In this study, we developed a disability awareness program for brothers and sisters of children with disabilities (hereafter referred to as siblings) and examined its effectiveness at promoting family relationships. During sessions of the program, siblings created “An Introduction to My Family” album, and parents also participated by adding their comments to the albums. Participants were seven siblings of brothers with autistic spectrum disorder and/or an intellectual disability. The program consisted of six two-hour sessions that took place every two weeks, and each session began with a game to break the ice. Afterwards, participants learned about the characteristics of their brothers' disabilities, they discussed problems associated with those disabilities, and they examined ways to cope with them. Siblings also shared personal information about themselves, their families, and friends as well as their impressions of the overall discussions, which were expressed through writing and drawings in the albums. After each session, the siblings presented the albums to their parents (at home), who then added comments. To determine the program's effectiveness, the siblings were interviewed and asked to complete the same questionnaire before and after the program. In addition, the siblings' mothers were interviewed and questioned about themselves and their relationship within the family. Analysis of the parentchild interaction represented in the albums and the data from the questionnaires revealed that most siblings had greater expectations of receiving informal support from their mothers, and some mothers reported that their perceptions of their healthy children had changed, resulting in enhanced communication and improved relationships between the parents and siblings over the course of the program.

　　This study examined the relationship between distress, gender attitudes, and work-family spillover in employed mothers with pre-school children. Distress was measured with 2 instruments, a self-report of parental anxiety and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). Parents of 2─6 year-old children (mothers employed full-time, n=121; mothers employed part-time, n=124) completed questionnaires. According to path analysis, mothers' work-family spillover functioned as a mediator between fathers' gender attitudes and mothers' distress (GHQ-28 and parental anxiety) only for mothers who were employed full-time but not for mothers who were employed part-time. Fathers' gender attitudes also directly affected parental anxiety in mothers who were employed full-time and they directly affected the GHQ-28 in mothers who were employed part-time. These results suggest that fathers’ gender attitudes are key to dual-career families and that different forms of employment should be considered to reduce distress in employed mothers.

　　The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between university students' perceptions of family communication and their parents' marital relationship and their own borderline tendencies. Questionnaires were administered to 198 undergraduate college students (91 males, 107 females). Multiple regression analysis revealed that conflictual communication was related to borderline tendencies in male undergraduates. Analysis also revealed that avoidant communication was related to identity diffusion and isolation/abandonment anxiety. In female undergraduates, conflictual communication was related to borderline tendencies and labile affect/impulsiveness. Avoidant communication was related to borderline tendencies and all subfactors except for a sense of inadequacy in interpersonal relationships/low self-esteem. Clear communication and borderline tendencies were not significantly related. Results revealed that conflict resolution by one's parents had a significant inverse relationship to borderline tendencies in both male and female undergraduates. Conflict resolution by one's parents was inversely related to labile affect/impulsiveness in male undergraduates and to identity diffusion in female undergraduates. Findings suggest that interventions to encourage family communication and conflict　resolution by parents of undergraduates will likely prove effective in reducing borderline tendencies in those students.

　　This study examined the relationship between positive marital illusions and mental health in middle-aged couples.

　　Based on a preliminary study of middle-aged couples, Study 1 verified that positive illusions are part of the perceptions of the marital relationship. This study then created a scale to measure positive marital illusions. The main findings of this study were that: (a) positive marital illusions reflected both positive and negative features of the marital relationship, (b) positive marital illusions had an above-average effect on positive features of the marital relationship; this effect had 3 dimensions, i.e. warmth, a spontaneous and unconstrained relationship, and togetherness, and (c) positive marital illusions had a below-average effect on negative features of the marital relationship; this effect had 2 dimensions, i.e. psychological distance and distrust and criticism and disparagement of one's spouse.

　　Study 2 used pairwise correlation analysis to examine the correlation between positive marital illusions and mental health. Results revealed that an individual who rates his or her marital relationship as better than average has better mental well-being. Moreover, the ways in which positive marital illusions relate to mental health differ depending on how the marital relationship is appraised.