The purpose of this study was to map the experiences of families with children with developmental challenges in obtaining support during their nursing. The subjects were nine mothers; data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed using modified grounded theory.

　　Interpretation of findings resulted in a model with five stages: “awareness by oneself and others,” “intermediate support system,” “purposeful support for parents,” and “purposeful support for children.” These stages were further reduced to sixteen concepts.

　　First, mothers or other stakeholders in children's lives become aware of children's atypical development. The parents become proactive and try to get more information in this area. During all this time, they are supported by others and through information. At the same time they consider their attitudes to these issues. Then they choose purposeful support for themselves and their children; that is, in order to acquire purposeful support, they require interaction between mediated support and parents' attitudes.

　　Therefore, it was implied that the process had to involve an intermediate support system to reach purposeful support between the stages.

　　The concept of differentiation of self as an integrative perspective involving intrapsychic dimensions and interpersonal distance was proposed by Bowen, a transgenerational family therapist. This study sought to develop a Japanese version of the Differentiation of Self Inventory-Revised (DSI-R; Skowron ＆ Schmitt, 2003), a self-report measure of differentiation of self that includes four subscales: Emotional Reactivity (ER), I-Position (IP), Emotional Cutoff (EC), and Fusion with Others (FO).

　　In Study 1, the questionnaire was administered to test the validity of the subscales by examining the correlation of each with an external criterion reflecting similar constructs. In total, 193 adults participated (aged 18―29 years). Only two subscales, EC and FO, were tested in this study because the others, ER and IP, had been tested previously (Nakajima, 2011). The results showed that the EC and FO scales had sufficient validity; significant positive correlations were calculated between each subscale and its respective external criterion. The internal consistency reliabilities calculated using Chronbach's alpha were high for both subscales (.74―.79).

　　In Study 2, the questionnaire was administered to test the validity of all subscales, using measures of family functioning and problems of physical and mental well being as external criteria that were assumed to relate to differentiation of self. In total, 232 adults participated (aged 19 ― 58 years). All subscales were found to have sufficient validity; significant positive correlations were calculated between all subscales and family functioning, and significant negative correlations were calculated between all subscales and problems of physical and mental well being.

　　In conclusion, the Japanese version of the DSI-R has sufficient validity and reliability for use in statistical analyses. In research measuring the effects of interventions focused on emotional aspects of family relationships, the DSI-R is expected to contribute to integrative assessment by defining the level of differentiation at which interventions are effective: the intrapsychic or interpersonal.

　　This study focuses on the psychological changes and process by which an adoptive mother shifts into a maternal role beyond blood relation. Interviews were used to longitudinally assess an individual mother's relationship with her son, and resultant data was analyzed via TEM and TLMG. Examination of results revealed three main findings. Firstly, the mother tried to raise the adoptee in a good way ─ a way in which the child would grow to be a respectable and upright person. It should be noted that conflicts arose as the child approached puberty due to adoption adjustment. In the wake of her child's problematic behavior, the adoptive mother may have regretted her choice to adopt. Despite this, the mother still desired to retain the parent-child relationship, in reflecting on her experience with infertility treatment and yearning to have a child. Secondly, it was found that the mother may have abandoned her view of having a proud child, and instead learned to accept a more authentic view of her child. This notion is supported by expert advice and previous research that has improved our understanding of the influence of biological parental genes. Finally, as the adoptee grew, his origin became of greater importance. This led to the further development of the relationship between the mother and her adopted son, as she continually spoke with him about searching his roots to fill in gaps about any unknown genetic information. Overall, this study suggests that psychological changes in the adoptive mother's values were actualized as she shifted from simply being a legal parent to being an adoptive parent that transcends blood relation.