Effects of marital conflict on subsequent triadic family interactions and parenting.

This study examined marital conflict's indirect effects on children through disruptions in family alliances and parenting. Forty married couples were observed interacting with their 6–8-year-old sons after pleasant and conflictual discussions. After conflictual discussion, fathers showed lower support/engagement toward sons, and coparenting styles were less democratic. Couple negativity was correlated with family negativity, regardless of the topic of discussion, which suggests continuity in the affective quality of the two family subsystems. Mothers' marital satisfaction moderated families' responses to the experimental manipulation. The results provide stronger evidence than previously available of a causal link between conflict and disrupted parenting. Further research is needed to identify which conflict-related disruptions in parenting influence the development of children's problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in parenting practices and adolescent drug abuse during multidimensional family therapy.

The nature and extent of changes in parenting and the link between parental subsystem changes and reduction in adolescent substance abuse and problem behaviors were examined in a sample of 29 parents and their drug-abusing adolescents. Participants completed 16 sessions of multidimensional family therapy. Over two thirds of the parents showed moderate to excellent improvement in parenting. Chi-square goodness-of-fit analyses revealed a statistically significant association between improvement in parenting and reduction in adolescent drug use and behavior problems. Results of this exploratory study provide qualified support for a fundamental tenet of family therapy--that change in the parental subsystem is related to improvement in the problem behavior of adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal personality, parenting cognitions, and parenting practices.

A community sample of 262 European American mothers of firstborn 20-month-olds completed a personality inventory and measures of parenting cognitions (knowledge, self-perceptions, and reports about behavior) and was observed in interaction with their children from which measures of parenting practices (language, sensitivity, affection, and play) were independently coded. Factor analyses of the personality inventory replicated extraction of the 5-factor model of personality (Openness, Neuroticism, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness). When controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, the 5 personality factors qua variables and in patterns qua clusters related differently to diverse parenting cognitions and practices, supporting the multidimensional, modular, and specific nature of parenting. Maternal personality in the normal range, a theoretically important but empirically neglected factor in everyday parenting, has meaning in studies of parenting, child development, and family process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of the shared family context in differential parenting.

This article examines the role of the shared family context in understanding differential parental treatment of children. Child-specific and family-context predictors of differential parental positivity and negativity were examined using multilevel modeling in a population of 8,476 children nested in 3,762 families. Child age was the strongest child-specific predictor of positivity and differential positivity. Lower socioeconomic status (SES), marital dissatisfaction, and larger family size were associated with higher levels of differential positivity. There was evidence of potentiation when risks were combined. Children's temperament was associated with parental negativity and differential negativity. The strength of this association was moderated by SES. Mixed-gender sibships in families with marital dissatisfaction and children in single-parent families received the highest levels of differential negativity. The findings are discussed in the context of shared and nonshared environmental influences on development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of mothers' and fathers' adrenocortical reactivity in spillover between interparental conflict and parenting practices.

Guided by the affective spillover hypothesis, the present study examined the mediational role of parental adrenocortical reactivity to interparental conflict in explaining associations between interparental conflict and subsequent changes in mothers' and fathers' parenting practices over a 2-year period in a sample of 202 parents and their 6-year-old children. Results of autoregressive path models indicated that marital withdrawal was associated with increases in adrenocortical reactivity to conflict for mothers but not fathers. Furthermore, elevated adrenocortical reactivity in turn predicted greater psychologically controlling parenting practices and inconsistent discipline over time for mothers, but was not associated with changes in maternal warmth. Implications for clinicians and therapists working with maritally distressed parents and families are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The moderating effects of children's fear and activity level on relations between parenting practices and childhood symptomatology

Parenting practices have been previously linked to childhood symptomatology. However, little consideration has been given to the potential effect of individual differences within the child on this relation. The current study assessed the moderating effects of children's activity level and fear on relations between parenting practices and childhood aggression and depressive symptoms using a sample of 64 fourth-, and fifth-grade boys. The findings showed that poorly monitored active boys and fearful boys who were exposed to harsh discipline exhibited high levels of aggression. Boys characterized by high fear who were exposed to harsh discipline or whose parents were extremely overinvolved showed elevated levels of depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that integrating children's individual differences with parenting models enhances our understanding of the etiology of childhood symptomatology. The intervention implications of such an integration are discussed.     

