Wiley: Family Process: Table of Contents

Daily Parental Positive Experiences Are Linked to Better Daily Parenting Practice Through Reduced Stress and Depressive Mood

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 01:30:52 -0700

ABSTRACT

Studies have found that parents' cumulative protective and compensatory experiences (PACEs) can protect parenting quality from stress and mental health issues and promote positive parenting through elevated mental health. Existing studies have focused primarily on between-person comparison, but resilience is a dynamic within-person process that unfolds across time. Using a 100-day daily diary design, this study collected 3359 daily observations from 39 parents of preschoolers in the West South-Central United States using self-report surveys. Dynamic factor analysis was used to model daily parental responsiveness and frustration. Controlling for the previous day's responsiveness and frustration, daily parental PACEs were promotive of parental responsiveness. PACEs also mitigated the negative link between stress and frustration. Concurrent mediation analyses revealed that PACEs promote parental responsiveness through decreased stress but not depressive mood. PACEs were linked to less parental frustration through decreased stress and depressive mood. These results highlight that daily PACEs may contribute to intergenerational resilience through parenting practices. Findings are discussed in the context of ways to promote caregiver resilience and reduce stress when parenting preschoolers.

Mothering at All Costs: A Process Model of Parenting Challenges and Adaptations Among Syrian and Iraqi Refugee Women

Nicole Zolman, Mary Bunn, Karin Wachter — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 07:32:04 -0700

ABSTRACT

The resettlement period is fraught with financial, cultural, emotional, and psychosocial difficulties for refugee families. Women, as mothers, often play a significant role in buffering adversity and sustaining the family system during this tumultuous time. Yet, there is limited research focused on understanding their lived experiences of parenting. In the current study, an interpretive analytical process drawing from grounded theory methods was utilized to identify and examine factors and processes shaping the parenting experiences of Syrian (n = 17) and Iraqi (n = 12) women resettled in Chicago, IL, United States. A process model of Mothering at all Costs emerged, delineated by (a) confronting challenges faced by children, (b) mothering to protect, (c) accumulating maternal burden and exhaustion, and (d) reaffirming maternal roles and identities. This process model highlights women's efforts to adapt to new parenting demands in resettlement and the variable impacts that these adaptations have on maternal wellbeing. The findings highlight opportunities for family support practitioners to intervene to promote maternal adjustment during resettlement through an emphasis on building emotional regulation skills, navigating new roles, supporting co-parenting, and promoting shared household responsibilities during resettlement.

Reframing Mental Health Through a Developmental–Ecological Lens: Childhood Adversity, Discrimination, and Family Connections in a Racially Diverse Maternal Sample

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 18:24:39 -0700

ABSTRACT

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) increase risk for maternal depression and anxiety, with cascading effects on the entire family. This study investigated associations between ACEs and maternal mental health in a racially diverse US sample, considering individual (self-efficacy, loneliness) and contextual (parenting stress, partner support, family strength, discrimination, neighborhood safety) factors. Mothers of toddlers (N = 334; 23% Black/African-American, 18% Hispanic/Latino, 24% Asian/Pacific-Islander, 35% multiracial/other) completed self-report measures. Hierarchical regressions controlled for demographics and COVID-19-related resource worries. ACEs, loneliness, and discrimination predicted higher depression and anxiety (p < 0.001); partner support and family strength predicted lower depression (p < 0.05). Loneliness exacerbated the ACEs-depression association (p = 0.029). By innovatively applying a developmental-ecological lens to adulthood, findings highlight the importance of developmentally and culturally responsive interventions that address both past and present adversity, in order to promote maternal and family well-being and to prevent the intergenerational transmission of trauma.

