A qualitative analysis of women whose husbands reside in nursing homes was conducted to understand the concept of couplehood. Couplehood is defined here as the extent to which one person perceives herself as married to another person (feeling like an "I" or like part of a "We"). An "I"--"We" continuum was presented to each woman, and noticeable patterns emerged. Some women identified themselves as perceiving no couplehood with their institutionalized husbands ("Unmarried Marrieds"). A second group of women perceived a high degree of couplehood ("'Til Death Do Us Parts"), while a third group perceived low couplehood ("Husbandless Wives"). Differences seem to exist in terms of the degree to which couplehood is perceived (no, low, high). Implications of such a typology are offered for researchers, clinicians, and community-dwelling wives.

Splitting custody of children between parents after divorce is one form of custody. The authors review this custody decision and its potential effect on the sibling system across the lifespan. The arrangement is analyzed by means of family-systems theory. Because split custody may be harmful to the sibling bond, the potential benefits must be weighed against costs in each case before entering into this custody arrangement.

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1. Gerontological nurses, when working with elderly couples experiencing role transitions upon nursing home placement, must attend to the needs of the healthier spouse, as well as the institutionalized patient. 2. Letting the community-dwelling wife set the tone for what her continued role will be allows her to define her marriage in a way that serves her needs at this transitory time. 3. If a woman defines herself as a wife, the nurse or nurse clinician's task may be to aid her in redefining the role's tasks, responsibilities, and limitations imposed by the nursing home setting. 4. If a woman does not perceive herself as a wife, nurses must help her accept these feelings as natural, and support her need to establish an identity as an individual and not as part of a couple.

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