-se as consequências psíquicas do fim da conjugalidade no sujeito, em relação ao seu narcisismo e à possibilidade de elaboração da separação. Desenvolveu-se uma pesquisa qualitativa com quatro pais e quatro mães separados, baseada na realização de entrevistas semiestruturadas. Os resultados foram analisados de acordo com o método de análise de conteúdo. Verificou-se que a separação pode ser uma grande ferida no amor próprio dos membros do ex-casal, dificultando a vivência do luto pelo fim do casamento. Nesse contexto, as fronteiras entre a conjugalidade e a parentalidade ficam pouco delimitadas, afetando a relação com os filhos. Evidenciou-se que a forma na qual o divórcio foi vivido, individualmente, impacta as possibilidades de reorganização familiar após a ruptura. Nesse sentido, a coparentalidade se mostrou potencialmente difícil de ser exercida, implicando em grandes transformações na vida dos filhos. / [en] The purpose of this master s thesis is to discuss parenting after divorce and its repercussions in the children s lives. Taking into account the transformations in contemporary family settings, the study investigates the psychic consequences of the end of marital relations upon the subject, regarding his/her narcissism and the possibility of elaborating the separation. The author conducted a qualitative research with four fathers and four mothers, performing semi-structured interviews and studying the results using the content analysis method. Findings indicate that the separation may inflict a major wound in the self-love of former members of the couple, hindering the grieving process caused by the end of marriage. In this context, the boundaries between marital relations and parenting became unclear, affecting parent-child relations. Evidence shows that the way in which subjects experience divorce, individually, has an impact on the possibilities of family reorganization after the breakup. In this sense, co-parenting seemed potentially difficult, involving major transformations in the children s lives.

[pt] O presente trabalho teve como objetivo investigar o sistema familiar recasado, a partir da perspectiva dos filhos do primeiro casamento. Buscou-se, com este estudo, compreender como as crianças vêem as relações familiares existentes entre elas e seus pais, mães, padrastos, madrastas, irmãos e avós. As transições pelas quais a família recasada passa, iniciadas por um processo de divórcio, seguido pela inclusão de novos membros através do novo relacionamento de um ou de ambos os pais, tornam o sistema familiar mais complexo, demandando de todos readaptações e ajustes. Os papéis dos membros da família de primeiro casamento não se ajustam aos deste novo arranjo, e cada membro precisa encontrar seu lugar para que se sinta pertencendo à família. Desenvolveu-se uma pesquisa de campo qualitativa, com entrevistas semiestruturadas realizadas com sete crianças de famílias recasadas, sendo elas filhas do primeiro casamento. Os entrevistados tinham entre dez e treze anos, todos residentes na cidade do Rio de Janeiro e pertencentes às classes média e média alta da população. Os dados foram analisados a partir do método da análise de conteúdo e, da fala dos entrevistados, emergiram cinco categorias: papel de pai e papel de mãe; participação da família ampliada; relacionamento com padrasto/madrasta; coparentalidade; e, relações de fratria. Ao olhar dos filhos, parece ser importante que as funções familiares sejam bem definidas, para que o relacionamento familiar seja visto de forma positiva. A partir dos resultados encontrados, pode-se sugerir que, na visão da criança, o modelo de família de primeiro casamento ainda é uma forte referência. Aponta-se também para o importante suporte oferecido pela família ampliada, para dificuldades no relacionamento coparental pós-divórcio e para a importância de incluir os novos membros da família recasada. / [en] This study aimed to investigate the remarried family system, from the perspective of the children from intact families. We have tried to understand how children see the relationships between them and their fathers, mothers, stepfathers, stepmothers, brothers and grandparents. The transitions in which the members from remarried family go through, begining with divorce, followed by the addition of new members through the new relationship of one or both parents, makes the system more complex, requiring adaptations from everyone involved. The roles of members from the traditional first marriage family do not fit this new arrangement, and each member needs to find their place and feel like they belong to the family. We have developed a qualitative research, with semi-structured interviews with seven children from remarried families, sons of the first marriage. The respondents were between ten and thirteen years old, residents in the city of Rio de Janeiro and belonging to the middle/upper classes of the population. The data was analyzed using content analysis method and from the speech of the interviewees, five categories emerged: the role of father and mother; participation of extended family; relationship with stepfather / stepmother; co-parenting; and, sibling relationships. In children s view, it seems important that family roles are well defined, so that the family relationship feels positive for them. From the results we found, we can suggest that, in the child s point of view, the traditional family model of first marriage is still a strong reference. The results also show the importance of the support provided by the extended family, of maintaining a cooperative coparental post-divorce relationship and of including the new members of the remarried family.

