Coffin Corner

We love the enthusiasm!  You are already sharing your excitement and anticipation with us!  Where else do you find topics designed to enhance the work of your organization as well as give you new information and tools to help you both personally and professionally! The exciting line-up of plenary/workshop speakers AND the support and help with proposal writing and networking are going to make this a smart investment for you and your team!  Our goal is to have you leave inspired, renewed and eager to carry on the vital work you are doing! It is not too late to register!    

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 While the Summit hotel is full, we still have room for you at the Leadership Summit so we have made sure there is a room for you very nearby!  

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Dear NARME Member:

I am Dr. Cheryl Robinson, Professor in Child and Family Studies in the School of Education at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. I am conducting a research study to compare the findings of Delores Curran's 1980 study on the traits of a healthy family with what family professionals see as the traits of a healthy family today. Mrs. Curran, a journalist, distributed a survey to family professionals in 1980 asking that they choose from a list, the traits they considered most often contributed to making a healthy family. 

Her study was unique because she sent out 500 surveys and she received 551 back. Professionals were so enthusiastic about her study that they photocopied the survey and gave it to other professionals who had not received the original. I specifically want to look at what has and has not changed in regards to creating and maintaining a healthy family.

I am requesting your participation, which will involve thoughtfully completing the included survey and returning it to me via email by June 30, 2015.Your participation in this study is voluntary. If you choose not to participate or to withdraw from the study at anytime, there will be no penalty.

The results of the research study may be published, but your name will not be used. The surveys will be protected by maintaining them in a locked cabinet in the office of the principal investigator until the research is complete and then they will be destroyed. If you have any questions concerning the research study, or the confidentiality of the surveys, please call me at 423-425-1729 or e-mail me at cheryl-robinson@utc.edu.

This research has been approved by the UTC Institutional Review Board (IRB). If you have any questions concerning the UTC IRB policies or procedures or your rights as a human subject, please contact Dr. Bart Weathington, IRB Committee Chair, at (423) 425-4289 or email instrb@utc.edu.

Return of the questionnaire will be considered your consent to participate. Thank you.

Click Here to Take Survey 

DENVER-May 5, 2015-Scientists at the University of Denver's Center for Marital and Family Studies are launching a study to assess how older adults may benefit from couple-relationship education. The study uses an online version of the Prevention and Relationship Education Program (PREP), which is based on more than 30 years of research. PREP has been used to help couples of all ages for many years, but never before studied with older couples. The researchers are interested in this population because by 2030 there will be twice as many older adults as in 2000, and because the 2010 divorce rate for adults over 50 was two times the 1990 divorce rate.

This phenomenon has been called the "Gray Divorce Revolution." According to study's lead investigator, Ben Loew, M.A., "Research also suggests that improving relationship health may actually increase physical health and longevity."

The researchers are looking for couples who have been married or lived together for at least a year, in which both partners are 62 or older and have their own e-mail addresses as well as high-speed internet access. All eligible couples who choose to participate will receive free access to the program for one month, either immediately or within one month of signing up. All participants will need to complete a survey about their relationship and overall health at the start of the study, and again one month later. Those who complete the second survey receive a $10 Amazon.com gift card.

When you spend a lot of time reading and writing about American families, it's easy to focus on the bad news: high rates of family instability, widespread financial difficulties in the wake of the recession, expensive government-supported programs with disappointing result .As Sara Rosenbaum and Robert Blum document in a new Future of Children article, improvements in child survival during the twentieth century "are nothing short of breathtaking"In 1910, the infant mortality rate was 127.6 per 1,000 live births; by 2012, the rate had dropped to 6 deaths per 1,000 live births. The same improvement is evident in the case of mortality involving children under five years of age. In 1910, mortality among young children stood at 403.6 deaths per 100,000 children; by 2012, this figure had fallen to 7.1...Read More