Families
Spirituality
Bibliography
Benson,
P. L. and Roehlkepartain, E. C. (1993). Youth in single parent families:
Risk and resiliency. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. 360462.
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Abstract: Data from the
Search Institute's national study of 47,000 students are examined to
gain greater insight into how family structure impacts young people.
The authors focus on three issues: at-risk behavior, deficits, and
the dynamics of healthy single-parent families that contribute to
child resiliency. Although youth in single parent families were
found to be more likely to report engaging in high-risk behaviors
than youth in two-parent families, they also reported a number of "assets"
which seemed to make a difference in their and foster resiliency.
Those assets included support from family, positive school climate,
positive peer influence, educational aspiration, and involvement in
religious institutions. |
Casas,
C.C., Stinnett, N., Williams, R.C., DeFrain, J., and Lee, P.A. (1984).
Identifying family strengths in Latin American families. Family
Perspective, 18, 11-17.
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Abstract: Respondents
from nine Latin American countries who considered their families to
be strong answered the Family Strengths Inventory, an instrument
designed to measure factors contributing to healthy family
functioning. The six most frequently mentioned factors were 1) love
and affection, 2) family togetherness, 3) understanding and
acceptance, 4) mutual respect and appreciation, 5)
communication/relationship skills, and 6) religion. A majority of
the respondents also indicated high marital satisfaction, high
parent-child relationship satisfaction, high self-esteem within the
family, and frequent contact with extended family. |
Hanline,
M.F., and Daley, S. E. (1992). Family coping strategies and strengths in
Hispanic, African-American, and Caucasian families of young children.
Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 12(3): 351-366.
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Abstract: The purpose of
this study was to determine the coping strategies predictive of
family strengths in Hispanic, African-American, and Caucasian
families of young children with and without disabilities. Two
hundred six Hispanic, African-American, and Caucasian mothers
completed the Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scale (F
COPES) and the Family Strengths Questionnaire. Differences in coping
strategies and family strengths between and within ethnic groups
were examined. The results indicated that coping strategies internal
to the family (i.e., reframing events to make them more manageable
and minimizing reactivity to problematic issues) were more likely to
be predictive of family strengths than external coping strategies
(i.e., social support) for families in all three ethnic groups.
Within the group of Hispanic families (those with and without
children with disabilities), no differences were found in coping
strategies and family strengths. The only difference found between
African American families of children with and without disabilities
was found in the use of external social support. Specifically,
African-American families of children with disabilities were more
likely to mobilize the family to acquire help from community
resources. Many differences were found among Caucasian families.
Caucasian families of children with disabilities were more likely to
use the coping strategies of minimizing reactivity to problematic
issues, social support, spiritual support, and mobilizing the family
to acquire help from community services. |
Hanson,
S.M.H. (1986). Healthy single parent families. Family Relations, 35,
125-132.
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Abstract: The
characteristics of healthy single parent families are examined using
factors identified in the research literature on healthy two-parent
nuclear families. Attention is given to the following variables:
social support, socioeconomic status, communication, degree of
religiousness, and problem solving ability. The author sought to
determine whether or not these variables were related to the
physical and mental health of single parents and their children.
Social support and good communication were found to be most
predictive of the single parents' physical and mental health. Social
support, good communication, and religiousness emerged as predictors
of the physical and mental health of the children. Socioeconomic
status and problem solving ability were not strongly related to
parents' or children's physical and mental health. |
Hurd,
E. P., Moore, C. and Rogers, R. (1995). Quiet success: Parenting
strengths among African Americans. Families in Society, 76(7): 434-443.
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Abstract: Fifty-three
African American parents were interviewed concerning their
perceptions of their parenting strengths. Related areas also
examined were parenting support from external caregivers and the
contribution African American men make to the care of children.
Results revealed 3 trends and 8 themes that contributed to parenting
strengths. The 3 themes that emerged were substantial parental
involvement, considerable support from external caregivers, and a
great deal of male involvement. The most often cited themes were
connection with family, emphasis on achievement, respect for others,
spirituality, self-reliance, importance of education, coping skills,
and self respect and racial pride. The implications of these
findings for social work and family practice are discussed. |
Littlejohn-Blake,
S.M. and Darling, C.A. (1993). Understanding the strengths of
African-American families. Journal of Black Studies, 23(4): 460-471.
