We evaluated maternal gatekeeping attitudes as a mediator of the relation between marital problems and father-child relationships in 3 waves when children were in Grades 7-10. We assessed each parent's contribution to the marital problems experienced by the couple. Findings from mediational and cross-lagged structural equation models revealed that…

We used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 7,686) to determine whether racial and ethnic differences in socioeconomic stress and social protection explained group differences in the association between family structure instability and three risk behaviors for White, Black, and Mexican American adolescents:…

Examines the association between family structure, attachment, and identity formation. Results partially support the hypotheses and indicate that unresolved spouse conflict is associated with low levels of attachment in adolescents and attachment to father is linked to identity achieved and the diffused identity status. Findings support a link…

Studied the relationship between primary dyadic relationships and adolescent adjustment. A sample of college students (N=102) was interviewed about family relationship patterns. Results showed girls from families with a marital-dyad primary were better adjusted, although girls most often perceived the mother-child dyad as primary. (Author/JAC)

This study addresses three questions: Does earlier family mobility have long-term effects on later parent-adult offspring relations? Do differences in parenting behaviors and family social capital account for these effects? Does the family structure in which a move occurs matter? The author investigates these issues using 17-year longitudinal data…

The present study examined the midlife outcomes of 548 adults who became parents before the age of 20. Participants were from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) and were followed prospectively from age 18 until age 53. Their life-course development was compared to sample members who gave birth at the mean age for the WLS. Midlife outcomes were…

Explores the effects of family structure during the teenage years on the likelihood of marriage later using data from two national longitudinal surveys of young people. Results indicated that childhood family patterns do influence later family formation. Sons and daughters and Blacks and Whites are affected somewhat differently. (JAC)

Studied the risk-taking behavior (i.e., smoking, intemperate drinking, and failure to fasten seat belts) of 4,539 Canadian adolescents. Results showed adolescents who lived in intact families engaged in less health-risk behavior than adolescents from separated or divorced families. Results from widowed families were mixed. (JAC)

Examined the effects of separation and divorce on adolescents' (N=217) self-image, anxiety, locus of control, and perception of their family. Results indicated males from disrupted homes had better self-concepts and better perceptions of their family environment than those from intact homes. The opposite results were found among females. (JAC)

Analyzes the effect of parental divorce at adolescence to determine if young women, who initially coped well, experienced a significant reversal in adjustment in early adulthood. Results from a 10-year study found no significant differences in mean adjustment scores between girls from intact and divorced families at any time. (RJM)

Examines hypothesis that stepfamilies experience more marital conflict than do biological families. Measured remarriage's and stepchildren's impact on marital conflict frequency. Findings suggest that remarriage and stepchildren are not necessarily associated with more frequent marital conflict and that stepchildren's effect varied depending on…

THE "TANGLE OF PATHOLOGY" IN THE NEGRO GHETTO AND THE FAMILY'S ROLE IN IT ARE ADAPTATIONS TO CONDITIONS CREATED BY A DOMINANT WHITE CASTE. THE NEGRO "VICTIMIZES" HIMSELF AND OTHER NEGROES, A PROCESS SEEN MOST CLEARLY WITHIN THE FAMILY IN WHICH THE VICTIMIZATION PROCESS BOTH PREPARES THE INDIVIDUAL FOR GHETTO LIFE AND IMPEDES FUNCTIONING IN OTHER…

Using survey and observational data on 74 2-parent families in a midwestern rural county, 4 important mechanisms are identified that link economic hardship to the aggressive behavior of adolescents. Economic pressure appears to affect the marital relationship, and consequently parenting, through the negativity of fathers. (SLD)

The concept of reproductive strategy is applied to the study of childhood experience and interpersonal development to develop an evolutionary theory of socialization. The relationship between this theory and prevailing theories of socialization is considered, and research consistent with the evolutionary theory is reviewed. Discusses directions…