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Disruptive behavior during adolescence is linked to severe problems for the youths later in life and poses challenges to the families, schools, and treatment systems these youths meet. This randomized controlled trial was conducted to examine the short- and long-term effectiveness of functional family therapy (FFT) for adolescents aged 11–17 referred for disruptive behavior to Child Welfare Services in Norway. One hundred sixty-one youths (Mage = 14.7, 45.9% female) were randomly assigned to FFT (n = 88) or treatment as usual (TAU, n = 73). Primary outcomes were parent- and teacher-reported youth aggressive behavior, rule-breaking behavior, internalizing problems, and social skills; youth self-reported delinquency (SRD) and negative peer involvement; and teacher-reported academic performance and adaptive functioning. Outcomes were collected before treatment (pretest), 6 months after pretest (posttest), and 18 months after pretest (follow-up). The results showed no intervention effect for FFT compared to TAU between pretest and posttest (p >.05). Significant improvements between pretest and posttest were found for youth receiving both FFT and TAU on parent-reported aggressive and rule-breaking behavior, internalizing problems, and social skills (ranging from d = 0.56 to −0.45) and youth SRD (d = 0.29). Between posttest and follow-up, however, a significant intervention effect in favor of TAU was found for parent-reported youth internalizing (d = 0.27). Significant improvements between posttest and follow-up were also found for youth receiving both FFT and TAU on parent- and teacher-reported aggressive behavior. Findings did not support the hypothesized superiority of FFT over TAU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conducted a randomized trial to examine the efficacy of the Boys Town In-Home Family Services (IHFS) program for families of high-risk youth. Participants were recruited from a state helpline for families struggling with poor family functioning and child emotional or behavioral issues. Consent was obtained for 300 of which 152 were randomly assigned to participate in IHFS for 3-4 months and 148 were assigned to the services as usual comparison group. For the families in the treatment group, 18% did not participant in the intervention, and 66% of families received 20 or more service hours. Parent report data were collected at intake, post, as well 6 and 12 months after post data collection. Data were collected on constructs such as caregiver strain, family functioning, parenting, family resources, and parent report of child behavior. Piecewise analyses of the intake to post data indicated significantly greater reductions in caregiver strain for the treatment condition. Given the conservative corrections for the use of multiple tests, no other measures demonstrated significant differences. For the piecewise model of the maintenance phase, there were no significant differences between groups aside from caregiver strain that showed a significant improvement for the comparison condition. Supplementary dose-response analyses indicated that for most families there was an ideal dosage of about 25-75 hr to bring about the largest improvements in caregiver strain, parenting skills, and child behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the prospective associations among maternal substance use, depressive symptoms, and children's behavioral problems in a family systems therapy (ecologically based family therapy [EBFT]) condition and an individual treatment condition. Participants included 183 mothers with a substance use disorder who had at least 1 biological child in their care. Mothers were randomly assigned to the EBFT condition (n = 123) or an individual treatment condition (n = 60). Maternal substance use, depressive symptoms, and child behavioral problems were assessed at baseline and at 3, 6, and 12 months postbaseline. Autoregressive cross-lagged models were estimated to compare whether the cross-lagged paths among the 3 variables differed from zero in each treatment condition. Findings revealed that for individual treatment, strong reciprocal relationships were observed between maternal substance use and maternal depressive symptoms, and between maternal substance use and child behavioral problems. Conversely, in the EBFT group, fewer reciprocal relationships were observed, and instead, maternal depressive symptoms predicted more future child behavioral problems. These findings suggest an interruption in the dysfunctional reciprocal transmission of problem behaviors between mothers and children over time in the family therapy condition. The findings provide evidence for the effectiveness of family systems therapy, EBFT, in interrupting the dysfunctional family dynamics that contribute to maternal substance using behaviors and child behavioral problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceived responsiveness has become one of the most important constructs in the relationship sciences. It is central to the development of a secure attachment style, the experience of social support, an internal locus of control, and the sense of control in close relationships. Conversely, an unresponsive environment is associated with learned helplessness and depression. Viewed through the lens of the social relations model (SRM), perceived responsiveness in family relationships could have multiple sources: the perceiver; the target or partner; the perceiver-target relationship; and the family group. This study used the SRM to determine the relative importance of these sources of perceived responsiveness in the relationships of 207 two-parent two-child families. Characteristics of the perceiver and the target each accounted for about 25% of the systematic variance in perceived responsiveness, whereas the perceiver-target relationship accounted for approximately 48%. At the individual level of analysis, reciprocity of perceived responsiveness was pervasive in the family relationships of the two children. Regardless of age, young people who generally perceived others as responsive were generally perceived by others as responsive. At the dyadic level of analysis, reciprocity was present in two dyads: mother-father and older child-younger child. Reliable target variances support the view that perceived responsiveness is not just "inside the head" of the perceiver, and reciprocity correlations suggest potentially useful systemic interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stress of multiple deployments and exposure to combat places service members at risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which may detrimentally affect parenting. Evidence-based parenting programs have been successful in promoting adaptive parenting practices among families exposed to stress. However, the effects of preventive interventions on parenting may vary by military parent's PTSD. The current study includes families who participated in a randomized controlled trial of a parenting intervention for military families known as After Deployment, Adaptive Parenting Tools (ADAPT). Families were randomized to either a 14-week, group-based parenting program or a comparison group. Participants included families with 4- to 12-year-old children in which at least 1 parent deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan (N = 336; 945 individuals). Structural equation modeling was used to examine parent