Familial Experiences of Crisis Exposure and Cultural Stress With Depressive Symptoms Among Venezuelan Parent‐Adolescent Dyads in the United States

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 05:45:08 -0700

ABSTRACT

Studies suggest that Venezuelan migrant families in the United States face both pre-migration crisis exposures and post-migration cultural stressors, both of which may influence their depressive symptoms. However, few studies have examined how familial pre- and post-migration stressors additively and interactively predict depressive symptoms among Venezuelan parents and adolescents. We examined whether (a) pre- and post-migration stressors can be modeled as family-level latent constructs reflecting shared experiences and perceptions between Venezuelan migrant parents and adolescents, and (b) these family-level constructs are involved in (b1) mediated and (b2) moderated processes leading to parent and adolescent depressive symptoms. Participants were 278 Venezuelan parent-adolescent dyads in the United States (74% mothers, 50.5% daughters; parent M _age = 41.82, adolescent M _age = 13.97). Longitudinal structural equation modeling, across two waves of data, was used to test the study hypotheses. Results indicated that both pre- and post-migration stressors among parents and adolescents converged into shared family constructs. Pre-migration family stressors predicted greater depressive symptoms for both parents and adolescents through post-migration family stressors (with marginally significant effect for adolescents). Moderated effects differed by reporter: for parents, post-migration family stressors were more strongly associated with their depressive symptoms when pre-migration family stressors were higher; whereas for adolescents, the association was stronger when pre-migration family stressors were lower. Findings highlight the importance of addressing shared family stress in interventions aimed at reducing depressive symptoms among crisis-affected migrant families in the United States.

The Role of Parenthood in the Healing Journey of Survivors of Attempted Intimate Partner Homicide

Hila Avieli — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 05:34:20 -0700

ABSTRACT

Healing after attempted intimate partner homicide (IPH) is critical not only for women's psychological recovery but also for their ability to sustain parenting roles and rebuild family life in the aftermath of near-lethal violence. While existing research has examined women's survival of attempted IPH, little attention has been paid to their experiences as mothers and to the ways parenting may shape processes of healing. Drawing on narrative identity as a theoretical framework, this study explored the role of parenting in mothers' meaning-making and recovery following a near-lethal attack. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis methodology, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight mothers who had survived an attempted IPH. Four themes emerged: (1) Parenthood as a Healing Resource, (2) Parenthood as a Victory, (3) Parenting as a Barrier to Healing, and (4) What Does the Future Hold? The findings illuminate the ambivalent role of motherhood in the aftermath of attempted IPH, revealing how parenting can simultaneously foster resilience, purpose, and continuity while also intensifying emotional strain and constraining survivors' healing trajectories. These results point to the importance of trauma-informed, family- and parenting-sensitive interventions that recognize healing as a relational process embedded within ongoing caregiving responsibilities and family contexts.

Material Hardship Trajectories From Infancy to Adolescence: Intergenerational Impact on Emerging Adults' Educational Pathways

Qingyang Liu, Jayantika Chakraborty — Sun, 31 May 2026 22:15:37 -0700

ABSTRACT

Intergenerational transmission of disadvantage affects young adults' upward mobility, yet little is known about how distinct trajectories of material hardship from infancy to adolescence influence educational pathways. Using data from the U.S. Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4700; 21.17% White, 47.73% Black, 27.21% Latine), we identified material hardship at ages 1, 3, 5, 9, and 15 and examined its associations with educational outcomes at age 22. Growth mixture modeling uncovered four trajectories: Low Stable Hardship (n = 3617, 77%), Low Increasing Hardship (n = 502, 10.6%), High Decreasing Hardship (n = 375, 8%), and Persistent High Hardship (n = 206, 4.4%). Young adults in the Low Stable Hardship class reported higher educational aspirations than those in the Low Increasing Hardship and Persistent High Hardship classes, and higher educational attainment than all other classes. Findings highlight the importance of strengthening families' resources during sensitive developmental periods and inform tailored interventions to protect children from economic instability, thereby disrupting cycles of disadvantage and promoting intergenerational mobility.

