The concurrent criterion-related validity of the Family Profile (FAMPRO) was investigated using the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales II (FACES II), the Self-Report Family Inventory (SFI), and the Family Assessment Device (FAD) as criterion measures . Further analysis was conducted through a principal component factor analysis with a varimax rotation and correlations with a Family Satisfaction Scale. The Family Profile is an easy-to-administer, -score, and -interpret instrument designed for use in family life education. It is a 35-item instrument that measures seven areas of family functioning: Family Fun, Family Decisions, Family Pride, Family Values, Family Caring, Family Communication, and Family Confidence. The total scores of the Family Profile had strong correlations with the total scores of the three criterion instruments. Additionally, the individual constructs of the Family Profile showed moderate to strong relationships with the corresponding subscales found in the criterion instruments. Factor analysis of the FAMPRO with this sample indicated that the most important factor explaining the largest portion of the variance is the ability of family members to display positive regard to one another in an open and warm manner. The Family Satisfaction Scale created for this project was moderately to strongly correlated with all of the Family Profile's Subscales. The sample used for this study was taken from undergraduate Family and Human Development classes at Utah State University and had a total N of 194. This nonrandom sample was mostly young, single, and female. The religious preference for 80% of the sample was Mormon (LDS). While the sample limits generalization of the results, these preliminary results provide sufficient evidence to warrant further research using the Family Profile. Because the FAMPRO is easy to use and interpret, it holds promise as an effective tool for family life educators and clinicians alike.

Strengths-based interventions utilize families' "disciplinary" expertise as parents to their individual child. This workshop explores an assessment-to-intervention approach that delves into the ways families help their child learn and why those strategies were chosen to then collaboratively build interventions based on what families already do and their underlying parenting goals.

Strong families are built on positive relationships among husbands, wives, and children, and can be positively or negatively impacted by a variety of factors. This study focuses on the influence of religiosity on family strengths, particularly as it affects marital commitment, relationships between parents and children, and family involvement. Using Flourishing Families Project (FFP) data (N=305 couples) and a theoretical framework derived from Dollahite and Marks, Mahoney and colleagues, and Stinnett and DeFrain, I examined the ways in which a parent's religious beliefs and religious practices support or hinder family relationships. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) was used to examine the intrapersonal and interspousal relationships among religious beliefs, religious practices, marital commitment, parent-child closeness, and family involvement. Results suggest that religious beliefs and practices are equivocal and are associated with higher and lower marital commitment, parent-child closeness, and family involvement for both husbands and wives. Significantly, this research demonstrated that husbands and wives differed through both intrapersonal and interspousal pathways. These results provide important insight into the ways religiosity is associated with family strengths and provides additional handles for researchers and practitioners interested in strengthening families. / Ph. D.

Parent involvement is one of the factors to which student achievement is consistently and strongly linked in educational research, and is perceived by teachers as a core factor affecting student achievement. Therefore more and higher-quality engagement with students' families has the potential to make a positive difference in urban schools. However, a tendency among educators to focus on perceived family deficits, without a clear understanding of students' families' strengths, may limit urban schools' ability to develop effective family engagement programming. This study involved faculty and staff members at an urban K-8 school in systematically identifying strengths of the low-income Puerto Rican families whose children made up the vast majority of the student body, as a critical point of reference for working with families toward stronger student outcomes. The study was grounded in the principles of Action Research and utilized methods associated with Appreciative Inquiry to involve school faculty and staff members in carrying out, then collectively analyzing the results from, structured interviews with parents of low-income Puerto Rican students at the school. Along with establishing a family strengths inventory for use in ongoing planning for enhancement of family engagement programming at the school, the study included an assessment of the impact of the research process on the perceptions and intended actions of both participating faculty and staff members and those who elected not to participate. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of implications and recommendations related to theory, practice, policy, and research associated with the efforts of schools serving low-income Puerto Rican (and other) communities to strengthen their engagement with students' families.