self-reported PTSD as a potential moderator of the relationship between intent-to-treat status and effective parenting practices 12 months postbaseline while accounting for baseline effective parenting, length and number of deployments, and family demographics. Father PTSD was a significant moderator, such that the intervention was less effective for fathers who met clinical levels of PTSD. No significant moderation effects were found among mothers. These findings may have important implications for the development of future evidence-based parenting programs. (PsycINFO Database Record [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological advances provide tremendous opportunities for couple and family interventions to overcome logistical, financial, and stigma-related barriers to treatment access. Given technology's ability to facilitate, augment, or at times even substitute for face-to-face interventions, it is important to consider the appropriate role of different technologies in treatment and how that may vary across specific instances of technology use. To that end, this article reviews the potential contributions of telemental health (aka, telehealth; e.g., videoconferencing to remotely deliver real-time services) and asynchronous behavioral intervention technologies (BITs; e.g., apps, web-based programs) for couple and family interventions. Design considerations-such as software and hardware requirements and recommendations, characteristics of intended users, ways to maximize engagement, and tips for integrating therapists/coaches-are included for both types of technology-based intervention. We also present suggestions for the most effective recruitment and evaluation strategies for technology-based couple and family interventions. Finally, we present legal and ethical issues that are especially pertinent when integrating technology into couple and family interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban families worldwide are often characterized by busy working lives which leave little time for family gatherings and communication. The Happy Family Kitchen project, which emphasized cooking and dining with family members, was conducted in a deprived district in Hong Kong. We hypothesized that the community-based family intervention, derived from a positive psychology framework, can improve family communication, family well-being, and subjective happiness. Twenty-three social service units organized and delivered the intervention programs for 1,419 individuals from 612 families. The core intervention was developed with emphasis on 1 of 5 positive psychology themes: gratitude, flow, happiness, health, and savoring. Intervention outcomes were assessed at preintervention, immediate postintervention, and 6 weeks and 12 weeks postintervention. Results showed that family communication, family well-being, and subjective happiness improved with small effect sizes which were sustained up to 12 weeks. The gratitude intervention improved all of the outcome measures. Qualitative data provided additional evidence for effectiveness with in-depth insights into family dynamics. We concluded that this brief intervention was a low-cost and simple approach to improve family communication and well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a randomized, intent-to-treat design, this pilot study examined the feasibility and short-term effects of Siblings Are Special (SIBS) with a sample of 54 low-income Latino families (91% Mexican-origin). Participants were older (M = 10.8 years; SD = .46) and younger siblings (M = 8.4 years; SD = 1.13), and their parents (94% biological mothers), who were randomly assigned within school to the intervention (n = 28) or no-attention control (n = 26) condition. The intervention condition included 12 weekly afterschool sessions (90 min each) for sibling pairs and 3 family nights for parents and siblings (2 hr each). SIBS was designed to enhance sibling relationships via 2 primary intervention targets: (a) children’s capacities that underlie positive sibling dynamics, including relationship skills, cognitions, and shared activities; and (b) parenting of siblings, specifically, enhancing positive guidance and involvement and discouraging authoritarian control. Pre- and posttest data were gathered from siblings and parents. Recruitment and implementation data revealed high rates of attendance and completion, and high ratings of parent satisfaction with the program. Further, analyses suggested the program had positive effects of small to modest magnitude on posttest measures of sibling and parent–child relationship quality, parenting of siblings, older siblings’ emotional efficacy, and parents’ depressive symptoms and parenting stress, controlling for pretest levels of all outcomes and family background characteristics. Discussion addresses the feasibility of sibling-focused programs with low-income Latino families and makes recommendations for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family-centered prevention programs are understudied for their effects on adolescent depression, despite considerable evidence that supports their effectiveness for preventing escalation in youth problem behavior and substance use. This study was conducted with 2 overarching goals: (a) replicate previous work that has implicated the Family Check-Up (FCU), a multilevel, gated intervention model embedded in public middle schools, as an effective strategy for preventing growth in adolescent depressive symptoms and (b) test whether changes in family conflict may be an explanatory mechanism for the long-term, protective effects of the FCU with respect to adolescent depression. This trial was conducted with 593 ethnically diverse families who were randomized to intervention (offered the FCU) or middle school as usual. Complier average causal effect (CACE) analysis revealed that engagers in the FCU evidenced less growth in depressive symptoms and family conflict from 6th through 9th grade, and post hoc analyses indicated that the FCU is related to lower rates of major depressive disorder. The second set of analyses examined family conflict as a mechanism of change for families who participated in the FCU. Families who reported short-term intervention benefits had significantly less escalation in family conflict over the middle school years; in turn, growth in family conflict explained risk for adolescent depressive symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceived criticism (PC) is a measure of how much criticism from 1 family member "gets through" to another. PC ratings have been found to predict the course of psychotic disorders, but questions remain regarding whether psychosocial treatment can effectively decrease PC, and whether reductions in PC predict symptom improvement. In a sample of individuals at high risk for psychosis, we examined a) whether Family Focused Therapy for Clinical High-Risk (FFT-CHR), an 18-session intervention that consists of psychoeducation and training in communication and problem solving, brought about greater reductions in perceived maternal criticism, compared to a 3-session family psychoeducational intervention; and b) whether reductions in PC from baseline to 6-month reassessment predicted decreases in subthreshold positive symptoms of psychosis at 12-month follow-up. This study was conducted within a randomized controlled trial across 8 sites. The perceived criticism scale was completed by 90 families prior to