Ways of Supporting Coparenting in Child and Family Services: Discourses of Involvement, Capacity Building and Reconciliation

Fri, 22 May 2026 20:56:21 -0700

ABSTRACT

In the research of parenting and family relations, there has been a visible shift from focusing on dyadic family relations—like parent–child—to triadic ones, such as coparenting. Likewise, in the family support research, knowledge about supporting coparenting of all parents has been called for. In this study, we were interested in what kind of discourses professionals construct to support parents to coparent, especially in the early phases of parenthood. The context of the study was preventive multiprofessional Finnish family centers. The data was collected in five focus group interviews from professionals (n = 21) working in health, social, child welfare and early childhood education and care services. Interviews were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim and pseudonymized. By identifying professional positions and two-fold agencies of parents, we could find three distinctive professional ways of supporting coparenting: discourse of coparenting involvement, discourse of coparenting capacity building, and discourse around coparenting reconciliation. In each discourse, the professionals used varying discursive strategies to assess and promote coparenting in the family system. Agency of father was emphasized in all discourses, but rights of the child were discussed mainly around reconciliation of coparenting. Results are discussed in the light of existing research on coparenting support. In practical implications for child and family services, we suggest that issues of coparenting are brought up to discussion actively by professionals, who can accordingly provide both universal and targeted support for families. The study is part of the research project Learning to coparent: A longitudinal, cross-national study on construction of coparenting in transition to parenthood (CopaGloba).

Military Couples' Patterns of Family Work: Associations With Demographic Characteristics and Relational Functioning

Clairee Peterson, Catherine Walker O'Neal — Thu, 21 May 2026 01:21:14 -0700

ABSTRACT

Although research documents the demands of military life and the influence these demands can have on family life, little is known about military couples' patterns of family work and how these patterns are associated with their relational functioning. Grounded in the vulnerability stress adaptation model, this study addressed this gap by using a latent profile analysis with dyadic data from 228 United States military couples to identify groupings of couples with distinct patterns of family work, specifically, both partners' parenting work and emotion work. Four profiles emerged. They were distinguishable from each other as less emotionally attentive couples (21%), couples with highly involved mothers (29%), emotionally attentive couples (45%), and couples with highly involved fathers (5%). Group differences between the profiles were examined. Of the demographic characteristics examined, only service members' age varied between the profiles. Service members in the highly involved fathers profile tended to be younger than other profiles. Relationship satisfaction, communication satisfaction, balanced cohesion, and balanced flexibility were significantly lower for service members and civilian spouses in the less emotionally attentive couples profile compared to all other groups. Couples categorized as emotionally attentive averaged higher relational functioning compared to the highly involved mothers profile. Couples in the highly involved fathers profile tended to have relational functioning that was not statistically different from the couples in the emotionally attentive profile or the highly involved mothers profile. The results suggest that interventions that bolster military couples' performance of emotion work may be particularly helpful for relational functioning.

The Enduring Logics of Settler Colonialism in Family Therapy: A Case Analysis of Sociocultural Attunement

Olga Smoliak, Carmen Knudson‐Martin — Tue, 19 May 2026 23:50:35 -0700

ABSTRACT

Drawing on insights from critical Indigenous studies, settler colonial studies, and critical whiteness studies, the authors examine how settler colonial and white supremacist ideologies may continue to structure their own family therapy theorizing and practice, with particular attention to the concept and practice of sociocultural attunement (SCA) as applied to Socio-Emotional Relationship Therapy (SERT). SCA was developed within settler colonial structures and is increasingly promoted as a decolonial, anti-oppressive practice in family therapy. An anticolonial lens, paradoxically, makes visible the nature and extent of racial settler colonial logics in SCA, highlighting the need for a more nuanced analysis of SCA (and other therapy practices) that acknowledges tensions and contradictions. The authors' critical analysis invites reflection on the cultural and material conditions in which family therapy concepts and practices are produced, circulated, and applied and illustrates how interrogating family therapy concepts and practices can disrupt taken-for-granted assumptions, improve distinct forms of accountability for the impact of therapy, and reveal new targets for socially responsible work.

Effectiveness of Couple Therapy in Everyday Practice in Germany and Switzerland—An Update

