Relationship Health Across Diverse and Underserved Communities: Connecting Theory and Practice to Inform Therapeutic Processes for Couple Distress

Symposium Chairs: Judith Biesen, M.A., University of Notre Dame Binghuang A. Wang, M.S., Binghamton University, State University of New Yor

Maintenance of Relationship Functioning For ePREP and OurRelationship for Low-income Couples

Symposium Title: Relationship Health Across Diverse and Underserved Communities: Connecting Theory and Practice to Inform Therapeutic Processes for Couple Distress Chairs: Judith Biesen, M.A., University of Notre Dame; Binghuang A. Wang, M.S., Binghamton University, State University of New York Discussant: Emily Georgia Salivar, Ph.D., Nova Southeastern Universit

Effects of a Web-based Relationship Program on Co-parenting and Child Functioning

Symposium Title: Novel Preventive Intervention Strategies For Couples and Families: Extending the Reach and Social Impact of CBT to Promote Relationship Quality and Adult and Child Well-being Chair: Allen W. Barton, Ph.D., University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign Discussant: Scott Stanley, Ph.D., University of Denve

Dyadic Digital Health Interventions: Their Rationale and Implementation

While most psychosocial and behavioral digital health interventions have been designed to be consumed by an individual, intervening at the level of a dyad – two interdependent individuals – can more comprehensively address the needs of both individuals and their relationship. The clinical utility of the dyadic digital health intervention approach, as well as the practical implementation of this design, will be demonstrated via three examples: eSCCIP, FAMS, and OurRelationship

The Impact of the Military Lifestyle on Alexithymia in Adult Military Children

Objective: Military families experience numerous stressors (e.g., frequent relocation, parental deployment) that negatively impact military children’s interpersonal functioning and attachment within familial and social relationships. The disruptions subsequently place military children at risk for alexithymia - the inability to identify, experience, and/or express emotions – that develops into adulthood; however, this has not been examined empirically. Adult alexithymia increases the risk for mental health and relationship difficulties as well as poor response to cognitive behavioral therapies. Consistent with the ABCT convention theme, “Enhancing the Impact of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies,” understanding whether, and to what extent adults raised in military families experience interfering levels of alexithymia has important implications for the development of psychological interventions and improving psychotherapy response among this population. Therefore, the current study aimed to better understand the impact of military stressors on alexithymia among adult military children.Methods: Participants were (N=584, n=291 adult children of military members, n=293 adult children of civilian parents) recruited through Amazon’s MTurk, and self-reported on individual, military, and relationship demographics and a measure of alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale [TAS]). In addition to an overall score, the TAS provides description of feelings, identification of feelings, and externalization of thinking subscales.Results: Independent samples t-tests demonstrated that adult military children reported significantly higher levels of total alexithymia (t(582)=2.086, p=.04), and greater difficulty in emotion description (t(582)=2.085, p=.04) and emotion identification (t(582)=2.381, p=.02) compared to adult civilian children. No difference was found in externally oriented thinking (p=.60). Regression analyses revealed that, among adult military children, neither frequency of relocation (p=.47) nor frequency of parental deployment (p=.08) was associated with overall alexithymia. Regression analyses revealed that higher parental deployment frequency during specific age periods – 6-8 years (b=0.127, p=.03), 9-11 years (b=0.133, p=.02), 15-18 years (b=0.141, p=.02) – was related to greater alexithymia during adulthood; other age groups were unrelated to adult alexithymia. Parental military branch (p=.97) and which parent was the military member (p=.40) were not related to overall alexithymia.Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that adult military children have greater difficulty with emotional identification and expression compared to adults raised by civilian parents. While these differences appear unrelated to total frequency of parental deployments, deployments during specific age periods do appear related to adult alexithymia, suggesting critical periods for the development of alexithymia. Research and clinical implications will be presented

Using a Vulnerability-Stress-Adaptation Framework to Model Intimate Partner Violence Risk Factors in Late Life: A Systematic Review

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is prevalent among romantic dyads. While rates decline as couples age, a significant number of couples continue to experience IPV. Given the detrimental effect of IPV on intrapersonal and interpersonal functioning, the current systematic review aimed to identify risk factors among older adult couples. Further, this paper aimed to apply a well-validated framework for understanding marital quality and IPV, the Vulnerability Stress Adaptation (VSA) model, to aggression among older adults. Using preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses standards, results demonstrated that low socioeconomic status, cognitive impairment, caregiver burden, psychological distress, and social isolation are key risk factors IPV among older adults. These, and other risk factors, are conceptualized using the VSA model

Acceptance Vs. Behavior Change in Couple and Family Therapy

This authoritative reference assembles prominent international experts from psychology, social work, and counseling to summarize the current state of couple and family therapy knowledge in a clear A-Z format. Its sweeping range of entries covers major concepts, theories, models, approaches, intervention strategies, and prominent contributors associated with couple and family therapy. The Encyclopedia provides family and couple context for treating varied problems and disorders, understanding special client populations, and approaching emerging issues in the field, consolidating this wide array of knowledge into a useful resource for clinicians and therapists across clinical settings, theoretical orientations, and specialties. A sampling of topics included in the Encyclopedia: Acceptance versus behavior change in couple and family therapy Collaborative and dialogic therapy with couples and families Integrative treatment for infidelity Live supervision in couple and family therapy Postmodern approaches in the use of genograms Split alliance in couple and family therapy Transgender couples and families The first comprehensive reference work of its kind, the Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy incorporates seven decades of innovative developments in the fields of couple and family therapy into one convenient resource. It is a definitive reference for therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and counselors, whether couple and family therapy is their main field or one of many modalities used in practice.https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cps_facbooks/1603/thumbnail.jp