Family relationships, parenting practices, the availability of male family members, and the behavior of inner-city boys in single-mother and two-parent families

The primary goal of this study was to clarify if and how differences in the functioning of single-mother and two-parent families relate to the occurrence of behavioral problems among inner-city boys (ages 10-15). Data were collected on family relationships, parenting practices, the positive influence of male family members, and the severity of externalizing behavior problems. Results indicated that (1) multiple family risk factors contribute to the occurrence of behavior problems; (2) most family risk factors were generalizable to both single-mother and two-parent families; (3) although boys in single-mother families were at greater risk for developing behavior problems than boys in two-parent families, the risks associated with single motherhood were offset by a structured family environment, an effective disciplinary strategy that allowed for some degree of adolescent autonomy, and the positive involvement of a male family member; and (4) not all differences in the functioning of single-mother and two-parent families were associated with problem behavior, underscoring the importance of distinguishing between adaptive and maladaptive aspects of single-mother family functioning.     

Pathways to alcohol use among Dutch students in regular education and education for adolescents with behavioral problems: The role of parental alcohol use, general parenting practices, and alcohol-specific parenting practices.

The present study explored the role of parents' alcohol use, general parenting practices (support and behavioral control), and alcohol-specific parenting practices (alcohol-specific rule enforcement and alcohol availability at home) on adolescent alcohol use. Structural equation analyses were performed on cross-sectional data from adolescents who received special education because of behavioral problems (n = 411) and from adolescents who received regular education (n = 428). The main findings show that alcohol-specific parenting practices appear to be highly important in regulating adolescent alcohol use. Parental alcohol use was related to alcohol-specific rule enforcement and alcohol availability at home. Behavioral control was also related to alcohol-specific rule enforcement. Furthermore, the relationships between parental alcohol use, parenting practices, and adolescent alcohol use did not appear to differ substantially for students in special and regular education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Homemaker role experiences affect toddler behaviors via maternal well-being and parenting behavior

A model delineating the relationship between homemakers' role experiences and toddler behavior was developed, and tested using path analysis. We proposed that the relationship between homemakers' role experiences (skill use, perceived financial equity, homemaking satisfaction, and role overload) and toddler's internalizing and externalizing behaviors is mediated by maternal psychological well-being (positive mood, negative mood, and cognitive difficulties) and parenting behavior (positive, punishing, and rejecting). Using confirmatory path analysis, the proposed model fit the data [Q = .73, W(34) = 47.4; p > .05] obtained from a sample of 187 homemakers. The results suggest that, as for employed mothers, it is important to understand how homemakers experience their role, because those experiences indirectly predict children's behavior.     

Parenting self-efficacy and parenting practices over time in Mexican American families.

Drawing on social cognitive theory, this study used a longitudinal cross-lagged panel design and a structural equation modeling approach to evaluate parenting self-efficacy's reciprocal and causal associations with parents' positive control practices over time to predict adolescents' conduct problems. Data were obtained from teachers, mothers, and adolescents in 189 Mexican American families living in the southwest United States. After accounting for contemporaneous reciprocal relationships between parenting self-efficacy (PSE) and positive control, results indicated that parenting self-efficacy predicted future positive control practices rather than the reverse. PSE also showed direct effects on decreased adolescent conduct problems. PSE functioned in an antecedent causal role in relation to parents' positive control practices and adolescents' conduct problems in this sample. These results support the cross-cultural applicability of social cognitive theory to parenting in Mexican American families. An implication is that parenting interventions aimed at preventing adolescent conduct problems need to focus on elevating the PSE of Mexican American parents with low levels of PSE. In addition, future research should seek to specify the most effective strategies for enhancing PSE. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The patients' experiences of their chronic non-malignant pain

This paper reports the results of a study which investigated the experiences of 75 people with chronic non-malignant pain. People with chronic non-malignant pain can find that traditional medical techniques do not help their pain, and they have to learn to live with it. However, pain can affect their lives in many ways. Within this study, qualitative data were collected to illustrate what it meant to people to experience this chronic pain. It was found that pain adversely affected many dimensions of sufferers' lives, and the effects extended to family and friends. It seemed that having others believe the pain was crucial to many patients. Health care professionals can offer these patients much in helping them come to terms with the way in which pain has affected both themselves and their lives.     