Christian Roesler — Tue, 19 May 2026 00:43:09 -0700

ABSTRACT

Building on and continuing an earlier study, the effectiveness of couple therapy in practice settings in German-language countries was investigated in four independent studies using the same design: naturalistic prospective outcome study with three measurement points. The change in relationship quality was measured over the course of the therapy. In Germany and Switzerland, there is an extensive network of counseling centers run by non-profit organizations providing support to couples, in addition to couple therapists in private practice. Provision of couple therapy to the public is, therefore, on a high level compared to other countries, whereas research on its effectiveness is still scarce. Couple therapy has been found in experimental studies to be efficacious in reducing couple distress with a good effect size (d = 0.8). In naturalistic studies investigating couple therapy in everyday practice, however, the effectiveness is systematically lower (d = 0.5), only 40% of couples can be helped in a clinically significant way and 50% break off early. This discrepancy is known as the efficacy-effectiveness gap. The results reported in this paper show that couple therapy across four settings proved to be significantly effective. With effect sizes of d = 0.36–0.44, a drop-out rate of approximately 50%, and clinically significant improvements for less than 40% of the couples, the hypothesis of the limited effectiveness of couple therapy in real-life practice was further empirically substantiated. The findings confirm the hypothesis of an efficacy-effectiveness gap. Possible reasons for this limited effectiveness are discussed. As a potential way for improving the effectiveness of couple therapy in real life practice, EFT could serve as a potentially more effective method; this should be tested in direct comparison to other methods in the practice field.

Increasing Parental Well‐Being After the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Through Relational Savoring

Sat, 16 May 2026 00:29:16 -0700

ABSTRACT

Despite abundant evidence that the admission of an infant to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is a highly stressful and potentially traumatic experience for both infants and parents, few psychosocial interventions target the needs of parents of NICU infants. In particular, interventions supporting parents beyond the initial medical crisis are notably lacking. Relational savoring (RS) is a brief, positive psychology intervention that attunes one's focus to moments of positive connectedness within their relationships, including parent–child relationships. While the benefits of RS for parent–child dyads are well documented, its efficacy has not been evaluated in parent–child dyads facing significant relational stressors, such as those experienced in post-NICU contexts. Using a randomized controlled design, this study tests the effects of RS compared to a neutral control in 240 post-NICU parents in the United States. Parents reported on their closeness to their child, parental emotional well-being, and parental satisfaction before and after the intervention, as well as their history of perinatal loss and stress. Results of multilevel models suggest that, relative to a neutral control task, parents assigned to the RS intervention group exhibited significantly greater increases in feelings of closeness to their child, parenting satisfaction, and parental emotional well-being. Interestingly, the reduction in negative affect pre- to post-intervention was more pronounced for parents with a history of miscarriage, stillbirth, child loss, and/or fertility difficulties. These findings suggest that RS may represent a scalable intervention to support parent–child relationships and parental well-being in the post-NICU period, particularly for parents with prior perinatal loss and stress.

Evaluation of the Individual, Relationship, and Financial Benefits of Juntos en Pareja for Spanish‐Speaking Latine Couples

Mariana K. Falconier, Hannah C. Williamson, Zeinab Azizi, Martha Yumiseva‐L — Thu, 14 May 2026 17:55:09 -0700

ABSTRACT

Latine couples often face high levels of financial stress, which can significantly strain romantic relationships. Yet few programs are designed to address both financial and relational distress for this population. Juntos en Pareja (JEP) is a socio-culturally responsive program designed to address these challenges by providing relationship and financial education to Spanish-speaking Latine couples. JEP is a cultural and linguistic adaptation of the evidence-based program TOGETHER. This study evaluates JEP's effectiveness by comparing pre- and post-workshop outcomes among Latine couples in JEP with a comparison group of non-Latine couples in the TOGETHER program. We examined three domains: psychological well-being, relationship quality, and financial stability. The analytic sample included 284 couples (568 individuals) in JEP and 266 couples (532 individuals) in TOGETHER, all residing in the United States. Using linear mixed models, we assessed changes from pre- to post-test across key indicators. Similar to TOGETHER, JEP participants showed significant declines in psychological distress, negative conflict management, and psychological aggression toward the partner and by the partner, and significant increases in time spent with the partner. Additionally, JEP couples also reported reduced difficulty in paying bills. These results provide support for JEP as a beneficial program for Spanish-speaking Latine couples, but they should be considered with caution as they represent the experience of program completers with high attendance and immediately upon program completion. Further studies should assess the sustainability of changes over time. Nonetheless, these initial findings underscore the need for accessible, socio-culturally attuned interventions to promote resilience and stability in underserved immigrant communities.

