Suchergebnisse

This study examined the family functioning of a cross-sectional sample of all approved and insured child-foster-care families in a mid-Atlantic state. The families studied functioned from well to excellent according to the Family Assessment Device. White and African American foster families showed relatively little difference in family functioning and both consistently scored better than did normative samples. Foster care's perceived Impact on the families was minimal and tended to be more positive than negative. The authors compare these results with other studies and suggest implications of their findings for practice.

This study examined the proposition that the adequacy of family functioning is related to the health status of its members. The hypotheses stated that the functioning of a person's family is less adequate, (1) the poorer the person's physical condition as assessed by objective indicators; (2) the less favorable the person's self-assessment of health; and (3) the poorer the person's psychological adjustment. Findings included: (1) families of most patients functioned fairly well; (2) patients perceived their general health as moderate; (3) distinctly elevated mean scores on the MMPI scales of Depression, Hypochondriasis, and Hysteria, but not on Welsh's Anxiety Scale, indicated psychological problems; (4) the first two hypotheses were unsupported, in that family functioning was unrelated to health status as determined by objective indicators or self-perception; and (5) adequacy of family functioning was unrelated to Depression, Hypochondriasis, and Hysteria, but was negatively related to extent of Anxiety. Failure to support the hypotheses was discussed in terms of limitations of method and theory. Suggestions for future research were offered.