Associations between family cohesion and adolescent siblings' externalizing behavior.

This study asked whether family cohesion, a measure of whole family functioning, was associated with adolescent siblings' externalizing problems, controlling for the quality of each sibling's relationship with his or her parents. The sample included 93 families (mothers, fathers, and 2 adolescent siblings). Family cohesion was measured from videotaped observations of parents and 2 of their adolescent children discussing family conflict and limit setting. Adolescents reported on hostility in their relationships with mothers and fathers, and parents rated adolescents' externalizing problems. Results from multilevel modeling showed that family cohesion was negatively associated with adolescents' externalizing problems, independent of variance explained by hostility in dyadic parent-child relationships. Results support family systems theory, suggesting that whole family functioning has implications for adolescents' behavioral problems beyond those accounted for by dyadic family relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Child extrafamilial sexual abuse: predicting parent and child functioning

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the emotional and behavioral adjustment of parents and children within 3 months and 1 year after the discovery of child extrafamilial sexual abuse. METHOD: Ninety-two case parents (63 mothers, 29 fathers) and 56 children were compared to a nonclinical comparison group of 136 parents (74 mothers, 62 fathers) and 75 children. Parent adjustment was assessed using self-report measures while child functioning was assessed using a combination of child-, parent- and teacher-report measures. RESULTS: Mothers, fathers and sexually abused children experienced clinically significant effects both initially and at 12 months post-disclosure. Children's perceptions of self-blame and guilt for the abuse and the extent of traumatization predicted their self-reported symtomatology at 3 months and 1 year post-disclosure. Child age and gender also significantly contributed to the prediction of many of the child outcome measures. No abuse-related variable was related to any child self-report measure. Mothers' satisfaction in the parenting role, perceived support and intrusive symptoms predicted their initial emotional functioning. Avoidant symptoms, child's internalizing behavior and mothers' initial emotional functioning were significant predictors of longer-term emotional functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Results emphasize the need to address children's abuse-related attributions and underscore the need to expand our focus beyond the child victims to the traumatized families.     

Factors mediating problem drinking and mothers' personal adjustment.

Used analysis of structural relations to evaluate a stress process model in which family stress and family system resources (mothers' marital adjustment and positive mother–child relationships) were tested as mediators of the relationship between fathers' and mothers' problem drinking and mothers' personal adjustment. Data from 120 fathers and mothers of 4th–6th graders were used. Fathers' problem drinking was linked to higher family stress, whereas mothers' problem drinking was not. Higher family stress negatively affected both family system resources. Lower family system resources predicted reduced maternal personal adjustment. Thus, family stress (related to fathers' problem drinking) and family system resources functioned as perfect mediators. There were no direct relationships between problem drinking and either family system resources or mothers' personal adjustment. Implications for intervention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adaptability and cohesion of dyadic relationships in families with developmentally disabled children.

In 93 families with developmentally disabled children, mothers, fathers, and 1 nondisabled sibling rated the cohesion and adaptability of family dyads using D. A. Cole and A. E. Jordan's (1989) modified version of Olson's Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale (D. H. Olson et al, 1985). With these multiple perspectives of multiple relationships, multitrait-multimethod confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the convergent and discriminant validity of dyadic adaptability and cohesion. Three distinct cohesion traits representing the mother–father, father–child, and mother–child relationships were confirmed. In contrast, mother–child and father–child adaptability traits were highly correlated, suggesting a 2-trait model: parent–child adaptability and mother–father adaptability. The importance of this methodology for research on families with developmentally disabled children is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fathering in family context and child adjustment: A longitudinal analysis.

This study focuses on relations between fathers’ behavior in family context and children’s adjustment, including the roles of paternal depressive symptoms, paternal marital conflict behaviors, paternal parenting, and children’s emotional security. Participants included 235 families with a six-year-old child, with families followed longitudinally each year for three years. In terms of fathers’ adjustment, paternal problem drinking was related to paternal negative marital conflict behaviors and decreased positive parenting, which was associated with children’s externalizing and internalizing problems. Fathers’ depressive symptoms were directly related with children’s internalizing problems. Children’s emotional security was an intervening variable in relations between father’s behavior in family context and children’s development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

My children and me: Midlife evaluations of grown children and of self.

