Predictors of supportive coparenting after relationship dissolution among at-risk parents.

Supportive coparenting after relationship dissolution is associated with increased father involvement which can buffer against the negative effects of parental relationship dissolution. Low-income, at-risk families are much more likely to experience relationship dissolutions; hence, supportive coparenting after dissolution is particularly important in these families. We examined whether relationship (commitment and quality) and child (difficult temperament and gender) characteristics predicted initial levels of, and change in, supportive coparenting after relationship dissolution in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 1,603). We used structural equation modeling of latent growth curves to examine four time points collected at the focal child's birth and first, third, and fifth birthdays. Ninety-percent of the mothers had nonmarital births, and about three-quarters had a high school diploma or less education. Overall, supportive coparenting decreased over time. Mothers in more committed relationships prior to the dissolution initially had significantly lower supportive coparenting. But over time, mothers who had been in more committed relationships increased in supportive coparenting. Mothers who had been in higher quality relationships prior to dissolution initially reported more supportive coparenting. At each time point, if a mother was romantically involved with a new partner, she reported significantly lower supportive coparenting compared to mothers who were single. With regard to child characteristics, mothers who reported their child as more difficult had significantly lower initial supportive coparenting. Similar results for fathers are discussed. Overall, the relationship characteristics of parents were important predictors of supportive coparenting both initially and over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relinquishing the placebo: Alternatives for psychotherapy outcome research.

Comments on the article by W. Wilkins (see record 1986-25162-001) on placebo problems in psychotherapy research and suggests a refinement of efficacy research strategies that will allow such comparisons while relinquishing the use of a placebo construct. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Breaking up is hard to do: The impact of unmarried relationship dissolution on mental health and life satisfaction.

This study examined the impact of unmarried relationship break-up on psychological distress and life satisfaction using a within-subjects design. Among unmarried 18- to 35-year olds (N = 1295), 36.5% had one or more break-ups over a 20-month period. Experiencing a break-up was associated with an increase in psychological distress and a decline in life satisfaction (from pre- to postdissolution). In addition, several characteristics of the relationship or of the break-up were associated with the magnitude of the changes in life satisfaction following a break-up. Specifically, having been cohabiting and having had plans for marriage were associated with larger declines in life satisfaction while having begun to date someone new was associated with smaller declines. An interesting finding, having higher relationship quality at the previous wave was associated with smaller declines in life satisfaction following a break-up. No relationship or break-up characteristics were significantly associated with the magnitude of changes in psychological distress after a break-up. Existing theories are used to explain the results. Implications for clinical work and future research on unmarried relationships are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-statement modification in the treatment of child behavior disorders: A meta-analysis.

Reviews 48 outcome studies that applied self-statement modification (SSM) to childhood behavior disorders. Selection criteria restricted the review to controlled experimental studies and to children with disorders of clinically relevant severity. Meta-analysis was used to provide summary information about the observed effects of SSM. Collectively, SSM outcomes surpassed no treatment and placebo treatment by roughly a half of a standard deviation, on the average. Efficacy varied considerably with length of follow-up, experience level of therapists, age of children, outcome content area, and a number of other clinical and methodological differences among the studies. These qualifiers of observed efficacy are summarized and discussed in terms of implications for further research and application of SSM in child psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-statement modification with adults: A meta-analysis.

Self-statement modification (SSM) has rapidly grown in popularity, and is commonly a principal technique of cognitive-behavioral therapies. Reviews to date, however, are inconclusive about its efficacy and less than exhaustive in their coverage. The present authors attempted to locate all controlled studies in which therapy incorporated direct modification of covert self-statements. Meta-analysis was used as a statistical method of integrating the outcome data across studies. Aggregating across all types of clinical outcome measures, SSM evidenced considerable gains beyond no-treatment controls. This advantage was sufficient to place the average SSM-treated S at a level of therapeutic outcome comparable to the 77th percentile of controls. As suspected, there were many salient qualifiers of outcome, and effects were generally smaller when therapy was contrasted to placebo treatment rather than no treatment at all. Implications are discussed in terms of the need for greater specificity in the terminology for cognitive-behavior techniques. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)