Family Functioning Assessment Instruments in Adults with a Non-Psychiatric Chronic Disease: A Systematic Review.

There is little information on the evaluation of family functioning in adult patients with chronic non-psychiatric illness. The objective of this systematic review was to identify family functioning assessment instruments of known validity and reliability that have been used in health research on patients with a chronic non-psychiatric illness. We conducted a search in three biomedical databases (PubMed, Science Direct, and Web of Science), for original articles available in English or Spanish published between 2000 and 2019. The review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Fourteen articles were included in the review. The instruments Family Assessment Device, Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales, Family Functioning Health and Social Support, Family APGAR, Assessment of Strategies in Families-Effectiveness, Iceland Expressive Family Functioning, Brief Family Assessment Measure-III, and Family Relationship Index were identified. All of them are reliable instruments to evaluate family functioning in chronic patients and could be very valuable to help nurses identify families in need of a psychosocial intervention. The availability and clinical application of these instruments will allow nurses to generate knowledge on family health and care for non-psychiatric chronic conditions, and will eventually contribute to the health and wellbeing of adults with a non-psychiatric chronic disease and their families.

Adolescent adjustment in at-risk families: The role of psychosocial stress and parental socialization / Ajuste adolescente en familias en situación de riesgo: El rol del estrés psicosocial y de la socialización parental

Introduction The study of factors associated with internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescents living in at-risk families is a subject of recent interest in mental health in Spain. The presence of mental health problems in children and adolescents is too frequent in these families due to their high exposure to a variety of risk factors and the lack of protection factors. However, few studies have examined the contribution of specific factors to each type of mental health problem in adolescents from at-risk Spanish families. This study strives to contribute to knowledge in this field, by analyzing the role of two important dimensions frequently linked to adolescents' adjustment: psychosocial stress and parental socialization. Likewise, this study seeks to identify whether both dimensions predict differently for two types of mental health problems in adolescents from at-risk families. Methodology The sample was composed by 134 Spanish adolescents (56 girls and 78 boys) with an average age of 13.52 (SD = 1.57). These adolescents grew up in families who were receiving psychosocial intervention from Social Services in Spain for family preservation reasons. This research is considered to be a cross-sectional descriptive study and the instruments administered allowed the collection of data about mental health problems, psychosocial stress, parental socialization and intervention data by Social Services. Results The hierarchical multiple regression models showed that both domains (psychosocial stress and parental socialization) were significantly related to mental health problems, but a different pattern of findings emerged for each type of problem. When co-morbidity between both problems was controlled, psychosocial stress was mainly related to internalizing problems, whereas parental socialization predicted the externalizing ones. Discussion and conclusions This study underscores the importance of distinguishing between two types of mental health problems analyzed (internalizing and externalizing) and emphasizes that both, the enhancement in parental socialization as well as the training of adolescents in positive social skills to cope better with stressful life events, should be part of at-risk family programs.