215 midlife parents (mean age 53.7 yrs) were interviewed about how their adult children (mean age 27.6 yrs) had "turned out." These assessments were then related to parents' views of themselves. Perceived accomplishments and adjustment of children were expected to be positively linked with parents' well-being (e.g., self-acceptance, environmental mastery, purpose in life), and social comparisons were hypothesized to contribute to the link between parents' assessments of children and their own well-being. Multiple regression analyses revealed that children's perceived adjustment significantly predicted 6 of 7 well-being outcomes for mothers and fathers. Children's attainment was less strongly linked with parental outcomes. Personal comparisons were significant negative predictors: Parents who saw their children as better adjusted than themselves had lower well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fathers and mothers of school-age children with developmental disabilities: parental stress, family functioning, and social support

Thirty pairs of fathers and mothers who had school-age children with mental retardation and other disabilities were compared with each other and with 32 father and mother pairs of parents of children without disabilities. Responses to family scales indicated that fathers and mothers of children with developmental disabilities did not differ from each other nor from fathers and mothers of children without disabilities in parental stress, family social support, or family functioning. However, parents of children with disabilities experienced a disproportionately greater level of stress relating to their children than did those of children without disabilities. Fathers' and mothers' stress was associated with aspects of family functioning as perceived by themselves and their spouses.     

Failure to find differences in drinking behavior as a function of familial risk for alcoholism: A replication.

Groups of high-risk (alcoholic fathers), middle-risk (second-degree alcoholic relatives) and low-risk (no first- or second-degree alcoholic relatives) male college students were compared with respect to drinking behavior, sociodemographic variables, personality, cognitive functioning, and mental health and drug use problems in themselves and in family members. The groups differed significantly on only one of a number of sociodemographic variables. No significant group differences were revealed in drinking behavior, or alcohol-related symptoms or consequences. High-risk subjects reported significantly more childhood attentional and social problems than did low-risk subjects. No group differences were found with respect to other childhood problem behaviors, cognitive functioning, subject or family drug use, or mental health problems. The findings are discussed in terms of the questions they raise concerning the results of high-risk studies and the contribution of genetic factors to alcoholism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Marital Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale III: Is the relation with marital adjustment linear or curvilinear?

A central postulate of the circumplex model is that moderate amounts of cohesion and adaptability are optimal for couple and family functioning; extremes are hypothesized to be detrimental. Previous family research, however, indicates that cohesion and adaptability are linearly, not curvilinearly, related to family functioning. The authors hypothesized that, among couples living in Canada (Study 1) and expatriate couples living in Nepal (Study 2), there would be linear relations between marital adjustment and both adaptability and cohesion. Participants (Study 1 N?=?209; Study 2 N?=?187) completed the Marital Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale III and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Polynomial trend analyses confirmed that adaptability and cohesion were linearly related to marital adjustment in both samples; in contrast, analyses that were based on marital satisfaction data from Study 1 were supportive of the curvilinear hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Father and mother physical abuse and child aggressive behaviour in two generations.

Research in developmental psychopathology has not adequately examined the role of fathers in abuse, nor has it adequately examined the effects of abuse on girls. This study was an investigation of physical child abuse from fathers and mothers in the prediction of aggressive behavior among boys as well as girls. The participants consisted of 1,536 parents and their 983 college-age children. A parallel 2-generation, cross-sectional design was utilized. Results indicated that physical abuse from fathers and from mothers emerged as significant and additive predictors of aggressive behavior among boys as well as girls. The results point to the important role fathers appear to play in the adaptive and maladaptive functioning of their children. The results also suggest that child maltreatment should be examined within the context of the family unit or microsystem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Family Health Project: Psychosocial adjustment of children whose mothers are HIV infected.

