BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. PS1.9 DOES THE NUMBER OFCHILDREN TAKE A ROLE IN MARITAL DYSFUNCTION? Cano-Prous A., Martín-Lanas R., Beunza-Nuin M., Tricas-Sauras Sandra., Lahortiga-Ramos F., Aubá-Guedea E. Diagnosis and Family Therapy Unit. Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology University Hospital. University of Navarra. Pamplona, Spain INTRODUCTION Separations and divorces have dramatically increased in Europe in the last few years. In Spain, according to the last report of the Institute for Family Policies, the rate represents a 268% increase. Furthermore, birth rates have also decreased, with only 4% of families having three or more children (1). RESULTS (I) Our sample was made up of 78 large families and 90 small families. The mean age of spouses in large families was slightly higher (husbands: 48.5+9.5 compared to 43.8+10.4; wives: 45.6+9.1 compared to 40.6+9.8). Mean years of marriage was of 19.6 in large families, and of 13.7 in small families. Large families had a mean of nearly four children (3.94) from 10 to 17 years old, while small families had a mean of one child (1.23) from 9 to 12 years old. Both groups were similar concerning socioeconomic and cultural level, which was medium to medium-high. No statistically meaningful differences were found concerning the existence of a pregnancy previous to marriage (14.3% in large families, and 12.3% in small families), nor concerning cohabitation at the time of consultation (5.2% of parents in large families and 11.1% of small families were separated). OBJECTIVES To analyse differences in marital and family functioning comparing large (>3 children)and small families (<3 children). METHOD Wa analysed 168 married couples who turned to our Family Therapy Unit (UDITEF) at the University Hospital referring marital dysfunction. We collected sociodemographic data from all couples (age of parents, years of marriage, number of siblings, etc.). Spouses filled in the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) (2) to assess marital dynamics, and the Family Assessment Device (FAD) (3) to assess family functioning. Statistic analysis was done with the SPSS (v. 15.0) program. RESULTS (II) Statistically meaningful differences were found for the fact of cohabitation before marriage (p=0.001) (2% in large families and 23.3% in small families). Marital dynamics measured with the DAS show statistically meaningful differences in the “Affective expression” subscale (p<0.05) when comparing fathers of both groups. Concerning family functioning measured with the FAD, we found statistically meaningful differences in the subscale “Communication” (p<0.05) measured in wives. CONCLUSIONS In our sample, marital dysfunction does not seem to be influenced bythe number of children in the family. However, further research is necessary to study other variables that could also take a role, in order to get more accurate data. BIBLIOGRAPHY (1) Report on the Evolution of the Family 2009. Institute for Family Policies. http://www.ipfe.org/Report_evolution_on_the_family_in_Europe_2009.pdf (2) Spanier G.B. Measuring dyadic adjustment: New scales for assessing the quality of marriage and other dyads. Journal of Marriage and the Family 1976;38,15-28. (3) Epstein NB, Baldwin LM & Bishop DS. The McMaster family assessing device. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 1983; 9: 171-180. acanoprous@unav.es