Introducción El estudio de factores asociados con problemas internalizantes y externalizantes en adolescentes que viven en familias en riesgo es objeto de interés reciente en salud mental en España. La presencia de problemas de salud mental en menores y adolescentes es demasiado frecuente en estas familias debido a la alta y variada exposición a factores de riesgo, así como a la falta de elementos de protección que les rodean. Sin embargo, pocos estudios han examinado la contribución que factores específicos hacen a cada tipo de problemas de salud mental en adolescentes de familias españolas en riesgo. Este estudio intenta contribuir al conocimiento en este campo, analizando el papel de dos dimensiones frecuentemente relacionadas con el ajuste adolescente: estrés psicosocial y socialización parental. Asimismo, este estudio trata de identificar si ambas dimensiones predicen de forma diferente los dos tipos (internalizantes y externalizantes) de problemas de salud mental en adolescentes de familias en situación de riesgo. Metodología La muestra se compone de 134 adolescentes españoles (56 chicas y 78 chicos) con una media de edad de 13.52 (DT=1.57). Estos adolescentes crecieron en familias que estaban recibiendo una intervención psicosocial por parte de los Servicios Sociales españoles por razones de preservación familiar. El diseño de esta investigación es de carácter transversal y descriptivo. Los instrumentos administrados permitieron recabar datos sobre problemas de salud mental, estrés psicosocial, socialización parental y la intervención recibida por los Servicios Sociales. Resultados Los modelos de regresión múltiple jerárquica mostraron que ambos dominios (estrés psicosocial y socialización parental) estuvieron significativamente relacionados con los problemas de salud mental, pero emergió un patrón de resultados diferentes para cada tipo de problemas. Cuando la comorbilidad entre ambos problemas fue controlada, el estrés psicosocial estuvo significativamente relacionado con los problemas internalizantes, mientras que la socialización parental se asoció con los problemas externalizantes. Discusión y conclusiones Este estudio subraya la importancia de distinguir entre los dos problemas de salud mental analizados y hace hincapié en que, tanto la mejora en la socialización de los progenitores como el entrenamiento de los adolescentes en habilidades sociales positivas que permitan afrontar adecuadamente acontecimientos estresantes, deben ser contenidos fundamentales en los programas de intervención destinados a familias en situación de riesgo psicosocial.

El enfoque cualitativo de investigación en la salud pública contemporànea / Family research and the value of the qualitative methodology for the study of confrontation with the sickle cell anemia

La investigación familiar en salud es un tipo de investigación que toma a la familia como unidad de anàlisis para generar conocimientos sobre la relación de este grupo social con la salud de sus integrantes y de la población en su conjunto. Pretende reflejar las múltiples y complejas interacciones entre la sociedad, la familia y la salud, así como entre las políticas sanitarias, los sistemas de atención de salud y las necesidades familiares. La metodología de investigación cualitativa ofrece recursos idóneos para el estudio del afrontamiento familiar ante la salud y los procesos críticos de enfermedad de sus integrantes. Se muestran experiencias del proceso de investigación del afrontamiento familiar en 23 familias que tienen un niño en edad escolar con padecimiento de anemia drepanocítica. Dicho estudio se realizó en la provincia Granma en el año 2007. Se utilizó la entrevista a profundidad tomando como informante clave a la madre o cuidador del paciente. Se identificaron dos etapas en la vida familiar, una comprendida entre 0-5 años de edad del menor enfermo y otra etapa de 6-11 años, ambas vinculadas al hospital, dado los frecuentes ingresos durante los primeros años de vida. Se distinguieron tres fases en orden secuencial en el proceso de afrontamiento: confusión, adaptació y adaptación-integración. Emergió un patrón de afrontamiento que ha propiciado que las familias den cumplimiento a sus funciones, independientemente de la condición de sobreesfuerzo que le impone, para la vida cotidiana, la responsabilidad del cuidado de un niño portador de una enfermedad genética y crónica(AU)

Family research in health is a type of research line that takes the family as the analysis unit in order to know the association of this social group with the health status of family members and of the population as a whole. It intended to reflect the many complex interactions among the society, the family and health as well as among the health policies, the health care systems and the family requirements. The qualitative research methodology provides ideal resources to study the family confrontation with health and the critical processes of disease affecting its members. The outcomes of the research study of family confrontation with disease conduced in 23 families having school-age children with sickle cell anemia were shown. This study was performed in Granma province in 2007 in which in-depth interviews were administered to key informers, that is, the patient's mother or caregiver. Two stages have been identified in the family life, the one covering 0 to 5 years of age of the sick child, and the other ranging from 6 to 11 years of age; both of them are linked to frequent admission to hospital during the early childhood. Additionally, three phases in sequential order were determined in the process of confrontation: confusion, adaptation and adaptation-integration. There emerged a pattern of confrontation allowing the families to fulfill their functions, regardless of the great efforts demanded by the care of a child who carries chronic genetic disease(AU)

