This activity book describes strategies for strengthening families drawn from telephone interviews with 1,000 adults in Minnesota, 400 family questionnaires, 12 focus groups with families of various ethnic groups, and five family forums. Nine family strengths are identified and discussed: communication, health, time together, spirituality, support, respect, unity, cultural traditions, and extended sense of family. […]
This fact sheet explains the reasons married couples sometimes have difficulty communicating, urges couples to realize that a positive attitude and a win-win mentality will help, and recommends couples take a break from a discussion if communication becomes too difficult. Ground rules for communicating a message are then discussed and include: pick the right time, […]
Strengthening marriages and relationships in low-income families has emerged as a national strategy for enhancing the well-being of children. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) appropriated $150 million in discretionary grants each year from 2006 through 2010 to implement the Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Initiative. To provide insight into how these programs are […]
For the first time in America, over half of all mothers under thirty are unwed. New research finds that more than 50 percent of all births to women under 30 are out of wedlock. Fifty years ago, it was 6 percent. It’s the unintended consequence of big shifts in culture and policy, and it’s got […]
Children are greatly influenced by their family and social environment. The family is viewed as the child’s primary context for socialization, and the relationship between the adults in a family affects the well-being of children, positively or negatively. This CD is a compendium of materials that promote successful building of relationship skills and provide child […]
This article encourages people to focus on what they want to say to get their point across– concentrate less on what you want to say and more on what you want others to hear.
Infidelity can have a devastating effect on marriages and individuals. This qualitative study explores the process of healing from infidelity and therapist behaviors that facilitate this process. In-depth client interviews suggest that healing occurs as couples pass through a seven-step process: (1) exploration of emotions and thoughts surrounding the infidelity, (2) expression of these to […]
In recent decades, there has been a widening gap between higher rates of marital instability for economically disadvantaged couples and lower rates for nondisadvantaged couples. In addition, out-of-wedlock birth rates have risen, while evidence has grown that children fare better, on average, when raised by both of their parents in stable low-conflict households. All of […]
This brief discusses the damage infidelity can cause in a marriage and strategies spouses can use to heal. Spouses are urged to explore what happened and why the affair occurred, and to communicate openly and honestly. The need for unfaithful partners to express sincere regret and remorse is stressed, as well as for couples to […]
This brief describes how the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative has used research in planning, ongoing operations, expansions, and evaluation of outcomes. It also discusses the creation and use of a research advisory group and the development of strategies for incorporating research in the context of a dynamic, evolving, broad-based initiative. (Author abstract)