Although triangulation into parental conflict is a risk factor for child and adolescent maladjustment, little is known about how triangulation affects adolescents' functioning or the factors that lead children to be drawn into parental disagreements. This prospective study examined the relations between triangulation, appraisals of conflict, and…

The present study examines the mediating and moderating effects of parenting behavior on the relation between marital problems and adolescent maladjustment. Extending earlier studies by using a prospective, longitudinal research design and multi-informant methods, this study of 451 adolescents and their families from the Iowa Youth and Families…

The goal of this paper was to further our understanding of adolescents' adjustment by studying multiple components of siblings' unique family environments using the difference score methodology. Self-report data about marital conflict, parent-child hostility and adolescents' adjustment were obtained from 114 sibling pairs (mean ages = 14 and 16…

Early childhood educators are likely to encounter youngsters who experience problems at home impeding their abilities to learn and benefit from the program. One such group is children who live or have lived with adult domestic violence. Children yet to begin elementary school are over-represented among groups of young people known to live with…

Skin conductance level reactivity (SCLR) was examined as a longitudinal mediator and moderator of relations between parental marital conflict and psychopathology among children and young adolescents. Participants were 157 boys and girls (M age at T1 = 9.31 years; SD = 1.97); there was a 2-year lag between T1 and T2 assessments. At T1,…

Research consistently shows that children exposed to interparental conflict are at-risk for experiencing psychopathology. Establishing a link, however, between interparental conflict and maladjustment is not the same as understanding "how" specific outcomes manifest. Therefore, we examined the relation of interparental conflict and appraisal with…

Using panel data from 9,252 adolescents in the National Education Longitudinal Study, this study finds that among children who experience parents' marital disruption during late adolescence, European, Asian, and African American adolescents exhibit wider and greater maladjustment both before and after the disruption than their Hispanic American…

This study examined direct and indirect associations between overt and covert interparental conflict (IPC), parent-child conflict, and their links to youth problem behaviors. Data were collected from a sample of 641 school-age youth, ages 12 to 18 years, using a school-based survey. Analyses yielded direct positive linkages from overt IPC to…

This study examined the interplay between interparental conflict and child cortisol reactivity to interparental conflict in predicting child maladjustment in a sample of 178 families and their kindergarten children. Consistent with the allostatic load hypothesis (McEwen & Stellar, 1993), results indicated that interparental conflict was…

Two studies investigated associations between family instability (changes in parents' intimate partners, work hours, residence, children's schools) and adolescent adjustment. In Study 1 (N = 141, M age = 15.23 years), instability was associated with increased caregiver-reported externalizing and internalizing behaviors (including youth-reported…

This investigation tested whether parenting mediates longitudinal associations between marital conflict and children's adjustment. Data were drawn from a three-wave study of 283 families with children aged 8-16 years at Wave 1. Relations among marital conflict, parenting (behavioral control, psychological autonomy, and warmth), and children's…

The present study examines reciprocal associations between marital functioning and adolescent maladjustment using cross-lagged autoregressive models. The research involved 451 early adolescents and their families and used a prospective, longitudinal research design with multi-informant methods. Results indicate that parental conflicts over child…

A 33-month longitudinal study was conducted with 38 infertile couples making the transition to biological childlessness after unsuccessful fertility treatments. Changes in their levels of psychological distress; marital, sexual, and life satisfaction; and self-esteem were examined. Increased self-esteem and decreased sexual satisfaction were…

Assessed marital change following childbirth in a longitudinal study of 72 couples. Analysis indicated the transition to parenthood resulted in somewhat unfavorable changes, but spouses scoring high on marital functioning tended to do so with their new parent role as well. (JAC)

Deals with the marital dynamics characteristics of the period immediately prior to a decision to divorce. The concept of a marital Point of No-Return (N/R) is introduced. Guidelines for working with the concept are presented. (Author)