This study used qualitative methods to examine if there was a connection between conflict resolution styles used with siblings in adolescence and conflict resolution styles utilized in current romantic committed relationships. The Conflict Resolution Behavior Questionnaire (Reese-Weber, & Bartle-Haring, 2003) and Gottman‟s (1994a, 1994b) couple-conflict types as adapted by Holman and Jarvis (2003) were administered to 144 participants through an online questionnaire. Analysis of the CRBQ using a multiple regression indicated participant‟s self-rating of compromise, attack, and avoidant conflict resolution styles used with siblings when an adolescent predicted current self-ratings of compromise, attack, and avoidant conflict resolution styles utilized in current romantic relationships.

A pertença estendida de adultos na família de origem é um fenômeno multideterminado, que envolve fatores econômicos, culturais, familiares e psíquicos, gerando insatisfação e sofrimento em adultos que estão nessa situação. O objetivo desta dissertação é a compreensão de motivos, intenções e sentidos que determinam essa pertença estendida. Para isso, utilizamos o referencial teórico psicanalítico, tanto para nos ajudar no método que fundamenta esta pesquisa quanto na discussão das informações obtidas no estudo de campo. Entender como percebem, vivem e quais sentidos esses adultos atribuem para a convivência familiar, além de identificar suas perspectivas para o futuro, como percebem a si mesmos e a sua família, foram os interesses que construíram este objeto de estudo. Pesquisamos esse fenômeno através de sete entrevistas semiestruturadas com adultos da classe média da cidade de São Paulo, entre 26 e 37 anos, cinco do sexo feminino e dois do sexo masculino, que estavam morando com suas famílias de origem em 2010. Da análise das entrevistas, alguns temas emergiram: família: cultura, tradição, história e estrutura; ser adulto; expectativas para o futuro; trabalho e remuneração: vida profissional; e relações fora da família. Constatamos nas dinâmicas familiares de alguns dos entrevistados uma relação do tipo simbiótico com a figura materna, como também uma situação financeira precária para possibilitar a saída da casa da família. A perspectiva de futuro, para alguns, inclui a saída da casa da família mediante novo rumo profissional ou casamento e, para outros, não há sentido em deixar a casa dos pais; há alguns benefícios por estar na casa dos pais, mas há, em todos os entrevistados, desconforto e um sentimento de fracasso, por não corresponderem às expectativas familiares e pessoais / The adults who remain with their original families are a multifactorial phenomenon, involving economic, cultural, familial and psychological factors, which generates discontentment and suffering for those who find themselves in this situation. The objective of this dissertation is the understanding of the motives, intentions and rationales that determine the prolonged stay of adults within their original families. In order to accomplish this, we used psychoanalytical theory both to aid our research design and to inform our analysis of the data collected through our fieldwork. Our interests in understanding how such adults perceive, attribute meaning to and live their everyday lives alongside their original families, and in identifying their perspectives on the future, themselves and their families have built the objectives of this study. We studied this phenomenon via semi-structured interviews with seven middle class adults from the city of São Paulo, aged between 26 and 37 years old, five women and two men, who lived with their original families in 2010. Some themes have emerged from the analysis of the interviews: family: culture, tradition, history and structure; being an adult; expectations about the future; work and salary: professional life; and relationships outside of the family. We ascertained in the family dynamic of some of our interviewees a symbiotic relationship with the mother figure, and also a precarious financial situation that hindered leaving the family home. The perspective of the future, to some, include leaving the family home in the case of a new professional/career path or marriage and, to others, it makes no sense to leave the parental home; there are some benefits in staying in the parental home, but in all interviewees there are a discomfort and a sense of failure, for not meeting familial and personal expectations

The current study presents findings regarding marital preparation for individuals in great marriages. Data from a national qualitative study of individuals in self-identified great marriages were used. Thirty-eight individuals were identified as being married for 20 years or less, and therefore, chosen as the subsample for the current study. Their rich, narrative responses were analyzed and coded, using a qualitative method, to identify what marriage preparation occurred for these couples prior to marriage and contributed to their successful marriages. Findings from this research provide helpful, descriptive data on the experiences and socialization of individuals that influenced their choice in a marriage partner as well as later marital success. Implications for practitioners, researchers, and individuals are provided.

