Bette A. Speziale

Social Support and Functioning of Nuclear Families Headed by Lesbian Couples

Changes in social and sexual mores in the latter part of the 20th century have become apparent in the diverse families who live openly in communities throughout the United States. Among these diverse family systems is the nuclear family that is headed by a lesbian couple. The findings of predominantly qualitative research studies on the social support and functioning of this increasingly visible family form have identified the needs of these nontraditional nuclear families. This article presents an overview of the empirical findings about nuclear families that are headed by lesbian couples. Moreover, it discusses the implications of the findings for empowering interventions with, and social work advocacy for, lesbian mothers, co-mothers,and their children.

Couples, Sexual Intimacy, and Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, disabling, neurological disease that usually strikes in the third and fourth decades of life. These years correspond to stages in individual and family life cycles when adults develop and maintain sexually intimate relationships. Thus the intrusion of MS into the life of a committed couple can have implications for sexual functioning, intimacy, and the continuation of their marital relationship. This article provides an overview of the diverse changes that multiple sclerosis can engender, particularly in sexual, cognitive, and affective functioning. It highlights two case studies of couples in whom the female partners have MS, and describes the clinical interventions and outcomes for each. Also, divorce and extramarital relationships among couples living with MS are discussed.

Survivors of Stalking Their Voices and Lived Experiences

The literature on stalking inadequately incorporates the voices of female survivors whose lived experiences escalated to the point of violence or the threat of lethal violence by male perpetrators. To address this gap in the literature and include the insights of survivors in the ongoing discourse about stalking, the authors sought the perspectives of nine heterosexual female survivors. The stories of these women, evident in the presentation of the six themes and deviant case that emerged from the data, provide a richer and fuller understanding of this form of interpersonal violence. Implications for practice are discussed.

Intimate Violence Among Lesbian Couples: Emerging Data and Critical Needs

SUMMARY Intimate violence between opposite sex partners has been increasingly acknowledged and empirically studied in recent decades. Findings from both quantitative and qualitative research have resulted in a substantive knowledge base that is widely accepted and applied in treatment. Unfortunately, intimate violence between partners of the same sex has not been adequately addressed. The limited research data that has emerged raises questions not only about the prevalence of the problem, but also the definition of the problem, some differing dynamics as compared to heterosexual couples, the responses of crisis workers, social services, the police, and the courts, and appropriate therapeutic interventions. The authors discuss the above mentioned topics as they apply to intimate violence between female partners. They offer recommendations for clinicians who treat women involved in abusive, intimate relationships, as well as researchers who aim to build much needed knowledge about this neglected issue.

Marital Conflict versus Sex and Love Addiction

In the past decade a new self-help group has joined the ranks of twelve-step programs: Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous (SLAA), (Hope and Recovery, 1987; Hunter, 1989; Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, 1986). Cames (1983a, 1983b, 1989,1991) introduced and developed the concept of sexual addiction and related co-dependency, positing a disease model for treatment of compulsive sexual behavior that closely parallels the treatment of addictions to alcohol and other drugs. Sexual addiction can supposedly manifest itself in a series of extramarital sexual encounters, although Cames (198310) acknowledged that not all such episodes are symptomatic of sexual addiction. I have worked with persons and their partners, individually and jointly, who are recovering from alcohol and drug use. The disease model of addiction prevails in the field of chemical-dependency treatment, and twelve-step programs are a standard adjunct to professional practice. As awareness of sexual addiction has grown through the media and among chemicaldependency counselors, more clients are questioning whether they or their partners should be diagnosed as sex and love addicts and join selfhelp groups like SLAA. My clinical practice with clients has raised serious questions about the assessment and treatment of marital and family dysfunction, especially in cases in which a partner has engaged in extramarital sexual behavior. The following case, similar to others in my professional experience, illustrates some of the confusion in this dilemma of clinical assessment, problem definition, and intervention. Alex was a high-school-educated, working-class, white male approaching 40 years of age who sought individual therapy for what he identified as sexual addiction. Married for approximately 20 years to a woman whom he had dated steadily since their high school years, Alex had been separated from his spouse and adolescent children for a few months. In his early thirties, Alex was diagnosed as alcohol dependent and underwent intensive group therapy at an outpatient clinic. He maintained abstinence while continuing to attend AA meetings regularly. The month before seeking therapy, Alex began attending SLAA meetings because, as he stated, “My wife says I’m a sex addict, and she’s probably right.” Mona, Alex’s spouse, learned of sexual addiction and related self-help groups through area counselors and through members of her Al-Anon group. On the basis of the information she acquired from these sources, she defined Alex’s problem and the necessary course of action to solve it. Alex stated that for the first 10 years of his marriage he had been a faithful husband. When his drinking became excessive, at a time when the family experienced conflict over the academic and disciplinary problems of one of the children, he had a brief affair of several weeks with a woman he had met while socializing. He also admitted that he had a one-night stand with another woman he met the same way. During and after his alcoholism treatment, Alex claimed that he had not engaged in any extramarital encounters. However, during the past year he had become sexually and emotionally involved with a single woman with whom he worked, a person whom he described as “someone I like a lot and can’t break off with easy.” His spouse’s discovery of the relationship precipitated the marital separation. Alex found it difficult to live without his children but expressed considerable doubt about living with Mona for the test of his life. He expressed regret that he had married her in his late teens and forfeited a college education

Diagnosing and Treating Traumatic Brain Injury Among Veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars: Implications for Social Work

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious condition affecting many American veterans who have served in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Using a biopsychosocial perspective, the authors delineate and discuss the challenges of diagnosing and treating this neurological disability among soldiers who have returned to the United States from combat theaters in the Middle East. They explain recent changes including the Veterans Affairs Polytrauma System of Care, as well as social works role on the interdisciplinary team who promote rehabilitation and community reentry for OEF/OIF veterans with TBI.

Crime, Violence, and the Saga of Lorena Bobbitt

Had she murdered him, her name would not be a household word across the country. Instead, she would have earned membership in that rare minority group of women who kill their husbands. Her name would have been reported in the local news media and probably would have been forgotten in ensuing years. Her crime would have been just another case of an abused woman who went crazy, one of a number of annual homicides resulting from domestic violence. At the least, her story would have been believed, and few would have doubted that there was more than a kernel of truth to her version of the whole sordid and horrible affair. But little did Lorena Bobbitt know the magnitude of her irresistible impulse. In her moments of uncontrollable rage, pain, and humiliation, she could never know the infamy that would befall her. In the