Phân tích Nội dung Luận án Tiến sĩ Trị liệu Hôn nhân và Gia đình (MFT) tại Utah State University

Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 5-2014 Doctoral Dissertation Research in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT): A Content Analysis Clinton L. Broadbent Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.edu/etd Part of the Family, Life Course, and Society Commons Recommended Citation Broadbent, Clinton L., "Doctoral Dissertation Research in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT): A Content Analysis" (2014). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations.edu/etd/2171 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU.

For more information, please contact digitalcommons@usu. DOCTORAL DISSERTATION RESEARCH IN MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPY (MFT): A CONTENT ANALYSIS by Clinton L. Broadbent A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Family, Consumer, and Human Development Approved: _________________________ _________________________ Ryan Seedall Dave Robinson Major Professor Committee Member _________________________ _________________________ Kay Bradford Mark McLellan Committee Member Vice President for Research and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2014 ii Copyright © Clinton Lyle Broadbent 2014 All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Doctoral Dissertation Research in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT): A Content Analysis by Clinton L. Broadbent, Master of Science Utah State University, 2014 Major Professor: Dr.

Ryan Seedall Department: Family, Consumer, and Human Development The field of marriage and family therapy (MFT) has enjoyed tremendous growth over the past 60 years. As the charismatic pioneers of MFT strove to gain legitimacy in the early years, the culture of MFT lacked a focus on quality empirical research needed to lend credibility to the field. In the past 20 years, a surge of efficacy and effectiveness research has pointed the field in a positive direction. Doctoral dissertations offer valuable insight into what is being learned by future researchers and suggest in what direction the field is heading.

Previous articles voice concern over a gap between researchers producing the research and therapists who should be a vital consumer. A content analysis was performed on all 157 doctoral dissertations from 19 COAMFTE-accredited Ph. programs between the years of 2005 and 2008. The sample was gathered through the ProQuest thesis and dissertation database.

Dissertations were coded according to research methodology, clinical focus, and whether they were iv published. Results showed that women consisted of two-thirds (n = 106) of the dissertations finished within the timeframe and that men published on average more than women. Findings also suggest a significant lack of dissertations being published (16.5%; n = 26) with downward trends from 2005 to 2008. Out of the dissertations published, however, the quality was high with a mean impact factor of.

Trends show an increase in qualitative research and a noticeable lack of process research. Of all the dissertations produced within 2005 and 2008, almost one in five dissertations lacked explicit clinical application in the study. Ways to improve the amount of clinically relevant research are discussed. Suggestions are made as to the role of advisors in the publication process as well as to improve the quantity of dissertations published in COAMFTE-accredited doctoral programs.

(103 pages) v PUBLIC ABSTRACT Doctoral Dissertation Research in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT): A Content Analysis by Clinton L. Broadbent Utah State University, 2014 Over the past 60 years, the field of marriage and family therapy (MFT) has experienced tremendous growth due largely to many charismatic pioneers in the field. These pioneers performed various research studies but lacked a focus on quality empirical research. Over the past 20 years, many MFT researchers have started to perform these studies, which in turn, have pointed the field in a positive direction in terms of research excellence.

Doctoral dissertations offer unique and valuable insights into the current state of research as a field as well as give us a better idea of how we are doing at balancing our efforts for both clinical and research excellence. A content analysis was performed on all 157 doctoral dissertations from 19 COAMFTE-accredited Ph. programs between the years of 2005 and 2008. This was gathered through the ProQuest thesis and dissertation database.

The study focused on describing who was doing the research, what was being researched, and how research was being performed and shared with the world. Results showed that women consisted of two-thirds (n = 106) of the dissertations finished within the timeframe. Findings also suggest a significant lack of dissertations being published (16.5%; n = 26) with vi downward trends from 2005 to 2008. Trends show an increase in qualitative research and a noticeable lack of process research.

Of all the dissertations produced within 2005 and 2008, almost one in five dissertations lacked explicit clinical application in the study. Ways to improve the amount of clinically relevant research are discussed. Suggestions are made as to the role of advisors in the publication process as well as to improve the quantity of dissertations published in COAMFTE-accredited doctoral programs. vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Looking back at the process of creating a thesis and bringing it to this point brings me satisfaction, but mostly a great deal gratitude for those people who helped me get to this point.

I would like to thank my committee of Kay Bradford and Dave Robinson for their support and advice. I would like to especially thank Ryan Seedall who has been a mentor and a friend throughout this whole process; without his patience and mentorship I would never have been able to go beyond the limits I thought possible for myself. Another invaluable support to me has been my wonderful family. Throughout my life my parents, Clay and Lisa Broadbent, have been an unwavering influence for good in my life and have always encouraged me to be the best person I can be.