La investigaci¢n familiar y el valor de la metodolog¡a cualitativa para el estudio del afrontamiento a la enfermedad sicklemica / Family research and the value of the qualitative methodology for the study of confrontation with the sickle cell anemia

La investigación familiar en salud es un tipo de investigación que toma a la familia como unidad de anàlisis para generar conocimientos sobre la relación de este grupo social con la salud de sus integrantes y de la población en su conjunto. Pretende reflejar las múltiples y complejas interacciones entre la sociedad, la familia y la salud, así como entre las políticas sanitarias, los sistemas de atención de salud y las necesidades familiares. La metodología de investigación cualitativa ofrece recursos idóneos para el estudio del afrontamiento familiar ante la salud y los procesos críticos de enfermedad de sus integrantes. Se muestran experiencias del proceso de investigación del afrontamiento familiar en 23 familias que tienen un niño en edad escolar con padecimiento de anemia drepanocítica. Dicho estudio se realizó en la provincia Granma en el año 2007. Se utilizó la entrevista a profundidad tomando como informante clave a la madre o cuidador del paciente. Se identificaron dos etapas en la vida familiar, una comprendida entre 0-5 años de edad del menor enfermo y otra etapa de 6-11 años, ambas vinculadas al hospital, dado los frecuentes ingresos durante los primeros años de vida. Se distinguieron tres fases en orden secuencial en el proceso de afrontamiento: confusión, adaptació y adaptación-integración. Emergió un patrón de afrontamiento que ha propiciado que las familias den cumplimiento a sus funciones, independientemente de la condición de sobreesfuerzo que le impone, para la vida cotidiana, la responsabilidad del cuidado de un niño portador de una enfermedad genética y crónica

Family research in health is a type of research line that takes the family as the analysis unit in order to know the association of this social group with the health status of family members and of the population as a whole. It intended to reflect the many complex interactions among the society, the family and health as well as among the health policies, the health care systems and the family requirements. The qualitative research methodology provides ideal resources to study the family confrontation with health and the critical processes of disease affecting its members. The outcomes of the research study of family confrontation with disease conduced in 23 families having school-age children with sickle cell anemia were shown. This study was performed in Granma province in 2007 in which in-depth interviews were administered to key informers, that is, the patient's mother or caregiver. Two stages have been identified in the family life, the one covering 0 to 5 years of age of the sick child, and the other ranging from 6 to 11 years of age; both of them are linked to frequent admission to hospital during the early childhood. Additionally, three phases in sequential order were determined in the process of confrontation: confusion, adaptation and adaptation-integration. There emerged a pattern of confrontation allowing the families to fulfill their functions, regardless of the great efforts demanded by the care of a child who carries chronic genetic disease

[Mexican households and family networks in the United States: several life histories, one family history]. / Hogares y fratrias mexicanas en Estados Unidos: varias historias de vida, una historia de familia.

PIP: "The authors analyze the Mexican household in the United States, emphasizing its complexity...as well as...its changes over time. The authors seek to understand the composition of relatives within exiled families, their life-cycle evolution, and the interaction of civil and migratory calendars. They also consider household changes related to the migratory process, changes in marriage and birth civil calendars, changes produced by work or marital events, and the type of migratory decisions developed within families." (EXCERPT)^ieng

[Trajectories of life: support for the interpretation of demographic phenomena]. / Trayectorias de vida: un apoyo para la interpretacion de los fenomenos demograficos.

PIP: The author analyzes demographic phenomena of the life course in Mexico, with a focus on different generations and intergenerational relationships within the family since the 1930s. Aspects considered include education, occupations, marriage patterns, and reproduction.^ieng

IUSSP activities. Committee on Anthropological Demography. Report: Seminar on Fertility and the Male Life Cycle in the Era of Fertility Decline, Zacatecas, Mexico, 13-16 November 1995.

