The aim of this research is to examine the effectiveness of a new counseling intervention model: the short-term reconstructing of meaningful life worlds (SRM), which is strongly influenced by social constructivism.

　　A four-step framework is used. (1) Based on a modified version of Tomm's theory of circular questions, the therapy process is newly structured as three successive phases: descriptive circular questions (DCQ), reflexive circular questions (RCQ), and practice. (2) Social constructivist skills such as circular questioning, solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT), and paradoxical intervention are integrated, and the use of these skills at each phase is clarified. (3) The client's speech acts (interpersonal actions and meaning construction), the basic elements of meaningful life worlds generated by the counselor’s intervention skills, are categorized based on Bales’ interaction process analysis. (4) The frequency of each categorized element in the descriptive and practice phases is determined, and the difference between the two phases is analyzed. Moreover, the sequence of the client’s categorized speech acts in these phases is plotted on a three-dimensional graph, and the dynamics of these sequential elements are compared in two aspects.

　　The effectiveness of this method of quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the change process is verified by an intensive case study.

　　In regards to the psychological significance of child rearing to adult women, the Parenting Self-Efficacy among Mothers Scale (MoSE) was developed and examined. The MoSE scale was developed to solve the problems of existing scales in order to create less ambiguous definitions and to be more adequate for the current condition for adult women with children in Japan. The MoSE scale was designed to tap three dimensions of mothers’ self-efficacy, i.e.: maternal selfefficacy, parenting self-efficacy, and maternal satisfaction.

　　Using a sample of 1048 adult women, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine the factor structure of the MoSE scale. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the three factor structure for the MoSE scale, i.e.: “maternal satisfaction,” “maternal self-efficacy,” and “parenting self-efficacy.” The reliability for each subscale was examined using Cronbach’s alpha. A good internal consistency was shown (“maternal satisfaction,” alpha＝.84; “maternal self-efficacy,” alpha＝.79; “parenting self-efficacy,” alpha＝.71). Then, internal and external validity for the MoSE scale were examined. Internal validity was examined by testing construct validity, which was supported by the result from CFA, and criterion validity, which was supported by the strong correlation (r＝.62) with the Parenting Self-efficacy Scale (Kanaoka, 2006). External validity was examined by testing the relationship among external factors, such as parenting stress, economic distress, subjective well-being, and demographic factors. The weak to moderate negative correlation with parenting stress (rs＝－.14 to －.44) and moderate positive correlation with subjective well-being (rs＝.26 to .44) supported the external validity. These results indicated that the MoSE scale can be a useful instrument for practitioners and researchers of adult women's life-span development and parenting support.

　　The overall importance of evaluation common to every text is that (1) it expresses the speaker's or writer's opinion, and in doing so it reflects the value system of that person and his/her community; (2) it constructs and maintains relations between the speaker or writer and the hearer or reader; and (3) it organizes the discourse. What importance, then, does evaluation have for psychotherapy texts?

　　In family therapy, the initial session is important in the sense that the interactional attitude between the therapist and the family members in the initial session decides whether the family members will continue the session or not. In other words, how the therapist builds interpersonal relationships is the key to reaching therapeutic agreement. This study examined how linguistic evaluation was utilized in family therapy to construct interpersonal relationships, focusing especially on (2) mentioned above. It also performed an analysis by comparative observation of sample sessions under the same settings, through analysis regarding the characteristics derived from the use of evaluative language by three therapists, as well as the deviation from the effective interactional factors in view of establishing interpersonal relationships.

　　Martin developed the Appraisal theory, which systematizes linguistic evaluation of any text, by utilizing the theoretical framework of Systemic Functional Linguistics. This study implemented Martin's Appraisal theory to analyze the transcripts of three sessions from family therapy conducted by three therapists under the same settings. This allowed for the construction of lexical mapping of appraisal and an overview of the findings. Quantitative analysis was presented on (1) how the amount of evaluative lexis affects the process of constructing the interpersonal relationships of the members, (2) the focal point of negotiation among sessions, (3) the strategic differences among the sessions in constructing the interpersonal relationships of members observed from the statistical results.

　　The other purpose of this study is to present the effectuality of constructing linguistic evaluation based on a more scientific and objective way of research implementation as a common method among schools of psychotherapy for outcome/process research, since such methods and measurements have not been established in Japanese psychotherapy society so far.

　　The purpose of the present study was to clarify the effect of employed mothers' personal support networks on distress. Mothers' distress was measured by parenting anxiety and General Health Questionnaires (GHQ-28). The questionnaires were completed by mothers of 2-6 year-old children (N＝272). A hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that the perceived social support related negatively to parenting anxiety but did not relate to GHQ-28, control of support network size and demographic variables (family style, educational background, working hours). While exploring the resource effect of support (husband, relatives, friendship), the only element that was effective in reducing parenting anxiety was support from husbands or relatives. These results suggest that the effectiveness of social support for employed mothers' distress was limited, so we need to reappraise the current policy of parenting based on support and explore a new approach to reduce the distress of employed mothers.

　　While everyone may face psychological crises, such as sickness, accidents, loss of loved ones, or natural disasters, responses to crises vary per person; some families may be shattered, others withstand and rebound. The aim of this study was (1) to develop a new inventory of family resilience, (2) to investigate its reliability and validity, and (3) to investigate gender differences in family resilience. In the preliminary phase, we created original items and made a preliminary investigation targeted for 125 participants (44 men, 81 women). Second, we made a main investigation targeted at 408 participants (144 men, 264 women). The result of these investigations showed sufficient reliability and validity of the new inventory; the results of the item-total correlation and Cronbach's α (α＝.93) showed sufficient internal consistency, and the scores had strong correlation (r＝.89) with the Family Resilience Inventory (Tokutsu ＆ Kusaka, 2006). A factor analysis of the inventory revealed five factors which were labeled: “cohesion,” “trust in family strength,” “balance between individual family members and the family system,” “spirituality,” and “social and economic resources.” The five factors reflected Walsh's family resilience model. In concordance with previous studies, it was revealed that women are more resilient. Therefore, the results suggest this inventory could be useful to understand the factors of family resilience.