Predicting infant outcome in families of employed and nonemployed mothers

Differences in infant outcome, predictor variables, and their relationships were explored as a function of maternal employment. Thirty 18-month-olds and their mothers were studied. Child intelligence, attachment security, and dependency were measured, as well as frequency of stressful events in the mother's life, quality of the parents' marital relationship, frequency of the mother's social contacts, and extent of the mother's emotional and parenting supports. Also included were the mother's ability to cope; satisfaction with emotional, parenting, and child care supports; and role satisfaction. For children of employed mothers, attachment and dependency were negatively correlated; securely attached children showed less dependency behavior. For employed mothers, satisfaction with child care and frequent social contacts predicted secure child attachment. Satisfaction with child care, role satisfaction, and ability to cope were strongly interrelated. For nonemployed mothers, maternal coping predicted attachment security, while frequent social contacts predicted greater child dependency. Predictors of child outcome were highly interrelated for nonemployed mothers, with satisfaction with emotional supports playing a pivotal role. These differences suggest that different models to predict infant outcome in employed and nonemployed mother families may be appropriate.     

Marriage and the Parenting Alliance: Longitudinal Prediction of Change in Parenting Perceptions and Behaviors

The study evaluates how marriage and the parenting alliance affect parenting experiences over time. Couples ( N = 79) with school-age children who have mental retardation completed self-report and observational measures of marriage, the parenting alliance, and parenting attitudes and behaviors at 2 periods, 18–24 months apart. Longitudinal structural equation modeling demonstrated significant effects of marital quality on changes over time in self-reports of perceived parenting competence for both the mothers and the fathers, and in observed negative mother-child interactions. Also, in all cases, the parenting alliance mediated the effects of marriage on parenting experiences. There was little evidence of reciprocal causation in which parenting variables predicted change in the quality of marriage and the parenting alliance. Interactions involving child age suggested that teenagers as opposed to younger children were more reactive to negative features of their parents' marital functioning and parenting alliance. Implications are discussed regarding stable but negative marital functioning and regarding possible differences in mothers' and fathers' parenting in the context of marital distress.     

Maternal Working Models of Attachment, Marital Adjustment, and the Parent-Child Relationship

This study examined the connection between maternal working models, marital adjustment, and the parent-child relationship. Subjects were 45 mothers who were observed in problem-solving interactions with their 16–62-month-old children ( M = 33 months). Mothers also completed the Attachment Q-set, the Adult Attachment Interview, and a marital adjustment scale. As predicted, maternal working models were related to the quality of mother-child interactions and child security, and there was a significant relation between marital adjustment and child security. Maternal working models and marital adjustment were also associated interactively with child behavior and child security. Among children of insecure mothers, child security scores were higher when mothers reported high (vs. low) marital adjustment. No relation between child security scores and mothers' marital adjustment was found among children of secure mothers. These results suggest that maternal working models influence parenting and child adjustment well beyond infancy, to which period the few existing studies of adult attachment have been restricted. The results also suggest that interactions between maternal working models and the marital adjustment on child behavior and attachment security need to be more closely examined.     

Marital Adjustment, Parental Disagreements about Child Rearing, and Behavior Problems in Boys: Increasing the Specificity of the Marital Assessment

2 studies were conducted to illustrate how measuring a specific aspect of marriage, namely, child-rearing disagreements, provides a better understanding of the link between marriage and boys' behavior. In Study 1, 200 mothers of 3-year-old boys completed unstandardized measures of marital functioning and child behavior. An index of child-rearing disagreements: (1) correlated with a greater variety of behavior problems than nonchild disagreements, and (2) improved upon the prediction of behavior problems after accounting for nonchild disagreements as well as after accounting for boys' exposure to marital conflict. In Study 2, 87 mothers with 4-6-year-old sons completed the index of child-rearing disagreements used in Study 1 as well as standard measures of marital functioning and child behavior. Child-rearing disagreements: (1) predicted a greater variety of behavior problems than global marital adjustment, and (2) improved upon the prediction of internalizing problems after controlling for global marital adjustment as well as after controlling for boys' exposure to marital conflict.     

