This study examined the relationships between childhood family of origin (FOO) adversities, coming to terms with them, and adult intimate relationship satisfaction for Native American individuals. The sample consisted of 186 Native American individuals in committed relationships who responded to the RELATionship Evaluation (RELATE). Among the items in the questionnaire were measures of childhood FOO adversity, whether respondents had come to terms with FOO problems, relationship quality and depression. Results from structural equation modeling indicated that coming to terms buffered the negative effects of childhood family of origin adversities on depression and relationship quality. Results suggest that coming to terms may help Native American individuals deal with FOO adversity and improve intimate relationship quality. Coming to terms with childhood FOO adversity should be considered in the treatment of Native American individuals in intimate relationships. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

This study examined the direct actor/partner effects of self-esteem, coming to terms, and relationship quality and the indirect effects of self-esteem on relationship quality when mediated by coming to terms. The sample included 160 interracial couples of which 69.4% were made up of an African-American male and a Caucasian female, while 30.6 were made up of an African-American female and a Caucasian male. These couples completed the RELATionship Evaluation (RELATE), a survey questionnaire. This study used three variables from the RELATE: self-esteem, coming to terms, and relationship quality. Results from Structural Equation Modeling indicated that self-esteem had a negative effect on relationship quality in men and women. Female partner's negative self-esteem increased her male partner's likelihood of coming to terms, but male partner's negative self-esteem decreased his own likelihood of coming to terms. Coming to terms did not predict relationship quality in this study. The relatively satisfied couples of this sample suggest that interracial couples may not have poorer relationship quality than intraracial couples, as some previous research purports.

This dissertation concerns Sveriges Kommunistiska Parti (SKP) [the Swedish Communist Party] – in 1967 renamed Vänsterpartiet kommunisterna (VPK) [the Left Party – the Communists] and in 1990 renamed Vänsterpartiet (V) [the Left Party] – and the Party's process of coming to terms with history and its communist legacy. The aim of the study is to describe and analyse the SKP/VPK/V's process of coming to terms with history for the period 1956-2006, and to set out and problematise the driving forces and constraining mechanisms of this process. The theoretical framework of the study consists of Gunnar Sjöblom’s theory about party strategies of political parties in multi-party systems and Michael Freeden’s conceptual approach to ideology analysis.      During the period of study the SKP/VPK/V has, like no other political party in Sweden, been ascribed historical guilt regarding its own party history but also regarding the effects of world communism. The Party has thus found itself in a situation where it has had history as an adversary. The process of coming to terms with history has mainly revolved around three issues: independence (1956-1977), international ties (1977-1989) and a broadening beyond the communist tradition (1986-2006). The internal debate within the Party has linked these issues to calls for change aimed at ridding the party of what is considered undesirable elements of the Communist legacy. By analysing the arguments pursued in favour of these calls, it is possible to pick out a number of the driving forces behind the Party's process of coming to terms with history, namely an ambition to obtain vote maximisation, programme realisation and maximisation of parliamentary influence. The urge to distance the Party from certain aspects of its communist past has thus been related to fundamental goals that political parties in multi-party systems seek to obtain.      The results of the dissertation show that it is possible to pick out five main constraining mechanisms in the Party's process of coming to terms with history. 1) The safeguarding of Party cohesion. 2) The safeguarding of the distinctive character of the Party.  3) The need to resist external pressure. 4) The desire to avoid unfair apportioning of blame. 5) The safeguarding of the right to define the substance of one's own ideology. The existence of these constraining mechanisms help to explain why the process of coming to terms with history lingered on for several decades, and also why it seems to have been a process of such complexity for the Swedish Communist and Post-Communist Party.

Family structure is a widely used independent variable. However, in recent years researchers have questioned its predicting power. They also strive to improve its use. This study drew on Holman's (2001) theoretical model and examined the association between the family structure independent variables (Family Structure, Family Instability, and Parental Romantic Partners) and the outcome variables (Coming to Terms, Self-esteem, Maturity, and Depression). The analysis was conducted with a sample of 3,705 individuals (2,316 females and 1,389 males) randomly selected from the entire population that completed the Relationship Evaluation Questionnaire (RELATE). Results showed that Family Instability was a stronger predictor than Family Structure and Parental Romantic Partners. Among all of the outcome variables, Coming to Terms had the strongest association with each of the independent variables. Implications of the results are discussed.

