Despite the large number of children and siblings who are exposed to domestic violence, relatively few studies have examined sibling influences on the psychosocial effects of exposure to domestic violence. The aim of this study was to explore the opinions of experienced child and family clinicians on whether, and how, the presence of siblings moderates children’s experiences of domestic violence and any subsequent effects on their development and wellbeing. This study employed an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis to analyse interviews with five clinicians. Analysis of the interviews revealed six superordinate themes; one sibling taking on a protective and parental role; polarisation of sibling relationships; factors influencing sibling relationships; the impact on the sibling taking on a parenting or protective role; impact on the sibling being protected; and the importance of individual family context. Overall, the findings from the interviews with the clinicians suggest that in families where children are exposed to domestic violence one child tends to take on a parental role and also attempts to protect their siblings from the violence. These results also emphasise the importance of formulation in understanding the influence of sibling relationships on the psychosocial effects of domestic violence, as there are many different factors which need to be considered. Some implications for clinical practice are discussed and potential future research directions are outlined.

Extra-marital affairs are the main reason for divorce in western society. Pastoral therapists usually operate within a modernistic theology and use their 'expert' knowledge of theological ethics to confront the unfaithful spouse - a pastoral therapeutic approach that neither delivers the desired results, nor honours the client's expertise and freedom. This study endeavoured to socially construct pastoral therapy using the principles of postmodernistic social construction discourse with couples/spouses where one spouse is or was engaged in an extramarital affair. The relation between a modernistic epistemology and a postmodernistic epistemology, and how this relation affects theology, practical theology and pastoral therapy were explored. The propium of pastoral therapy in a postmodemistic paradigm and the implications of a narrative approach in pastoral therapy for theological ethics were reflected upon. A narrative description of extra-marital affairs was constructed and some of the cultural discourses which co-constitute extra-marital affairs were discussed. The pastoral therapist and clients were simultaneously in conversation with ethical discourses and relational, personal and emotional discourses, thus co-constructing new alternatives and possibilities. During these multiple reflexive conversations, some of the cultural discourses (eros; self-fulfilment; extra-marital sex and hedonism) which co-constitute extra-marital affairs were deconstructed. In the light of the usual limitations of the life-span of an extra-marital affair, the pastoral therapist and faithful spouses socially constructed alternatives and possibilities for their lives to enable them to outstay the extra-marital affair of the unfaithful spouse. Multiple reflexive conversations with (un)faithful spouses co-constructed, with relational and ethical discourses, a narrative approach in pastoral therapy. The use of externalisation and ritualisation in a narrative approach in pastoral therapy concerning extra-marital affairs was explored. A sense of guilt and secrets were also themes in multiple reflexive conversations with unfaithful spouses. This prompted reflection on the use of Scripture in a narrative approach in pastoral therapy. The relation between the biological-psychological aspects of extra-marital affairs and narrative therapy are also briefly explored. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology)

In line with the Vulnerability-Stress-Adaptation (VSA) model of marriage, this study examined the role of neuroticism, stressful life events, mutual problem solving and negative relationship attributions on marital quality and adjustment among a sample of newlywed couples in Addis Ababa. A quantitative cross-sectional study design involving a sample of 192 newlywed couples was employed. Data were analysed using correlation and multiple regression analysis methods. The PROCESS module in SPSS and Structural Equation Modeling was also used to test indirect effects and actor and partner effects, respectively. The results showed that for both wives’ and husbands’, neuroticism significantly predicted their own marital satisfaction but only husbands’ neuroticism significantly predicted their partners’ marital satisfaction. Stressful life events did not have a significant actor and partner effect for both wives’ and husbands’. Negative relationship attribution was found to be a significant predictor of actors as well as partners' marital satisfaction for both wives’ and husbands’ while only husbands’ mutual problem solving, not that of wives’, had a significant effect on their own marital satisfaction. Tests of indirect effects also showed that, for both wives’ and husbands’, neuroticism had a significant negative intrapersonal and interpersonal indirect effect on marital satisfaction through the mediation of both mutual problem solving and negative relationship attribution. Wives’ and husbands’ stressful life events had a significant negative intrapersonal and interpersonal indirect effect on marital satisfaction through the mediation of negative relationship attribution. Mutual problem solving only mediated a significant indirect effect of husbands’ stress on marital satisfaction at the intrapersonal level and wives’ stress on marital satisfaction at the interpersonal level. This research contributed to enhancing scientific knowledge that guides the design and implementation of policies, programs, and services to promote newlyweds’ marital quality and adjustment in the Ethiopian context. The research also made a theoretical contribution to the VSA model by indicating that adaptive processes play a varying mediational role for wives’ and husbands’ in the indirect effect of stress on marital satisfaction and by confirming that adaptive processes such as mutual problem solving and negative relationship attribution play a more prominent role in affecting marital quality and satisfaction than the other two components of the model, that is neuroticism and stressful life events. / Psychology

No description available.

