THE FAMILY 10.1177/1066480705285552 Southern / THEMES JOURNAL: IN MARRIAGE COUNSELING & FAMILY AND THERAPY COUNSELING FOR COUPLES ANDAMILIES F / April 2006

Themes in Marriage and Family Counseling: A Content Analysis of The Family Journal Stephen Southern Texas A & M University–Corpus Christi

A content analysis determines the most frequent themes in marriage and family counseling as evidenced by publication of articles, book reviews, and features in The Family Journal. An additional concern of the study is detecting changes in themes in the 52 issues of the journal beginning with Volume 1, Number 1, published in January 1993, and ending with Volume 13, Number 4, published in October 2005. The results and conclusions help determine the context of contemporary issues, demonstrate the evolution of the specialization, and forecast publication needs for the future. The content analysis forms a foundation for identifying publishing priorities, neglected areas of research, and insights about publishable articles. Keywords:

content analysis; counseling journal; marriage and family counseling; publishing

A

lthough marriage and family counseling has an extensive history, formal recognition of the professional counseling specialization can be traced to the formation in 1989 of the International Association of Marriage and Family Counseling (IAMFC), a division of the American Counseling Association. The field of marriage and family counseling is multifaceted and evolving, yet the domain of specialized knowledge and skills, an indicator of professional status (cf. Sullivan, 2005), has been recorded in the 13 years of publication of The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, the official publication of IAMFC. The Family Journal affords a record of professional interests and emerging themes in marriage and family counseling. According to the most recent Guidelines for Authors (Sage Publications, n.d.), The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families invites articles concerned with theory, research, and practice in counseling with couples and families. Research articles include quantitative, qualitative, and Author’s Note: Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Stephen Southern, Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, ECDC 233, Texas A & M University–Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX 78412-5834; e-mail: John.Southern@ mail.tamucc.edu.

evaluation designs. Descriptive articles may include current issues, innovative methods, and professional concerns.

Theory articles included in the journal included literature reviews, position papers, and conceptual models, emphasizing relational and systemic interventions. Jon Carlson, editor of The Family Journal for its first 13 years, identified some directions for publication in his initial editorial (Carlson, 1993) and restated his goals after 5 years. In the first issue of The Family Journal, I established the following goals for this journal: • pays attention to theory and research but has an emphasis on practice, • realizes the importance of working with normal as well as clinical populations, • values prevention and education as well as therapy, • is accessible and scientific, and • includes columns to encourage membership participation in the publication. (Carlson, 1997, p. 285)

Subsequent editorials emphasized the collaborative nature of The Family Journal, encouraging participation through large advisory and editorial boards, invitation of selected articles, and contribution of works by means of column editors. Marriage and family counseling, similar to other specializations within professional counseling, has responded to a number of societal concerns and changes in marriage and family life. Some societal concerns and issues within the past 13 years include upheaval in economics and the world of work, reorganization of welfare, increase in managed care, emphasis on professional accountability and evidence-based practice, advancement in neuroscience and biomedical technology, revolution in biological psychiatry, proliferation of electronic media, concern with diversity and international affairs, ongoing warfare and terrorism, and polarization in politics (cf. Easton, 2004; Hayden, 2002; Sullivan, 2005). In the corresponding period, there have been substantial changes within marriage and family systems: an increase in divorce rates and cohabitation, expansion of blended families and single-parent households, concern with fertility issues

THE FAMILY JOURNAL: COUNSELING AND THERAPY FOR COUPLES AND FAMILIES, Vol. 14 No. 2, April 2006 114-122 DOI: 10.1177/1066480705285552 © 2006 Sage Publications 114