Anatomy of the Relational Reframe in Attachment‐Based Family Therapy

Tara Santens, Chen Chu‐Chun, Suzanne Levy, Guy Diamond, Guy Bosmans — Thu, 14 May 2026 17:35:02 -0700

ABSTRACT

In attachment-based family therapy (ABFT), shifting the treatment goal from the adolescent as the problem to strengthening family relationships as the solution is the critical first task. No research has explored whether this “relational reframe” works, how it works, and for whom it works. We evaluated the relational reframe for 47 families receiving ABFT for depressed and suicidal adolescents. We coded markers to identify the reframing and contracting phases of the reframe intervention. We coded two key process elements: content and affect. We evaluated whether the degree to which family members discussed the themes of the reframe phase (relational ruptures and softer emotions) were associated with acceptance of the contracting goal. We explored if attachment style and self-reported parental depression and adolescent-reported family conflict were associated with accepting the contract for a relational focused therapy. Markers for the beginning of the reframe and contracting phase could be reliably identified. The degree to which adolescents and parents engaged in discussion about the reframe themes was associated with parents' acceptance of the contracting goal. Adolescents' dismissive attachment style was not associated with engagement in the reframe themes, but was associated with adolescents' reduced acceptance of the contract goal. Adolescents' preoccupied attachment style was associated with greater engagement in the reframing themes, but not associated with acceptance of the contract goals. Parental depression and adolescent- reported family conflict were not linked with acceptance of the relational reframe. This study should help therapist understand specific strategies for creating a relational repair frame for therapy and encourage researchers to study the subtle processes involved in effective therapy.

Therapy as the Ethical Resolution of Doubt: Bringing Pragmatism and Reflexive Sociology to Systemic Practice

Aaron S. Cohn — Thu, 14 May 2026 17:19:14 -0700

ABSTRACT

What do therapists do? The question seems obvious, yet systemic therapy has struggled to answer it with the philosophical rigor that both professional identity and ethical practice require. This paper proposes a reflexive scientific practice grounded in two theoretical traditions rarely brought into dialogue with systemic therapy: the pragmatist philosophy of C.S. Peirce and the reflexive sociology of Pierre Bourdieu. Drawing on Peirce, therapy is defined not as the treatment of dysfunction but as the professional resolution of doubt—the state arising when a client's habits of mind fail to navigate new social contexts. Drawing on Bourdieu, large-scale social forces are seen to produce the specific form of doubt Bourdieu calls hysteresis, and how unexamined therapeutic interventions risk enacting symbolic violence by imposing the therapist's habitus under the guise of clinical expertise. Together, Peirce and Bourdieu provide what systemic therapy has long needed: a framework that simultaneously grounds clinical authority in empirical, self-correcting practice and constrains that authority through systematic interrogation of the therapist's social position. Integrative Systemic Therapy (IST) is presented as the operationalization of this synthesis, demonstrating how its problem-centered, cost-effectiveness, and failure-driven guidelines function not merely as pragmatic efficiency measures but as ethical safeguards against symbolic violence. This framework responds to recent calls for theoretical rigor in systemic practice while addressing a dimension those calls do not fully reach: the risk that theoretical authority enacts iatrogenic harm when deployed without reflexive discipline.

Indirect Effect of Maltreatment on Child Cooperation and Exploration Through Maternal Sensitive Guidance

Jennie M. Boulus, Katherine Edler, Kristin Valentino — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 05:46:54 -0700

ABSTRACT

Child maltreatment is a pathogenic relational experience that has deleterious effects on child functioning. Mothers who have engaged in child maltreatment have difficulties with emotion socialization (i.e., maternal sensitive guidance) while reminiscing with their children about past emotional experiences. Difficulties in maternal sensitive guidance are associated with child emotional maladjustment and decreased emotion regulation; however, the quality of children's contributions to reminiscing (i.e., child cooperation and exploration) has not been examined in the context of maltreatment. The present study aimed to assess the indirect effect of maltreatment on child cooperation and exploration during reminiscing via maternal sensitive guidance during reminiscing. We also evaluated child sex as a moderator. Participants were 159 maltreating and 81 nonmaltreating mother–child dyads with 3- to 6-year-old children. Mother–child dyads reminisced about four past, everyday times that the child felt different emotions. Maltreatment was negatively associated with maternal sensitive guidance (b = −0.26, p < 0.05), and maternal sensitive guidance was positively associated with child cooperation and exploration (b = 0.81, p < 0.01). The indirect effect was significant. Multigroup analyses indicated that this indirect effect did not differ as a function of child sex. Findings demonstrate how lower levels of maternal sensitive guidance may be a process through which maltreatment negatively impacts children's cooperative and exploration while reminiscing about their past, everyday emotional experiences.