The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating effect of couple's attachment behavior on family-of-origin (FOO) issues and body mass index (BMI). Previous research has indicated that family and couple relational factors may influence BMI. The vulnerability and stress model provided a theoretical framework for understanding how attachment behaviors may give greater adaptability to managing vulnerabilities from family stress. 1214 couples between the ages of 18 and 70, who identified themselves as in a serious relationship were surveyed using the RELATE questionnaire; both partners responded. Results indicated that there was a significant association between FOO stress and adult BMI for both males and females. There was also an association between attachment behaviors and female BMI, but not male BMI. Finally attachment behavior did not moderate the relationship between FOO stressors and BMI. Clinical implications include using clinical models that focus on intergenerational problems when weight concerns are presented in therapy and, for women especially, focusing on couple attachment behaviors when there are weight concerns.

This study of married couples examined the relationship between perceptions of attachment related family-of-origin experiences and sexual satisfaction directly and when mediated by marital quality. The sample consisted of 3,953 married couples who responded to the RELATionship Evaluation (RELATE). The nested model showed that more positive overall family-of-origin experiences and parent-child relationships were related to higher sexual satisfaction. When adding marital quality as a mediator, overall family-of-origin experience and the parent-child relationship were predictive of higher sexual satisfaction when mediated by marital quality but removed most direct effects to sexual satisfaction. There was a strong positive relationship between marital quality and sexual satisfaction. No major gender differences emerged and more than 50% of the variance in sexual satisfaction was explained by the full model for both males and females. Results suggest that family-of-origin experiences play an important role in the sexual satisfaction of married couples, especially when mediated by marital quality, and should be considered in treatment, education, and research.

In emerging adulthood, distinctive groups have been found to exhibit "flourishing" (i.e., simultaneously experiencing positive, maturing relationships with parents, exploring identity in numerous positive areas, and striving to attain and subsequently achieving criteria deemed important for the successful transition to adulthood) and "floundering" (i.e., experiencing pitfalls such as heavy experimentation in the form of high levels of binge drinking and drug use, and instability reflected in high levels of depression and anxiety; Nelson & Padilla-Walker, 2011). While these groups have been found to differ with regards to factors of individual development, they had not been examined for variation with regards to familial development. Therefore, the purpose of this study was twofold: First, to examine how experiences in emerging adults' family of origin may be linked to their flourishing and floundering in emerging adulthood. Second, to explore how emerging adults' attitudes towards family of formation, specifically aspects of individuals' marital horizons and family formation values (Carroll et al., 2007), may be linked to flourishing and floundering in emerging adulthood. In general, results showed that flourishing and floundering subgroups differed with regards to their perceptions towards family of origin and attitudes towards family of formation. Flourishing subgroups were found to have more positive perceptions of family-of-origin factors than the floundering subgroups, as well as lower ideal ages for marriage, stronger feelings towards marital permanence, more family centeredness, and less endorsement of cohabitation.

As we examined research on the relational effects of incest on survivors, several researchers noted that some of the negative outcomes may be moderated by certain family characteristic variables. Using RELATE data, we examined a subsample of females and males who reported being survivors of incest in childhood and compared them on key family-of-origin processes such as mother and father's marital satisfaction as well as family violence. We used a path analysis to determine whether family processes, specifically functional parents' marriage and low physical violence, moderate the relationship between incest and marital quality in adulthood. Functional family-of-origin processes significantly moderated the relationship between sexual child abuse and adult marital quality for female survivors (β = -.55, p <.001) and for male survivors (β = -.43, p <.001). Therapists who work with survivors of sexual abuse should not only recognize the effects of childhood sexual abuse on individual and relational functioning, but should also recognize the familial context in which the incest occurred as well as the long-term relational effects on an adult survivor. The results of this study imply that family therapy should be part of the treatment and prevention of sexual abuse.