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-04-15T18:19:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Liana Pasinato.pdf: 907872 bytes, checksum: 1447050fc96055b4b8ee3443c770f9a8 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-15T18:19:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Liana Pasinato.pdf: 907872 bytes, checksum: 1447050fc96055b4b8ee3443c770f9a8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-03-21 / Nenhuma / Na atualidade, a entrada dos filhos à escola de educação infantil implica em inúmeros desafios. Devido às características de duplo-trabalho de um número cada vez maior de genitores, e a escassez de rede social de apoio, esse período tem sido adiantado cronologicamente, uma vez que as crianças estão ingressando logo após o término da licença maternidade às escolas. Os genitores precisam então, fazer frente a uma sobreposição de duas etapas do ciclo evolutivo familiar, que são a transição da conjugalidade à parentalidade e a coparentalidade e o ingresso dos filhos à escola de educação infantil. Portanto, a articulação entre estas relações pode se expressar em dificuldades dos filhos neste momento. Neste sentido, o objetivo desta dissertação foi o de compreender como se dá a coparentalidade em casais que os filhos ingressaram à escola de educação infantil, logo após o término da licença maternidade. Essa dissertação é composta por dois artigos empíricos, o primeiro intitulado ?A transição para a coparentalidade: casais que os filhos ingressaram à escola ao término da licença-maternidade? e o segundo ?A coparentalidade em famílias com bebês com indicativos de dificuldades de inserção escolar precoce?. Foi realizado um estudo exploratório descritivo, com quatro famílias nucleares, residentes em Erechim/RS, com idades entre 26 e 40 anos, e que os filhos haviam ingressado na escola de educação infantil, logo após o término da licença maternidade. Os instrumentos utilizados foram: questionário de dados sociodemográficos, roteiro e entrevista semiestruturada sobre coparentalidade. Os resultados deste estudo mostraram importantes aspectos da dinâmica familiar destes casais durante o período de inserção escolar precoce dos filhos. Algumas mudanças da atualidade têm reflexos neste momento, como o fato da família ter dificuldades para encontrar uma rede de apoio, e a valorização dos ingressos financeiros das mulheres, por isso inserem precocemente os filhos à escola. Estas características se expressam no fato da coparentalidade estar sendo desempenhada de forma mais igualitária pelos casais deste estudo, uma vez que o duplo-trabalho e a inserção escolar precoce dos filhos impõem essa dinâmica. Entretanto, no processo de inserção escolar, ainda são as mães as principais participantes, apontando uma heterogeneidade nestas dinâmicas. Assim como as tarefas domésticas ainda não são divididas igualitariamente, estando estas associadas aos papéis de gênero. / Nowadays, the entry of children in preschool involves numerous challenges. Due to the characteristics of double-work of a growing number of genitors, and the shortage of social support network, this period has was reduced, since children are going to schools right after the end of maternity leave. The parents need to tackle this overlapping of two stages of family life cycle, which are the transition from conjugality to parenting, and coparenting and children entering the kindergarten. Given that the articulation of these relationships might be expressed in difficulties for the children at this time. In this regard, the aim of this dissertation was to comprehend how the coparenting sets up in couples where the children were enrolled to the childhood education, right after the end of maternity leave. This dissertation is composed of 6 two empirical articles, the first titled "The transition to coparenting: couples where their children were enrolled to the school at the end of maternity leave " and the second "The coparenting in families with babies who have indicatives of early school insertion difficulties". An exploratory and descriptive study was made, with four nuclear families, living in Erechim / RS, aged between 26 and 40 years, and where the children had entered the kindergarten soon after the end of maternity leave. The instruments used were: sociodemographic questionnaire, semistructured script and interview about coparenting. The results of this study show important aspects in the family dynamics of these couples during the early school insertion of its children. The findings show changes of the present time that have an impact in this moment, such as the difficulty for the family to find a support network, the valuation of financial income of women, and for this reason enroll children to school earlier. These characteristics are expressed in the fact of the coparenting is performed more equally by the couples of this study, since double-work and the inclusion of children prematurely in school impose that dynamic. However, in the process of school integration, mothers are still the main participants, pointing a heterogeneity in these dynamics. Just as household tasks are not equally divided, and are associated with gender roles.

Book Summary:Ethics and Professional Issues in Couple and Family Therapy, Second Edition builds upon the strong foundations of the first edition. This new edition addresses the 2015 AAMFT Code of Ethics as well as other professional organizations’ codes of ethics, and includes three new chapters: one on in-home family therapy, a common method of providing therapy to clients, particularly those involved with child protective services; one chapter on HIPAA and HITECH Regulations that practicing therapists need to know; and one chapter on professional issues, in which topics such as advertising, professional identity, supervision, and research ethics are addressed. This book is intended as a training text for students studying to be marriage and family therapists.

This research focuses on the possibility of discrimination towards men and any violation of men's right to parenthood. In modern times, the obsolete prejudices about men and their detachment from the upbringing of children started fading; thus is urged to examine the actual situation of men in the matter. That is to say, this paper addresses the issue from its ontological definition to the stipulated by legal bodies. It reviews the data about fathers’ (singles or in a same-sex relationship) personal experiences and society's reception of this new form of family. It compares the situation between men and women, analyzes the information, and intends to discover if there is any pattern that reflects a bias against men and the desire to become a father.