The relation of childhood abuse and early parenting experiences to current marital quality in a nonclinical sample

This study examines the relation between adults' reports of the nature of the early parenting they received, including abuse, and the quality of their marital relationship. This community sample of 159 married women and men experienced relatively low levels of abuse. The regression analyses indicated that for women verbal abuse in childhood was predictive of marital conflict, and the caring parenting they experienced predicted the depth of their marital relationship. For men, the abuse variables did not predict any dimension of their current marital relationship. Of the parenting variables, overprotection was significantly predictive of conflict in their marriage. No demographic variable--income, education, and number of siblings--predicted any dimension of marital quality for either men or women. Given the skew of the abuse data for this nonclinical sample, log transformations were performed on the data and the regression analyses were reported. One change was noted: that for men, physical abuse and overprotection were equally predictive of marital conflict. The results suggest that abuse and early parent experiences are predictive of marital functioning in a nonclinical sample, but that differences exist in the pattern for men and women.     

The impact of childhood sexual abuse and family functioning on four dimensions of women's later parenting

OBJECTIVE: While child sexual abuse and its negative effects have been of increasing interest to researchers and practitioners, more empirical focus has been given to measuring mental health consequences rather than other areas of life functioning such as parenting. Furthermore, recent questions have been raised about whether documented negative effects of abuse stem from the abuse itself or the more general negative family environment which often accompanies it. The aim of the current study was to examine the impact of a history of child sexual abuse and more general family relationship quality on the parenting of a sample of low-income mothers. METHOD: The current study was a secondary analysis of archived data collected by Zuravin (1996) on 518 low-income mothers. Parenting was assessed using measures such as frequency of worry about child problems, views of self as a parent, and how child discipline problems were handled. RESULTS: Child sexual abuse was associated with more negative views of self as a parent and the greater use of physical punishment strategies even after accounting for differences in family-of-origin relationship quality. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that sexual abuse may be a risk factor for more negative views of self as a parent beyond differences between abused and nonabused samples in more general assessments of family-of-origin quality. Implications for future research and intervention are discussed.     

Socio-familial characteristics of black male heroin addicts and their nonaddicted friends

To determine whether family, peer, and school variables are associated with divergent heroin-use patterns or career outcomes, we interviewed 183 black male heroin addicts, experimenters, and non-heroin users from Chicago's south side. While subgroup differences on socio-familial variables generally were not statistically significant, we did observe a number of trends in the expected direction. For example, addicts were more likely than experimenters or nonusers to come from broken homes, to have friends who were involved in serious types of drug use and other illegal activities, and to drop out of high school. At the same time, the pervasiveness of some of our measures of "social disharmony" across the sample suggest that, at least in some inner-city black neighborhoods, these patterns are perhaps becoming the norm.     

Bi-directional relations between anti-smoking parenting practices and adolescent smoking in a Dutch sample.

Objective: Parenting is generally regarded a determinant of adolescent behavior, whereas the reverse is seldom considered. Reported effects of anti-smoking parenting practices on adolescent smoking are inconsistent. Cross-sectional results may have been misinterpreted and child effects have been overlooked. The main goal of this study was to explain previous inconsistent effects of anti-smoking parenting practices, by examining bi-directional relations between parenting and adolescent smoking. Design and Main Outcome Measures: Bi-directional relations were studied using a cross-lagged model where anti-smoking house rules, communication about smoking, and adolescent smoking were assessed at three subsequent years. Results: The most prominent finding was that adolescent smoking behavior was a stronger predictor of parenting than vice versa. Anti-smoking house rules decreased as a result of adolescent smoking behavior, while communication increased. The reduction in house rules was more pronounced if parents smoked, while the increase in communication was greater for non-smoking parents. Results were independent of adolescent sex. Conclusion: Further research is needed to establish which aspects of parenting can be effective in deterring adolescent smoking. This study emphasizes the need for caution in interpreting cross-sectional research findings relating parenting to adolescent smoking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Opinions and practices of family physicians regarding measles-mumps-rubella vaccination

BACKGROUND: Measles-mumps-rubella immunization rates among young children depend on the awareness and responsibility of parents and physicians. In order to improve immunization programmes, it is important to enhance our knowledge about attitudes of physicians in regard to MMR immunization. A random sample of 1013 general practitioners was interviewed by telephone in December 1994, with the collaboration of the BVA Institute. The large majority of French physicians (86%) have a favourable opinion about MMR immunization that they systematically propose to each child aged 12-24 months. However, barriers remain among some physicans. Favourable opinion about MMR immunization to infants was less frequent among physicians aged 41-50 years, homeopaths, those practicing in Southern France, those asking for higher payment to patients, those who are treating a small proportion of patients receiving public medical aid, those not convinced about the role of physicians in health education, those who experienced side-effects of immunization and those who are not personnally immunized against hepatitis B. Eradication of measles, mumps and rubella in France will be only achieved through a stronger and well-argumented information of physicians supported by health professional organizations.