Southern / THEMES IN MARRIAGE & FAMILY COUNSELING 115

and reproductive rights, heightened awareness of gender and multicultural issues, influence of sexual minorities in family and work settings, and increase in family disorganization because of addiction and violence (Cornwell, Eggebeen, & Meschke, 1996; Crosnoe & Elder, 2004; Emery & Lloyd, 2001; Fowers & Richardson, 1996; Kitzinger & Wilkinson, 2004; Pistole & Marson, 2005). Marriage and family counseling has addressed cultural and familial changes throughout its professional history. The family systems perspective, a cornerstone of the field, tends to encourage contextual and creative solutions to problems encountered in everyday life. By reviewing the themes of articles and features included in the official publication of IAMFC, one is able not only to see how far the profession has come but also to imagine where the field is going. The counseling profession has periodically reviewed its journals’ archival contents to determine the historical context for contemporary issues, demonstrate the development of specializations, and forecast needs for the future (Juhnke, Bordeau, & Evanoff, 2005, p. 52). Content analyses were conducted to accomplish some general purposes. Content analysis of research in the Journal of Counseling Psychology (Buboltz, Miller, & Williams, 1999) identified the most common areas of research activity as well as frequently published authors and their institutional affiliations. Recently, Karr and Larson (2005) investigated the extent of theory-driven research in three counseling journals from 1990 to 1999. They found that there were fewer theory-driven research studies in the Journal of Counseling & Development than in the Journal of Counseling Psychology. Research productivity remained stable in four counseling psychology journals during the period from 1993 to 2002 (Diegelman, Uffelman, Wagner, & Diegelman, 2005). Some content analyses were targeted to address specific aims and purposes. Content analysis was used to assess the need for a new group journal by reviewing trends in numbers and kinds of articles published in 23 journals between 1980 and 1995 (Stewart, Stewart, & Gazda, 1997). Two reviews tracked progress in incorporating gay, lesbian, and bisexual issues in articles published in counseling journals in 1978 through 1989 (Buhrke, Ben-Ezra, Hurley, & Ruprecht, 1992) and 1990 through 1999 (Phillips, Ingram, Smith, & Mindes, 2003). The authors of these thoughtful articles recommended future publication topics as well as relevant research methods. Two articles in the Journal of Marital & Family Therapy, a publication of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, investigated trends in author characteristics and diversity issues (Bailey, Pryce, & Walsh, 2002) and qualitative research (Faulkner, Klock, & Gale, 2002). Evaluating 131 articles published in four marriage and family therapy journals from 1980 to 1999, Bailey and colleagues (2002) found that although qualitative research is increasing, such research designs accounted for only a small percentage of articles. Coverage of diversity issues in the Journal of Marital

& Family Therapy doubled from 15.6% of articles published during 1990-1995 to 31.0% of articles during 1996-2000 (Faulkner et al., 2002, p. 479). Content analysis has been used as a technique for reviewing progress toward specific goals, especially among stakeholders affected by publication trends. A content analysis of articles in the Journal of Counseling & Development during 1990-2001 confirmed an increase in multicultural topics, especially those publications emphasizing the developmental perspective rather than a pathology orientation (Arredondo, Rosen, Rice, Perez, & Tovar-Gamero, 2005). Similarly, a content analysis of the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development during the period from 1985 to 1999 identified a range of topics addressing three major content areas: multicultural competence and counseling, psychosocial development and adjustment, and multicultural training (Pope-Davis, Ligiero, Liang, & Codrington, 2001). The authors substantiated the frequently encountered gap in counseling journals between quantitative (47% of articles) and qualitative (3%) research designs. The aforementioned content analysis of the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development constituted an approach in which a professional specialization examined its own foundation. The addictions and offender counseling specialization has reported two reviews of submission patterns and topic areas (Charkow & Juhnke, 2001; Juhnke et al., 2005). There is a need to examine systematically the foundation and future of the marriage and family counseling specialization within professional counseling. The purpose of the present study is to determine the most frequent themes in marriage and family counseling as evidenced by publication of articles and book reviews in The Family Journal. An additional concern of the study is to detect changes in themes attributable to the passage of time during the 13 volumes, or 52 issues, of the journal ending with Volume 13, Number 4, published in October 2005. Several research questions guided the content analysis of The Family Journal. 1. Do articles, book reviews, and journal features represent theory, research, and practice with couples and family? 2. Do articles, book reviews, and journal features reflect topics associated with normal populations, developmental issues, and prevention? 3. Do articles, book reviews, and journal features reflect topics concerned with contemporary issues such as multiculturalism and diversity? 4. What are the most frequent themes in articles, book reviews, and journal features? 5. Are there trends in topics and themes in articles, book reviews, and journal features?

Although content analyses of other counseling journals addressed research productivity by means of identifying

116 THE FAMILY JOURNAL: COUNSELING AND THERAPY FOR COUPLES AND FAMILIES / April 2006

frequent authors and their institutional affiliations, the present analysis does not address trends in authorship. METHOD This study addresses the research questions by employing a descriptive design involving content analysis. Content analysis involves “a research method that uses a set of procedures to make valid inferences from text” (Weber, 1990, p. 9). By specifying the rules used to make inferences, the researcher makes content analysis more than just subjective impressions (Lee & Peterson, 1997, p. 960). The general process of content analysis of archival data included several steps (Bublotz et al., 1999; Kidd, 2002; Lee & Peterson, 1997; Maxwell, 1998; Nairn, Ellard, Scialfa, & Miller, 2003), as follows: 1. selecting a relevant database; 2. securing a sufficient sample of the database to be analyzed; 3. operationalizing the variables or categories for content analyses; 4. refining the categories or coding variables by trying out the operationalization on a subset of cases and creating new codes as necessary to describe fully the underlying data; 5. establishing explicit coding rules for final categories; 6. completing the initial coding and analysis of the database; 7. auditing original categories, obtaining descriptive statistics, and formulating revised categories until meaning in the data is exhausted; 8. identifying themes in the data across the final categories; 9. developing a theory or model that best represents the relationships among themes; and 10. comparing the themes and any identified theory to the researcher biases and the extant literature.