Part II: Can School‐Based Delivery of an Evidence‐Based Parenting Program Promote the Home–School Partnership? Parental Self‐Regulation as the Mechanism of Change

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 06:02:24 -0700

ABSTRACT

High-quality partnerships between families and schools can bring enormous benefits to the development, learning, and well-being of children. Although past literature has frequently identified the parenting self-efficacy element of parental self-regulation as a key determinant of the strength of the home–school partnership, this knowledge base relies heavily on cross-sectional studies. This paper follows on from an article in Family Process reporting the findings of a cluster randomized trial of an evidence-based parenting program designed to promote parental self-regulation, namely the seminar version of the Triple P—Positive Parenting Program. The trial found post-intervention improvements in two domains of the home–school partnership, namely parent–teacher communication and parent school-based involvement. Given that the home–school partnership was not a target of the intervention, the current study conducted a mechanism of change analysis to examine whether improvements in the home–school partnership could be attributed to post-intervention improvements in parental self-regulation. Data were collected from a sample of 912 parents of children attending 160 different primary schools across three Australian states. Following a Random Intercept Cross-lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM) approach, bidirectional within-participant effects between parental self-regulation and parent–teacher communication were found, while unidirectional within-participant effects were found for parent school-based involvement. The findings provided support to the proposed theory of change where improvements in parental self-regulation are the underlying mechanism behind reported post-intervention improvements in the quality of the home–school partnership. The findings also support the potential spillover benefits of school-based delivery of evidence-based parenting programs.

Trial Registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12623000852651

Self‐Compassion, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation, and Cognitive Flexibility in Parent–Child Relationships in Türkiye: A Dyadic Longitudinal Study

Beste Erdinç, Yusuf Akyıl, Sinan Okur, M. Engin Deniz, Seydi Ahmet Satıcı — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 19:54:10 -0700

ABSTRACT

Despite growing evidence of its role in individual well-being, little is known about how self-compassion influences parent–child interactions, particularly interpersonal and reciprocal processes. Integrative models that combine self-compassion, emotion regulation, and cognitive flexibility are needed to understand how these characteristics affect family dynamics. To cover theoretical and methodological gaps, this study analyzes longitudinal dyadic associations between self-compassion, emotion regulation difficulties, and cognitive flexibility in parent–child relationships. To this end, the Longitudinal Actor–Partner Interdependence Model (L-APIM) was employed as a dyadic analytic approach. The study sample comprised 248 adolescents and one of their parents (N = 496) residing in Türkiye. According to the analysis results, at the actor effects level, adolescents' self-compassion positively affects their cognitive flexibility, while parents' self-compassion negatively affects their own difficulties in emotion regulation. At the partner effects level, adolescents' self-compassion negatively affects their parents' difficulties in emotion regulation, while parents' self-compassion positively affects their children's cognitive flexibility. These results reveal that self-compassion has cognitive and emotional effects on the psychological functioning within the family and that an individual's internal resources play a decisive role not only for themselves but also for the psychological processes of family members with whom they have close relationships. These findings suggest that self-compassion intervention research should consider family psychological connections.