Hostility, hostile detachment, and conflict engagement in marriages: effects on child and family functioning

This study examined the relations between patterns of marital communication, child adjustment, and family functioning. Couples with a 4- or 5-year-old child were divided into three groups (N = 126) based on observed patterns of emotional communication: Hostile couples showed a cumulative increase in negative speaker behaviors over the course of a high-conflict marital discussion; hostile-withdrawn couples showed a cumulative increase in both negative speaker and negative listener behaviors over the course of the interaction; and engaged couples showed a cumulative increase in both positive speaker and listener behaviors over the course of the interaction. The families of these three types of couples were then compared on child outcomes (i.e., peer relations, behavior problems), parenting quality, co-parenting quality, and family-level functioning. Differences in marital violence and marital satisfaction between marital couples were also examined in relation to family risk. Families in which couples were hostile-detached showed the most negative outcomes. Hostile-detached couples were more likely than hostile or conflict-engaging couples to use more power-assertive methods of discipline; to be ineffective in co-parenting their child; to have family units that were less cohesive, less playful, and more conflictual; and to have children that exhibited behavior problems. Results also indicated that marital typology still accounted for significant variance in child outcome after controlling for marital violence and marital satisfaction. Differences in the absolute degree of negative behaviors also did not account for results. Findings are discussed in terms of the detrimental impact of marital conflict on child and family functioning.     

The Quality and Frequency of Mother–Toddler Conflict: Links With Attachment and Temperament

The goal of this study was to examine the links among attachment, child temperament, and the quality and frequency of mother–toddler conflict. Sixty-four mothers and children took part in a series of laboratory tasks when the child was 30 months of age and an audiorecorded home observation when the child was 36 months of age. All episodes of conflict were identified from the videotapes/audiotapes, transcribed, and coded for conflict strategies, resolution, and themes. Mothers also completed measures of attachment security and child temperament. Concurrent attachment security was related to the quality of mother–toddler conflict (including resolution, justification, and compromise) at both periods but not to the frequency of conflict. In addition, aspects of child temperament (i.e., negative reactivity and activity level/impulsivity) were related to both the quality and the frequency of mother–toddler conflict.     

The quality and frequency of mother-toddler conflict: links with attachment and temperament.

The goal of this study was to examine the links among attachment, child temperament, and the quality and frequency of mother-toddler conflict. Sixty-four mothers and children took part in a series of laboratory tasks when the child was 30 months of age and an audiorecorded home observation when the child was 36 months of age. All episodes of conflict were identified from the videotapes/audiotapes, transcribed, and coded for conflict strategies, resolution, and themes. Mothers also completed measures of attachment security and child temperament. Concurrent attachment security was related to the quality of mother-toddler conflict (including resolution, justification, and compromise) at both periods but not to the frequency of conflict. In addition, aspects of child temperament (i.e., negative reactivity and activity level/impulsivity) were related to both the quality and the frequency of mother-toddler conflict.     

Evaluating anticipatory grief as a moderator of life and marital satisfaction for spousal caregivers of individuals with dementia

It is important to understand the role that anticipatory grief may have in moderating the interaction between relationship quality and marital and life satisfaction to help improve the awareness among professionals when identifying challenges individuals may experience while providing care to their romantic partner. This awareness may then lead to new ways of providing education or intervention to caregivers that may result in higher quality of care to individuals with dementia. The purpose of this study was to provide increasing awareness by evaluating the moderating role of anticipatory grief between perceptions of the relationship and marriage and life satisfaction. The sample of this study consisted of 90 spousal caregivers of individuals with dementia. Multiple regression was used and it was found that attachment and perceived closeness significantly predict satisfaction with life and marriage. Tests of moderation did not demonstrate that anticipatory grief served as a moderator for marital satisfaction or life satisfaction. The findings from the study provide information related to informing and structuring interventions and psychoeducation activities for spousal caregivers.     