In their content analysis of research in the Journal of Counseling Psychology, Buboltz et al. (1999, p. 496) indicated that the research method could identify publishing priorities, neglected areas of research, models that contributed substantially to the field, and insights about articles deemed relevant and worthy of publication by professional peers. Database The database enlisted in the present study are all articles, book reviews, and features published in The Family Journal between January 1993 (Volume 1, Number 1) and October 2005 (Volume 13, Number 4). The database was accessed by means of the Sage full-text search engine (CSA Illumina), provided by Sage Publications. Each case (i.e., publication unit within a particular issue of the journal) was reviewed and categorized. Attempts were made to control for bias by securing input from professional peers during all steps in the research and following a systematic, structured method for data gathering.

Measurement Measurement consisted in content analysis using explicit rules for coding the database. The aforementioned 10 steps yielded initial, revised, and final categories for coding of archival content of The Family Journal. These categories were derived from previously published Guidelines for Authors, editorial board member manuscript evaluation forms, interests of editorial board members secured from a 2005 survey, and expressed interests of potential readers secured in surveys completed during the 2005 IAMFC and ACA conferences. The initial categories for coding were applied to the first 300 items in the database. The categories were revised when trial coding identified problems with excessive detail in categorization, irrelevancy of categories (i.e., setting domain and method domain), omission of key categories (boldface in Table 1), and inadequate interrater reliability and temporal stability (i.e., ratings repeated at 3-day intervals). Subsequently, the categories were revised to simplify coding of the entire database. The revised categories for coding are included in Table 1. The categories were applied to the entire database of articles, book reviews, and features. This content analysis produced the data used in the final analyses in which themes in marriage and family counseling were identified. Coding involved accessing the publication units (articles, book reviews, and features) via the Internet, then reviewing the content. The review process included reading the title, abstract, and key words followed by an attempt to assign the unit or case to basic feature categories: announcement/introduction, biographical sketch, editorial, letter to the editor, and reply/critique. These cases were assigned the code of “other” in the remaining categories. The remaining feature categories, interview and invited paper, were coded as articles. Articles were coded after reviewing page-by-page the entire article, attending especially to headings, subheadings, boldface concepts, and explicit definitions of terms (cf. Nairn et al., 2003). To differentiate among subtypes of articles, entire sections were read. The Method section was essential in assigning research articles to the correct category: quantitative, qualitative, or evaluation. Rules for coding included determining the type, subtype, client domain, and focus of each case. Type of article was determined by presence of a Method section for research articles; designation of theory or practice emphasis; headings, subheadings, terms, and descriptors consistent with theory categorization; and presence of techniques, resources, and recommendations in practice cases. The other types of articles were categorized according to the headings or labels used in the articles or tables of content. Determination of the subtype of article was a timeconsuming process. When the category could not be estab-

Southern / THEMES IN MARRIAGE & FAMILY COUNSELING 117

TABLE 1 Revised Categories for Content Analysis of The Family Journal Entries Type of manuscript Theory Research Practice Subtype of manuscript Literature review Position paper Current issue Client domain Individual Couple Family Focus Acculturation Adlerian approach Addiction/alcoholism Adoption Aging Anger Assessment At-risk population Attachment Biracial issues Career/work issues Caregiver issues Violence/child abuse Child custody Child issues Courtship Creativity

Announcement/introduction Biographical sketch Book review

Editorial Interview Invited paper

Letter to the editor Reply/critique Other

Quantitative Qualitative Evaluation

Innovative method Clinical resource Professional issue

Case consultation Case study Conceptual analysis Other

Group Multicouple Multifamily

Community Geographic system Macrosystem

Other

Delinquency Diagnosis Disability Divorce Eating disorder Ethics Family dynamics Family secrets Gender issues Grief/loss issues Health issues Healthy relationships

Intergenerational International issues Intimacy Latino/Hispanic Marital/couple issues Marriage preparation Media influences Multicultural issues Natural disaster/terrorism Neuroscience Parenting Pastoral counseling

Psychopharmacology Relapse prevention Resistance Sexual functioning Sexual minority Social justice Spirituality Technique Training/supervision Transitions Trauma/PTSD

