Marriage Counseling

BACKGROUND: Tay-Sachs disease (TSD), an autosomal recessively inherited neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disease, reported worldwide with a high incidence among population of Eastern European and Ashkenazi Jewish descent. Mutations in the alpha subunit of HEXA that encodes for the β-hexosaminidase-A lead to deficient enzyme activity and TSD phenotype. This study is the first to highlight the HEXA sequence variations spectrum in a cohort of Egyptian patients with infantile TSD...

We present a case of holoprosencephaly (HPE) with cyclopia and proboscis. The mother was a 35-year-old, G1P1 with no known comorbid conditions, not in a consanguineous marriage, and with no history of illicit drug use. On a routine antenatal ultrasound scan, features of alobar HPE, proboscis, and other anomalies were identified. The mother was counseled about the condition and as per their consent, the pregnancy was terminated. After labor induction, she gave birth to a female neonate weighing 1,000 g...

In sub-Saharan Africa, women's empowerment has been linked to contraceptive use, but little is known about whether girls' empowerment affects contraceptive intentions, particularly in more traditional societies where early marriage and childbearing are common. Drawing on a survey of 240 secondary school students in Kebbi State, Northwest Nigeria, in September-November 2018, we examined whether dimensions of girls' empowerment (academic self-mastery, perceived career feasibility, progressive gender norms, and marriage autonomy) and family planning indicators (knowledge, desired family size) were associated with future intentions to use family planning...

BACKGROUND: It is suggested that stress related to infertility causes marriage conflicts and decreases in the frequency of sexual intercourse. AIM: This study aimed to explore the experiences of the sexuality of infertile women. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A phenomenological design was used in this study. We conducted face-to-face, semistructured, in-depth interviews with 11 infertile women. The interviews were audio-recorded, and a thematic approach was used to assess the data...

Emerging research suggests that those coparenting with an incarcerated person experience multiple challenges. Examining incarcerated coparenting among minority fathers is especially salient as their incarceration rates are substantially higher than White males. This study utilized data from the Multi-Site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting and Partnering Study to examine changes in coparenting relationships when the male partner was incarcerated. Theoretically guided by structural family therapy, latent growth models were used to evaluate trajectories of fathers' coparenting reliability and coparenting cohesion across 34 months...

BACKGROUND: Adolescents in low-and-middle-income countries like Zambia face a high burden of sexual, reproductive, health and rights problems including coerced sex, teenage pregnancies, and early marriages. The Zambia government through Ministry of Education has integrated comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in the education and school system to contribute towards addressing Adolescents sexual, reproductive, health and rights (ASRHR) problems. This paper sought to explore teachers and community based health workers (CBHWs)' experiences in addressing ASRHR problems in in rural health systems in Zambia...

This qualitative narrative study aimed to examine how a family of origin influenced the professional self of Colombian students pursuing a profession in family therapy. Few research studies have investigated the development of self among native Spanish speakers from Colombia. Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in clinical psychology and family therapy internships (N = 16) from the Colombian cities of Medellín, Pereira, and Santa Marta participated in this study. Data collection using personal diaries, family albums, autobiographies, and in-depth interviews served as sources for narrative analysis...

BACKGROUND: One of the manifestations of family development is pregnancy planning, where this method is applied 0-42 days after childbirth. Post-partum contraception is an effort to avoid pregnancy by using contraceptive medicine from 42 days to 84 days after childbirth. PURPOSE: This research aims to analyze the attitudes of fertile couples who use contraceptive devices after childbirth during the COVID-19 pandemic and the factors that influence it. METHOD: This research uses a quantitative method approach...

OBJECTIVE: Most studies in Ghana on determinants of children ever born (CEB) are often conducted among all females of reproductive age and do not adequately report patterns among married females. Considering the importance of marriage to fertility in the Ghanaian context, this study seeks to explore the association of socioeconomic characteristics of married Ghanaian women with CEB. DESIGN: Data from the 2017 Ghana Maternal Health Survey were used. Three separate models were considered: linear regression model using CEB and two logistic regression models...

Interpersonal perceptions have an impact on the quality of couple relationships but we want to examine the putative moderating role of gender considering personal meanings as the target of perception. We employed the Couple's Grid to measure interpersonal perception based on personal constructs and the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (pooled regression) to analyze the mutual effects of partners' observations. We explore the dyadic effects of seven variables of interpersonal perception on relationship quality in a sample of 26 Spanish opposite-sex couples...