PIP: This article gives an overview of a conference on Fertility and the Male Life Cycle held in Mexico on November 13-16, 1995. The seminars, organized by anthropological demographers, were based on the view that differences in men's life course events affect how many children are produced, when children are produced, and the kind of support given to children. Little research has focused on male fertility. Two overview papers addressed the issues of men's changing sexual and reproductive intentions as a response to economic changes (Jane Guyer) and theories of male fertility trends in industrialized countries (David Coleman). Other papers were presented on the following topics: changes in male fertility, sexuality and the male life cycle, polygyny and fertility, men's notions of sexuality and reproductive health, masculinity and reproduction, and future research directions. Laurent Toulemon and Evelyne Lapierre-Adamcyk and Katarina Pohl presented papers on gender differences in fertility. Philip Setel presented an analysis of the social construction of parenthood among Coastal Boiken in Papua New Guinea. Paul Miret discussed men's role in the sharp decline in Spanish fertility. Nosa Orobaton contrasted African men's changing roles over the life course. Differences in fertility among polygynous populations in Africa and in China were analyzed by Ann Blanc and Anastasia Gage, and James Lee and Wang Feng. Other papers were prepared by Juan Gillermo Figueroa Perea, John Anarfi and Clara Korkor, Frances L. Goldscheider et al., Benno de Keijzer, and Mario Humberto Ruz, Ondina Fachel Leal and Jandyra M.G. Fachel, and Kamran Asdar Ali. Seminar papers were expected to be published in several collections.^ieng

Voices of impoverished Brazilian women: health implications of roles and resources.

This qualitative study was based on individual interviews with 75 Brazilian women in an impoverished peri-urban squatter community (favela) in southeastern Brazil. The purposes of the study were to describe women's role involvement in domestic and employment contexts; identify stresses and satisfactions of maternal, spousal, and employment roles; and assess personal and environmental role constraints and resources from the perspective of women's health. The analytic approach to the interview data was qualitative content analysis, through which thematic categories of maternal, spousal, and employment role satisfactions and stresses were identified by the researchers. Women's unrelenting work in the face of harsh social and economic environments was a broad theme woven throughout the women's descriptions of their lives. The confluence of role constraints affecting the participants' lives included poverty, marginalization, abuse, and lack of support and recognition by partners and society. In order to overcome great adversity and meet heavy role demands, these women relied on self, faith in God, family, and health resources. Implications for women's health promotion are discussed.

PIP: This article describes a qualitative study of women's role in an impoverished peri-urban squatter community in Brazil. The convenience sample included 75 women, comprised of Roman Catholics (51%), Protestants (17%), Spiritists (17%), and unreligiously-affiliated (11%). 26 women were illiterate. 49 had some primary school education. 59% had income that was below the poverty line. 92% reported their income as inadequate. 17 households did not have piped water, and 5 households did not have electricity. None had telephones. Only 28 had refrigerators. Interviews were conducted at the local health post among a sample that was largely unexposed to the questionnaire survey process, which sometimes posed difficulties. Attempts were made to seek out divergent cases or experiences and alternative explanations. Findings indicate that all the women identified themselves as the member of the household responsible for domestic housekeeping, and all saw that role as their most time- and energy-consuming. Most had at least 1 child. 72% were married, and 16% lived with a male partner. 12% were single, widowed, or divorced. Most were dependent upon spouses for economic support. 29 women had some employment outside the home. Women reported the lack of child care as a major reason for not being employed. There were other barriers. The women valued their role as mothers, but work and worries were dominant themes. Women complained about their partner's alcohol and drug misuse, domestic violence, and a lack of appreciation or affection. Working women reported socioeconomic satisfaction and work overload. Women's living conditions were harsh. Women showed considerable inner strength and creativity in dealing with demands and stresses.

Using the HOME inventory with infants in Costa Rica.