I know that I would not be here today without their love and encouragement. Lastly, I would like to thank my lovely wife, Abby, and daughter, Hadley, for their sacrifice and love throughout the time of writing this thesis. They are such a blessing in my life and I love them more than words can express. Broadbent viii CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT.

iii PUBLIC ABSTRACT. vii LIST OF TABLES. xi LIST OF FIGURES .5 MFT in the Early Years .5 History of Research in MFT .6 Moving the Research Forward.8 Overall MFT Effectiveness.9 Therapy Model Effectiveness .9 Effectiveness of MFT in Working with Particular Demographic Groups .10 Effectiveness of MFT in Working with Specific Issues .11 Challenges Facing MFT.12 Lack of Research Emphasis in MFT Culture.13 Balancing External and Clinical Relevance.14 Population and Sample Size.15 Clinical Excellence Versus Research Excellence .15 Clinician Researcher Gap .16 ix Evaluating MFT Doctoral Programs.17 Purpose of Study .29 Research Question 1: What Research is Being Produced in COAMFTE-Accredited Doctoral Programs? .30 Methodology and Primary Statistics Used in Dissertations.31 Major Content Category .32 Research Question 2: What Efforts Are Being Made in COAMFTE-Accredited Doctoral Programs.33 Publications in COAMFTE-Accredited Programs .34 Methods and Advanced Research Analyses .36 Research Question 3: What Efforts Are Being Made in COAMFTE-Accredited MFT Programs to Enhance the Clinical Relevance of Research Within the Field of MFT? .37 Clinically-Relevant Publications .39 Publication Trends of Doctoral Dissertations .39 The Role of Advisors/Dissertation Chairs .40 x Working Towards Congruence Between Clinical and Research Goals.43 Generating Clinically Relevant Research Through Doctoral Dissertations .44 Producing Externally Relevant Research in MFT Through Doctoral Dissertations .47 Clinical Application in Publications .48 Limitations and Implications for Future Research.59 xi LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Quantity of Dissertations Produced and Published Between 2005-2008 in COAMFTE-Accredited MFT Programs.21 2 Quantity of Advisors Chairing and Publishing Dissertations Between 2005-2008 in COAMFTE-Accredited MFT Programs.41 xii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 Quantity of dissertations produced in COAMFTE-accredited programs .30 2 Methodological trends in dissertations produced in COAMFTE-accredited programs.32 3 Publication rates of dissertations produced in COAMFTE-accredited programs.34 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The field of marriage and family therapy (MFT) has enjoyed tremendous growth in the past 70 years since branching out of the field of psychiatry. Today, MFT is a licensed profession with its own organization (AAMFT) reporting 24,500 members around the world (American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, 2013).

In the beginning, many of the pioneers in MFT emphasized that a relational focus could produce enduring results in therapy better than solely working with individuals. Unlike some movements that began with a single epicenter, MFT began in many different places independent from each other. In the 1950s the movement started to grow and consolidate amongst many professionals (Broderick & Schrader, 1991). In the mid-1960s many different schools of therapy continued to emerge led by charismatic figureheads linked to their own style of therapy.

As the field became more viable and each school continued to grow, the research being produced consisted primarily of case studies and anecdotal experiences. This research was helpful in building credibility in the field’s fledgling state and also gathering momentum to continue the growth of MFT. As MFT has continued to grow, the need for additional empirical evidence to demonstrate its effectiveness has increased. Lack of time as an established field meant relatively little empirical evidence, leading some professionals outside of the field to discount family therapy as a legitimate field of study (Werry, 1989).

Even within MFT, some have expressed concerns that the culture of MFT still does not support research, and that charismatic individuals can gain prominence in the field with their model without providing empirical evidence to support their theory (Crane, Wampler, Sprenkle, 2 Sandberg, & Hovestadt, 2002). Despite these shortcomings, significant strides have been made in the past 20 years, showing that the field is headed in the right direction and that the science of MFT is continuing to progress and take shape (Sprenkle, 2003). Two areas of particular importance that will help address key challenges and continue advancing the field are (a) to expand the amount of high quality family-related research in MFT, and (b) to increase the amount of clinically-relevant research and thereby bridge the clinician- research gap that exists (Sprenkle, 2003). With respect to the challenge of expanding the amount of high quality family- related research, a number of positive efforts have been made in the past two decades that have increased the visibility and credibility of MFT.

Great strides have been made that have demonstrated the effectiveness of specific models of MFT (Johnson & Wittenborn, 2012; Lebow, Chambers, Christensen, & Johnson, 2012; Snyder & Halford, 2012) as well as their utility in treating specific issues (Eisler, Simic, Russell, & Dare, 2007; Sexton et al. In addition to efforts that have addressed the overall effectiveness of MFT in terms of outcomes, researchers have also sought to understand more about the process of therapy, including core mechanisms of therapeutic change (Oka & Whiting, 2013; Peris et al., 2012; Sexton, Alexander, & Mease, 2004). Many of these developments have helped dispel the claim that the field lacks a significant research foundation. Another hurdle is the lack of clinically-relevant research, which has created a gap between researchers and clinicians in the field.

A number of articles have been published addressing this issue (Crane et al., 2002; Cvetek, Repič, Poljak, & Cvetek, 2011; Karam & Sprenkle, 2010; Pinsof & Wynne, 2000; Sprenkle, 2010). Although both researchers 3 and clinicians find themselves in the same field, the two groups are very different in terms of goals and demographics. The majority of clinicians are women with a master’s degree working in a clinical setting, while the majority of researchers are male doctoral graduates producing research predominately aimed at advancing scholarly discussion of issues in an effort to gain tenure and thereby further their career (Sprenkle, Mills, Bailey, Lyness, & Ball, 1997). While the emphasis on research that promotes scholarly discussion is good, it creates a challenge for researchers to produce more accessible, clinically-relevant research.