Studies have indicated that relapse is noted as a major problem facing mental health services both nationally and internationally whereby family members caring for mental health care users experience a serious burden. Factors commonly associated with relapse include poor adherence to treatment, substance abuse, co-morbid psychiatric illness, a co-morbid medical and or surgical condition, stressful life events and the treatment setting. Relapse prevention strategies have been identified and they include, empowering people with mental illness to recognize early warning signs of relapse in order to develop appropriate response plans as well as communication and understanding between the mentally ill person, their family, and specialist mental health system and community support services. The researcher was prompted by the problem of relapse faced by mental health services to explore and describe the strengths of families in assisting mental health care users to limit relapse and to formulate guidelines for psychiatric nurses to empower family members caring for mental health care users to limit relapse. A phenomenological design was used in this study and a purposive sampling technique was used to select participants who met the selection criteria. In-depth individual interviews were conducted with 15 family members. All interviews were recorded with an audio recorder after participants gave consent. Data saturation was achieved after 13 participants were interviewed and further two interviews confirmed data saturation. Field notes were written immediately after each interview. Data analysis was done according to Tesch as quoted by Creswell (2007:187) and the researcher and co-analyzer reached consensus on the themes in a meeting. The findings of research resulted in four main categories namely, accepting the condition of a mentally ill family member, having faith in God, involving a mentally ill family member in daily activities and being aware of what aggravates the mentally ill family member. The conclusion that can be made is that “acceptance through education” assisted family members in developing a positive attitude and acceptance of their feelings as well as the condition of their mentally ill family members. A strong spiritual base provides family members with strength and hope in times of adversity and teaches them how to have healthy relationships within the family unit and with others. It is also evident that sharing activities, as the things that all members of the family do together, reinforce and strengthen their togetherness and that if family members can be aware of what aggravates mentally ill family members by communicating well with them, that can bring harmony in families and ultimately limit relapse. Recommendations in this research are made for nursing education, nursing research and psychiatric nursing practice with guidelines for psychiatric nurses to empower families caring for mentally ill family members to use their strengths and contribute to limiting relapse. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

[pt] A presente investigação tem como objetivo geral estudar o impacto da Reforma Psiquiátrica no cotidiano de cuidadoras familiares. São objetivos específicos: analisar a percepção que tais cuidadoras têm delas mesmas e do seu cotidiano; pesquisar as motivações que levam tais familiares a assumirem o cuidado com os membros adoecidos; analisar as implicações do gênero do cuidador no cotidiano; investigar as redes de suporte social que tais cuidadoras têm como referência, e a eficácia das mesmas; conhecer a percepção dos familiares sobre os dispositivos de saúde mental; estudar a percepção que têm sobre a atenção à crise e suas sugestões. Realizamos uma pesquisa qualitativa com 10 mulheres, familiares que se auto-intitularam responsáveis por uma pessoa com transtorno mental grave e persistente. Os dados foram obtidos por meio de entrevistas semi estruturadas e analisados de acordo com o método de análise de conteúdo, na sua vertente categorial. A partir das narrativas, emergiram cinco categorias de análise: cotidiano do cuidado; implicações do gênero do cuidador no cotidiano; redes territoriais de suporte; percepção dos dispositivos e percepção da atenção à crise e sugestões das familiares; que foram desdobradas em subcategorias. A metodologia utilizada na pesquisa permitiu que as familiares se expressassem livremente, e assim foi possível perceber a luta, a sobrecarga, o desamparo, os ressentimentos, mas também a garra, a força e as estratégias de sobrevivência destas mulheres. Veio em relevo a questão da sobrecarga a que estão submetidas estas familiares, e como convivem com a angústia, o medo, a vergonha e o cansaço. Uma vez que a atenção à crise no território não está sendo oferecida como está previsto na Reforma Psiquiátrica, isto se reflete também na questão da rede de suporte social. A percepção dos novos dispositivos trouxe à baila opiniões divergentes: foram encontradas familiares que se estruturaram emocionalmente e nas rotinas do cuidado, a partir do grande apoio e acolhida que recebem dos CAPS, também através dos grupos multifamiliares. Em contrapartida, foram encontradas familiares em situação de grande desamparo, com grandes dificuldades de se relacionar com os pro-fissionais dos CAPS, de dividir a responsabilidade do cuidado, tendo que arcar sozinhas com as situações de crise do seu familiar. A precariedade dos serviços, a falta de medicação, a não-implantação dos dispositivos nos fala de uma falta de compromisso do poder público com esta população. / [en] The general objective of this research is to study the impact of the Psychiatric Reform on the daily routine of family caregivers. There are also specific objectives: to analyze the caregivers perception of themselves and their daily life; to investigate the motivations that lead such family members to take care of their sick relatives; to analyze the implications of the caregivers gender in daily life; to investigate the social support networks that such caregivers have as reference, and their effectiveness; to describe the family members perception of mental health devices; to study the way they perceive the attention received during a crisis and their suggestions. We performed a qualitative research with 10 adult females that self-identified as relatives of a person with severe and persistent mental disorder. The data were obtained through semi-structured interviews and analyzed according to the content analysis method, in its categorical aspect. From the narratives, five categories of analysis emerged: daily care; implications of the caregiver s gender in daily life; territorial support networks; perception of the devices the attention received during a crisis and the suggestions of the relatives; which have been deployed in subcategories. The method used in this research allowed the family members to express themselves freely, and thus it was possible to perceive the struggle, the overload, the helplessness, the resentments, but also the grit, the strength and the survival strategies of these women. The overload to which these relatives are subject was prominent, and also these people coexist with anguish, fear, shame and fatigue came to prominence. Since attention to the crisis in the territory is not being offered as guaranteed in the Psychiatric Reform, this is also reflected in the matter of the social support network. The perception of the new devices brought to light divergent opinions: some family members were found to be emotionally structured and adapted to the care routines; they described the great support and welcome that they receive from the CAPS, also through the multifamily groups. On the other hand, some family members were found in situa-tions of great helplessness, with difficult in dealing with the CAPS professionals and dividing the responsibility of the care. They reported having to deal with the crisis of their sick relatives on their own. The precariousness of the services, the lack of medication, the non-implantation of the devices tells us of a lack of commitment of the public power with this population.