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Abstract: The authors
define family strengths as "those relationship patterns,
interpersonal competencies, and social and psychological
characteristics that create a sense of positive family identity."
Four strengths of African-American families are identified: 1)
religion and spirituality, 2) household elasticity (the taking in of
family members and friends who need financial and/or emotional
support), 3) resiliency in the face of adversity, and 4) family
members' strong sense of self and heritage. These strengths are
considered functionally adaptive and have developed in response to
adverse external conditions. The authors apply various conceptual
and theoretical perspectives such as exchange theory and the
structural functional model in their analysis of the resiliency of
African-American family patterns in an effort to explain the
adaptive nature of these patterns. Methodological issues are also
addressed. The authors argue that flawed sampling procedures can
result in a distorted image of African-Americans and stress the
importance of including African-American families of all class
levels. Interviewer characteristics should also be a concern.
Interviewers of the same racial back ground as the respondents are
more likely to collect valid data and approach topics in a racially
sensitive manner. The authors also suggest greater collection of
qualitative data rather than quantitative data arguing that
qualitative approaches provide more richly detailed data. Their
recommendations for future research include cross-cultural
comparisons of family strengths, theory development through
interrelating the concepts presented in the family strengths
literature, and a greater focus on African-American family stability
and cultural identity. |
Schumm,
W.R. (1984). Beyond relationship characteristics of strong families:
Constructing a model of family strengths. Family Perspective, 19(4):
1-9.
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Abstract: Theory-based
proposal integrating Stinnett and DeFrain's family strengths model.
This article presents a model of family strengths which attempts to
address the lack of integration of concepts in the family strengths
literature by illustrating how these concepts are related to one
another. An analysis of the contents of several family strengths
articles revealed six family strengths which seem to be
interrelated: religious orientation, appreciation, time together,
open communication, and conflict/crisis coping or resolution.
Religious orientation is considered the "prime mover"
variable in the model because it indirectly influences all the other
variables, however, it is not a necessary and sufficient cause of
the other five family strength variables. The author believes that
the proposed model lays the groundwork for family strengths theory
development and contends that all the relationships in the model can
be empirically tested. The model is applicable to the area of family
therapy and can be used by clinicians to pinpoint areas where
improvement is needed in families seeking treatment. |
Smith,
L. (1983). Promoting family wellness through the churches. In D. R. Mace
(Ed.), Prevention in family services: approaches to family wellness.
Sage: Beverly Hills, CA.
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Abstract: This article
focuses specifically on family ministry in Protestant denominations,
the religious groups with which the author is most familiar. The
author believes that the family ministry is well suited for the
promotion of family wellness due to its focus on the importance of
the family to its members, to society, and to God. Family ministry
treats individuals as family members and views families as social
units. Consideration is also given to the environmental factors that
impact families and there is a recognition of family potential as
well as family problems. The author recommends the development of
ministries focusing on many different family concerns such as
communication, sexuality, marriage preparation, and parenthood. The
author also suggests a family life cycle approach with a focus on
ten developmental tasks. Healthy family functioning, marriage, and
sexuality were also noted as areas in which family ministry should
devote special attention. Suggestions for implementation include
professional training for church leaders, involving family members
in the development of programs, and forging relationships with other
religious groups and community agencies. |
Stinnett,
N. and DeFrain, J. (1989). The healthy family: Is it possible? In M.J.
Fine (Ed.), The Second Handbook on Parent Education. Academic Press: San
Diego, CA.
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Abstract: The authors,
who have been studying healthy families since the 1970s, discuss the
six qualities of strong families consistently found in their
studies: commitment, appreciation, communication, time together,
spiritual wellness, and the ability to cope with stress and crisis.
The authors argue that commitment binds the members of a family
together and may act as the foundation for the other five family
strengths. Committed family members consider the family their first
priority and invest a great deal of time and energy in family
activities. Appreciation is the expression of gratitude between
family members. The authors suggest following the 10 to 1 rule:
expressing appreciation for something positive a family member does
at least 10 times for each negative thing you say. Communication in
healthy families entails discussing major as well as trivial issues.
Discussions are often task oriented and members are intent on
getting problems solved. The communication patterns in strong
families are characterized by factors like understanding the other
person's view and breaking down problems into logical components.