Children's responses to everyday marital conflict tactics in the home

Mothers' and fathers' reports of marital conflicts in the home were obtained (n = 1,638 and 1,281 conflicts, respectively), including conflicts in front of the children (n = 580 and 377, respectively). Participants were 116 families with children 8 to 16 years old (M = 10.82 years, SD = 2.17; 58 boys, 58 girls). Children's emotional responses indicated distinctions between distressing conflict tactics (i.e., threat, personal insult, verbal hostility, defensiveness, nonverbal hostility, marital withdrawal, physical distress) and those that increased their emotional security (i.e., calm discussion, support, affection). Analyses based on cross-reporter informants of parental conflict and child responses strengthened confidence in the findings. Conflict tactics were related to marital functioning, and children's emotional reactions during marital conflicts were associated with their adjustment.     

The Origins of Parenting Stress During the Transition to Parenthood: A New Family Model

This paper describes the origins of parenting stress, defined both as tensions in the parent–child relationship and as broader changes in five family domains as men and women make the transition from couple to family life. Despite significant change in their average level of functioning, parents show continuity in their level of adaptation from pregnancy through the first five years of parenthood. Parenting stress emerges from the context of parents' individual and marital adaptation before the child is born. It is possible to identify expectant parents who are at risk for later parenting stress and lower well-being across employment and family domains. Path analyses show that men's and women's prior well-being and their involvement in paid work during pregnancy are associated with higher parenting stress—and lower self-esteem, marital satisfaction, family work satisfaction, and job satisfaction—two years later when their babies are 18months old. Stress in the parent–child relationship at 18 months postpartum compounds preexisting stress in other family domains to reduce well-being in other aspects of family life. Links among parenting stress, parenting quality, and children's adaptation to school lead to suggestions for preventive interventions early in the family life cycle.     

Developmental patterns in security of attachment to mother and father in late childhood and early adolescence: associations with peer relations

This study examined developmental differences in two dimensions of attachment security (parental availability and child dependency on parents) in late childhood (N = 274) and early adolescence (N = 267) and their association with peer relations. Children's perceptions of mother's availability and boys' perceptions of father's availability did not differ as a function of age. Dependency on parents, however, decreased with age. Findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between parental availability and reliance on parental help when measuring attachment developmentally. Children's reports of positive friendship qualities and lack of conflict in their best friendships were related to attachment to both mother and father, whereas the presence of a reciprocated friendship and popularity were not. Father availability was a particularly important predictor of lower conflict with best friends. Findings indicate that the quality of parent-child attachment generalizes primarily to the quality of children's close peer relations.     

Mother-Toddler Problem Solving: Antecedents in Attachment, Home Behavior, and Temperament

In a widely cited study, Matas, Arend, and Sroufe showed that mother-toddler interaction during problem solving at age 2 years was related to the child's prior attachment security. The current study asked (1) whether an independent laboratory could replicate this attachment finding, and (2) whether problem-solving interactions relate to mother-child interactions observed at home and to child temperament measured at 6, 13, and 24 months. Replicating Matas et al., secure dyads worked more competently, and mothers showed better quality of assistance and supportive presence. Mother-child home interaction also predicted problem solving: positive involvement at home predicted effective, unconflicted problem solving. Negative control at home did not predict problem-solving interaction. Unadaptable temperament was generally related to dependency in problem solving. Several patterns of correlations appeared to be mediated by sex of child, e.g., difficult temperament in boys predicted more effective, unconflicted problem solving, while for girls it predicted more conflict.     