PIP: It has been established through several decades of research that children's home environments significantly influence their development. Many researchers have also been interested in expanding research beyond indirect measures of the home environment, such as socioeconomic status, to help understand the nature of specific environmental mechanisms which influence early behavior and cognitive development. The Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory was developed to meet these needs. Specifically, HOME measures the quality of stimulation in a child's early family environment. Almost all studies of the approach's reliability and validity have been conducted with US samples. HOME is, however, being used in other countries. The authors report their findings from a study of whether the psychometric properties of HOME based upon US samples parallel those found in Costa Rica, and whether HOME discriminates between Costa Rican environments with different associations to child health and development. Focus centers upon the infant/toddler version of the HOME Inventory. HOME data for 183 healthy Costa Rican infants were compared to the original HOME standardization sample from Little Rock, Arkansas. The study found the HOME Inventory to be helpful in identifying children at risk for delayed development in this Latin American sample. Lower HOME scores related to a shorter duration of breastfeeding and differentiated children with iron deficiency anemia in infancy, a condition associated with long-lasting developmental disadvantage.^ieng

An application of a probabilistic fertility model to estimate some female family life cycle stages in Paraguay.

PIP: Women's life cycle involves reproduction, labor force, and inactivity. In developing countries with inadequate data, mathematical models can be used to analyze economic behavior of individuals and families in different stages of the life cycle. This study described a model and empirically tested the model on data from Paraguay. The model provided estimates of the mean age of women at first birth, the mean age of women at last birth, time spent in reproduction, and mean life after the birth of the last child for 1950-55, 1980-85, and projection to 2020-25. Values were generated from age-specific mortality and fertility rates. Simulations were performed with varying mortality and fertility schedules. The method was based on techniques developed by Krishnamoorty, who based his methods on models proposed by Hoem and Goodman, Keyfitz, and Pullum. The method was based on an assumption of a stable population with a fixed age pattern of mortality and fertility. An assumption was also that more and less fertile women had the same mortality risks, and fertility and mortality at any one age was applicable to all ages. The total and net fertility rates and life expectancy followed a linear pattern. Application of the method showed that the net fertility rate declined by 27% from 6.15 during 1950-55 to 4.49 during 1980-85, but the time spent in reproduction declined only by 15%, from 15.7 years to 15.9 years. The cause of fertility decline was not a shortened reproductive period, but birth spacing. Projections to 2020-25 showed a decline in the reproductive period of 7 years and a net fertility rate of 3.0 children per woman. When a simulation of one of the 8 UN models of fertility age structure was used to project future fertility, the results showed the reproductive period declined from 11.8 years to 9.7 years. When fertility was assumed to be 2.3, which was considerably lower than 4.49 during 1980-85, the results showed replacement level fertility during 2020-25 and an early age peak in fertility over a short reproductive period of 8 years. The simulation may represent future urban fertility patterns in Paraguay, which would affect labor force participation, which presently is low and stable at 20-23%.^ieng

Prices, infrastructure, household characteristics and child height.

PIP: A Brazilian household survey, ENDEF, in 1974-75 and the 1974 Informacoes Basicas Municipais (IBM) provided data for the analysis of the impact of community services and infrastructure and household characteristics on the logarithm of child height, standardized for age and gender. The sample was comprised of 36,974 children stratified by residential location, the child's age, and the educational level of the mother. Variance and covariance matrices were estimated with the jackknife developed by Efron (1982). Household characteristics included the logarithm of per capita expenditure as a measure of household resource availability, income, and parental education. Community characteristics were local market price indices for 6 food groups (dairy products, beans, cereals, meat, fish, and sugar), level of urbanization, buildings with sewage, water, and electricity connections per capita, per capita number of buildings, and population density. Health services were measured as per capita number of hospitals and clinics and doctors and nurses, and the number of beds are hospital. Educational services include a measure of student teacher ratios, elementary school class size, and per capita number of teachers living in the community. the results show that expenditure had a positive, significant effect on the height of children 2 years and older. Expenditure was a significant determinant for literate and illiterate mothers, and not well educated mothers. The impact of maternal education was largest on the length of babies and declined with the age of the child. Father's education had not impact of length of babies. The effect of parents' education was complementary. The effect of father's education was largest when mothers had some education. Better educated parents had healthier children. Maternal rather than paternal height had an impact of the length of a baby. In the community models, prices had a significant effect on child height, in both urban and rural areas, in all age groups, and for all levels of maternal education. Higher prices were associated with shorter children. Joint price and expenditure interactions were significant. Children at the top of the expenditure distribution were more affected by some prices than by others. Capital building improvements alone and with expenditures were all positively associated with child height. Only nurses per capita impacted on child height.^ieng

Maternal work and child-care strategies in peri-urban Guatemala: nutritional effects.