Members of strong families enjoy time with one another engaging in
activities such as eating together, house hold chores, outdoor
recreation, and church. Religion or spiritual wellness is important
in many strong families. The authors describe it as a unifying force
that promotes sharing, love, and compassion. Strong families
successfully cope with stress and crisis and are creative and
adaptable in the face of adversity. Their coping resources include
pulling together, seeking help for their problems, and openly
expressing emotion. The authors list and suggest reading the work of
researchers like Otto and Olson whose findings are similar. They
also recommend using family strengths concepts in parent education
and programming. |
Stinnett,
N., Sanders, G., DeFrain, J., and Parkhurst, A. (1982). A nationwide
study of families who perceive themselves as strong. Family Perspective,
16(1): 15-22.
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Abstract: Husbands and
wives from families in all regions of the country were obtained
through a news release announcing a National Study on Family
Strengths. Four hundred thirty eight respondents from 283 families
completed and returned the Family Strengths Inventory, an instrument
designed to measure the components the contribute to family
strengths. Five factors emerged as the most important family
strengths: love (14.2%), religion (10.9%), respect (9.8%),
communication (9.1%), and individuality (9.0%). When asked what
activities served to make their families strong, the most frequently
mentioned were enjoying the outdoors together (12.5%), vacations
(10.3%), attending church (9.6%), sports (8.6%), and eating together
(8.6%). A majority of the respondents reported that they enjoyed a
very high or high degree of happiness in their relationships with
their spouses and children. Husband wife and parent-child
relationships were also shown to involve a very high degree of
commitment (84% for husband wife relationships and 77.4% for
parent-child relationships). Understanding (61.3%), commitment
(15.4%), communication (12.0%), and love (11.9%) were the most
important factors contributing to marital satisfaction. The factors
that were found to contribute to parent-child relationship
satisfaction were love (16.9%), communication (14.7%), and
understanding wants and needs (8.9%). Most of the respondents
reported that they contributed to their spouse's good feelings about
self (81.8%) and that their spouses did the same for them (71.8%).
Knowledge of the components of family strengths can be applied by
counselors, educators, and ministers in the development of programs
to strengthen family life. Further research should be conducted in
these areas: strengths of families of different cultures,
cross-cultural comparisons of family strengths, family strength
scale development, and the use of the Family Strengths Inventory to
study the differences between strong and weak families. |
Stinnett,
N. (1983). Strong families: A portrait. In D. R. Mace (Ed.), Prevention
in family services: approaches to family wellness. Sage: Beverly Hills,
CA.
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Abstract: This article
promotes a focus on family strengths instead of family problems or
pathology. Many studies conducted by the author and his colleagues
have provided information about strong families. Six qualities of
strong families consistently emerged in this research: appreciation,
spending time together, commitment, good communication patterns, a
high degree of religious orientation, and the ability to deal with
crises in a positive manner. The ways in which knowledge of the
characteristics of strong families can be used in the development of
programs to increase family satisfaction are discussed. |
Stinnett,
N., Knorr, B., DeFrain, J., and Rowe, G. (1981). How strong families
cope with crises. Family Perspective, 15, 159-166.
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Abstract: Sixty-six
married couples responded to a questionnaire consisting of primarily
open-ended questions pertaining to family reactions and attitudes
towards crises and the resources used in the coping process. The
study reveals that most of the strong families perceived crises as
growth experiences and the family unit itself became a major
resource in coping with crises through open communication and
cooperative effort. Religion also played a central role in the
coping process. |
Stinnett,
N. Sanders, G. DeFrain, J., and Parkhurst, A. (1982). A nationwide study
of families who perceive themselves as strong. Family Perspective,
16(1): 15-22.
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Abstract: Husbands and
wives from across the country responded to the Family Strengths
Inventory, an instrument designed to measure components of family
life that contribute to family strengths. Five factors emerged as
the most important family strengths: love, religion, respect,
communication, and individuality. These same factors were considered
by the respondents to be important in husband-wife and parent-child
relationships. The majority of the respondents also reported that
they enjoyed a high degree of satisfaction in their relationships
with their spouses and their children. Spending quality time
together was found to be important in the areas of family
relationships and strengths. |
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