The Family relationship is said to be one of the most important moderators of the outcome of bereavement. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of family relationships on mental health mediated by emotional loneliness after spousal loss. The subjects were 70 bereaved persons who had lost their spouses in an hospice ward and 40 non-bereaved persons as control group. They answered a questionnaire about 1) emotional loneliness, 2) cohesion and expressiveness in family relationships (Family Environment Scale Japanese version), and 3) mental health (General Health Questionnaire Japanese version, 28 item version). As compared with the control group, widowed people reported more emotional loneliness. The impact of spousal loss on mental was health partially mediated by emotional loneliness. The results showed that family relationships had an indirect effect on mental health mediated by emotional loneliness. In conclusion, emotional loneliness partially mediates the impact of family relationships on mental health after spousal loss.

　　The purpose of this study is to investigate that “conversational style” in the conflictive situation is pragmatic communication that has systemic function. The Hypothesis of this study is problem-interaction·model. PIM says, “The interpersonal systems of longer-term human relationships are often supported by causing the conversational system of short-term and immediate system to collapse”. In this experiment, by the operation of subjects' “conversational style”, direction of change is investigated and considered. In experiment study, subjects were eighteen pairs who are dormitory students. They were asked to participate in conversations with their partners in a general decision making situation (non-operation group) and two conflictive decision-making situations (groups which decrease time of utterance and groups which decrease number of turn-taking). Time of utterance is communication as a reaction against centrifugal tendency of interpersonal system. Numbers of turn-taking contribute to keep conversational system. Conflictive decision-making situation has centrifugal tendency. Groups which decrease time of utterance are operated to make conversational system centrifugal tendency. In these groups, self-regulatory does not work. So interpersonal system and conversational system will become centrifugal tendency. Groups which decrease numbers of turn taking are operated to make interpersonal system centripetal tendency. In these groups, conversational system becomes centrifugal tendency. So interpersonal system will become centrifugal tendency. As a result, 1) numbers of turn-taking decrease in groups which decrease time of utterance than in non-operation groups.2) Time of utterance increase groups which decrease numbers of turn taking than in non-operation groups. Finally, this study suggested that “conversational style” in conflictive situation is pragmatic communication that has systemic function.

　　Depression is the most reported mental illness among family members caring for impaired elders. Although many studies haved focused on the depressive symptoms of family caregivers and their differences by gender and relationships to their elders, conclusions drawn from the studies are difficult to accept because of confused results. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in depressions by gender and relationships to their elders by using an adequate number sample of family caregivers (N = 179). Measures included the elders' cognitive impairment, activity of daily living (ADL), the caregivers' demographic variables, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Family caregivers' CES-D scores were compared according to gender and relationships to the elders. The results of ANOVA showed no significant difference between genders. Nevertheless, the result of ANOVA revealed significant differences in the relationships to the elders scores. In addition, the CES-D score in spouse caregivers was significantly worse than among other relationships (offspring, daughters-in-law, and the others). After controlling for the influence of the elderly persons' impairments, these differences were still significant. These findings can be used to assist in interventions and psychological support for family caregivers.

　　The purpose of this study was to classify relating behaviors of fathers to adolescents and to explain their characters. We conducted a survey on 412 fathers who have junior high school children. In order to sample the pattern of the balance between the relating behaviors and consciousness, we conducted a cluster analysis, and the results were classified in to 5 types; “behavior-before-words type”, “words-without-behavior type”, “ideal type”, “expression-centered type”, and “unconcerned type”. Based on these classifications, we investigated the characters of fathers by analysis of variance . The analysis showed there was a tendency that fathers who cooperate with their wives and think that they were concerned with their own fathers are classified into the “ideal type” rather than the “word-without-behavior type”, the type having high consciousness unaccompanied by behavior. This factor is interesting in that it indicates a difference between fathers who can't show concern for their children in spite of their efforts, and those who are able to show concern. Furthermore, we conducted a semi-structured interviews with the 15 fathers who were classified into the “words-without-behaviors type”; “expression-centered type”; and “ideal type”. the results showed that there are 2 kinds of fathers in “words-without-behaviors type”. One kind is the father whose ideal concerning his consciousness is realized, and the other is the kind of father who thinks that he can't show concern for his children. Moreover, compared with “ideal type”; it was suggested that “words-without-behaviors type” and the “expression-centered type” fathers don't have a concerned image, and do not cooperate with their wives. It was found that expression-centered type fathers tend to have latent rage toward their wives and their own fathers. These results suggest that in order to have richer concerns, it is necessary to enhance the cooperation between fathers and mothers, to suggest the concerning model, and to have an experience in which family members can exchange their e motional signals.