The adaptation of hearing parents of hearing-impaired youths

This study evaluated the emotional and marital adjustment of hearing parents of hearing-impaired youths. Participants included mothers and fathers of hearing-impaired youths and mothers and fathers of hearing youths. In contrast with expectations based on clinical impressions reported in the literature, parents of hearing-impaired youths reported less symptomatology than did parents of hearing youths, and there were no differences in the marital satisfaction of parents in intact families. Moreover, parental adjustment was not associated with the duration of time since the child was diagnosed as hearing impaired. In addition, hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that family cohesion was associated with low maternal symptomatology and high marital satisfaction for both spouses. For mothers, low symptomatology was associated with low stress and female gender of child; high marital satisfaction also was linked with a less severe degree of hearing loss in the youth.     

Parenting Teamwork: The Impact of a Fathering Intervention on Mothers and Infants in Vietnam

A multifaceted, relationally focused intervention involving group and individual pre- and postnatal counseling, print resources, and community resources encouraged 390 fathers of newborn infants in Vietnam to responsively support mothers and work with them as a parenting team. Both partners completed questionnaires prebirth and 1-, 4-, and 9-months postbirth on measures of breastfeeding support, exclusive breastfeeding duration, relationship quality, and infant development. Compared to 412 comparison group couples, intervention couples evidenced greater father support, especially in terms of helping and responsiveness to the mother's needs. This support predicted longer exclusive breastfeeding duration, improved relationship quality, and higher levels of infant development at 9 months. Sensitively working together with mothers as a coordinated team enhanced couple's relationship functioning and improved children's developmental outcomes.     

Day care and family dynamics

Twenty-one dual-earner families whose preschool-aged children entered day care before 6 months of age and 19 dual-earner families whose preschool-aged children entered day care during the second year of life filled out questionnaires on the nature of their children's caregiving environment; their perceptions of the effects of day care on parent-child interaction and children's development; their overall job satisfaction; social support networks; and personal well-being, marital stress, and companionship. Mothers and fathers reported high levels of satisfaction with the caregiving environment and the effects of day care. Parental perceptions of the effects of day care on parent-child interaction and children's development did not differ as a function of time of entry into day care. Parental perceptions of selected parent-child variables were associated with job satisfaction, social support, and the marital measures. Parental perceptions of parent-child interaction were related to their perceptions of the effects of day care on children's social and cognitive skills. Mothers and fathers differed in these perceptions. There was some support for a conceptual link between marital variables and children's functioning in day care.     

The Contribution of Mother-Child and Father-Child Relationships to the Quality of Sibling Interaction: A Longitudinal Study

Although several studies have now examined the relations between mother-child and sibling interaction, the role of fathers in the development of sibling relationships is noticeably absent. The present study included assessments of both mother-child and father-child interaction in order to examine the correlates of sibling conflict and cooperation. Home observations of parent-child and sibling interaction and reports of differential parental treatment were obtained for 30 families with 2 preschool children when the firstborns were approximately 6 years old. Earlier assessments of infant-mother and infant-father attachments when firstborns were 12 and 13 months old, respectively, were also available, as were prior laboratory assessments of mothering and fathering when the oldest child was 3 years of age. Results suggested that sibling conflict and aggression were related to high levels of conflict between the mother and the 2 children at 6 years, intrusive and overcontrolling mothering at 3 years, and an insecure infant-mother attachment. Facilitative and affectionate fathering, on the other hand, was associated with prosocial sibling interaction. Early relationship experiences between parents and their firstborn children had an enduring effect on the quality of sibling relationships and interacted with differential parental treatment in predicting sibling relationship outcomes.     

