Journal of marital and family therapy最新文献

According to disciplinary standards, therapists offering relationship and family therapy are ethically obligated to inform their work with published knowledge about specific client factors to practice competently. Relationship and family therapy research and resources, however, generally lack flexibility in their application to relationships that aren't captured by dominant discourses of relationship composition. The challenges many therapists face in working with clients who have multiple marginalized identities are most often located within the individuals and relationships (rather than within the lack of systemic support available to inform competent practice). In response, we propose an intentionally intersectional structure a therapist could follow to systemically analyze, synthesize, and utilize currently available research toward more ethically and responsively competent practice and apply it to transgender and nonbinary clients in consensually nonmonogamous relationships.

Family-focused interventions for youth with juvenile legal system involvement place emphasis on improving caregiver wellbeing. However, there is limited work to date characterizing the prevalence and determinants of behavioral health concerns among these caregivers. The present study sought to examine among 100 caregivers of youth with juvenile legal system involvement: (a) rates of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and cannabis and alcohol use; (b) frequency of exposure to traumatic events and discrimination; and (c) the association between experiences of traumatic events and discrimination and behavioral health concerns. The results indicated a variety of behavioral health concerns were experienced by caregivers, with an alarming number of caregivers having been exposed to traumatic events and discrimination. Discrimination was most frequently associated with mental health concerns. Our findings indicated that family-based interventions targeting youth with juvenile legal system involvement should continue to focus on caregiver wellbeing and emphasize reducing the impact of experiences of discrimination.

Numerous studies have shown that mindfulness is positively associated with relationship and sexual satisfaction. However, most have examined the benefits of intrapersonal or trait mindfulness, rather than directly investigating interpersonal mindfulness or considering polyvagal theory. Our main objective was to determine the variable importance of interpersonal mindfulness and psychological safety for relationship and sexual satisfaction using random forests and regression trees and to explore the importance of demographics, social and couple-related factors, and emotional wellbeing in this analysis. 356 adults in committed romantic relationships were recruited for a self-report survey. Results suggested that mindfulness in couple relationships, psychological safety, conflict strategies, and depression symptoms were of top importance for relationship and sexual satisfaction. Limitations and future directions involving dyadic data and physiological measures were discussed. The findings will inform the development of interpersonal mindfulness- and polyvagal-based interventions aimed at promoting safety and stability in relationships while enhancing personal wellbeing.

Informed by the theoretical foundation of social exchange theory and polyvagal theory, we examined romantic, social, and psychophysiological functioning among a sample of 284 heterosexual, emerging adult romantic partners and their friends. Actor–partner interdependence model results revealed that both women and men reported greater romantic adjustment when also speaking frequently with their partner about romantic challenges. Additionally, men were found to have more favorable psychophysiological functioning, as captured by heart rate variability (HRV) during conversations with their partner, when men also spoke frequently to friends about romantic challenges. Moreover, men's HRV scores when talking to partners and to friends were more favorable if men perceived that friends' approval of their relationship was high. Clinical implications are presented, and social, romantic, and psychophysiological implications for emerging adult partners are discussed.

This randomized controlled study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of Functional Family Therapy (FFT) compared to Treatment As Usual (TAU) among 120 youth probationers in Singapore. The Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER) was calculated to determine the cost per unit of non-recidivism, covering the period from probation inception to 3 years post probation. Overall, FFT showed higher costs (S$1183 vs. S$1070) but better non-recidivism rates (79% vs. 65%) compared to TAU. The ICER was S$807 per youth probationer (95% CI: S$230–S$1,061). For high-risk youth, FFT was both less costly and more effective (ICER: −S$2396), while for moderate-risk youth, it was more costly but more effective (ICER: S$2809). Using willingness-to-pay benchmarks published by Cohen et al., FFT was considered more cost-effective than TAU. The study concluded that FFT is a cost-effective intervention for youth probationers in Singapore.

Anger is an apt and justified response to wrongdoings, yet conventional approaches commonly view it as an intrapersonal problem that solely demands cognitive or behavioral interventions. Mainstream treatments of anger often neglect its contextual factors, potentially invalidating the legitimate grievances of marginalized people. This paper challenges these views by examining existing literature, and rethinks the role of anger by placing it within the contexts of social power structures. It argues that anger-related processes can constitute affective injustice, further perpetuating systemic oppression and injustice. To advance sociocultural competency in treating anger among marginalized people, this paper offers practical guidance, such as the role of client autonomy in the anger treatment process and a systemic conceptualization of anger rooted in systems theory. It also recommends key directions for future research, such as the intersectionality of anger regulation among marginalized communities. Ultimately, the paper is not about introducing novel models or interventions for treating anger but rather seeks to shift the focus from merely approaching anger as a clinical problem to addressing its systemic roots, empowering clinicians to incorporate these factors into the treatment process.