HIV issues Home-based therapy Humor Infertility/miscarriage

Personality dynamics Poverty/welfare issues Prevention Psychopathology

Violence/domestic Violence/school War Other

lished clearly from the title, key words, abstract, and levels of headings, sections were read to clarify the subtype prior to coding. Research articles were coded readily based on the content of the Method section. Practice articles were designated innovative method, clinical resource, or professional issue. Innovative methods included techniques of assessment, diagnosis, intervention, prevention, and theory. The “innovative” label was inferred from the editorial board’s decision to accept the practiceoriented article for publication. Some practice articles provided actual tests, checklists, protocols, or other tools that warranted coding in the clinical resource category. The professional issues category was constructed to include articles addressing practice concerns of counselors such as ethics, training, supervision, licensure, and other standards. Some practice articles were coded as case consultation if emphasis was placed on particular cases. Frequently, the case consultation subtype could be determined by titles or headings. The subtypes of theory articles included literature review, position paper, and current issue. Literature reviews were easy to discern. Designation as position paper or current issue was complicated. Position papers tended to address potentially controversial issues or to take a stand on some topic. Current issue articles addressed concerns of particular popu-

lations, problems, and settings, typically with less extensive coverage than a literature review. Both position papers and current issue articles included recommendations for marriage and family counselors. Some articles fit the subtype of conceptual analysis, particularly those that emphasized philosophical issues or theoretical models. Determination of client domain was relatively easy with the exception of three categories: community, geographic system, and macrosystem. Codes were assigned to these categories only if the cases did not fit the other classifications. Most cases were coded individual, couple, or family. A few units fit group, multicouple, or multifamily codes. Community classification was reserved for those cases that focused on community-wide issues such as schooling, agency work, neighborhood action, or a related matter. Geographic system applied primarily to national and international concerns. The macrosystem category was reserved for professional, organizational, institutional, and contextual concerns. Determination of the focus of articles and book reviews was completed using the extensive list of 64 items included in the revised categories depicted in Table 1. The items reflected problems, issues, or concerns. In addition, the focus category incorporated some items from the original setting and method domains. Most units or cases were coded readily into one des-

118 THE FAMILY JOURNAL: COUNSELING AND THERAPY FOR COUPLES AND FAMILIES / April 2006

TABLE 2 Final Categories for Content Analysis of The Family Journal Entries Final Category

Composition From Revised Categories

Addiction

Addiction/alcoholism, eating disorder, relapse prevention, resistance, and violence/domestic Assessment Assessment, diagnosis, personality dynamics, and diagnosis psychopathology, and psychopharmacology Children at At-risk population, child issues, delinquency, risk home-based therapy, prevention, violence/ child abuse, and violence/school Creativity Creativity and humor Divorce Divorce and child custody Ethics Ethics Family issues Attachment, family dynamics, family life cycle, family secrets, and media influences Gender issues Gender issues Grief and Grief and spirituality spirituality Health issues Health issues, HIV, and neuroscience Healthy Courtship, healthy relationships, and intimacy relationships Intergenerational Aging, caregiver issues, intergenerational issues issues, and transitions Marital and Marital and couple issues, marriage preparation, couple and infertility/miscarriage issues Multicultural Acculturation, biracial issues, international issues issues, multicultural issues, and Latinos Parenting Adoption and parenting Sexual issues Sexual functioning and sexual minorities Techniques Adlerian approach and techniques Training and Training/supervision supervision Trauma Natural disaster, PTSD, and war Work and socio- Career/work issues, disability, poverty/welfare, economic and social justice issues

ignation. A subset of cases could not be coded exclusively in one category. Therefore, during the coding process, a second nonexclusive focus code was added for these articles. Coding with the revised categories was completed during a 3-week period. Reliability of coding was checked by comparing the reviewer’s assignment of cases to categories with two students’ coding decisions for 40 cases using the aforementioned rules. Agreement of assignment was 72% and 95% for a minimally acceptable average of 83.5%. Student reviewers had only 30 minutes of training and lacked the experience of the reviewer in evaluating manuscripts for potential publication. Temporal stability of coding was estimated by determining percentage of agreement of assignment of 40 cases completed twice during a 3-day period. The agreement in coding over time was 92.5%. RESULTS The results of the content analysis of the first 13 years of The Family Journal identified themes and trends in marriage

TABLE 3 Type, Subtype, and Client Domain of Manuscripts Included in Total Entries Category Type of manuscript Book review Interview and other features Theory Research Practice Subtype of manuscript Literature review Research Innovative method Clinical resource Professional issue Client domain Individual Couple Family Social system

Frequency

Percentage

327 67 238 77 364

30.5 6.2 22.2 7.2 33.9

378 151 210 209 125

35.2 14.1 19.6 19.5 11.6

220 252 323 278

20.5 23.5 30.1 25.9

NOTE: Total entries include all categories except those with missing data, resulting in N = 1,073.

