Family Mealtime Q-Sort: A measure of mealtime practices.

Studies outlining the protective functions of shared family meals suggest that helping families experience successful meals is an important goal. Measuring the effectiveness of family mealtime interventions necessitates the ability to quantify both the frequency and context of shared mealtimes. This article introduces a new instrument, the Family Mealtime Q-Sort, describes its development, and presents preliminary data about its psychometric properties. Data from initial evaluation of the Family Mealtime Q-Sort using family mealtime videos (N = 51) demonstrate acceptable interrater reliability, promising validity, and the ability to compare family mealtimes to an independently derived, culturally appropriate standard. The results suggest that the Q-sort adequately measures important dimensions of a successful mealtime including a positive atmosphere, making use of the shared time to engage in meaningful conversation, and proceeding with a clear plan and minimal distractions. Further research on the tool is warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nighttime waking in children with asthma: An exploratory study of daily fluctuations in family climate.

Children with asthma are at increased risk for waking in the night, and there is the potential for the entire household to feel the effects. The authors conducted a telephone-based diary study to examine whether daily fluctuations in parent mood, parenting hassles, and family routines would distinguish nights in which waking occurred from nights in which they did not. Forty-seven families with a child with asthma were contacted 4 times a week every 3 months over a period of 1 year, resulting in 500 daily observations. Parent negative mood, perceived parenting hassles, and disruptions in bedtime routines were associated with increased odds that the child would wake in the middle of the night. Results underscore the importance of considering family climate in children's disturbed sleep. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Finding meaning in religious practices: The relation between religious holiday rituals and marital satisfaction.

This study examined the relation between marital satisfaction and religious holiday ritual practices. 120 couples, married 9 years on average, completed measures of religious holiday practices (current family and family-of-origin) and marital satisfaction. Couples were interviewed about how important religion was to their family life. Marital satisfaction was related to religious holiday rituals beyond a global indication of religiousness. A different pattern was found for husbands and wives, with husbands' satisfaction more closely linked to ritual meaning and wives' satisfaction associated with routine practices. Family-of-origin rituals were connected across generations. Wives' marital satisfaction was related to husbands' report of religious holiday rituals but not the converse. Results are discussed in terms of how rituals affirm relationships, connect values and beliefs, and may have differential meaning for men and women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A review of 50 years of research on naturally occurring family routines and rituals: Cause for celebration?

This article is a qualitative review of 32 publications appearing since J. Bossard and E. Boll's (1950) seminal work on family rituals was conducted. Definitions are offered whereby a distinction is made between family routines as observable practices and family rituals as symbolic representations of collective events. The relative occurrence of family routines, as described in the literature, appears to follow a developmental course and is affected by the cultural environment. Family routines and rituals were found to be related to parenting competence, child adjustment, and marital satisfaction. The studies were limited by inconsistent methods of assessing family routines, reliance on samples of convenience, and a failure to distinguish between direct and indirect effects. Recommendations are made to better integrate theory with empirical efforts to demonstrate the importance of family routines and rituals in contemporary life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extension of the Children's Perceptions of Interparental Conflict Scale for use with late adolescents.

Although many studies have documented an association between interparental conflict (IPC) and child outcomes, the relation of specific dimensions of conflict to the adjustment of offspring remains largely unexplored. The Children's Perceptions of Interparental Conflict Scale (CPIC) was developed by J. H. Grych, M. Seid, and F. D. Fincham (1992) to assess school-aged children's perceptions of several dimensions of IPC. The purpose of the current study was to examine the suitability of the CPIC for use with late adolescents. The factor structure of the CPIC dimensions and indexes of reliability and validity were examined in a sample of 215 participants 17 to 21 years old. The emergent factor structure closely resembled the factor structure found with the younger sample. The CPIC also demonstrated good reliability and external validity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Narratives in and About Families: An Examination of Coding Schemes and a Guide for Family Researchers.

This article aims to provide the reader with a general overview of narrative methods as they apply to the study of family relationships. How narratives are collected and issues pertaining to training raters are considered. Scoring systems have been developed that code for thematic content, relative coherence, and co-constructive processes. Validity for these methods is examined through (a) concordance between narrative codes and directly observed behavior within similar domains, (b) links between narratives and self-report measures, and (c) the relation between narratives and psychological functioning. A guide for researchers in their consideration of adopting narrative methods is offered. The article concludes with a consideration of linking different coding schemes and challenges for future researchers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special section on family routines and rituals.

Provides an overview of the articles in the special section of Journal of Family Psychology (Vol 16[4], 2002). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of the Family Ritual Questionnaire: Initial reliability and validation studies.

In light of the increasing interest in the role of family rituals in promoting mental health, a self-report questionnaire was developed. The Family Ritual Questionnaire (FRQ) assesses family rituals across 7 settings ranging from dinnertime to religious celebrations and across 8 dimensions ranging from roles to symbolic significance. Four studies were conducted to evaluate the psychometric properties of the FRQ. Adequate internal consistency, construct validity in comparison to the Family Environment Scale (R. H. Moos and B. S. Moos, 1986), test–retest reliability, and within-family agreement were established. The symbolic significance associated with family rituals was positively related to adolescent self-esteem and negatively related to adolescent anxiety. Clinical implications for the importance of symbolic meaning associated with family rituals are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Possible selves among parents of infants and preschoolers.

The potential impact of parenting on adult self-development was examined through the motivational construct of possible selves (hoped-for and feared scenarios for the future). The present study was designed to determine the extent to which parenting possible selves are present among young adults in the transition to parenthood phase and young adults in the early parenting phase. Results indicated that parenting was strongly represented among young adults' possible selves, though there were group and gender differences. Parents of infants were more likely to have hoped-for parenting selves than were parents of preschoolers, whereas preschool parents were somewhat more likely to have feared parenting selves than were infant parents. Mothers in both groups were more likely to have feared parenting selves than were fathers. Implications for the role of parenting in adult development are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)