Journal of marital and family therapy最新文献

In 2005, the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education announced its transition to an outcomes-based accreditation model for C/MFT training programs. This transition to outcomes-based C/MFT education was lauded for bringing newfound freedom to instructors in C/MFT graduate programs and for ushering a paradigm shift toward collaborative, student-responsive clinical pedagogy in C/MFT training. The current study utilized a systematic research synthesis approach to explore how trainees' experiences are being conceptualized in the empirical research on master's-level C/MFT following the field's transition to outcomes-based education. Results indicated that trainees' experiences within the training context are a prevalent element in recent training-focused research, with many studies presenting trainees' experiences as a relevant factor for understanding how a given training “input” influences a trainee's eventual development of training-related skill and competency outcomes. Recommendations for instructors, C/MFT faculty, and future research toward evidence-informed clinical pedagogy are provided.

With the rise in metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS), many patients likely have family members who also underwent MBS, yet how attachment to these relatives affects surgical outcomes remains unclear. Understanding this relationship is crucial, as attachment influences emotional regulation, self-efficacy, and behavior change—key factors in long-term weight management and surgical success. This study examined whether attachment styles influenced body mass index (BMI) changes from presurgery to 6 months postsurgery in 123 MBS patients. Patients with higher avoidant attachment to a family member who had MBS had higher BMI at intake (b = 3.16) but showed more rapid weight loss over 6 months (b = − 2.02). Anxious attachment was unrelated to intake BMI but predicted less favorable BMI trajectories over 6 months (b = 0.82). Findings underscore the importance of considering attachment dynamics in families where multiple members have undergone MBS.

This study sought to address the gap in understanding polyamorous individuals' responses to their partner's New Relationship Energy (i.e., the excited giddiness of burgeoning intimate relationships) with another partner. Individuals who reported greater mindfulness were hypothesized to report less jealousy (through better emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and the undoing effect) and greater compersion (through empathy). Polyamorous participants (N = 122) were recruited online and anonymously completed surveys through Qualtrics. Mindfulness was associated with lower jealousy through greater emotion regulation, greater distress tolerance, and, to a lesser extent, the undoing effect. Mindfulness was also associated with greater compersion, but not through empathy. Findings may help researchers and clinicians better understand the range of reactions one might have to a partner's New Relationship Energy with another intimate partner and facilitate the development of interventions for individuals who desire to have a different emotional response.

We aimed to investigate the coexistence, profiles, and transitions of differentiation of self (DoS) and perceived social support (PSS), and the associations between transitions and adolescents' loneliness and depressive symptoms. We surveyed 1342 adolescents (Age: M = 14.14, SD = 1.60) in November 2019 (T1), November 2020 (T2), and November 2021 (T3). We conducted cross-lagged panel modeling (CLPM), latent profile analysis (LPA) using dimensions of DoS (i.e., emotional reactivity, I position, emotional cutoff, fusion with others) and PSS (i.e., family, peers, and others), and random intercept latent transition analysis (RI-LTA). CLPM revealed that PSS influenced subsequent DoS. LPA and RI-LTA identified nine transitions between four profiles (Parallel Low DoS and PSS; Low I Position and PSS; Parallel High DoS and PSS; Low I Position and High PSS). Stable or decreasing DoS and PSS characterized risk for loneliness and depressive symptoms, whereas synchronic increasing of I position and PSS characterized risk for loneliness.

Infidelity has been widely researched; however, few studies have analyzed its behavioral patterns holistically using a person-centered approach. This study, with a sample of 400 young adults (M_age = 25.28; SD = 7.24), identified patterns of unfaithful behavior by using latent class analysis to classify subgroups with distinct patterns. The 20-item Likert-scale Multidimensional Infidelity Inventory-S (MII-S) was used to assess sexual and emotional infidelity. The results indicated four latent classes: infidelity (15.7%), sexual desire (14.4%), emotional interest (27.2%), and fidelity (42.5%). In addition, age and sex were significantly related to class membership. On the other hand, men were more likely to belong to the sexual desire class and women to the emotional interest and fidelity classes. For sexual orientation or relationship duration, there were no significant differences. Implications for clinical practice and research are discussed

Traditional statistical methods and models, such as linear regression, are commonly implemented in Couple/Marriage Family Therapy (C/MFT) research, yet these methods are intractable to answer dyadic and systemic questions. In the past 30 years, dyadic analysis has emerged to address such problems, and the actor–partner interdependence model (APIM) is seemingly the default analysis. The APIM answers research questions related to mutual influence, but the APIM cannot answer questions at the dyad level (e.g., characteristics of the relationship). The common fate model (CFM) is well-suited to answer such questions. Due to the underutilization of the CFM in C/MFT research, the purpose of this article is to discuss the CFM and extensions into mediation, moderation, multilevel CFM (i.e., individual and dyad level effects) models, growth models, and hybrid models that combine the APIM with the CFM are discussed. Syntax in Mplus is provided as link to video demonstrations of each model.

Family members' acceptance of one's romantic partner may play an important role in the progress of new and developing romantic relationships. This study used a sample of 707 couples that completed a questionnaire from the Marriage Matters Panel Survey of Newlywed Couples to observe the effects from family approval to conflict to relationship quality across the first three to 4 years of marriage. Results indicated that an increase in husbands’ family approval at Wave 1 was significantly linked with the relationship quality of both spouses at Wave 3 via the indirect effect through both spouses' conflict at Wave 2. More specifically, as husbands' families were more approving of their wives shortly after marriage, both spouses reported less conflict 18 months into marriage, and higher relationship quality 3 to 4 years into marriage. Clinical implications will be reviewed for helping couples and families navigate this developmental stage of marriage formation.

This paper aims to contextualize CFT within the contradictory socio-cultural environment in which families live and develop in Italy: new family lifestyles and old prejudices against new family forms coexist. It is important for therapists to be aware of the possibility that clients may internalize prejudices or social stereotypes and thus make decisions that are ultimately inappropriate for their own situation. Equally, it is important for psychotherapists to have first distanced themselves from the prejudices that clients may socially and culturally share or that might be present in their models. We will address this issue through the analysis of three different clinical cases selected according to a pattern that connects them despite their differences. The clinical cases reflect the specificity of the Italian socio-cultural context while also demonstrating how a second-level perspective—articulated through defined competencies—fosters context-sensitive clinical practice.