and family counseling. An initial pool of 1,290 journal articles was reviewed by means of the Sage Full-Text Collections database, using the CSA Illumina search engine. Eighty-two articles associated with other journals, such as The Counseling Psychologist and The Journal of Early Adolescence, were eliminated, reducing the pool to 1,208 items. A final reduction of the pool to 1,073 units for some analyses was accomplished by eliminating journal features that were coded “other,” including the following categories: announcement/ introduction, editorial, letter to the editor, reply/critique, and other (errata, poems, and death notice). Because observed frequencies in initial descriptive data revealed some small cells, revised categories of content were combined to form meaningful final categories for content analysis of the journal. The final categories with their constituents are listed in Table 2. The final categories contained in Table 2 represented the original breadth of topics while reducing the total number of categories to 20. Composition of final categories and their labels was logical and informed by the reviewer’s knowledge of the marriage and family literature. Another reviewer could construct different categories. For example, although violence/domestic was assigned to the addiction category based on commonalities, it might be assigned to gender issues by another reviewer. The results of the first analysis of journal content applied to type, subtype, and client domain. Entries in Table 3 addressed the first research question. Types of manuscript across 1,073 total entries verified that The Family Journal published theory, research, and practice

Southern / THEMES IN MARRIAGE & FAMILY COUNSELING 119

TABLE 4 Frequency, Percentage, and Rank of Total Entries, Articles Only, and Book Reviews/Interviews According to Final Category Total Entries Final Category Techniques Training and supervision Assessment and diagnosis Children at risk Multicultural issues Family issues Ethics Sexual issues Marital and couple issues Addiction Healthy relationships Work and socioeconomic issues Grief and spirituality Intergenerational issues Parenting Gender issues Health issues Divorce Creativity Trauma

f

%

155 110 86 73 65 57 53 51 45 43 43 42 42 42 39 30 27 25 24 21

14.4 10.3 8.0 6.8 6.1 5.3 4.9 4.8 4.2 4.0 4.0 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.6 2.8 2.5 2.3 2.2 2.0

Articles Only Rank 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.5 10.5 13.0 13.0 13.0 15.0 16.0 17.0 18.0 19.0 20.0

Book Reviews/Interviews

f

%

Rank

f

%

Rank

97 63 54 48 46 35 48 34 26 32 24 27 21 24 21 20 17 13 19 10

14.3 9.3 8.0 7.1 6.8 5.2 7.1 5.0 3.8 4.7 3.5 4.0 3.1 3.5 3.1 2.9 2.5 1.9 2.8 1.5

1.0 1.0 3.0 4.5 6.0 7.0 a 4.5 8.0 11.0 9.0a 12.5 10.0a 14.5 12.5 14.5 16.0 18.0 19.0 a 17.0 20.0

58 47 32 25 19 22 5 17 19 11 19 15 21 18 18 10 10 12 5 11

14.7 11.9 8.1 6.3 4.8 5.6 1.3 4.3 4.8 2.8 4.8 3.8 5.3 4.6 4.6 2.5 2.5 3.0 1.3 2.8

1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 8.0 5.0a 19.5 12.0 8.0 15.5 8.0 13.0 6.0a a 10.5 a 10.5 17.5 17.5 14.0a 19.5 15.5a

NOTE: Categories were arranged in rank order according to percentage of total entries (N = 1,073). a. Indicates that rank of category was higher for Articles Only or Book Reviews/Interviews than Total Entries.

articles during its initial 13 years of publication. As predicted by the editorial goals (Carlson, 1993, 1997), practice manuscripts comprised 33.9% of all entries, compared to 22.2% for theory papers, and 7.2% for research articles. Even after recoding book review and interview and other features (i.e., biographical sketch and invited paper) with the articles for analysis of subtypes of manuscript, there were significant differences in frequencies of theory, research, and practice articles. Composite categories were formed for literature review (conceptual analysis, current issue, literature review, and position paper) and research (case study, quantitative, qualitative, and evaluation), resulting in coding of 35.2% and 14.1%, respectively. The remaining 51.7% of cases were distributed among practice subtypes: innovative method, clinical resource, and case consultation. Analysis of client domain verified that the journal includes articles concerned with counseling couples (23.5%) and families (30.1%). However, the content analysis revealed significant percentages of items concerned with individuals (20.5%) and larger social systems (25.9%). The frequency, percentage and rank of total entries, articles only, and book reviews addressed topics and themes and answered Research Questions 2 through 4. The data are contained in Table 4. The ranking of final categories determined the prominence of topics and themes. The Family Journal included articles, book reviews, and interviews concerned with normal

populations, developmental issues, and prevention, although categories expressing these themes were not highly ranked. For example, healthy relationships was ranked 10.5 overall, whereas assessment and diagnosis was the third-ranked category. The journal included prominently articles concerned with multiculturalism and diversity (i.e., multicultural issues was the fifth-ranked category). The research question concerned with the most frequent themes was addressed by ranking of the top 11 final categories in descending order: techniques, training and supervision, assessment and diagnosis, children at risk, multicultural issues, family issues, ethics, sexual issues, marital and couple issues, addiction, and healthy relationships. The top three ranks reflected clearly the most frequent themes. When examining articles only, the ranks improved for ethics (4.5), addiction (9.0), and work and socioeconomic issues (10.0). Several ranks improved for categories of book reviews and interviews, including a large number of popular and self-help books that were reviewed: family issues (5.0), grief and spirituality (6.0), intergenerational issues (10.5), and parenting (10.5). The final research question addressed trends among topics and themes in marriage and family counseling. The percentage of features and articles by journal issue over time are included in Table 5. Although features remained rather constant during the 52 issues in 13 years of The Family Journal, the percentage of