Associations of 293 mothers' work for earnings and child-care arrangements with the anthropometric status of their children were examined in urban Guatemala. It was hypothesized that during the period of life in which growth often falters (8 through 35 months), maternal employment could be beneficial for children. Informal workers tended to be poorer, less educated, and have more undernourished children than formal workers or nonworkers. When poverty and mother's education were controlled for, no effects of maternal employment on children's anthropometric growth patterns were seen. However, the percent of the family income the mother earned was positively associated with all anthropometric indicators, controlling for confounds. Children taken care of by preteen siblings had significantly lower weight for height than those in other situations, even controlling for SES and maternal employment status. These effects were not found in a 36-48-month-old sample.

PIP: A child development researchers analyzed data on 239 8-35 month old children living in 2 villages 20 km from Guatemala City, Guatemala to determine the effects of maternal work and child care arrangements on children's nutritional status. Women who worked flexible hours and had no defined job skills (informal workers) were more likely to be poor (p.01), less educated (p.0001), and have undernourished children (p.02 for height for age and p.01 for weight for age) than those women who either owned a business, had a trade, or worked in a store or factory (formal workers). Yet informal work was statistically related to those socioeconomic factors than jeopardize adequate growth of children. When the researcher controlled for poverty and maternal education, mother's work did not affect growth, however. This suggested that mother's work may have a positive effect on growth because if mothers did not work, the children may have actually experienced even poorer nutritional status. The data showed the arduous circumstances informal workers encounter, their poverty, and inadequate income for their labor. The children of full-time workers had a somewhat better weight for height status than nonworkers. Percent of family income earned by the mother had a significant effect on all anthropometric indicators (p.01 for height for age and weight for age; p.05 for weight for height). In both the 1-way analysis of variance and the same analysis controlling for socioeconomic status and mother's work, children cared for by a 13-year old sibling had a considerably lower weight for height than those cared for by nonworking mothers (p.008 and p.01 respectively). None of the effects existed in the 36-48 month old children in these villages.

Patterns of domestic life in colonial Mexico: views from the households.

The author proposes new directions for the study of family life in colonial Mexico. "The goal was to present an alternative perspective for discussing patterns of domestic life in colonial Latin America and to illustrate how use of the life-course perspective improves on the more static, conventional Laslett approach.... Statistically based examinations of domestic life-course patterns, when combined with information about the economic, legal, and emotive aspects of families, can bring us closer to understanding social dynamics and everyday life in Mexico's past."

Infant mortality in a Mexican-American community: Laredo, Texas, 1950-1977.

Published infant mortality rates (IMR's) for Mexican-American populations frequently are lower than expected given the socioeconomic status (SES) of these populations. It has been speculated that this is due to bias or incompleteness in Mexican-American vital statistics. In this paper an extensive genealogical data base constructed from Catholic church records and civil records for the border city of Laredo, Texas is used to study this problem. The infant mortality probabilities (IMP's) since 1950 are compared to conventional IMR's, both based strictly on the population at risk defined by baptisms, in which the deaths are a proper subset of the denominator, and these are compared with IMR's calculated in the usual way from aggregate civil records of births and infant deaths for Laredo. We find that when these data are used, the IMR's for the most recent years are about twice the conventional rates computed from registered vital statistics.