This study examines the relationship between family of origin violence and dating violence. A meta-analytic approach was used to conduct a quantitative review of the relevant research literature. The results are based on data from 35 studies of dating violence. The gender of respondents, whether family of origin violence was witnessed or experienced, and whether dating violence was perpetrated or received were considered as part of the analysis. The findings suggest a weak to moderate relationship between violence in the family of origin and dating violence. Separate analysis within and between the male and female sub-samples revealed several significant differences. The findings suggest that witnessing inter-parental violence has a stronger relationship with involvement in a violent dating relationship for males, while experiencing violence as a child has a stronger relationship with involvement in a violent dating relationship for females. The findings also suggest that violence in the family of origin may have a stronger relationship with males perpetrating and females receiving violence in dating relationships. / Master of Science

Aggression in the context of marriage and family is a common and serious issue in therapy with couples and families. While it is known that aggression may be transferred across generations, the exact mechanism for how it is transmitted is not fully understood. This study presents adult attachment style as a moderator through which the relationship between family of origin aggression and marital aggression is developed. The present study examined Relationship Evaluation (RELATE) questionnaire data for 332 individuals. Anxious and avoidant attachment were examined as potential moderators between family of origin (FOO) physical aggression or parental hostile conflict style and marital physical and sexual aggression perpetration and victimization. Results indicate that for men, anxious attachment may be a moderator for FOO physical aggression or hostile conflict and marital sexual aggression perpetration, and that avoidant attachment may be a moderator for FOO hostile conflict and marital sexual aggression perpetration. For men, neither attachment style is a significant moderator in models analyzing FOO physical aggression or hostile conflict and marital outcomes including physical aggression perpetration or victimization, sexual aggression victimization, or hostile conflict. For women, anxious attachment may be a moderator for FOO physical aggression and marital physical aggression perpetration. No other models investigating marital physical aggression perpetration as a dependent variable were significant. For women, neither attachment style is a significant moderator in models analyzing FOO physical aggression or hostile conflict and marital outcomes including physical aggression victimization, sexual aggression victimization, sexual aggression perpetration, or hostile conflict. Future research should investigate adult attachment as a moderator of intergenerational transmission of aggression using larger and more heterogeneous samples with more precise measures of aggression to analyze more specific groups of insecure adults in the context of their partner's attachment style. Limitations and clinical implications of these results for therapists working with couples are discussed.

Inledning: Det är viktigt att öka kunskapen om den växande samhällsgruppen individer som är 65 år och äldre enligt Stockholms läns landsting (2013). Studien har undersökt hur denna samhällsgrupp beskriver sina relationer till sin ursprungsfamilj. Frågeställningar: Hur beskriver äldre individer sina relationer till sin ursprungsfamilj retrospektivt? Vilka relationella erfarenheter framstår som signifikanta i deras berättelser? Metod: Studiens metodval är kvalitativ och datainsamlingen utgjordes av en ostrukturerad intervjuform. Totalt intervjuades 5 personer. Resultat: Resultatet redovisas utifrån olika tidsperioder samt tre teman som framkom i analysen: Barndom och uppväxttid, ung vuxen och identitetskap samt vuxenliv och autonomi. Diskussion: Relationen idag bygger på minnen när respondenterna blickar tillbaka på sina liv. Mamma beskrivs ha haft ett alltför stort inflytande under uppväxten och pappa beskrivs som viktig - framför allt längre upp i åldrarna. Banden till syskonen har oftast stärkts under vuxenlivet. Respondenterna beskriver också att de har hittat strategier att acceptera, förlåta och försonas med det liv de hittills har levt, i takt med ju äldre de har blivit, vilket överensstämmer väl med teorin om gerotrancendens (Tornstam, 2010) / Introduction: It is important to increase awareness of the growing social group of individuals who are 65 years and older according to the Stockholm County Council (2013). This study has investigated how this social group describes their relationships with their family of origin. Research question: How to describe older individuals their relationships with their family of origin retrospectively? Which relational experience emerges as significant in their stories? Method: The study's methodological choices are qualitative and data collection was made up of unstructured interview form. Total interviewed 5 people. Results: The results reported from different time periods and three themes that emerged from the analysis: Childhood and adolescence , young adult and identity munity and adulthood and autonomy. Discussion: The relationship today is based on memories when respondents look back on their lives. Mom described having had too much influence during childhood and father is described as important - especially later age. Bands siblings usually have strengthened during adulthood. Respondents also describe that they have found strategies to accept, forgive and reconcile with the life they have lived so far - as the older they become, which agrees well with the theory of gerotrancendens ( Tornstam, 2010).