treatment and by 41 families at 6-month reassessment. Evaluators, blind to treatment condition, rated subthreshold symptoms of psychosis at baseline, 6- and 12-month assessments. Perceived maternal criticism decreased from pre- to posttreatment for both treatment groups, and this change in criticism predicted decreases in subthreshold positive symptoms at 12-month follow-up. This study offers evidence that participation in structured family treatment is associated with improvement in perceptions of the family environment. Further, a brief measure of perceived criticism may be useful in predicting the future course of attenuated symptoms of psychosis for CHR youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined gender and ethnicity as moderators of Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT) effectiveness for adolescent drug abuse and illustrated the utility of integrative data analysis (IDA; Bauer & Hussong, 2009) for assessing moderation. By pooling participant data from 5 independent MDFT randomized clinical trials (RCTs), IDA increased power to test moderation. Participants were 646 adolescents receiving treatment for drug use, aged 11 to 17 years (M = 15.31, SD = 1.30), with 19% female (n = 126), 14% (n = 92) European American, 35% (n = 225) Hispanic, and 51% (n = 329) African American. Participants were randomized to MDFT or active comparison treatments, which varied by study. Drug use involvement (i.e., frequency and consequences) was measured at study entry, 6-, and 12-months by a 4-indicator latent variable. Growth curve change parameters from multiple calibration samples were regressed on treatment effects overall and by moderator subgroups. MDFT reduced drug use involvement (p < .05) for all participant groups. Pooled comparison groups reduced drug use involvement only for females and Hispanics (ps < .05). MDFT was more effective than comparisons for males, African Americans, and European Americans (ps <.05; Cohen's d = 1.17, 1.95, and 1.75, respectively). For females and Hispanics, there were no significant differences between MDFT and pooled comparison treatments, Cohen's d = 0.63 and 0.19, respectively. MDFT is an effective treatment for drug use among adolescents of both genders and varied ethnicity with males, African American, and European American non-Hispanic adolescents benefitting most from MDFT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this article is to examine the effectiveness of 2 theoretically different treatments delivered in juvenile drug court--family therapy represented by multidimensional family therapy (MDFT) and group-based treatment represented by adolescent group therapy (AGT)-- on offending and substance use. Intent-to-treat sample included 112 youth enrolled in juvenile drug court (primarily male [88%], and Hispanic [59%] or African American [35%]), average age 16.1 years, randomly assigned to either family therapy (n = 55) or group therapy (n = 57). Participants were assessed at baseline and 6, 12, 18 and 24 months following baseline. During the drug court phase, youth in both treatments showed significant reduction in delinquency (average d = .51), externalizing symptoms (average d = 2.32), rearrests (average d = 1.22), and substance use (average d = 4.42). During the 24-month follow-up, family therapy evidenced greater maintenance of treatment gains than group-based treatment for externalizing symptoms (d = 0.39), commission of serious crimes (d = .38), and felony arrests (d = .96). There was no significant difference between the treatments with respect to substance use or misdemeanor arrests. The results suggest that family therapy enhances juvenile drug court outcomes beyond what can be achieved with a nonfamily based treatment, especially with respect to what is arguably the primary objective of juvenile drug courts: reducing criminal behavior and rearrests. More research is needed on the effectiveness of juvenile drug courts generally and on whether treatment type and family involvement influence outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, we examined children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems from age 5 to 15 years in relation to whether they had experienced a parental divorce. Children from divorced families had more behavior problems compared with a propensity-score-matched sample of children from intact families, according to both teachers and mothers. They exhibited more internalizing and externalizing problems at the first assessment after the parents' separation and at the last available assessment (age 11 years for teacher reports, or 15 years for mother reports). Divorce also predicted both short-term and long-term rank-order increases in behavior problems. Associations between divorce and child behavior problems were moderated by family income (assessed before the divorce) such that children from families with higher incomes prior to the separation had fewer internalizing problems than children from families with lower incomes prior to the separation. Higher levels of predivorce maternal sensitivity and child IQ also functioned as protective factors for children of divorce. Mediation analyses showed that children were more likely to exhibit behavior problems after the divorce if their postdivorce home environment was less supportive and stimulating, their mother was less sensitive and more depressed, and their household income was lower. We discuss avenues for intervention, particularly efforts to improve the quality of home environments in divorced families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The negative effects of family instability on children and adults have captured the attention of legislators and policymakers wondering if something could be done to help at-risk couples form and sustain healthy relationships and marriages. For a decade now, public funds have supported grants to provide couple and relationship education (CRE) to lower income individuals and couples. This meta-analytic study reviewed 38 studies (with 47 independent samples) assessing the effectiveness of CRE for lower income couples (defined as more than two-thirds of the sample below twice the poverty level) in an attempt to inform current policy debates. Overall effect sizes for control-group studies suggest that CRE for diverse, lower income couples has small, positive relationship effects (overall d = .061), especially on self-reports of relationship quality, communication, and aggression. There were somewhat stronger effects for studies with more married couples (d = .091), mostly "near-poor" (vs. poor) participants (d = .074), and more (vs. fewer) participants in relationship distress (d = .072). In comparison to the effect sizes for control-group studies, the effects of one-group/prepost studies were larger (overall d = .352). Practitioners will need to continue to innovate curriculum design and pedagogy, improve other programmatic elements, and find ways to increase participant engagement to achieve greater success with the limited public funds that support CRE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports secondary outcome findings on depressive symptoms from a randomized clinical trial testing three interventions for substance-abusing runaway adolescents. In particular, the effect of a family systems therapy, Ecologically Based Family Therapy (EBFT), and two individual therapies, the Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA) and Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET), on