120 THE FAMILY JOURNAL: COUNSELING AND THERAPY FOR COUPLES AND FAMILIES / April 2006

TABLE 5 Percentage of Features and Articles by Journal Issue

Category

Vol. 13, No. 4 Vol. 10, No. 4 to (Oct. 2005-Oct. 2002)

Features Theory Research Practice

43.3 17.9 7.7 31.1

Vol. 10, No. 3 to Vol. 7, No. 3 (July 2002-July 1999) 44.0 21.7 6.2 28.2

Vol. 7, No. 2 to Vol. 4, No. 2 (April 1999-April 1996) 45.2 17.3 7.8 29.7

Vol. 4, No. 1 to Vol. 1, No. 1 (Jan. 1996-Jan. 1993)

Change

42.8 21.7 3.8 31.7

+0.5 –1.8a a +3.9 –0.7

NOTE: Change refers to the difference in percentage from the earliest to the most recent issues. The plus (+) sign reflects an increase over the issues, whereas the negative (–) sign notes a decrease in the percentage of issues devoted to the particular category. a. Significant trends.

TABLE 6 Percentage of Articles According to Final Categories by Journal Issue

Category

Vol. 13, No. 4 Vol. 10, No. 4 to (Oct. 2005-Oct. 2002)

Addiction Assessment and diagnosis Children at risk Creativity Divorce Ethics Family issues Gender issues Grief and spirituality Health issues Healthy relationships Intergenerational issues Marital and couple issues Multicultural issues Parenting Sexual issues Techniques Training and supervision Trauma Work and socioeconomic issues

4.6 7.1 6.4 0.7 1.4 3.9 6.4 2.8 4.6 4.9 4.6 2.8 6.7 6.4 4.6 8.1 6.7 11.3 2.1 3.9

Vol. 10, No. 3 to Vol. 7, No. 3 (July 2002-July 1999) 4.7 10.2 8.1 5.1 2.7 2.7 4.1 1.7 4.4 0.7 4.1 3.7 4.4 5.8 3.7 4.1 12.9 12.2 2.4 2.4

Vol. 7, No. 2 to Vol. 4, No. 2 (April 1999-April 1996) 2.0 6.4 4.8 1.2 2.0 5.6 6.8 2.4 3.6 2.0 4.4 4.4 2.4 7.2 0.8 4.8 21.7 10.0 2.0 5.2

Vol. 4, No. 1 to Vol. 1, No. 1 (Jan. 1996-Jan. 1993)

Change

4.3 8.6 7.8 1.6 3.1 7.8 3.9 4.3 2.7 2.7 2.7 4.7 2.7 5.5 5.1 1.6 18.4 6.6 1.2 4.7

+0.3 –1.5 –1.4 –0.9 –1.7 –3.9a a +2.5 –1.5 +1.9 +2.2a +1.9 –1.9 +4.0a +0.9 +0.5 +6.5a –11.7a a +4.7 +0.9 –0.8

NOTE: Change refers to the difference in percentage from the earliest to the most recent issues. The plus (+) sign reflects an increase over the issues, whereas the negative (–) sign notes a decrease in the percentage of issues devoted to the particular category. a. Significant trends.

theory articles decreased from the earliest to the most recent issues. There was a steady increase in research articles from 3.8% in January 1993-January 1996 to 7.7% in October 2002-October 2005. Practice articles remained stable, but theory articles declined by 1.8% during the years of publication. Trends in topics and themes are reported in Table 6. The percentage of articles according to final categories fluctuated slightly for most entries. Over the 52 issues, there were significant increases in some categories: sexual issues (6.5%), training and supervision (4.7%), marital and couple

issues (4.0%), family issues (2.5%), and health issues (2.5%). There was a significant decrease of 11.7% in articles devoted to techniques. Content analysis of nonexclusive secondary categories for articles having a dual focus (n = 229 cases) basically supported the percentages and rankings of the exclusive final categories. However, the ranks of intergenerational issues (9.6% of articles), parenting (7.9%), and creativity (6.6%) would increase if primary and secondary foci were combined. Although all cases were coded successfully given the final

