| The first purpose of this study was to identify the problems attorneys refer to the marriage and family therapist. The second purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant difference between the referrals made by board certified family law attorneys and non-board certified family law attorneys.;A significant difference was found between the number of referrals made by board certified family law attorneys and non-board certified family law attorneys. The referral areas of the board certified family law attorneys that differed significantly from the non-board certified family law attorneys included: depressive problems, sexual problems, sexual trauma problems, substance abuse problems, criminal problems, and physical abuse problems.;The referral areas that did not differ between the two groups included: marital problems, divorce or separation problems, parent-child problems, anxiety problems, situational problems, intrafamily problems, emotional problems, psychosomatic problems, pregnancy problems, grief problems, and marital issue problems.;This study was conducted with 67 attorneys (30 board certified and 37 non-board certified) in Dallas, Texas, in the Spring of 1983. A questionnaire was utilized to generate data for the investigation. A Chi Square analysis was used to compare the problems each group referred to the therapist and to determine if a significant difference existed. |