adolescent and primary caretaker (PC) depressive symptoms were compared. Findings showed that youth's depressive symptoms were significantly reduced in each treatment to 2 years postbaseline. However, the trajectory of change differed across treatments, with adolescents receiving MET showing a more rapid reduction in depressive symptoms but a quicker increase in symptoms compared with adolescents receiving EBFT. PCs receiving EBFT showed a statistically significant decline in depressive symptoms, hut this was not observed for the CRA and MET conditions. These findings can be interpreted to favor EBFT, although future research is needed to test training and implementation strategies for family systems therapies in community-based runaway shelters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the impact of couples' agreement regarding relationship problems at therapy intake on subsequent treatment engagement and success. One hundred and 47 couples seeking marital therapy at one of two Veteran Administration Medical Centers completed questionnaires assessing relationship satisfaction and were asked to indicate their three biggest relationship concerns. Agreement on relationship concern was defined as one person's list containing the partner's top relationship problem. Pretreatment agreement on relationship problems was unrelated to treatment course or outcomes when the therapy was longer and more integrative in nature. However, when couples received a brief, problem-focused treatment, agreement predicted greater engagement in therapy process and more positive treatment outcomes. Specifically, couples who were in agreement were more likely to attend the minimum number of required sessions and were more likely to be assessed as having received a full course of therapy by their treatment provider. Additionally, partners who agreed with each other were more likely to experience clinically significant changes during treatment. Taken together, results suggest that therapists and researchers should consider assessing agreement on relationship problems at the beginning of treatment and potentially suggest that couples who perceive their relationship differently should receive more integrative treatment. Future research is needed to examine the most effective sequencing for addressing differing, presenting problems as well as the mechanisms through which disagreement on presenting problems impacts treatment course and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Couple and family researchers often collect open-ended linguistic data--either through free-response questionnaire items, or transcripts of interviews or therapy sessions. Because participants' responses are not forced into a set number of categories, text-based data can be very rich and revealing of psychological processes. At the same time, it is highly unstructured and challenging to analyze. Within family psychology, analyzing text data typically means applying a coding system, which can quantify text data but also has several limitations, including the time needed for coding, difficulties with interrater reliability, and defining a priori what should be coded. The current article presents an alternative method for analyzing text data called topic models (Steyvers & Griffiths, 2006), which has not yet been applied within couple and family psychology. Topic models have similarities to factor analysis and cluster analysis in that they identify underlying clusters of words with semantic similarities (i.e., the "topics"). In the present article, a nontechnical introduction to topic models is provided, highlighting how these models can be used for text exploration and indexing (e.g., quickly locating text passages that share semantic meaning) and how output from topic models can be used to predict behavioral codes or other types of outcomes. Throughout the article, a collection of transcripts from a large couple-therapy trial (Christensen et al., 2004) is used as example data to highlight potential applications. Practical resources for learning more about topic models and how to apply them are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study reports results from a pilot randomized controlled trial evaluating the feasibility and efficacy of Risk Reduction through Family Therapy (RRFr) for reducing substance use risk and trauma-related mental health problems among sexually assaulted adolescents. Thirty adolescents (aged 13-17 years; M = 14.80; SD = 1.51) who had experienced at least one sexual assault and their caregivers were randomized to RRFr or treatment as usual (TAU) conditions. Participants completed measures of substance use, substance use risk factors (e.g., family functioning), mental health problems (i.e., posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and general internalizing/externalizing symptoms) and risky sexual behavior at four time points (baseline, posttreatment, and 3- and 6-month follow-up). Mixed-effects regression models yielded significantly greater reductions in substance use, specific substance use risk factors, and (parent- reported) FrSD, depression, and general internalizing symptoms among youth in the RRFI" condition relative to youth in the TAU condition. However, significant baseline differences in functioning between the two conditions warrant caution in interpreting between-groups fmdings. Instead, emphasis is placed on replication of feasibility findings and within-group improvements over time among the RRFr youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the well-documented association between history of sexual trauma (HSA) and suicide ideation, HSA is largely overlooked in suicide treatment studies. Existing studies showed that patients with a HSA have a weaker treatment response. In this randomized clinical trial for suicide ideation, HSA did not moderate treatment outcome for Attachment-Based Family Therapy (ABFY). Adolescents responded better to ABFT than a control condition, regardless of HSA status. At baseline, adolescents with HSA were also more likely to report past suicide attempts than those without HSA, indicating that they are a particularly important subgroup to consider when developing and evaluating interventions that target suicide ideation. Findings suggest that ABFT is a robust intervention for suicide ideation regardless of HSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixed methods in family psychology refer to the systematic integration of qualitative and quantitative techniques to represent family processes and settings. Over the past decade, significant advances have been made in study design, analytic strategies, and technological support (such as software) that allow for the integration of quantitative and qualitative methods and for making appropriate inferences from mixed methods. This special section of the Journal of Family Psychology illustrates how mixed methods may be used to advance knowledge in family science through identifying important cultural differences in family structure, beliefs, and practices, and revealing patterns of family relationships to generate new measurement paradigms and inform clinical practice. Guidance is offered to advance mixed methods research in family psychology through sound principles of peer review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A small randomized trial investigated a new family-based intervention for Hispanic adolescents who met