Examining the process by which marital adjustment affects maternal warmth: The role of coparenting support as a mediator.

This study assessed the longitudinal process by which marital adjustment affects change in maternal warmth over time. Change in coparenting support was examined as the potential mechanism by which the marriage affects parenting. Self-report data were gathered from 148 married mothers of first-born 4th graders at 3 time points, over the transition to early adolescence. Path analyses supported the proposed hypothesis, indicating that marital adjustment leads to increased coparenting support, which then leads to increased maternal warmth. Two alternative models of the time-ordered direction of effects among the study variables were ruled out. This study has important implications for the development of parenting interventions targeting the promotion of maternal warmth. (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)     

Maternal emotional distress and diminished responsiveness: The mediating role of parenting efficacy and parental perspective taking.

The present study examined whether the inverse relation between maternal emotional distress and maternal responsiveness was mediated by mothers' parenting efficacy and parental perspective taking. Questionnaire and observational data were gathered from 94 nonclinical mother–adolescent dyads. Emotional distress was measured with multiple indicators of negative affectivity, and responsiveness was measured with self-report and observational indicators of maternal acceptance and psychological autonomy promotion. Analyses indicated that maternal emotional distress was associated with lower levels of mother- and adolescent-reported responsiveness. Moreover, the association was mediated by mothers' perceptions of their parenting efficacy. Processes by which emotional distress may affect parenting efficacy, parental perspective taking, and parenting were discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological distress as a mediator of the relation between perceived maternal parenting and normative maladaptive eating among adolescent girls.

Burgeoning research on the adolescent (e.g., middle-school) years suggests that this is a particularly vulnerable period for the development of maladaptive eating patterns. Prior research has established a link between perceptions of maternal parenting practices and adolescent onset of problematic eating behaviors. The authors hypothesized that adolescents' internalized psychological distress accounts for this relation, and they tested this hypothesis via a longitudinal, mediational study of 73 adolescent girls followed from 6th to 8th grade. Results of structural equation modeling using latent variables supported the hypothesis, identifying a time-ordered process that emphasizes the significance of the mother-adolescent relationship and the importance of targeting counseling interventions at improving parenting practices and helping adolescents to regulate negative affect as a means of preventing the development of maladaptive eating. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Marital conflict and preadolescent behavioral competence: Maternal knowledge as a longitudinal mediator.

The present study considered whether maternal knowledge mediated the relation between overt marital conflict and preadolescent behavioral competence. Four years of self-report data were collected from 133 mothers and their preadolescents, beginning when the preadolescents were in 4th grade. Marital conflict, maternal knowledge, and preadolescent behavioral competence were assessed at all 4 time points in order to apply a stringent methodology for assessing longitudinal mediating patterns. The results indicated that maternal knowledge mediated the relation between marital conflict and preadolescent behavioral competence. Thus, the present study identified one possible process through which marital conflict may affect preadolescent behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structure and validity of parent and teacher perceptions of children's competence: A multitrait–multimethod–multigroup investigation.

Parents and teachers completed their respective versions of S. Harter's ( 1985b) Rating Scale of Children's Actual Behavior to assess 5 domains of competence in 321 3rd- and 403 6th-grade children. Peers completed a peer nomination index of multiple competencies. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed 5 factors in both the teacher and parent scales: Academic Competence, Social Acceptance, Athletic Competence, Physical Appearance, and Behavioral Conduct. Two higher order factors also emerged: a Well-Behaved/Good Student factor and an Athletic/Attractive/Popular factor. All 5 subscales of the teacher and parent scales manifested a high degree of discriminant validity. Significant levels of convergent validity emerged for most of these subscales. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)