[pt] Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo geral estudar sobre as repercussões da transição para a parentalidade na conjugalidade. Realizamos pesquisa qualitativa, através de entrevista semiestruturada, com quatro homens e cinco mulheres, pais de primeiro(a) filho(a) com idade entre 12 e 25 meses, com desenvolvimento típico. A pesquisa foi realizada com sujeitos independentes, pertencentes à camada média da cidade do Rio de Janeiro. Os dados coletados foram submetidos à análise de conteúdo e emergiram cinco categorias: (1) Projeto Parental: do desejo ao momento ideal para a chegada do filho; (2) Transformação da intimidade conjugal; (3) Conflitos conjugais: motivações e estratégias de resolução; (4) O impacto do trabalho na dinâmica conjugal e parental; (5) Influências da família de origem. Constatou-se diminuição na frequência e espontaneidade das relações sexuais, no uso do tempo para estarem juntos e desenvolvimento de novos comportamentos para expressão da intimidade. Os principais motivos geradores de conflito foram a relação com as famílias de origem, a criação dos filhos e a divisão das tarefas domésticas. Em relação ao padrão de resposta aos conflitos, tanto as mulheres como os homens, fizeram menos uso de estratégias construtivas e mais uso de comportamentos de retirada e evitação. A família ampliada foi citada por todos os entrevistados como parte essencial da rede social, sendo capaz de oferecer ajuda e apoio em momentos de crise. Observou-se também que a representação mental que homens e mulheres fazem em relação à geração anterior é preditora de seu comportamento enquanto pais. Concluímos que a satisfação conjugal é afetada por diferentes fatores na transição para a parentalidade. / [en] This research intended to study the repercussions in conjugality of the transition to parenthood. We conducted qualitative research, through semi-structured interviews, with four men and five women, parents of first-born children with ages ranging between 12 and 25 months, with typical development. The research was carried out with independent subjects, belonging to the middle class of the city of Rio de Janeiro. The collected data were submitted to content analysis and five categories emerged: (1) Parental Project: from the desire to the ideal moment for the child s arrival; (2) Transformation of conjugal intimacy; (3) Marital conflicts: motivations and resolution strategies; (4) The impact of work on marital and parental dynamics; (5) Influences of the family of origin. Results showed reduction in the frequency and spontaneity of sexual relations, decrease in time spent together and the development of new behaviors to express intimacy. The main reasons for conflict were the relationship with families of origin, child care and division of house chores. Regarding the pattern of response to conflicts, the new parents made less use of constructive strategies and more use of withdrawal and avoidance behaviors. The extended family was cited by all respondents as an essential part of the social network, being able to offer help and support in times of crisis. It was also observed that the mental representation that men and women make in relation to the previous generation is a predictor of their behavior as parents. We conclude that marital satisfaction is affected by different factors in the transition to parenting.

No description available.

The development of emotion regulation skills is an imperative task early in development. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a physiological proxy of regulation, is indicative of one’s regulatory capacity and can be predictive of behavior in later life (Graham, Ablow, & Measelle, 2010; Moore, 2010). Children begin regulating their emotions at a physiological level early in infancy. Infants who are able to properly suppress RSA have higher quality social interactions in childhood (Graziano, Keane, & Calkins, 2007). Previous work has suggested that parents play a role in predicting infant RSA (Conradt & Ablow, 2010). For example, parent marital satisfaction is known to impact infants’ physiological regulation, such that infants whose parents are less satisfied with their marriages have a decreased ability to regulate physiologically (Moore et al., 2009; Porter, Wouden-Miller, Silva, & Porter, 2003). Previous research has found that parent personality impacts parenting strategies (Cummings & Davies, 1994; Prinzie, Stams, Deković, Reijntjes, & Belsky, 2009), however work examining how parent personality interacts with marital satisfaction to predict infant RSA is lacking. Moreover, the majority of previous work assessing the parent predictors of infant RSA focused on mothers (e.g., Moore et al., 2009). There are known differences in the way mothers and fathers interact with their infants, as well as differences in the way fathers and mothers respond to marital dissatisfaction (Forbes, Cohn, Allen, & Lewinsohn, 2004; Karney & Bradbury, 1995). The present study focused on examining how marital satisfaction and parent personality predicts infant RSA with mothers and fathers. The current study involved 38 families (6-month old infants, mothers, and fathers). Parents completed questionnaires measuring marital satisfaction and personality. Mother-infant and fatherinfant dyads participated in a baseline and face-to-face play task (Still Face Paradigm; Tronick, Als, Adamson, Wise, & Brazelton, 1978), where infant physiological regulation was assessed. Results involving mothers did not yield significant findings predicting infant physiological regulation. For fathers, results indicated that parent personality and parent marital satisfaction predicted infant physiological regulation. The current study highlights the importance of examining the roles of both mothers and fathers predicting infant physiological regulation.