DSM-IV criteria for substance abuse disorder. The Culturally Informed and Flexible Family-Based Treatment for Adolescents (CIFFTA) is a tailored/adaptive intervention that includes a flexible treatment manual and multiple treatment components. The study used an "add on" design to isolate the effects on substance abuse, behavior problems, and parenting practices attributable to the newly developed components. Twenty-eight Hispanic adolescents and their families were randomized either to the experimental treatment or to traditional family therapy (TFT) and were assessed at baseline and 8-month follow-up. Despite the small sample, results revealed statistically significant time x treatment effects on both self-reported drug use (marijuana + cocaine), F(1, 22) = 10.59, p < .01, η² = .33 and adolescent reports of parenting practices, F(1, 22) = 9.01, p < .01, η² = .29. Both sets of analyses favored CIFFTA participants. There was a significant time x treatment effect, F(1, 22) = 6.72, p = .02, η² = .23, favoring CIFFTA on parent report of parenting practices using a composite that matched the variables used for adolescents, but only a nonsignificant trend, F(1, 22) = 2.43, p =. 13, η² =. 10, with a composite that used all parenting subscales. Parent reports of adolescent behavior problems did not show a significant time or time x treatment effect. These results show the promise of this adaptive treatment for substance abuse in Hispanic adolescents and suggest the need for a larger randomized trial to fully investigate this treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents results of a subgroup analysis from a randomized trial to examine whether Structural Ecosystems Therapy (SET), a family intervention intended to improve medication adherence and reduce drug relapse of HIV-seropositive (HIV +) women recovering from drug abuse, provided benefits for families with children. Data from 42 children and 25 mothers were analyzed at baseline, and 4, 8, and 12 months post-baseline. Results of longitudinal Generalized Estimating Equations analyses suggested that SET was more efficacious than the Health Group (HG) control condition in decreasing children's internalizing and externalizing problems and reducing mothers' psychological distress and drug relapse. Children in SET reported improvements in positive parenting as compared to the children in HG, but there were no differences in mother-reported positive parenting, or parental involvement as reported by either the children or mothers. These findings suggest that family interventions such as SET may be beneficial for mothers and children. An adaptation of SET specifically for families with children could further enhance benefits and improve acceptability and cost-effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examined the effectiveness of Functional Family Therapy (FFT), as compared to probation services, in a community juvenile justice setting 12 months postreatment. The study also provides specific insight into the interactive effects of therapist model specific adherence and measures of youth risk and protective factors on behavioral outcomes for a diverse group of adolescents. The findings suggest that FFT was effective in reducing youth behavioral problems, although only when the therapists adhered to the treatment model. High-adherent therapists delivering FFT had a statistically significant reduction of (35%) in felony, a (30%) violent crime, and a marginally significant reduction (21%) in misdemeanor recidivisms, as compared to the control condition. The results represent a significant reduction in serious crimes 1 year alter treatment, when delivered by a model adherent therapist. The low-adherent therapists were significantly higher than the control group in recidivism rates. There was an interaction effect between youth risk level and therapist adherence demonstrating that the most difficult families (those with high peer and family risk) had a higher likelihood of successful outcomes when their therapist demonstrated model-specific adherence. These results are discussed within the context of the need and importance of measuring and accounting for model specific adherence in the evaluation of community-based replications of evidence-based family therapy models like FFT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined whether parents of adolescents experiencing depressive symptoms or disorder make more negative and fewer positive attributions for their adolescents' behavior than do parents of nondepressed adolescents, and whether parental attributions for adolescents' behavior contribute to parenting behavior, above and beyond the adolescents' behavior. Parents and adolescents (76 girls and 48 boys) participated in videotaped problem-solving interactions (PSIs). Each parent subsequently watched the videotape and offered attributions for their adolescent's behavior. In addition, parent and adolescent behavior during the PSIs was coded. Mothers and fathers in families of nondepressed adolescents made significantly fewer negative attributions for their children's behavior than did parents in families of adolescents with diagnostic or subdiagnostic levels of depressive symptoms. Moreover, mothers' and fathers' negative attributions were related to greater levels of observed aggressive behavior and lower levels of observed facilitative behavior during the PSIs controlling for both demographic characteristics and the relative level of adolescent aggressive and facilitative behavior during the PSI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relations between 4 sources of family stress (marital dissatisfaction, home chaos, parental depressive symptoms, and job role dissatisfaction) and the emotion socialization practice of mothers' and fathers' responses to children's negative emotions were examined. Participants included 101 couples with 7-year-old children. Dyadic analyses were conducted using the Actor--Partner Interdependence Model and relations were tested in terms of the spillover, crossover, and compensatory hypotheses. Results suggest that measures of family stress relate to supportive and nonsupportive parental responses, though many of these relations differ by parent gender. The results are discussed in terms of the 3 theoretical hypotheses, all of which are supported to some degree depending on the family stressor examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined whether (a) therapist behaviors thought to enhance family treatment predicted caregiver in-session responses, and (b) caregiver race, racial match between caregiver and therapist, and family financial hardship moderated the relationships between therapist and caregiver behavior. Observers coded caregiver and therapist behavior during one session of multisystemic therapy for substance abusing adolescents. Therapist teaching, focusing on strengths, making reinforcing statements, problem solving, and dealing with practical family needs predicted caregiver engagement and/or positive response, regardless of race, racial match, or financial hardship. Caregiver race, financial hardship, and therapist--caregiver racial match occasionally moderated the relationship between other therapist and caregiver behaviors. Findings suggest both commonalities and differences in how therapist behavior may function to engage caregivers in family treatment, depending on diversityrelated factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined