In this dissertation, the writer explores and supports the validity of clinical social wor·k practitioners applying planned therapeutic intervention procedures to couples who are in distress. Written in two parts, this paper is esentially a review of selected literature on the efficacy of social work psychotherapv with couples. Couple therapy, which deals with the two individuals per se and not merely with their interaction, enhances the treatment of both partners. Several intervention strategies are noted by the writer, all of which attempt to alter both individual dynamics and that of the couples relationship. The writer has chosen a "fusion model" comprising of the intra and inter-personal intervention strategies. The therapeutic format of choice proposed by the writer favours a time-limited psychodynamic approach which operates through the medium of a combined concurrent-conjoint technique.

This study investigates the relationship between romantic love and marital adjustment in a sample of middle class couples. Romantic love is defined as a general disposition an individual has toward love, marriage, the family, and relationships involving male-female interaction in which the affective component is regarded as primary and all other considerations are excluded from conscious reflection. Marital adjustment is defined as the positive accomodation of husband and wife interacting within the framework of a legally established marital relationship. Middle socioeconomic class is operationally defined as a specific quantitative range on the Warner Index of Social Characteristics. This study examines the nature of any quantifiable relationship between romantic love and marital adjustment, current or future. Three views of this relationship are investigated. The first view contends that romanticism is functional, contributing to positive marital adjustment. The second is characterized by the belief that romantic love has a negative impact upon marital adjustment and is dysfunctional. A third view of the relationship between romantic love and marital adjustment suggests that the critical element determining dysfunctionality is the isparity between partners, rather than the individual level of romanticism. No author has heretofore considered this alternative.

Recent interest in the area of spouse abuse has resulted in many attempts to define and understand this problem. The present study reviewed the literature addressing spouse abuse, its various definitions and presumed causes. Theories regarding the cause of spouse abuse were presented in two groups: those focussing on society as the perceived cause of abuse and those on either men or women as precipitators of abuse. The purpose of the study was threefold. The first was to explore the relationship between gender and perception of spouse abuse. The second was to examine whether attitudes toward women varied as a function of perception of spouse abuse. Third, the study explored the relationship between situational variables and perceptions of spouse abuse. Finally, although not an initial purpose of the study, differences in perceptions of spouse abuse were compared among abused and nonabused groups.

The beneficial effects of religion and spiritual factors on cardiovascular functioning have become an area of increasing research. Similarly, considerable research has also investigated the negative effects of marital distress on cardiovascular functioning. Little is known, however, about potential protective factors against the deleterious effects of marital distress on cardiovascular functioning. Social support has been identified as a potential buffer against the negative effects of marital distress on ambulatory blood pressure, and the current study hypothesized that spirituality, religiosity, and religious support would also buffer the negative effects of marital distress on ambulatory blood pressure. Fifty-eight married couples were recruited from both marital therapists and the community surrounding Brigham Young University. Participants wore ambulatory blood pressure monitors for 24 hours and completed questionnaires which measure marital distress, spirituality, religiosity, religious support and social support. It was found that for normotensive individuals (SBP < 120) spirituality, religious support, and social support have an additive effect of lowering blood pressure on individuals with high marital quality. No effect was found for spirituality, religiosity, or religious support buffering the negative effects of marital distress on ambulatory blood pressure. It was also found that men and women view the relationships between religiosity and social support, and religious support and social support differently. Specifically, social support is more highly related to religiosity and religious support in women compared to men. It appears that for happily-married individuals, spirituality, religious support and social support have an additive effect in lowering blood pressure.

With evidence growing of the negative impact materialism exerts on the individual and the marital relationship, this study examines the effects of materialism on the marital relationship as well as the potential moderating effects of forgiveness. Specifically examined is the association between materialism and marital instability considering trait forgiveness as a potential moderating variable. The data for this study were taken from the Flourishing Families Project. Materialism, forgiveness, and marital instability measures with actor effects, partner effects, and moderation effects are analyzed. The findings of this study supported the hypothesis that materialism is related to marital instability and that forgiveness moderates the effect of materialism on marital instability for husbands. However, this hypothesis was not supported for wives. Findings also confirmed that husband and wife trait forgiveness moderated the effects of husband materialism on husband marital instability.

No description available.

It is estimated that the divorce rate for marriages in which at least one party is a physician is 10-20% higher than the general population. Predicting the variables that contribute to marital satisfaction, identifying the skills associated with those behaviors and developing a residency curriculum to teach the skills to resident physicians is the focus of this study. Intimacy, conflict resolution and emotional expressiveness have all been identified as important aspects of marital satisfaction. We will determine how each of these variables contributes to marital satisfaction using multilevel logistic regression. The results will be used to develop a skills based training curriculum for residency to improve the lives and well-being of physicians and their families.