Studies have indicated that relapse is noted as a major problem facing mental health services both nationally and internationally whereby family members caring for mental health care users experience a serious burden. Factors commonly associated with relapse include poor adherence to treatment, substance abuse, co-morbid psychiatric illness, a co-morbid medical and or surgical condition, stressful life events and the treatment setting. Relapse prevention strategies have been identified and they include, empowering people with mental illness to recognize early warning signs of relapse in order to develop appropriate response plans as well as communication and understanding between the mentally ill person, their family, and specialist mental health system and community support services. The researcher was prompted by the problem of relapse faced by mental health services to explore and describe the strengths of families in assisting mental health care users to limit relapse and to formulate guidelines for psychiatric nurses to empower family members caring for mental health care users to limit relapse. A phenomenological design was used in this study and a purposive sampling technique was used to select participants who met the selection criteria. In-depth individual interviews were conducted with 15 family members. All interviews were recorded with an audio recorder after participants gave consent. Data saturation was achieved after 13 participants were interviewed and further two interviews confirmed data saturation. Field notes were written immediately after each interview. Data analysis was done according to Tesch as quoted by Creswell (2007:187) and the researcher and co-analyzer reached consensus on the themes in a meeting. The findings of research resulted in four main categories namely, accepting the condition of a mentally ill family member, having faith in God, involving a mentally ill family member in daily activities and being aware of what aggravates the mentally ill family member. The conclusion that can be made is that “acceptance through education” assisted family members in developing a positive attitude and acceptance of their feelings as well as the condition of their mentally ill family members. A strong spiritual base provides family members with strength and hope in times of adversity and teaches them how to have healthy relationships within the family unit and with others. It is also evident that sharing activities, as the things that all members of the family do together, reinforce and strengthen their togetherness and that if family members can be aware of what aggravates mentally ill family members by communicating well with them, that can bring harmony in families and ultimately limit relapse. Recommendations in this research are made for nursing education, nursing research and psychiatric nursing practice with guidelines for psychiatric nurses to empower families caring for mentally ill family members to use their strengths and contribute to limiting relapse. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Female-headed families have become a major component of society, globally and locally. South Africa has also witnessed an increase in the number of female-headed families. Children raised in female-headed families have been reported to be disadvantaged in several ways. Many are said to be performing poorly at school, having low self-esteem, experiencing early sexual activity, and displaying adverse behaviour. Hence, the views of adult children who grew up in female-headed families were explored to inform social work practice. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive, and contextual study was undertaken with 12 participants whose ages ranged from 25 to 35 years. The goal of this study was to gain insight into the experiences of adult children who grew up in female-headed families. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews and analysed following Tesch’s (in Creswell, 2009) framework. Data was verified using Lincoln and Guba’s model of trustworthiness. The major findings highlighted first, a deep-seated need to understand reasons for being abandoned by their fathers. Second, the resources inherent within female-headed families, often overlooked, revealed the strengths that these families possess. Third, spirituality as the foundation of their resilience during difficult times dominated the participants’ accounts of being raised in female-headed families. Fourth, various support structures emerged as fundamental components, requisite for the optimal functioning of female-headed families. The implications for social work and recommendations for future research are presented. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Work)