treatment outcomes of 86 highly acculturated Hispanic and Anglo substance-abusing adolescents in functional family therapy, testing the hypothesis that ethnic matching of therapist and client is related to better treatment outcomes for clients. Adolescents reported on their substance use pre- and posttreatment on a timeline follow-back interview. Ethnically matched Hispanic adolescents demonstrated greater decreases in their substance use compared with Hispanic adolescents with Anglo therapists. Ethnic match status was not related to treatment outcome for Anglo clients. Thus, the matching hypothesis was supported for Hispanic clients only. The results underscore the importance of greater ethnic diversity among therapists and better cultural competency training for Anglo therapists. More research is needed on individual differences in the effects of ethnic matching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the authors examined the role of balance between adolescent-therapist and parent-therapist alliances in the retention of functional family therapy clients. Therapeutic alliances of mothers, fathers, and adolescents were assessed from videotapes of the 1st treatment session for 43 Hispanic and 43 Anglo families. Hispanic families who dropped out before completing the requisite number of sessions were found to have greater imbalance in alliance (parent-adolescent) than those who did complete therapy. However, this finding was not replicated with Anglo families. Results are interpreted in terms of previous research on family-level balanced alliance effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have examined the construct validity of the criticism component of expressed emotion, but little work has been done on clarifying the emotional overinvolvement (EOI) construct. In a sample of 115 recently episodic patients with bipolar disorder, the authors of the present study examined the construct validity of an observational coding system for both appropriate and inappropriate emotional involvement that permitted separate ratings for relatives' intrusiveness, self-sacrificing behaviors, and distress related to the patient's well-being. Findings support the measure's reliability and convergent validity and are moderately supportive of the measure's discriminant validity. Results also suggest that Camberwell Family Interview (C. E. Vaughn & J. P. Left, 19761 EOI ratings do not discriminate among the different dimensions of the emotional involvement construct (or their appropriateness or inappropriateness) as revealed in laboratory-based interactions. The findings suggest that clinicians working with such families might consider differentiating among the various ways in which family members are involved with the patient and helping them learn to judge under what circumstances such involvement is appropriate and inappropriate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many family therapies for adolescent drug use include ecological interventions. The purpose of this randomized clinical trial was to establish whether ecological interventions contribute to the impact of family therapy above and beyond the contributions of family process-only interventions. A family-based ecological approach, structural rcosystems therapy (SET). was compared with family process-only condition (FAM) and community services control (CS), One hundred ninety substance-abusing or dependent African American and Hispanic adolescents were randomized to SET, FAM, or CS. Follow-up assessments were conducted at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months postrandomization. SET was significantly more efficacious than FAM and CS in reducing adolescent drug use. However, these improvements were limited to Hispanic adolescents. The study demonstrates the importance of investigating changes in adolescent drug use as a result of treatment condition across more than 1 racial/ethnic group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents long-term effects of a randomized trial evaluating 2 standardized, manual-based prevention strategies for families with parental mood disorder: informational lectures and a brief, clinician-based approach including child assessment and a family meeting. A sample of 105 families, in which at least 1 parent suffered from a mood disorder and at least 1 nondepressed child was within the 8- to 15-year age range, was recruited. Parents and children were assessed separately at baseline and every 9 to 12 months thereafter on behavioral functioning, psychopathology, and response to intervention. Both interventions produced sustained effects through the 6th assessment point, approximately 4.5 years after enrollment, with relatively small sample loss of families (< 14%). Clinician-based families had significantly more gains in parental child-related behaviors and attitudes and in child-reported understanding of parental disorder. Child and parent family functioning increased for both groups and internalizing symptoms decreased for both groups, with no significant roup differences. These findings demonstrate that brief, family-centered preventive interventions for parental depression may contribute to long-term, sustained improvements in family functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major challenge in the dissemination of evidence-based family interventions (EBFIs) designed to reduce youth substance use and other problem behaviors is effective and sustainable community-based recruitment. This understudied topic is addressed by a preliminary study of 14 community-university partnership teams randomly assigned to an intervention condition in which teams attempted sustained implementation of EBFIs with two cohorts of middle school families. This report describes attendance rates of recruited families maintained over time and across both cohorts, along with exploratory analyses of factors associated with those rates. When compared with community-based recruitment rates in the literature, particularly for multisession interventions, relatively high rates were observed; they averaged 17% across cohorts. Community team functioning (e.g., production of quality team promotional materials) and technical assistance (TA) variables (e.g., effective collaboration with TA, frequency of TA requests) were associated with higher recruitment rates, even after controlling for community and school district contextual influences. Results support the community-university partnership model for recruitment that was implemented in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The link between treatment techniques and long-term treatment outcome was examined in an empirically supported family-based treatment for adolescent drug abuse. Observational ratings of therapist interventions were used to predict outcomes at 6 and 12 months posttreatment for 63 families receiving multidimensional family therapy. Greater use of in-session family-focused techniques predicted reduction in internalizing symptoms and improvement in family cohesion. Greater use of family-focused techniques also predicted reduced externalizing symptoms and family conflict, but only when adolescent focus was also high. In addition, greater use of adolescent-focused techniques predicted improvement in family cohesion and family conflict. Results suggest that both individual and multiperson interventions can exert an influential role in family-based therapy for clinically referred adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relational diagnosis has crucial importance in clinical treatment, but its development and inclusion in systems of classification such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual has been constrained by a number of factors. First, there is little consensus about what relational assessment and/or diagnosis entails. A second obstacle is the innate complexity of relational assessment and diagnosis, which results in a lack of definitive, well-accepted, evidence-based operational definitions of difficulties. Third, empirical testing of relational issues has lagged well behind the development of elegant theory. A fourth significant block to including relational disorders in the DSM is the discomfort engendered in some quarters about labeling social difficulties as disorders. Finally, the political process that is part of the evolution of diagnostic systems poses difficulties in the acceptance of new disorders or dimensions. This comment on the articles in the special section on relational disorders of the Journal of Family Psychology addresses how each of these articles contributes to overcoming these constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construct of expressed emotion (EE) is a highly reliable and valid predictor of poor clinical outcomes in patients with major psychopathology. Patients are at early risk for relapse if they live with family members who are classified as high in EE. Conventionally, EE is assessed with the Camberwell Family Interview (CFI), a semistructured interview that is conducted with the patient's key relatives. Unfortunately, training in the CFI is difficult to obtain. The CFI is also time-consuming to administer and labor intensive to rate. In this article, the authors discuss alternative ways of assessing EE. They also evaluate the predictive validity of these measures and make recommendations for researchers and clinicians interested in using these assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors examined the relations between adolescent-therapist and mother-therapist therapeutic alliances and dropout in multidimensional family therapy for adolescents who abuse drugs. The authors rated videotapes of family therapy sessions using observational methods to identify therapist-adolescent and therapist-mother alliances in the first 2 therapy sessions. Differences in adolescent and mother alliances in families that dropped out of therapy and families that completed therapy were compared. Results indicate that both adolescent and mother alliances with the therapist discriminated between dropout and completer families. Although no differences were observed between the 2 groups in Session 1, adolescents and mothers in the dropout group demonstrated statistically significantly lower alliance scores in Session 2 than adolescents and parents in the completer group. These findings are consistent with other research that has established a relationship between therapeutic alliance and treatment response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The revelation of an affair is often an emotionally explosive event for a couple, yet little is known about specific individual and relationship factors that accompany infidelity. The present study examined the qualities of individuals and couples that differentiate couples with (n = 19) and without (n = 115) infidelity using couples from a randomized clinical trial of marital therapy. Findings indicated that couples with infidelity showed greater marital instability, dishonesty, arguments about trust, narcissism, and time spent apart. Gender also proved to be a significant moderator of several effects. Men who had participated in affairs showed increased substance use, were older, and were more sexually dissatisfied. Results offer initial clues to concomitants of affairs for couple therapists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Federal regulations, ethical standards, and state laws governing ethics do not adequately address important issues in couple and family research. Including multiple family members, particularly dependent minors, in research requires the special application of fundamental ethical issues, such as confidentiality, privacy, and informed consent. The sensitive, com mingled nature of couple and family information necessitates clear policies about data ownership and disclosure. Researchers need to have respect for the family as a unit and to evaluate benefits versus harms for the family as well as for individuals. This article highlights areas of potential concern and ambiguity related to abuse reporting and Certificates of Confidentiality and also addresses ethical issues with observational data, intervention studies, longitudinal designs, and computer-assisted research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonindependent components of couple data require data-analytic strategies tailored to the interpersonal processes occurring between relationship partners. This article examines the benefits of a specifically dyadic analytic method, the actor-partner interdependence model. (APIM), for evaluating interpartner influence across time. Both conceptual and methodological features of the APIM are exemplified by applying this model to observations of negative and positive affect and global distress in spouses participating in a randomized trial of couple therapy. In addition to elucidating specific advantages of the APIM relative to alternative data-analytic strategies, the current results shed new light on previous findings from a comparative treatment outcome study evaluating behavioral and insight-oriented approaches to couple therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative approaches have much to offer family psychology. Among the uses for qualitative methods are theory building, model and hypothesis testing, descriptions of lived experiences, typologies, items for surveys and measurement tools, and case examples that answer questions that surveys cannot. Despite the usefulness of these products, issues related to generalizability, subjectivity, and language, among others, block some researchers from appreciating the contributions that qualitative methods can make. This article provides descriptions of procedures that lead to these useful products and discusses alternative ways of understanding aspects of qualitative approaches that some researchers view as problematic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our field, the study of therapeutic change processes lags behind the study of treatment efficacy. Nonetheless, in the past 10 years major strides have been made in delineating change process mechanisms in couple and family therapy. To focus the efforts of future change process researchers, the authors discuss 5 critical needs: (a) more well-articulated, midrange theory about systemic change processes; (b) more attention to client change processes; (c) more attention to covert intrapersonal processes (emotion, cognition, and clients' experience of the alliance); (d) better articulation of strategies for analyzing data from multiple participants; and (e) more focus on the degree to which various change processes work similarly (or not) for diverse couples and families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vast majority of outcome studies examining the effects of marital and family treatments focus exclusively on indicators of and changes in familial functioning and