Increased attention to the prevalence and impact of traumatic experiences have been highlighted within the mental health field since Felitti et al.'s study of adverse childhood experiences. Black communities experience traumatic events at a higher rate than other racial groups. The phenomena of historical trauma, race-based trauma, and intergenerational trauma have been speculated to be reasons for this discrepancy. In this article, the authors explore factors that compound the traumatic experiences of Black communities, review socioculturally attuned family therapy and trauma-informed care, and propose an approach to addressing intergenerational trauma in Black families that integrates socioculturally attuned family therapy and trauma-informed care...

This study provides a 12-month follow-up evaluation of caregivers after participating in a 2-day Emotion-focused family therapy (EFFT) intensive, brief intervention for caregivers of youth struggling with mental health difficulties. Caregivers (N = 498) of children (N = 337) completed measures of caregiver self-efficacy and child mental health difficulties 1 week before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and at 4, 8, and 12-month follow-ups. Piecewise latent trajectory models revealed that parental self-efficacy showed a large immediate increase following the intervention, β = 1...

This study contributes to an emerging area of research on online learning within marriage and family therapy training programs while responding to the need for research on the effectiveness of multicultural training marriage and family therapists receive. Using 32 students in a marriage and family therapy program and a pretest-posttest design, this study focused on student outcomes across a classroom-based multicultural training course and an online section of the same course. Support was found for the effectiveness of each instructional modality in delivering multicultural training...

Emotional intimate partner violence (IPV) is the most common form of IPV and frequently co-occurs with other forms of IPV. Risk factors of IPV can give insight to potential pathways and consequences associated with IPV, enhancing treatment efforts. This meta-analysis examined relationship dynamics associated with IPV perpetration and victimization. Our study found victimization of controlling behavior, demand/withdrawal relationship pattern, perpetration of controlling behavior, jealousy, relationship distress, perpetrator's power in the relationship, anxious attachment, and traditional gender roles were all significantly associated with IPV perpetration...

Background A happy and satisfied marriage is the result of two happy spouses. Getting premarital education is one of the most significant reasons for marital and sexual satisfaction. This study aimed to assess the effect of premarital education on the quality of life of Saudi women. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted on 596 Saudi women married for ≤15 years selected from the general population. Data on participants' demographics were collected, and the quality of life was assessed using the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF)...

Parent training (PT) interventions reduce the likelihood of youth problematic behaviors, including drug use. However, the dissemination of culturally adapted PT interventions in low-income Latina/o immigrant communities remains scarce. In this selective prevention study, we examined the extent to which exposure to CAPAS-Youth, a culturally adapted version of the PT intervention known as GenerationPMTO© , resulted in increased adolescent perception of harm associated with use of alcohol and other drugs...

The Editor of JMFT discusses the state of research in systemic family therapy.

17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 3 (17β-HSD3) converts Δ4-androstene-3,17-dione (androstenedione) to testosterone. It is expressed almost exclusively in the testes and is essential for appropriate male sexual development. More than 70 mutations in the HSD17B3 gene that cause 17β-HSD3 deficiency and result in 46,XY Disorders of Sex Development (46,XY DSD) have been reported. This study describes three novel Tunisian cases with mutations in HSD17B3. The first patient is homozygous for the previously reported mutation p...

Parent training (PT) interventions constitute an empirically demonstrated alternative to promote effective parenting practices and prevent child behavioral and mental health problems. However, the dissemination of evidence-based PT interventions across Latin America remains scarce. This qualitative study had the primary objective of evaluating the level of acceptability of a culturally adapted version of the PT intervention known as GenerationPMTO© , adapted for the Chilean context. According to qualitative reports provided by 24 Chilean caregivers exposed to the culturally adapted parenting intervention, the intervention was perceived by caregivers as useful for their parenting practices, as well as contextually and culturally relevant...

This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of the Integrative Brief Systemic Intervention (IBSI), combining therapeutic work on marital and coparenting relationships with brief systemic therapy (BST-as-usual) for parent couples. Couples were randomly assigned to the IBSI (n = 51) or BST (n = 50). Both treatments were six-session interventions and lasted about 6 months. Questionnaires on individual, marital, coparenting and family-related functioning were completed before and after therapy, and at 6-month follow-up...