The psychosocial adjustment of 87 inner-city African American children 6–11 years old whose mothers were HIV infected was compared with that of 149 children from a similar sociodemographic background whose mothers did not report being HIV infected. Children were not identified as being HIV infected. Mother reports, child reports, and standardized reading achievement scores were used to assess 4 domains of adjustment: externalizing problems, internalizing problems, cognitive competence, and prosocial competence. The results indicated that, on average, children from both groups had elevated levels of behavior problem scores and low reading achievement scores when compared with national averages. Relative to children whose mothers were not infected, those whose mothers were HIV infected were reported to have more difficulties in all domains of psychosocial adjustment. Potential family processes that may explain the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Treating paternal alcoholism with learning sobriety together: Effects on adolescents versus preadolescents.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether Learning Sobriety Together, a treatment for substance abuse that combines behavioral couples therapy and individual counseling, had comparable secondary benefits on the internalizing and externalizing behaviors of adolescent versus preadolescent siblings living in homes with their alcoholic fathers (N = 131) and their non-substance-abusing mothers. During a 17-month assessment period, the association between parents' functioning (i.e., fathers' drinking as determined by percentage of days abstinent and parents' dyadic adjustment) and children's adjustment (as rated by mothers, fathers, and children's teachers) was stronger for preadolescents than for their adolescent siblings, particularly in terms of children's externalizing behaviors. Interventions that reduce paternal drinking and improve couple functioning may serve as an important preventative intervention for preadolescents in these homes, whereas adolescents may need more intensive interventions to address internalizing and externalizing symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factor structure within and across three family-assessment procedures.

Examined higher order factor structures within and across the Family Environment Scale (FES), Family Assessment Measure (FAM), and Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales III. A sample of 138 families was obtained; separate analyses were conducted for mothers, fathers, and their adolescent children. Factor structures were assessed with exploratory and confirmatory procedures. The FES exhibited 3 factors consistent with the domains of its underlying model, whereas the FAM exhibited a single factor pertaining to affect. When combined, the instruments exhibited 3 factors pertaining to affect–cohesion, family activities, and control. Correspondence across the instruments was confined to the affect–cohesion and control dimensions. Although results were generally consistent across family members, some differences were noted; most important, mothers had more differentiated factor structures than did fathers or children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family cohesion, family adaptability, social support, and adolescent depressive symptoms in outpatient clinic families.

The relationships among adolescent depressive symptoms and self-reported family cohesion, adaptability, satisfaction with family functioning, family structure, and social support received from family and friends were investigated in a sample of 93 families attending family therapy at an outpatient clinic. Results were in keeping with previous studies of nonclinical samples, in that family cohesion and family social support were inversely related to depression. In contrast to nonclinical samples, family characteristics were more strongly associated with depression among boys than among girls, and social support from friends did not act as a buffer against depression. The strongest predictor of depressive symptoms was adolescents' levels of satisfaction with the cohesiveness and adaptability in their families, suggesting the importance of subjective cognitive appraisal in the link between family functioning and depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In vitro fertilization and the family: Quality of parenting, family functioning, and child psychosocial adjustment.

This study examined associations between homologous in vitro fertilization (IVF) and quality of parenting, family functioning, and emotional and behavioral adjustment of 3–7-year-old children. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Taiwan with 54 IVF mother–child pairs and 59 mother–child pairs with children conceived naturally. IVF mothers reported a greater level of protectiveness toward their children than control mothers. Teachers, blind to condition, rated IVF mothers as displaying greater warmth but not overprotective or intrusive parenting behaviors toward their children. Teachers scored children of IVF as having fewer behavioral problems than control children. In contrast, IVF mothers reported less satisfaction with aspects of family functioning. Family composition moderated parenting stress: IVF mothers with only 1 child perceived less parenting stress than did those in the control group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental drinking problems and children's adjustment: Vagal regulation and emotional reactivity as pathways and moderators of risk.