Southern / THEMES IN MARRIAGE & FAMILY COUNSELING 121

categories, new categories, themes, and topics may have emerged if sampling continued the proliferation of topics. The following specific themes and topics were encountered from 5 to 10 times during the coding: empirically supported treatment, forgiveness, giftedness, infidelity/affair, play therapy, rural setting, school setting, and suicide. The results of content analysis of 1,073 articles, book reviews, and features from 52 issues of The Family Journal from January 1993 to October 2005 identified some interesting topics, themes, and trends. Although the journal included theory and research articles, more than half (51.7%) of entries were coded as practice subtypes: innovative method, clinical resource, and professional issue. Technique articles, top ranked among 20 final categories, declined by 11.7% from the earliest to most recent issues. Theory papers constituted 22.2% of all entries, and the related category of literature review represented 35.2% of cases. Nevertheless, theory articles decreased by 1.8% over the years of publication. Research articles were the least-frequent type (7.2% of all entries). Even after creating a composite category that included case studies, research represented only 14.1% of coded entries. Quantitative research was the typical design, with few examples of qualitative research. There was a steady increase (3.8%) in research articles from January 1993 to October 2005. Content analysis of client domain established that the journal published articles concerned with counseling couples (23%) and families (30.1%). However, there were comparable percentages for individual-oriented articles (20.5%) as well as those addressing larger social systems (25.9%). The top-ranked themes for total content in The Family Journal in descending order were techniques, training and supervision, assessment and diagnosis, children at risk, multicultural issues, family issues, ethics, sexual issues, marital and couple issues, addiction, and healthy relationships. The ranks of ethics (4.5), addiction (9.0), and work and socioeconomic issues (10.0) improved when examining only the content of articles. There were trends toward increasing coverage of sexual issues, training and supervision, marital and couple issues, family issues, and health issues. Based on the results of this content analysis of articles, book reviews, and features from the initial 52 issues, the reviewer concludes that The Family Journal realized its mission to publish articles concerned with theory, research, and practice in counseling with couples and families. In addition, the journal fulfilled the editorial goal of emphasizing practice while paying attention to theory and research. Goals to include articles concerning normal populations, developmental issues, and prevention were satisfied. However, a large percentage of articles were dedicated to assessment and diagnosis (including psychopathology), contrary to the trend to increase publication of articles concerned with health issues and healthy relationships. Commitment to address themes related to multiculturalism and diversity remained strong.

DISCUSSION The results and conclusions of the content analysis of The Family Journal helped determine the context of contemporary issues, demonstrate the evolution of the specialization, and forecast publication needs for the future (Juhnke et al., 2005). Similarly, the content analysis formed a foundation for identifying publishing priorities, neglected areas of research, models that contributed substantially to the field, and insights about publishable articles (Buboltz et al., 1999). Finally, the content analysis proved useful as a technique for reviewing progress toward goals important to stakeholders in the specialization (cf. Arredondo et al., 2005). The present content analysis was limited by the biases of the reviewer as corrected by a systematic, disciplined form of inquiry. The finalization of categories and formation of some composites in the analysis process sacrificed fine details and nuances that should be revisited in future research. The following categories were noted late in the coding and should be considered in other content analyses: empirically supported treatment, forgiveness, giftedness, infidelity/affair, play therapy, rural setting, school setting, and suicide. Although the present study did not address authorship, frequency of author contributions and institutional affiliations could provide an index of research productivity. Contemporary issues related to scientific and technological innovations were addressed in the pages of The Family Journal. The topics of managed care, professional accountability, multicultural awareness, socioeconomic upheaval, and ongoing warfare and terrorism stimulated submission of manuscripts, which offered solutions and hope, most frequently from the systemic perspective. Changes in marriage and family life, including increasing divorce rates and new views on couples, influenced the scope and focus of articles. The commitment to diversity was confirmed with emphases on multiculturalism and inclusion of sexual minorities. Interest in research and training and supervision increased as attention shifted away from techniques and theories. The specialization evolved during 13 years, becoming robust and resilient. It is likely that publication priorities will continue to emphasize counseling and therapy for couples and families from the systems perspective. If the journal realizes its original mission and full potential, there will a trend toward exploring healthy relationships and wellness rather than diagnosis and pathology. Manuscripts concerned with preventing adult problems through early intervention and education should be welcomed. Current topics demanding more attention include training and supervision, multicultural issues, sexual issues, and addiction. Several topics have been neglected in recent years: divorce, gender issues, and intergenerational issues. With the aging of the baby boomers and persistent gender inequity, these topics remain relevant and important within marriage and family counseling. Two

122 THE FAMILY JOURNAL: COUNSELING AND THERAPY FOR COUPLES AND FAMILIES / April 2006

themes were both neglected and promising: spirituality and creativity. If couples and families will be adequately prepared for the necessary losses and uncertainties of a rapidly changing world, we will need to hold on to our humanity and humor while reclaiming creative and spiritual resources. Marriage and family counselors will find evidence of the profession’s hope in the future contributions to The Family Journal.

