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Extant measures of well-being, guided by western European values and beliefs, reveal a scientific commitment to develop and test indices to monitor the social, psychological, familial, and economic status of populations. The limitations of these measures to ethnic populations are addressed in this study. Relational Well-being (RWB II), an indigenous, culture-based 14-item measure rooted in beliefs and values emphasizing family, ancestors, culture, and harmony with nature, was developed and tested with a sample (N = 810) of indigenous Hawaiians in Hawaii. Exploratory factor analysis (n = 408), confirmatory factor analysis (n = 402), test of invariance, and tests of reliability and validity confirmed the psychometric quality of RWB II. The applicability of the composite index of Relational Well-being II as well as its six underlying factors (Resilience, Community Involvement, Financial Stability, Cultural Practice, Family Commitment, and Health Care) to family theory of resilience, research, and education are discussed.

Key Words: census, children, families, multietknicity, socialization, youth ethnic identity.The nation's minority population is now over 100 million, so that about one in three U.S. residents is a person of color. in the period from 1980 to 2000, the European American population in the United States grew in size by 8%. In this same time period, the African American population increased by 30%, the Latino/Latina populations by 143%, and the American Indian/Alaskan Native populations by 46%. In striking contrast, in this time period the Asian American population in the United States increased by 190%. This transformation of the U.S. population configuration was facilitated by an increase in interracial marriages, resulting in a substantial increase in persons with multiethnic ancestries. The diversity within ethnic groups as reflected in the 2000 U.S. Census was fostered by a change in policy allowing the Census to record the multiethnic nature of the U.S. population.This special Issue of Family Relations, with its 18 articles, acknowledges the emerging and distinct importance of understanding children, youth, and families of multiethnic ancestries. As a framework for understanding this special issue, we believe it is important to place multiethnicity in a historical and social context to foster an appreciation of the salience of this social change within the U.S. population, if not in the world. In 1989, the United States' adoption of what is known as "the hypodescent rule" suppressed the identification of multiethnic individuals and children in particular by requiring children to be classified as belonging to the race of the non- White parent. Interracial marriage between Whites and Blacks was deemed illegal in most states through the 20th century. California and western U.S. laws prohibited White-Asian American marriages until the 1950s. Since the 1967 Supreme Court decision, which ruled that antimiscegenation laws were unconstitutional, there has been a predictable increase in or reporting of the number of interracial couples and mixed-race children. The increase over the past 30 years has been dramatic when we consider the proportions of children living in families with interracial couples. The proportion of children living in interracial families increased from 1 .5% in 1970 to 2.4% in 1980, 3.6% in 1990, and 6.4% in 2000. In the state of Hawaii, the proportion of children living in multiethnic families grew to over 31% in 2000. In comparison to the 6.4% nationally, one in three children is being socialized in multiethnic family environments in the state of Hawaii (Lee, 2010).This collection of original work on multiethnic children, youth, and families begins with the Census Bureau report on race data collected in the 2000 Census and the 2010 Census. Jones and Bullock provide the two decennial censuses on the distributions of people reporting multiple races in response to the census. In identifying the concentrations of multiethnic individuals and families at the national level and with geographic comparisons, the spotlight is placed on the changing and complex racial and ethnic diversity in the United States. Trask addresses the growing number of multiethnic immigrant and transnational families in the United States and abroad. The continuity in and dynamic relationships that emerge as a result of immigrations and transnational migrations increases our demand for more knowledge about the individual culture and history of the procreated multiethnic family units.Levchenko and Solheim begin the section of articles on how multiethnic families are formed by examining international marriages between Eastern European-born women and U.S. -born men. Spouses in Eastern European-U.S. couples were found to differ significantly by age, income, education, and number of previous marriages. In addition to interracial marriages, adoption of children of color is one of the most recognized contributors to multiethnic family formations. …

Due to the scope of the present farm crisis, the issue of farm family stress has become an area of strong interest for family life educators, social workers, counselors, and county extension agents. This article reviews current resource materials available to help educators, counselors, and others who work with rural families in an effort to support them in crisis, to facilitate their decision making and long-range planning, and to foster their problem solving efforts. The unstable economy of the United States has had a profound, if not devastating, impact upon the agricultural community and its economic base. While most farmers remain in relatively sound financial condition, in 1985 the Farm Cost and Returns Survey indicated approximately 10 to 12% (approximately 214,000 farm operations) were adversely affected by the deteriorating condition of the United States economy. In that survey, (Agricultural and Rural Economics Division, 1986), a debtasset ratio of more than 40% and negative net cash flow were used to identify which farm operations and particularly which farm families were experiencing financial difficulty and vulnerability. Most vulnerable were approximately 38,000 to 40,000 farm operators with a negative net cash flow who were already technically insolvent. The report from the 1985 survey also indicated that many other farm operations would also fail. These farm operations and farm families were not able to fully service their existing debts nor were they sufficiently solvent to achieve adequate equity to justify increasing or rolling over debt. This financial condition affecting many farm families stemmed from their inability to respond to their existing interest repayment and debt load. For example, a recent report by the Agricultural and Rural Economics Division (1986) pointed out that the problems had been exacerbated by the sharp decline since 1981 in farm family asset values which has reduced the farmers' ability to borrow to offset their negative cash flow. This same report also noted that nearly $220 billion in owners' equity had been lost through land value depreciation between December 1981 and December 1985; farm value surveys indicated that the value of farm land declined approximately 13% nationwide within a one-year period, 1984 through 1985; and that this depreciation followed a national average decline of 7.0/o for the period of 1981 through 1983; as of April 1985, land value declines of as much as 49% from the 1981 peaks were registered for parts of the Corn Belt, with the state of Iowa suffering the most severe decline, followed by Nebraska, the other low Corn Belt states, and Great Lakes states. It was also reported that dairy farms, which are predominately located in the Great Lakes states, appeared to be the most seriously affected by financial stress. Even though milk prices have fallen less than prices of other commodities, dairy farmers were more highly leveraged than other farmers and had traditionally operated on narrow profit margins. Additionally, recent declines in farm level milk