individual members' psychosocial adjustment, but fail to measure, report, or analyze treatment costs, benefits, cost-benefit ratio, or cost-effectiveness. Because of growing concerns about spiraling health care costs, clinical and economic outcomes constitute equally important and complementary aspects of any evaluation of marital and family treatments. The twofold purpose of this article is to define different components of cost analyses of health-related interventions, including marital and family treatments, and to describe methods for calculating and integrating clinical and cost outcome information when evaluating marital and family treatments. There are significant opportunities to promote the use of such treatments by conducting and reporting the results of cost analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationship between alliance and retention in family therapy. Alliance was examined at the individual (parent and adolescent) and family levels (withinfamily differences). Participants were 34 families who received functional family therapy for the treatment of adolescent (aged 12-18 years) behavior problems. Families were classified as treatment dropouts (n = 14) or completers (n = 20). Videotapes of the first sessions were rated to identify parent and adolescent alliances with the therapist. Results demonstrated that individual parent and adolescent alliances did not predict retention. However, as hypothesized, dropout cases had significantly higher unbalanced alliances (parent minus adolescent) than did completer cases. These findings highlight the importance of alliances in functional family therapy and suggest that how the alliance operates in conjoint family therapy may be a function of systemic rather than of individual processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes integrative multilevel family therapy for disputes involving child custody and visitation, a multiple-level systems-based treatment specifically targeted at those engaged in intractable conflicts over child custody and visitation. Parents and children engaged in these conflicts are at risk for a variety of difficulties. Key aspects of the approach include the articulation of clear therapy contracts, the utilization of multiple therapy session formats, the maintenance of a systemic perspective, intervention on multiple system levels, the tailoring of intervention strategy based in an assessment of the locus of difficulty in each case, planning for intervention over time, and working at the interface of the legal system in order to impact on these problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of a multilevel systemic approach, the authors appearing in this journal suggest implications for social policy and legislation extrapolated from the individual, family, legal, and larger sociocultural systems discussed. The field of family psychology can play a significant leadership role in advocating policies and legislation relevant to the emerging family types and legal dilemmas based on empirical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined relationship factors associated with parental dysfunction among young African American and Latino couples. Parent dysfunction was defined in terms of parenting stress, child abuse potential, physically punitive behavior, and paternal disengagement. Fathers who reported positive relations with their own parents and partners before childbirth reported more positive adjustments to parenthood at follow-up. The quality of the prebirth partner relationship buffered the impact of a relationship breakup on a young father's adjustment to parenthood. The quality of a mother's relationship with her parents was the best predictor of her adjustment to parenthood. However, mothers who reported large declines in the quality of the partner relationship also reported high levels of parenting stress. Clinical and policy implications of findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This longitudinal study predicted marital outcome from communication skills gained from participation in the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP; H. J. Markman, S. L. Blumberg & S. M. Stanley, 1989; Stanley et al., 2001) by 39 women and 38 men. Results were in the expected direction for men but not for women. Men's pre- to posttest decrease in negative communication and increase in positive communication predicted decreased risk of marital distress onset in men. Women's pre- to posttest increase in positive communication, which was related to self-reported avoidance of problem solving, predicted an increased risk of male and female distress onset. Couples with men relatively high on premarital risk factors demonstrated a greater benefit from men's positive communication skills acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the efficacy of brief strategic family therapy (BSFT) with Hispanic behavior problem and drug using youth, an underrepresented population in the family therapy research literature. One hundred twenty-six Hispanic families with a behavior problem adolescent were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 conditions: BSFT or group treatment control (GC). Results showed that, compared to GC cases, BSFT cases showed significantly greater pre- to post-intervention improvement in parent reports of adolescent conduct problems and delinquency, adolescent reports of marijuana use, and observer ratings and self reports of family functioning. These results extend prior findings on the efficacy of family interventions to a difficult to treat Hispanic adolescent sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared the immediate impact of therapist reframing, reflection, and elicit-structure interventions on family-member defensive communications in the initial session of family therapy with a delinquent adolescent. Defensive statements included family-member statements that criticized, blamed, or disagreed with other family members. Sequences of behaviors following defensive family-member statements were examined to determine which therapist interventions were the most effective in disrupting defensive family interactions. Thus, every sequence included a defensive family-member behavior, a therapist intervention, and a family-member response (sequence: family defensive-->therapist intervention-->family response). Results indicated that therapist reframing is more effective than other therapist interventions in reducing family-members' defensive statements. Moreover, adolescents responded more favorably to reframes than did fathers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Influenced by language and therapeutic discourse as well as the feminist critique of marriage and family therapy, the authors conducted research to evaluate conversational power in marriage and family therapy. Research on interruptions has received the most empirical attention, so the authors examined videotaped therapy sessions to see if women clients were interrupted more than men clients. This strategy integrated scholarship on gender and conversation into research on marriage and family therapy process. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to examine the different treatment of women and men clients; gender of therapist was used as a control variable. Results indicated that marriage and family doctoral students interrupted women clients three times more than men clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]