THE POTENTIAL OF THE FAMILY LAW EDUCATION REFORM PROJECT FOR FAMILY LAWYERS1

Family lawyers are major beneficiaries of the reforms set out in the Family Law Education Reform Project (FLER) Report. This commentary from a veteran family law practitioner explores the needs of the family law bar for the training of law students in practical, interdisciplinary, client‐centered lawyering that goes beyond the traditional case method. I trace many of the current innovations evolving in family law practice and how FLER reforms will not only benefit law schools but also have a major impact in the courts and private practice sector.     

ON BEING A CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATOR: PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL CHALLENGES,RISKS, AND REWARDS

Conducting child custody evaluations is one of the most complex, challenging, and sometimes risky professional endeavors that a mental health professional can perform. This article examines the professional and personal challenges which may be encountered by the evaluator. In addition to discussing the role requirements and need to maintain awareness of bias and countertransference, challenges such as coping with state board or ethics complaints and possible risks to personal safety are also addressed. Suggestions for risk management and coping with the demands of these assessments are offered, as well as the benefits and rewards of engaging in this important work.     

MEDIATIVE EVALUATIONS: THE PROS AND PERILS OF BLENDING ROLES

Child custody evaluators with experience in mediation may be tempted to use mediation skills and strategies in their evaluation processes. This article explores the benefits and risks of blending mediation with evaluation, comparing the perspectives of professionals and clients.     

Family Violence, Anger Expression Styles, and Adolescent Dating Violence

How partner violence is transferred across generations is relatively unexplored. This paper proposes that anger expression style (constructive, destructive direct, destructive indirect) mediates the relationship between exposure to family violence and dating violence perpetration by adolescents. Data are from 1,965 completed self-administered questionnaires given to eighth- and ninth-grade students in a primarily rural county in North Carolina in 1994. Results varied by gender and type of exposure to family violence. For females, destructive direct and destructive indirect anger expression styles mediated the relationship between experiencing family violence and dating violence perpetration. For males, this relationship was mediated primarily by destructive direct anger expression style. The association between witnessing family violence and dating violence perpetration for females was mediated by destructive direct anger expression style only. Witnessing family violence was not associated with dating violence perpetration for males, and therefore could not be mediated. This study suggests that adolescents exposed to family violence learn anger expression styles that put them at risk of being perpetrators of dating violence. Further research is needed to identify other mediators that explain how partner violence is transferred across generations.     

“北京大兴灭门惨案”引发的心理学思考

2009年11月27日＂北京大兴灭门惨案＂的发生,引起了社会各界的极大震惊与广泛关注。文章主要从家庭教育缺陷,个体自我效能感缺失,负性情绪长期积压,社会支持系统力量薄弱,缺乏有效的人际沟通等方面进行了心理学的思考与探索,希望能对减少家庭惨案的发生提供一些可供借鉴的思路,进一步促进家庭的和谐与社会的稳定。     

环境损害赔偿立法框架和内容的思考

环境损害赔偿立法的必要性由现实社会关系调整的必要性和现行相关立法的不适应性所决定。我国环境损害赔偿立法宜采取实体和程序一体、行政处理与司法处理一体的立法模式,并着重规定环境纠纷处理和环境损害赔偿方面所涉及的一些特殊问题。立法框架和内容主要包括环境损害赔偿的适用条件、环境损害赔偿的范围、环境损害赔偿责任的认定、环境损害赔偿纠纷的行政处理、环境损害赔偿的司法处理等部分。环境损害赔偿立法的难点在于环境行政主管机关处理决定的法律效力问题以及因果关系推定的准确表述问题。     

我国劳动争议的法律处理及立法完善

随着新世纪国家社会经济的发展,劳动争议的冲突呈现出了多样化、群体化等许多新的内容与特点,劳动法律滞后的问题已成为亟待解决的问题,劳动争议的妥善解决已成为构建和谐社会的一个关键环节。     

Who's the Boss? Patterns of Perceived Control in Adolescents' Friendships

This study examined the nature and correlates of different patterns of perceived control in adolescents' relationships with their best friends. Participants included firstborn adolescents (M = 14.94 years), their younger siblings (M = 12.44 years) and both their mothers and fathers in 163 families as well as a best friend of each adolescent (M = 15 years). Data were collected from family members during home visits regarding adolescents' family relationships, friendships, and psychosocial adjustment; time use data were gathered during a series of 7 nightly phone interviews. Information was obtained from best friends during a brief phone interview. We developed a typology of 3 different patterns of perceived friendship control based on the combination of adolescents' and their best friends' ratings of relational control. Patterns of control in adolescents' friendships were associated with the distribution of control in both parents' marriages and adolescents' sibling relationships. Further analyses, designed to test developmental predictions, revealed connections between friendship control and other qualities of adolescents' friendships (i.e., intimacy, conflict, perspective-taking).     

家族祭祀制度中的女性--对桂东南客家家族某村落的考察

国内外学者对于中国家族制度的研究已有多方面的成果,这些研究着重探讨家族制度与社会、民族、国家之间的关系。以往对家族制度文化的研究基本上是站在父权制的立场上进行的,长期以来,女性在家族制度中的地位和作用和女性自己的声音被普遍忽视。文章采用了女性研究中的访谈调查法和个案研究法,在获得的田野资料和吸收前人研究成果的基础上,尝试以社会性别的角度切入家族这一社会组织民俗中,通过对桂东南一个客家家族的个案分析,探讨家族祭祀制度与女性之间的关系。研究发现,家族祭祀体系中女性祖先的地位与男性祖先没有本质上的区别,传统的社会性别制度决定了血缘女性宗亲不可能获得与男性同等的地位。