Factors Associated With Adult Mental Health and Children's Social Care Professionals' Family‐Focused Practice When Parents Have Mental Illness

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 18:30:15 -0700

ABSTRACT

While family focused practice can improve outcomes for families affected by parental mental illness, globally there is limited understanding regarding associated factors and enablers. This mixed methods study aimed to identify associated factors and enablers of family focused practice. A range of adult mental health and children's social care professionals in Northern Ireland completed the Family Focused Mental Health Practice Questionnaire (n = 868). The survey measured the extent of professionals' family focused behaviors (Referral; Psycho–Education; and Skills and Knowledge to support parent and their parenting) and four organizational (e.g., Workplace Support) and four individual professional factors (e.g., Connectedness) associated with these activities. The STROBE checklist for cross-sectional research was adhered to. Nested regressions identified nine factors associated with family focused practice; most significant were professionals' gender, professional discipline, years of experience, training in the Family Model and other training in child or family focused practice. Male professionals, social workers and those with more years of experience and who had received training in the Family Model and other training in child and family focused practice were most family focused. Subsequently 30 professionals and 21 service users participated in semistructured interviews to elaborate on factors associated with family focused practice. Both professionals and service users described the importance of family focused training while social workers more often discussed receiving the training and engaging in family focused practice than other disciplines. As clear skill, knowledge, and confidence differences are indicated between the professions they require consideration by organizations in developing training, policy and initiatives to promote FFP within adult mental health and children's social services in Northern Ireland and internationally.

Black Grief, Black Healing: Exploring African American Parents Grief With Cultural Implications for Treatment

Nyla Rogers, Shareefah Al'Uqdah, Denzell Brown, Briayanna Johnson — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 01:58:29 -0700

ABSTRACT

African American parents experience child loss at disproportionately high rates, yet family systems and grief literature have largely overlooked this population's grief experience. This paper examines how therapists can provide culturally responsive care to African American parents navigating the death of a child. Drawing on existing literature, this paper expounds on the historical trends within the African American family system while delineating unique African American grief practices. Practical and culturally relevant clinical practices such as facilitating robust social support networks, creating structured opportunities for public and communal mourning, and therapeutically addressing the intensity of grief-related emotional responses are provided. Family therapists are called to expand their grief frameworks and family interventions beyond individualized, Western-centric models to encompass the collective, justice-oriented dimensions of loss that shape the lived experiences of African American families.

Impact of Father Involvement and Positive Parenting on Child Mental Health: Insights From a Survey of Ugandan Households

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 04:46:12 -0700

ABSTRACT

The influence of father positive parenting and involvement on children's mental health outcomes is underexplored in many sub-Saharan African countries, such as Uganda, despite research showing that fathers play a critical role in shaping their children's mental and emotional health outcomes. Most research on father involvement in parenting has been conducted in high-income countries in Western countries, and most research from Africa relies on mothers' reports. This study surveyed 236 Ugandan fathers raising children aged 6–17 years on their parenting and their children's mental health issues. Using the Mplus software, we conducted path analysis to predict child mental health symptoms (attention, internalizing, and externalizing) with father involvement and father positive parenting as independent variables while also controlling for the covariates. Results indicated that father involvement was negatively associated with attention problems (β = −0.28, p < 0.001), internalizing problems (β = −0.11, p = 0.02), and externalizing problems (β = −0.50, p < 0.001). Conversely, father's positive parenting had a small but statistically significant association with only internalizing problems (β = −0.11, p = 0.03). Further, we conducted exploratory analyses to examine whether marital status influenced these associations. We found that father involvement was negatively associated with externalizing and attention symptoms among married and unmarried fathers. Conversely, positive parenting was not significantly associated with internalizing, externalizing, or attention symptoms in either group. These findings suggest that greater father involvement may reduce behavioral and emotional issues in Ugandan children and thus emphasize the need to involve more fathers in parenting interventions.

Actor–Partner Interdependence Between Parenting Perfectionism and Parental Stress Among Chinese Parents Over Time

Janet T. Y. Leung, Ann W. S. Hung, Xiangying Ding, Vincent W. T. Chua — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 18:48:16 -0700

ABSTRACT

In contemporary society, parents have become obsessive on achieving “perfection” in preparing their children to succeed in the competitive environment. However, the personal and inter-spousal relationships between parenting perfectionism and parental stress among Chinese couples over time have been largely overlooked in the academic literature. Additionally, the moderating effect of marital satisfaction on these relationships remains unclear. Based on a sample of 642 Chinese couples with adolescent children in Grades 7 and 8 at Time 1, Actor–Partner Interdependent Modeling (APIM) analyses were conducted to assess the patterns of father–mother interdependence in the associations of parenting perfectionism (adaptive and maladaptive) with parental stress over time, as well as the moderating role of marital satisfaction in the relationships. The findings indicated that mother-reported maladaptive parenting perfectionism was positively associated with both paternal and maternal stress over time. An actor-only pattern was identified in the association of maladaptive parenting perfectionism with maternal stress, whereas a partner-only pattern was observed in the relationship between maladaptive parenting perfectionism and paternal stress. Moreover, father-perceived marital satisfaction strengthened these associations. These results offer valuable insights for family scholars and practitioners, underscoring the importance of examining the effects of parenting perfectionism on parental well-being. This understanding is crucial for exploring the dynamics of parenthood in the modern era.