Child emotional security and interparental conflict

Guided by the emotional security hypothesis developed by Davies & Cummings (1994), studies were conducted to test a conceptual refinement of children's adjustment to parental conflict in relation to hypotheses of other prominent theories. Study 1 examined whether the pattern of child responses to simulations of adult conflict tactics and topics was consistent with the emotional security hypothesis and social learning theory in a sample of 327 Welsh children. Supporting the emotional security hypothesis, child reports of fear, avoidance, and involvement were especially prominent responses to destructive conflict. Study 2 examined the relative roles of child emotional insecurity and social-cognitive appraisals in accounting for associations between parental conflict and child psychological symptoms in a sample of 285 Welsh children and parents. Findings indicated that child emotional insecurity was a robust intervening process in the prospective links between parental conflict and child maladjustment even when intervening processes proposed in the social-cognitive models were included in the analyses. Studies 3 and 4 explored pathways among parental conflict, child emotional insecurity, and psychological adjustment in the broader family context with a sample of 174 children and mothers. Supporting the emotional security hypothesis, Study 3 findings indicated that child insecurity continued to mediate the link between parental conflict and child maladjustment even after specifying the effects of other parenting processes. Parenting difficulties accompanying interparental conflict were related to child maladjustment through their association with insecure parent-child attachment. In support of the emotional security hypothesis, Study 4 findings indicated that family instability, parenting difficulties, and parent-child attachment insecurity potentiated mediational pathways among parental conflict, child insecurity, and maladjustment. Family cohesiveness, interparental satisfaction, and interparental expressiveness appeared to be protective factors in these mediational paths. No support was found for the social learning theory prediction that parent-child warmth would amplify associations between parental conflict and child disruptive behaviors.     

The Origins of Parenting Stress During the Transition to Parenthood: A New Family Model

This paper describes the origins of parenting stress, defined both as tensions in the parent-child relationship and as broader changes in five family domains as men and women make the transition from couple to family life. Despite significant change in their average level of functioning, parents show continuity in their level of adaptation from pregnancy through the first five years of parenthood. Parenting stress emerges from the context of parents' individual and marital adaptation before the child is born. It is possible to identify expectant parents who are at risk for later parenting stress and lower well-being across employment and family domains. Path analyses show that men's and women's prior well-being and their involvement in paid work during pregnancy are associated with higher parenting stress—and lower self-esteem, marital satisfaction, family work satisfaction, and job satisfaction—two years later when their babies are 18months old. Stress in the parent-child relationship at 18 months postpartum compounds preexisting stress in other family domains to reduce well-being in other aspects of family life. Links among parenting stress, parenting quality, and children's adaptation to school lead to suggestions for preventive interventions early in the family life cycle.     

Interparental conflict in kindergarten and adolescent adjustment: prospective investigation of emotional security as an explanatory mechanism

Advancing the long‐term prospective study of explanations for the effects of marital conflict on children’s functioning, relations were examined between interparental conflict in kindergarten, children’s emotional insecurity in the early school years, and subsequent adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems. Based on a community sample of 235 mothers, fathers, and children (Ms = 6.00, 8.02, 12.62 years), and multimethod and multireporter assessments, structural equation model tests provided support for emotional insecurity in early childhood as an intervening process related to adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems, even with stringent autoregressive controls over prior levels of functioning for both mediating and outcome variables. Discussion considers implications for understanding pathways between interparental conflict, emotional insecurity, and adjustment in childhood and adolescence.     

Mothers' Responsive Parenting Practices and Psychological Experience of Parenting as Mediators of the Relation Between Marital Conflict and Mother - Preadolescent Relational Negativity

Objective. This study assessed direct and indirect relations between marital conflict and mother - preadolescent relational negativity. Design. Self-report questionnaire data were gathered from 156 married mothers and their firstborn 5th graders who were between the ages of 10 and 12 years. Participants completed measures of marital conflict, responsive parenting practices, the psychological experience of parenting (e.g., parenting stress), and mother - preadolescent relational negativity (e.g., conflict). Results. Structural equation modeling indicated that marital conflict was positively associated with maternal reports of negativity in the mother - preadolescent relationship. In contrast, marital conflict was not associated with preadolescent reports of negativity in the mother - preadolescent relationship. Subsequent analyses revealed that the relation between marital conflict and maternal report of mother - preadolescent relational negativity was indirect and mediated by responsive parenting practices and mothers' psychological experience of parenting. Conclusions. This study integrated essential components from the marital conflict, stress and coping, and parenting literatures. Understanding the roles of different aspects of parenting in the relation between marital conflict and the mother - child relationship suggests new directions for research.