The study of resilient families, or the search for characteristics, dimensions, and properties of families which help families to be resistant to disruption in the face of change and adaptive in the face of crisis situations, is a natural and predictable development in the evolution of family science. Current findings from the studies conducted on resilient families are reviewed and summarized with an emphasis on three emerging issues. The importance of social class and ethnicity is accentuated in a review of current studies conducted on military families. Deterrents to and the need for more research on resilient families are discussed in relationship to the value of prevention oriented family programs. The study of resilient families, or the search for characteristics, dimensions, and properties of families which help families to be resistant to disruption in the face of change and adaptive in the face of crisis situations, is a natural and predictable development in the evolution of family science. Families appear to endure even in the face of adversity, and we are pressed to discover why. This line of scientific inquiry was initially characterized by a heavy investment in descriptive research listing those family strengths which authors inferred from family therapists' testimony and questionnaires (i.e., Curran, 1983; Otto, 1963). This was complemented by efforts to uncover those family resources which facilitate adaptation following a major crisis, a catastrophe or chronic illness (i.e., McCubbin, McCubbin, Patterson, Cauble, Wilson, & Warwick, 1983; Patterson & McCubbin, 1983). In recent times, family scientists have turned to theory building and research which move beyond these descriptive accounts, involve tests of the efficacy of these strengths, examine underlying patterns of family functioning referred to as family typologies (Lavee, 1985; McCubbin, 1986). In an effort to advance this line of research and theory building and foster the development of preventionoriented family-based programs, it would be instructive to review and examine the most recent findings to discern the emerging challenges and paradoxes involved in the study of resilient families. On the basis of a systematic review of the research strategies and findings from recent investiaations on resilient families conducted as part of the Family Stress, Coping and Health Project at the University of Wisconsin, we will attempt to shed some light on the emerging themes as well as paradoxes and present the pressing challenges for family life education and practice.

Family life in the police profession is stressful. This study examines the coping strategies wives employ in the management of the hardships associated with this style of life. The coping patterns of Developing Self Reliance, Accepting the Demands of the Profession, Building Social Support, and Maintaining Family Integration, reported by 42 wives, were associated with specific dimensions of family functioning-Interpersonal Relationships, Personal Growth and System Maintenance. The importance of coping as a meaningful target for family counselors and prevention oriented family life educators is underscored.

Recently adoption agencies have been called upon to implement a policy which calls for opening birth records and initiating genetic searches on behalf of adopted adults. This exploratory study of the impact of Minnesota's 1977 Open Birth Record Law involved (a) record analysis of 41 genetic searches initiated and completed by a public agency between June 1977 and December 1978 and (b) semi-structured interviews conducted with 10 randomly selected adoptees requesting a search. The study revealed adoptees in search of information about their past, and desirous of personal contact with their birth parents. The adoptee's decision had its origin well before the Open Birth Record Law; most were cautious about hurting their relationship with adoptive parents. Family oriented caseworkers at the public agency were relatively successful in the searches, but personal contacts were achieved for only 35% of the adoptees requesting it. The value of the Open Birth Record law is underscored.

Interest in family and health care has emerged in the past decade in response to concerns about family-based alternatives to costly institutionalization and hospitalization and to the increased interest in prevention and treatment of chronic illness. A model for organizing family and health theory, research, and practice is introduced and discussed in relationship to recent investigations and conceptualizations about the critical interface between families, the health of their members, and the health care system designed to support families.

Family practitioners consider social support to be a significant resource for individuals and family members encountering stress. There has, however, not been an adequate way to assess an individual's or a family's perception of the social support they are receiving. A new definition of social support is presented, along with a way to measure two dimensions of social support: (a) the kinds of support available, such as emotional support; and (b) the sources of support, such as friends. The instrument described here has been used most extensively with first-time parents, but has potential as an aid for therapists and educators to help individuals and families in other contexts and roles.

This investigation examined the relationship between a pile-up of family life events (family stress) and changes in the health status of a child member with cystic fibrosis. The data collected from 100 parents and from clinic records of their children's height, weight, and pulmonary functioning revealed that a decline in pulmonary functioning was associated with a pile-up of family life changes, especially in the areas of (a) family development and relationships, (b) family management and decisions, and (c) family finances. These findings are discussed in terms of the Double ABCX family stress framework. This investigation involved an integration of individual psychological stress research and family stress theory by advancing the Family Inventory of Life Events and Changes (FILE) as a tool to systematically assess cumulative family life changes.