Because adverse childhood and family of origin experiences may have implications for adult relationships, it is important to understand what can help buffer potential negative effects. The current study was designed to understand the relationship between childhood family of origin adversities, coming to terms with family of origin issues and events, and adult romantic relationship quality for African Americans (N = 1613). A path analysis was conducted using data from the RELATE assessment (see www.relate-institute.org). Results indicated that, taken together, coming to terms, self-esteem, and depression likely partially mediated the relationship between family of origin adversity and adult relationship quality. Results also suggested that if African Americans were able to come to terms, they reported less depression and higher levels of self-esteem. Clinicians may find it useful to focus on assisting African American individuals in coming to terms with childhood family of origin adversity as part of treatment for depression, self-esteem issues, and adult romantic relationship problems. Additional clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Title: Image of Austrian Society in the time of National Socialism: a Thematic Analysis of the Novel All our Games by Erika Mitterer Abstract: This diploma thesis deals with the work of the Austrian author Erika Mitterer and her experience with the ideology of the Third Reich. In the first part, I present the life and activities of the author, while putting a special emphasis on the period of National Socialism. The second part deals with the general characteristics of Mitterer's literary production. The main part of the thesis is the analysis of the novel All our Games, in which Mitterer tries to achieve a qualitative image of Austrian society during the Nazi regime. This picture is drawn by the Author using the example of a life of a fictive family. A general picture of the novel's time is constructed on the basis of the motives that are found in the book. Keywords: Erika Mitterer, All our Games, National Socialism, coming to terms with the past

The collapse of the communist regimes came at the time of the overall decline of the Left, both in the West and the East. In the Eastern Bloc, much of the Left's language was disqualified as a result of its association with the former communist regime, the rejection of which formed the basis of post-communist democratic identities. Although the post-communist situation was generally seen as unfavourable for leftist thought, it nevertheless represented a liberation from a regime which, in many respects, supressed leftist criticism. Social changes in 1989, guided by mass peoples' movements, enabled the Left to understand these changes through their own conceptual apparatus and integrate them with their own expectations. The defensive position of the Left and the "liberal consensus" of the nineties led the alternative leftist thought to profile itself as a leftist criticism of liberal democracy. However marginal their political position was, left-wing oriented authors tried to advocate alternative economic and social structures to those of capitalism, rejecting current pro-capitalist values and practices (consumerism, neoliberalism) and rethinking the changes in private ownership, redistribution of wealth and common values. Key words: Left, liberal consensus, 1989, democratic socialism, post-communism

Le présent travail a pour objet le traitement du passé de la RDA dans l’espace public à l’occasion des commémorations du 17 juin 1953, du 9 novembre 1989 et du 3 octobre 1990, dans les discours officiels et dans la presse. Son objectif est d’étudier le processus de construction d’une mémoire commune de ce passé, mémoire qui participe à l’élaboration d’une identité allemande commune. L’analyse porte d’une part sur les commémorations en tant qu’initiatives politiques de traitement du passé dans l’espace public. Elle met en évidence le traitement « anhistorique » du passé de la RDA dans les discours officiels prononcés lors de ces commémorations. L’étude de leur couverture par la presse montre le rôle de ce média dans le traitement du passé de la RDA.Les commémorations correspondent d’autre part à une focalisation de l’espace public sur le passé de la RDA. L’étude du traitement du passé par la presse à ces occasions met en évidence les réactions de citoyens de l’ancienne RDA à la mémoire « officielle ». Elle révèle la pluralité des mémoires de la RDA telles qu’elles s’expriment dans la presse. Le caractère particulier de la presse régionale est-allemande dans ce traitement du passé est également analysé, à travers l’exemple de la Sächsische Zeitung. Il se dégage de la confrontation et interprétation des sources une nette fragmentation de la mémoire de la RDA en Allemagne, qui s’articule en particulier autour d’une opposition entre mémoire « d’en haut » et mémoire « d’en bas ». Cette opposition souligne la nécessité de négociations entre responsables politiques et citoyens pour passer d’une mémoire événementielle à une mémoire culturelle de la RDA. / The present study explores how the GDR’s past is remembered on the occasion of the commemorations of 17th June 1953, 9th November 1989 and 3rd October 1990, in official speeches and in the press. Its purpose is to investigate the construction of a common memory of this past, which participates in the elaboration of a common German identity.First, it analyses commemorations as a voluntary act of the political management of memory in the public space. It points out how “ahistorical” the official memory of the GDR expressed in official commemoration speeches is. The way the press covers these speeches indicates the role of this media in dealing with the GDR’s past.But commemorations are also an opportunity for discussing and debating about the past in the public space. Citizens of the former GDR react against the “official” memory imposed by politicians through commemorations, which explains why commemorations reveal other types of memories. The thesis examines different aspects of collective memory expressed in the press. Specificities of the East German local press (especially the Sächsische Zeitung) in these processes are also analysed.The confrontation and the interpretation of different sources highlight the fragmentation of GDR memory in Germany, especially the opposition between a memory coming “from the top” (politicians) and a memory coming “from the bottom” (citizens). This opposition underlines the necessity for negotiations in order to operate a transition from an event-oriented memory of the GDR to a cultural one.

