Journal of Family Theory & Review最新文献

We present our shared research journey. To place it in context, we briefly describe the history of stepfamily scholarship in four phases, highlighting our roles. We reflect on our mutual experiences as spouses who were research partners, and finish with thoughts about our contributions to the field. Although we occasionally examined sociocultural contexts within which stepfamilies lived, most of our attention focused on how stepfamily members developed and maintained satisfying and effective relationships. We also chronicled and critiqued the state of knowledge about stepfamilies by writing multiple reviews. For nearly 50 years, we have studied stepfamilies from a normative-adaptive, resilience perspective. Our motivation was to explore issues that mattered to stepfamily members and to professionals who interacted with them. Being remarried facilitated the quality of our scholarship in many ways, although we faced challenges as well. We conclude with a brief discussion of our contributions to the study of stepfamilies.

Using an intersectional lens, existing literature, and theories to inform and ground this work, we propose marginalized family identity theory (MFIT). MFIT is a new theoretical framework to understand shared family identities in families shaped by the marginalized individual identity of one or more members. We center the experiences of Queer (LGBTQIA+) parent families, yet we also discuss how this framework may extend to other marginalized families (e.g., adoptive families, multiracial families) with consideration of sociocultural and historical contexts. With a strengths-based approach, we synthesize social science scholarship (with a focus on psychological, developmental, and family science) related to marginalized family identity and associated outcomes. Here, we emphasize marginalized family processes and individual outcomes beyond typical developmental ones. We describe the utility and promise of MFIT for future research, as well as implications for practice and policy relevant to marginalized families.

Growing up is rarely easy, yet adolescents and young adults today are reporting distress at rates never seen before. We propose this trend can be traced to societal forces that accelerate and suppress development, resulting in developmental anxiety (i.e., worry about meeting adult milestones on time, if ever). Drawing on foundational theories from developmental and family sciences, we introduce hurries and waits as umbrella terms for these simultaneous and contradictory forces and explain how developmental anxiety may arise from the tension they place on young people. We next identify strengths that both young people and their families can use to navigate hurry–wait tension, and close with an agenda for future research. This updated, systems-based lens on the transition to adulthood prepares the field to help young people achieve the fulfilling adult life that previous generations looked forward to with greater promise.

Parental substance use is a strong predictor of adolescent substance use, but empirical research has identified factors that can moderate that relationship. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review of those factors. Manuscripts were sought in 12 databases. Of the initial 6467 documents screened by title, abstract, and keywords, 101 were full-text analyzed. Ultimately, 24 studies were eligible for this study. All steps of the review process were independently conducted by two of the authors. The results show that various family (e.g., family cohesion), individual (e.g., mental health), and environmental (e.g., school interventions) factors moderate the association between parental substance use and adolescent substance use. The findings suggest that the development of individual skills, improvement of family settings, and involvement of adolescents in healthy environments can be protective against substance use for adolescents whose parents are substance users.

Many theories have been applied to understanding varied experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization, IPV-related help-seeking, and barriers to help-seeking, including intersectionality theory to describe the influence of multiple systems of oppression on IPV victimization and help-seeking. Although theorizing on IPV has historically focused on violence against women, more attention has been paid in recent years to men's IPV victimization and help-seeking experiences. However, much of this literature is anti-feminist and does not account for the impact of race and racism on men's experiences. Some researchers go as far as to blame feminism for the barriers that men face when seeking help and ignore the influence of White-supremacist patriarchal systems on the men under study. The focus of this paper is Black men, as their IPV victimization experiences are rarely empirically accounted for, though they do experience IPV victimization. By applying intersectionality and hegemonic masculinities to this sparse body of literature, we aim to illuminate the conundrums Black men face when victimized and making help-seeking decisions in the context of patriarchy and White supremacy.

Although relationship instability is one of the most widely studied relationship concepts, its definition remains unclear. To advance clarity and transparency in this area, we outline the diverse ways relationship instability is conceptualized and propose a conceptual model of relationship instability as a process. Given the important role of commitment in relationship development, we define relationship instability as a process of dramatic change in relational experiences centered on fluctuations in commitment. In addition to outlining the relationship instability process model and exploring other contextual considerations, we provide recommendations for scholars and encourage transparency through the provision of an overt definition of the component of instability assessed in future research.