PIP: Infant mortality rate (IMR) and infant mortality probability (IMP) were computed for the border city Loredo, Texas, from an extensive set of genealogies generated from baptismal and marriage records of 12 Catholic parishes from 1850-1977, Loredo death records since the beginning of registration through 1988, and hospital morbidity records from 1910-1980. Data were linked by a computer algorithm and verified manually. 254,000 individuals and 83,000 nuclear families were included. IMRs for Mexican American groups are often much lower than expected for their socioeconomic status. Loredo IMRs until 1940 were much too high, ranging from 173 to 465, because of unreported birth sin private dwellings. Later there were more registered births than baptisms, because Mexican nationals giving birth in Loredo in hopes of getting a U.S. Birth certificate. The 1970 IMR was a 42% underestimate, the 1977 IMR a 54% underestimate. IMPs computed from baptism closely resembled those for U.S. non-whites after 1950. This study shows that currently computed IMRs for border Mexican-American populations may be about 50% of the true risks.

[The link between demographic events: a study of nuptiality patterns]. / La vinculacion de eventos demograficos: un estudio sobre los patrones de nupcialidad.

PIP: The author examines links between the timing of various major life events (including women's age at marriage and the spacing of children) and the economic and urban development of a society, using Mexico as an example. The focus is on marriage patterns. She finds that nuptiality influences rural-urban migration for women, as do age and socioeconomic factors and husband's employment status. Data are from the Mexican Fertility Survey for the period 1976-1977. (SUMMARY IN ENG)^ieng

[The construction of life profiles by social class in Chile]. / Construccion de perfiles de vida para grupos sociales en Chile.

PIP: The author develops a series of life profiles for men and women living in the Greater Santiago area of Chile over the past 25 years. These profiles, which are based on the concept of life expectancy at birth, illustrate the length of time individuals take to go through such life cycle stages as education, employment, unemployment, and retirement. The concept is used to analyze changes in the life profile over time and how these differ by class. (SUMMARY IN ENG)^ieng

[A sociological approach to the family]. / Uma abordagem sociologica de familia.

"This paper discusses the range and limits of some concepts of the family, related to theoretical perspectives and to possibilities of an empirical approach to this social group. It argues that in recent studies of the family one can find the symbolic outlook of anthropology on the one hand, which deepens the analysis of dynamics of family relationships, but is limited to strict segments of society. On the other hand, one can find demography and sociology surveys, capable of framing broad portraits which, although liable to generalization, are static and limited to family relations within the household. As an example of possible methodology, the paper describes the proceedings and results of [a study on] family structure and daily life in the city of Sao Paulo [Brazil], in which the author assembles some of the commented approaches, trying to overcome their limitations." (SUMMARY IN ENG)

[A model for analyzing ascending genealogies]. / Un modele d'analyse de genealogie ascendante.

"This paper presents a model of ascending genealogies, with the definition and investigation of the functions allowing for the study of these genealogies as well as with the main algorithms used in operationalizing the model on a micro-computer. Examples of the type of results one may obtain with this model are provided; they concern file outputs as well as the computation of consanguinity and completeness coefficients." The examples provided concern the island of Saint Barthelemy, Guadeloupe. (SUMMARY IN ENG AND SPA)

[A program of research on biocultural dynamics]. / Un programme de recherches sur la dynamique bioculturelle.

"The objective of the research program presented in this note is to analyse the interrelations between biological and social factors in the process of demographic renewal. Population registers of various communities, among them those of Saint-Barthelemy (French Antilles) and Ile-aux-Coudres (Quebec), are used. The genealogies which were obtained from these registers contribute to the study of genetical epidemiology. The research program also includes the identification of social factors which may have contributed to the biological structure of the communities under study." (SUMMARY IN ENG AND SPA)

[Sexuality, marriage, and reproduction]. / Sexualidade, casamento e reproducao.

PIP: Reproductive patterns among Brazilians of German Lutheran descent are investigated using family reconstitution. Three separate cohorts are analyzed: those born during the periods 1866-1894, 1895-1919, and 1920-1939. A decline in the level of premarital conceptions and births is noted and its causes are analyzed. (SUMMARY IN ENG)^ieng