Enacting Cultural Humility With Latinx Parents of LGBTQ+ Youth: A Case Example

Néstor Borrero‐Bracero, Silvia B. Espinal — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 19:20:59 -0700

ABSTRACT

This manuscript details how a team of therapists enacted cultural humility in family therapy with Latinx immigrant parents of an LGBTQ+ adolescent living in the New York City metropolitan region. Initially, the parents' traditional, religious, and culturally embedded beliefs constrained their acceptance of their transgender and bisexual child. While research on Latinx LGBTQ+ families is expanding, there are few examples of real-time, process-oriented family therapy that address gender and sexuality, particularly when therapists share marginalized identities with clients. Grounded in liberation psychotherapy, intersectionality, and queer theory, the therapy emphasized safety, relational connection, and healing, while honoring cultural values such as familismo and respeto. Through self-reflection, engagement, and the use of Location of Self (LOS), the team fostered emotional awareness and authenticity, helping break the silence around sexual and gender identity and supporting the parents' shift from fear and silence to greater emotional openness and acceptance. We illustrate how enacting cultural humility can promote meaningful change for Latinx families with LGBTQ+ youth and offer recommendations for therapy, supervision, and training.

Unfinished Journeys: An IPA Study of the Lived Experiences of Adult Satellite Babies

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 18:44:17 -0700

ABSTRACT

Transnational families are becoming more common, although the long-term impact of early childhood separations from biological parents remains unclear. “Satellite babies” (SBs) are Chinese infants born in North America, sent to China for caregiving, and then reunited with their parents. This interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) examined the lived experiences of 10 adult SBs to address gaps in attachment theory (AT) and inform culturally sensitive therapeutic practice. IPA's iterative, in-depth approach to thematic data analysis revealed four group experiential themes (GETs): ambiguous loss, fear in relationships then and now, “how I got through it,” and change is possible. Results support key tenets from AT and ambiguous loss theory (ALT), including sensitive periods of attachment, adult attachment dimensions, and the “psychological family.” Results support negative developmental outcomes while highlighting protective factors like social support. Recommendations for practice include a call for MFTs to include ALT in culturally sensitive assessment and treatment of Chinese SB families.

Issue Information

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 17:05:30 -0700

Family Process, Volume 65, Issue 2, June 2026.

Parenting Stress and Couple Relationship Quality Among Transgender and Nonbinary Parents: The Roles of Discrepancy in Division of Childcare Labor and Gender Identity

Shixin Fang, Samantha L. Tornello, Emma Spadaro — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 17:03:11 -0700

ABSTRACT

A substantial population of transgender and nonbinary (TNB) individuals is becoming parents. However, research on how TNB parents navigate parenthood, family dynamics, and couple functioning remains limited. This study investigated the association between parenting stress and relationship quality and tested the mediating role of discrepancy in the division of childcare labor (i.e., satisfaction with the current allocation of childrearing tasks) and the moderating role of gender identity (i.e., transgender man and woman vs. nonbinary) in an international sample of 228 TNB parents primarily from the United States. Results of structural equation modeling identified a conditional indirect pathway: Higher levels of parenting stress were negatively associated with lower couple relationship quality through greater discrepancy in the division of childcare labor only among nonbinary parents rather than transgender man and woman parents. The findings of this study shed light on the understudied intricacies of TNB parents' intersectional experiences of their gender identity, intimate relationships, and parenthood. The practical significance of this study lies in its potential to inform targeted intervention programs that ultimately enhance couple relationship well-being through the development of a more desirable division of childcare labor considering the nuanced experiences of TNB parents.