Non-maritalfertility in Czechia and selecteddeveloped countries Abstract The aim of this diploma thesis is to interpret the changes and trends in the reproduction behaviour in Czechia, Italy and Japan between the years 1990 and 2019, focusing on non-marital fertility. The thesis summarizes previously published literature on the subject of reproduction behaviour in developed countries. Individual trends of non-marital fertility in Czechia are studied using several demographic analysis tools. The primary focus is directed towards the structure of live births by mother's age, legal marital status and educational attainment level, as well as child's birth order. Focusing on the population of children born out of the wedlock, the method of binary logistic regression shows that there is a link between the odds of giving birth to child out of the wedlock, and the age and educational attainment level of mother. For the purposes of this thesis, developed countries are represented by Italy and Japan. Apart from data analysis,the focus is directed towards the social and cultural dissimilarities in reproductive behaviour of these countries' populations. The final part of the thesis compares the results of the analysis of all selected countries and shows that the countries vary in social perception of non-marital...

There is a well-established and positive association between religiosity and marital satisfaction. What is less clear is the effect of religiosity on marital sexual outcomes, with research findings that have run the gamut from negative to positive. Given that most religions teach that marriage is the divinely appointed context for a sexual relationship, religious persons who are married and in sexual relationships could have a different experience with sex than those who are not in a marital sexual relationship. Although the majority of the population in the United States is religious, sex in religious marriages has received scant research attention. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine in three manuscripts the association between religiosity, sexuality, and marital connection. In manuscript one, I look at how doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dovetails with principles of social science in ways that could potentially improve the sexual connection in these religious marriages. Specifically, I examine how Latter-day Saints can better sanctify their sexuality through autonomy and relatedness. As member couples dovetail healthy religious principles with social science principles, such as focusing on avoiding selfishness and developing a self in a larger moral context, they can experience improved marital connection. In study two, I research the spontaneous mentions of sexuality in interviews with highly religious families in the American Families of Faith dataset. These 198 highly religious families come from a rich variety of socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, and religious backgrounds. Couples and families mention four major themes that matter to them at the intersection of religion and sexuality--boundaries and rules of sex, purposes of sex, navigating culture and media, and concerns around children and sex, such as imparting values. I also offer clinicians who work with religious couples and families ways to help their clients better navigate the intersection between religion and sex. In study three, I use a nationally representative (CREATE) survey dataset to examine the effect of religion on marital connection (emotional and sexual), and whether commitment and empathy mediate that relationship. Commitment and empathy are both elements of Martin Buber's dialogic philosophy that should help individuals enjoy better connection. The association between religion and marital connection is analyzed over time (Waves II, III, and IV, which are approximately one year apart) and with dyadic data (1,818 households completed all three waves). Commitment and empathy do concurrently mediate the relationship between religion and marital connection, but the effects do not last over time, suggesting that these connective attributes need to be renewed often to have a positive effect on marital outcomes. Religion appears to have a positive impact on marital sexuality and marital connection. Popular thought might indicate that marriage often settles into comfortable complacency, but it is not doomed to. Like dynamic individuals, religious married individuals might find their relationship gets better with time and effort. Married religious individuals might also benefit from future research that examines specific religious doctrines or teachings that help married couples enjoy sanctified sex and increase marital connection.

Submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Social Work in the Department of Social Work at the University of Zululand, 2000. / Dissertation on "The need for pre-marital counselling in preventing domestic violence" is the outcome of the researcher's concern about domestic violence that is widespread in our society. On reviewing the literature, she found that social workers and their professional associates are trying hard to fight against this disease. However, very little is being achieved as this disease in increasing day by day. Revelation by literature that pre-marital counselling, as a primary intervention, is seldom applied by practitioner that are trying to stop domestic violence, motivated the researcher to undertake this study. In her introduction to this study, the researcher stated the problem, her motivation to undertake this study, its objectives, assumptions, value and limitations, and lastly, she - defined the terms. The researcher reviewed literature on explanation of domestic violence. Her focus was on its causes, forms, effects, prevalence, common features of human violence, individual features of men who batter, why women stay in abusive relationship and the "way they respond to this domestic violence. She further looked into the preventative intervention to domestic violence, focussing on three levels of preventions, namely, preparation for marriage, which is primary prevention, promotion of the quality of marriage and family life, which is secondary prevention, treatment of marital dysfunction, which is tertiary prevention as well as traditional ways of preparing for marriage. The design the researcher used was exploratory/descriptive in nature. Subjects of the study were selected by means of purposive sampling. The sampling units were the social workers of the Department of Social Welfare and Population development, stationed at Madadeni and their clients (ten families) that presented domestic violence related problems. Madadeni community is situated at about 13 km, south of Newcastle in Kwazulu Natal. Interview schedules were pre-tested on three social workers and three families. Interviews and studying of the files of the individual prospective respondents were used to collect data. Frequency tables, columns and pie charts with percentages were used in presentation, analysis and interpretation of data. During the analysis of data, the researcher looked for similarities and dissimilarities. She presented data as a descriptive account, organised it into categories on the basis of themes and proposed hypotheses. Lastly, she gave a summary, drew conclusions regarding the need for premarital counselling in the area and made recommendations. The overall conclusion that was made by the researcher was that pre-marital counselling is needed in combating domestic violence. *