The present study examined the effect of family of origin characteristics on current marital satisfaction, within a sample of newlywed couples, using dyadic and mixed methods approaches to conceptualization, data collection, and data analysis.The data used to investigate this process--sometimes called intergenerational transmission--was collected in two phases. First, quantitative data in the form of close-ended questions was collected separately from each member of 190 newlywed couples via hard-copy questionnaires. These questionnaires included measures of family of origin characteristics (e.g., interparental conflict), current marital processes (e.g., conflict resolution style), and marital outcomes (e.g., marital satisfaction). Second, in-depth and open-ended questions were asked of 18 couples in semi-structured couple interviews. The 18 couples who were interviewed in phase two of the data collection represent a purposive sub-sample of the original 190 couples from phase one of data collection.Results of structural equation modeling of a conceptual model based on the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM; Cook & Kenny, 2005) indicated that the family or origin characteristics measured predicted a decrease in marital satisfaction, especially for wives. In addition, mixed evidence was found for the potential meditational role of conflict resolution style. Results of thematic coding of the interview data revealed that: a) families of origin serve as marriage role models in complex and multifaceted ways; b) there are other important models of marriage, aside from families of origin, that influence marital outcomes; c) it is likely that couples use a combination of different marriage role models to form their ideas of marriage (and therefore their marital outcomes); and d) it is possible that in some cases families of origin do not provide a marriage role model at all.Finally, results of a configural comparative analysis utilizing both the quantitative and qualitative data revealed that couples negotiate the pathway from their families of origin to their own marriages in diverse ways. Three distinct pathways were identified, including a "modeling" pathway, a "modified modeling" pathway, and a "compensation" pathway. Interpretations and implications of these findings are discussed. In addition, future directions for research in this area are suggested.

Many women reporting PMS symptoms state their symptoms affect their mood, social, and family functioning. This study attempted to provide clinicians with information to assist in psychotherapeutic intervention, by determining the effect PMS has on marital satisfaction. Nineteen female subjects reporting PMS symptoms and their partners completed the study. The Marital Satisfaction Inventory - Revised (MSI-R) and the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire-Form T (MDQ-form T) were used to determine if the nineteen couples reported marital distress as a result of the women's cyclical premenstrual symptoms. The results of the study suggested that the women and their partners, report high levels of marital distress that is not reflective of the cyclical nature of the PMS symptomatology. Scores on the MSI-R for the subjects and their partners indicated the couples perceived level of distress in the t-50 to t-70 range on scales 3-8 is consistent throughout the menstrual cycle. The couples reported higher levels of marital distress than would be the expected norm, suggesting that PMS may be a contributing factor to the level of distress they reported experiencing. This study did not include a control group, which would have provided a norm for couples who do not report PMS by which to compare the MSI-R scores.

This dissertation examines the relationship between marital satisfaction and family cohesion across three family life spans among evangelicals. Chapter 1 defines the factors involved when studying the social sciences of marriage, parenting, cohesion and adaptability, and family life cycles. Attention is also given to historical research, trends, recent contributions, and theological insights that apply to the aforementioned subjects. Chapter 2 sets a biblical and theological foundation and thereby acts as a guide for defining values and focus for the precedent literature. Specifically, this chapter analyzes the contributions in the fields of marriage, child-rearing, and family development from a social historical perspective. Chapter 3 examines the methodological design for this body of research through four guiding research questions. In addition, the formulations of procedures for gathering research are identified in great detail. Chapter 4 describes the research findings and offers the statistical analysis to show significance in relationships between a number of dependent and independent variables that constitute the marriage and family paradigm. Research questions are interpreted in light of the statistical information and reports are given through tables and figures to display relevant findings. Chapter 5 interprets the data in a conclusive manner. It explains what the significant findings represent for marital satisfaction and the relationship this has with family cohesion, family adaptability, and on the family life cycle. Findings are then applied to a specific ministry setting. For those interested in the fields of education or Christian education, this chapter explores issues related to this study, from which the reader my benefit from further research. Key Words . marriage, adaptability, cohesion, satisfaction, evangelical, family, life cycle, marital happiness, and marital satisfaction.