Fowers, B. J., & Richardson, F. C. (1996). Individualism, family ideology and family therapy. Theory & Psychology, 6, 121-151. Hayden, D. (2002). Redesigning the American dream: Gender, housing and family life. New York: Norton. Juhnke, G. A., Bordeau, W. C., & Evanoff, J. C. (2005). Journal of Addictions and Offender Counseling submission patterns, topic areas, and authors: 1999-2004. Journal of Addictions and Offender Counseling, 26, 52-58. Karr, C. A., & Larson, L. M. (2005). Use of theory-driven research in coun-

REFERENCES

seling: Investigating three counseling psychology journals from 1990 to 1999. Counseling Psychologist, 33, 299-326.

Arredondo, P., Rosen, D. C., Rice, T., Perez, P., & Tovar-Gamero, Z. G. (2005). Multicultural counseling: A 10-year content analysis of the Jour-

Kidd, S. A. (2002). The role of qualitative research in psychological journals. Psychological Methods, 7, 126-138. Kitzinger, C., & Wilkinson, S. (2004). The re-branding of marriage: Why we

nal of Counseling & Development. Journal of Counseling & Development, 83, 155-161. Bailey, C. E., Pryce, J., & Walsh, F. (2002). Trends in author characteristics

got married instead of registering a civil partnership. Feminism & Psychology, 14, 127-150. Lee, F., & Peterson, C. (1997). Content analysis of archival data. Journal of

and diversity issues in the Journal of Marital & Family Therapy from 1990 to 2000. Journal of Marital & Family Therapy, 28, 479-486. Buboltz, W. C., Jr., Miller, M., & Williams, D. J. (1999). Content analysis of research in the Journal of Counseling Psychology (1973-1998). Journal of Counseling Psychology, 46, 496-503. Buhrke, R. A., Ben-Ezra, L. A., Hurley, M. E., & Ruprecht, L. J. (1992). Content analysis and methodological critique of articles concerning lesbian and gay male issues in counseling journals. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 39, 91-99. Carlson, J. (1993). Editorial. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 1, 3. Carlson, J. (1997). Editorial. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 5, 285. Charkow, W. B., & Juhnke, G. A. (2001). Journal of Addictions and Offender Counseling submission patterns, topic areas, and authors: 1979-1998. Journal of Addictions and Offender Counseling, 22, 12-20. Cornwell, G. T., Eggebeen, D. J., & Meschke, L. L. (1996). The changing family context of early adolescence. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 16, 141-156. Crosnoe, R., & Elder, G. H., Jr. (2004). From childhood to the later years: Pathways of human development. Research on Aging, 26, 623-654.

Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 959-969. Maxwell, J. A. (1998). Designing a qualitative study. In L. Bickman & D. S. Rog (Eds.), Handbook of applied social research methods (pp. 25-36). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Nairn, S. I., Ellard, J. H., Scialfa, C. T., & Miller, C. D. (2003). At the core of introductory psychology: A content analysis. Canadian Psychologist, 44, 93-99. Phillips, J. C., Ingram, K. M., Smith, N. G., & Mindes, E. J. (2003). Methodological and content review of lesbian, gay and bisexual-related articles in counseling journals. Counseling Psychologist, 31, 25-62. Pistole, M. C., & Marson, G. (2005). Commentary on the family’s vitality: Diverse structures with TV illustrations. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 13, 10-18. Pope-Davis, D. B., Ligiero, D. P., Liang, C., & Codrington, J. (2001). Fifteen years of the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 29, 226-238. Sage Publications. (n.d.). Guidelines for authors. The Family Journal: Coun-

Diegelman, N. M., Uffelman, R. A., Wagner, K. S., & Diegelman, S. A.

a new group journal. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 1, 75-85. Sullivan, W. M. (2005). Work and integrity: The crisis and promise of profes-

(2005). Current institutional trends in research productivity in counseling psychology journals. Counseling Psychologist, 33, 327-339. Easton, T. (2004). Taking sides: Clashing views on contemporary issues in science, technology and society. New York: McGraw-Hill. Emery, B. C., & Lloyd, S. A. (2001). The evolution of family studies research.

seling and Therapy for Couples and Families: Manuscript Submission Guidelines. Retrieved November 25, 2005, from http://www.sagepub .com/journalManuscript.aspx?pid=174&sc=1 Stewart, A. E., Stewart, E. A., & Gazda, G. M. (1997). Assessing the need for

sionalism in America (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Weber, R. P. (1990). Basic content analysis (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 30, 197-222. Faulkner, R. A., Klock, K., & Gale, J. E. (2002). Qualitative research in family therapy: Publication trends from 1980 to 1999. Journal of Marital & Family Therapy, 28, 69-74.

Stephen Southern is an associate professor in the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology at Texas A & M University– Corpus Christi.