Children's emotional regulation (as indexed by vagal suppression) and children's emotional reactivity during an argument were examined as moderators and mediators of parental problem drinking and children's adjustment in a sample of 6- to 12-year-olds. Cardiac vagal tone was assessed during both a baseline condition and exposure to an audiotaped argument. Vagal suppression was calculated by subtracting vagal tone during the baseline from that recorded during the argument, with a higher number representing increased suppression of vagal tone during the argument. Emotional reactivity was based on both observations of overt behaviors of children and their reported feelings during the argument. A higher level of vagal suppression was a protective factor against children's externalizing, internalizing, and social problems associated with exposure to parental problem drinking. Emotional reactivity was a vulnerability factor, and children's increased anger and fear, and to a lesser degree sadness, each moderated and exacerbated the effects of parental problem drinking on child outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family dynamics across pregnant Latina adolescents' transition to parenthood.

Growth curve models were conducted on assessments of family functioning at four time points from the third-trimester of pregnancy through the first year postpartum for 96 Latino families in which an adolescent daughter was pregnant. Results indicated significant family-level change following an adolescent's childbearing, though there were notable differences between family members in their perceptions of family functioning. Family conflict, as perceived by parenting teens, increased in the latter half of the first year after an initial decline, and family companionship (as rated by mothers and siblings) decreased. Parenting adolescents and siblings perceived significant increases in family cohesion, whereas mothers perceived a significant decline. Unplanned pregnancies, family financial hardship, and expected stress predicted unfavorable family functioning at 1 year. Contrary to expectations, adolescents' greater prenatal efforts to prepare for parenting predicted subsequent family conflict and declines in family cohesion (particularly as rated by mothers). Family members' acculturation level and attitudes of familism, gender roles, and the status attained by parenthood also had predictive effects. Implications of study findings for family adjustment following an adolescent's childbearing are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mothers' and fathers' perceptions of child deviance: Roles of parent and child behaviors and parent adjustment.

The mothers (n?=?120) and fathers (n?=?85) of children with conduct problems (ages?=?3–8 years) completed two measures of child adjustment (Child Behavior Checklist, Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory), three personal adjustment measures (Beck Depression Inventory, Marital Adjustment Test, Parenting Stress Index), and a Life Experience Survey and were observed at home interacting with their children. In addition, teachers (n?=?107) completed the Behar Preschool Questionnaire. Fathers' perceptions of their children's behaviors were significantly correlated with teachers' ratings, but mothers' ratings were not. Correlations showed that mothers who were depressed or stressed due to marital problems perceived more child deviant behaviors and interacted with their children with more commands and criticisms. Fathers' perceptions and behaviors were relatively unaffected by personal adjustment measures. Differences in these perceptions and behaviors between mothers and fathers are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discordant prolongation of the refractory period and repolarization time by a class III agent, E4031, in the healing phase of myocardial infarction

One hundred and ninety-eight adolescents and their mothers (N = 189) and fathers (N = 136) participated in a 4-year longitudinal study. Adolescent problem behaviour was assessed by the Youth Self-Report (YSR) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). In addition, parental stress and marital adjustment were determined. Results showed that mothers and fathers showed high agreement, especially about their daughters, whereas parents and adolescents showed little agreement. Agreement was higher for internalising than for externalising behaviours. In general, adolescents reported more symptomatology than their parents did. However, mothers' ratings of their children's behaviours were significantly correlated with adolescents' self-ratings, but fathers' ratings were not. Statistical tests of correlations showed that mothers experiencing stress caused by marital problems perceived more problem behaviours in their children. Fathers' perceptions were relatively unaffected by personal adjustment. However, poor marital adjustment perceived by both parents showed a significant negative relation to adolescent externalising problem behaviour.     

Childhood depression, stressors and parental depression

The relationship between depression and stressors and the relationship between depression in children and depression in their parents were investigated. Depressed children aged 7-11 years (n = 20) were compared with clinical non-depressed children (n = 88) and normal children (n = 55). Children, mothers and fathers in the three groups were tested. Measures included the Children's Depression Inventory, Recent Life Events Scale, Stressor Scale and Beck Depression Inventory. The findings showed that children and mothers in the depressed group reported more stressors than other children and other mothers while fathers of children in the depressed group did not report more stressors. The findings also showed that mothers of depressed children were more depressed than mothers of normal children while there were no differences between the scores of fathers in the three groups.