Decades of research have shown that family-of-origin experiences are generally important predictors of individuals' later relationship/marital quality. On average, the healthier these experiences are, the healthier adult children's relationships and marriages tend to be. The focus of this study was to investigate how coming to terms with difficulties experienced in the family of origin may enhance adult children's ability to create high quality relationships and marriages. The study employed a sample of 6423 U.S. couples, 18-45 years old, who were dating, cohabitating, engaged or married. This study showed that individuals in couple relationships who reported healthier family-of-origin experiences and those who had come to terms with difficult experiences in their families had higher relationship/marital quality than those who reported less healthy experiences and had not come to terms with them. Males in this sample were more likely than females to have come to terms with difficulties experienced in their families of origin, while females were more likely than males to believe that there was still something from their family experience that they were struggling with. Results showed that individuals may have utilized several factors to help them come to terms with difficulties in their families. Some of these factors may have been: being autonomous from the family of origin, being agreeable, extroverted, flexible, mature, spiritual, loving, having high self-esteem, being able to be empathetic and send clear messages while communicating with partners, spouses, or parents. Some vulnerabilities associated with coming to terms may have been: showing symptoms of depression, neuroticism, contempt, stonewalling, flooding, and being negative in relating to others. Results of this study suggest that the ability to come to terms with difficulties in the family of origin is related not only to the resource factors available for the individuals struggling but also to the resources utilized by their partners/spouses.

This dissertation discusses the rebuilding of cities after war in the context of the changing character of warfare and the increased expectations for societies to deal with difficult pasts. Departing from studies that approach post-war reconstruction focusing on the functional dimension of infrastructural repair and housing relief or on debates about architectural form, this dissertation examines reconstruction through the lens of the process of 'coming to terms with the past'. It explores how understandings of victimhood and responsibility influence the rebuilding of urban space. Conversely, it argues that cities and architecture, through the meanings ascribed to them by various actors, play an important role in dealing with the past. Building on the moral philosophy of Theodor Adorno and Hannah Arendt, it discusses the potential of reconstruction for societies to work through the past, then it engages with frictions highlighted by three situations of rebuilding after different types of war. First, it examines the rebuilding of Belgrade as the capital of socialist Yugoslavia after the aerial bombings typical of the Second World War. Second, it analyses reconstruction debates in the same city after the 1999 NATO bombings, a high-tech operation, framed by NATO as a preventative, humanitarian intervention against a 'perpetrator' state. Third, it discusses rebuilding processes in Sarajevo, where destruction was inflicted between 1992 and 1995 by actors internal to the country, albeit with international ramifications, exemplary of Mary Kaldor's 'new wars'. Based on thirteen months of fieldwork conducted in Belgrade and Sarajevo between 2012 and 2015, it analyses intentions and consequences of reconstruction acts. It suggests the potential and the challenges of a reflective reconstruction, which engages critically with the past, and of a syncretic place-making reconstruction, which focuses on place and its agonistic promise. Its main contribution is to highlight the essential relationship between reconstruction and coming to terms with the past, arguing for an understanding of reconstruction with regards to conflict itself.