Adolescent Sexuality: Disentangling the Effects of Family Structure and Family Context

Growing up in single‐parent, step‐, cohabiting, or lesbian families has been suggested to have negative effects on adolescent sexual behavior. However, our analysis reveals that, with the exception of girls in single‐parent families, family structure does not significantly influence adolescents' sexual initiation. Rather, the family context—more specifically the mother‐child relationship, their level of interaction, and the mother's attitudes toward and discussion of sex—is associated with adolescent sexual debut. When looking at sexually active teenagers, neither family structure nor family context have an impact on the sexual partnerships of boys, and they explain little in terms of girl's sexual partnering.     

Interparental Relations,Maternal Employment,and Fathering in Mexican American Families

This study examined independent and interactive relations between the interparental relationship and maternal employment in predicting fathering within low‐income, Mexican American two‐parent families (N = 115). Interparental conflict was negatively related to quality fathering, and these relations were noted only for single‐earner families. The parenting alliance was positively related to quality fathering irrespective of maternal employment. Fathering was associated with lower levels of child depression and conduct problems. Results suggest that bolstering quality fathering is a useful avenue for improving child well‐being and that strengthening the interparental relationship can support quality fathering and child mental health within Mexican American families.     

Latent Models of Family Processes in African American Families: Relationships to Child Competence,Achievement, and Problem Behavior

This study explored the assessment of family processes for a sample of African American kindergarten children, parents, and teachers involved in the EARLY ALLIANCE prevention trial. Using modified versions of the Family Assessment Measure, the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales, the Family Beliefs Inventory, and the Deviant Beliefs measure, internal consistency analyses along with exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses provided empirical support for a Cohesion factor (cohesion and communication), a Structure factor (support and organization), a Beliefs factor (on family purpose and child development), and a Deviant Beliefs factor. Regression analyses examined the relationship of these measures of family processes to child social and academic competence, problem behavior, and early reading achievement. Family Structure (support and organization) was consistently related to parent‐ and teacher‐reported competence and behavioral outcomes, providing support for this construct as an important aspect of family process. Family Cohesion and communication, along with Beliefs, were also related to youth competence and behavior. None of the family process variables added a unique contribution to the influence upon achievement for these kindergarten children beyond the role of parental education and income. This work begins to examine specific dimensions of family processes and their relationships to important adaptive and less adaptive child outcomes. Other dimensions may be identified and examined in future research with families of color.     

The Link Between the Marital Bond and Future Triadic Family Interactions

This study examined how the marital bond, as indexed through the Oral History Interview (OHI), is related to future triadic family interactions. Families (N = 108), with a 7–9‐year‐old child, participated in a longitudinal study (the Family Health Project) examining children's emotional development throughout the transition to adolescence. Parental cohesion and family cohesion, warmth, structure, and problem solving were assessed via behavioral observation during family problem‐solving discussions and parent‐child teaching interactions 18–24 months after the OHI. Results indicated that the marital bond was predictive of parental cohesion, family cohesion, warmth, and structure during teaching interactions. The marital bond was not significantly predictive of family problem solving or parental cohesion in problem‐solving interactions.     

Community Context,Social Integration Into Family,and Youth Violence

The purpose of this study is to analyze the extent to which neighborhood‐level family structure and feelings of family integration are associated with acts of violence among 16,910 adolescents from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The results from our hierarchical linear models indicate that adolescents who live in neighborhoods with lower proportions of single‐parent families and who report higher levels of family integration commit less violence. We also find that neighborhood‐level family structure shapes the extent to which social integration into family matters: In neighborhoods that are considered higher risk environments (i.e., contain greater proportions of single‐parent families), family integration is often less effective in deterring youth violence than it is in lower risk environments.     

Sexual Intercourse and Pregnancy Among African American Girls in High‐Poverty Neighborhoods: The Role of Family and Perceived Community Environment

Data are used from a random sample of African American families in impoverished Chicago neighborhoods to address two questions: How well do modeling, supervision, and marital transition hypotheses explain the relationship between family structure and early sexual debut and pregnancy for disadvantaged Black female adolescents? Do higher levels of social support from parents and neighborhood adults decrease the risk of sexual activity for youth in poor communities? Support for each hypothesis is contingent upon the family transition experienced and specific sexual outcome examined. Living in any type of married household reduces the risk of sexual debut and pregnancy. Stronger parent‐child relationships are associated with delayed sexual onset, whereas the risk of pregnancy is reduced when adolescents report more working adults in their social networks.     

Mothers' Differentiation and Depressive Symptoms Among Adult Children

Parents' differentiation has been linked to negative psychological and behavioral outcomes in children, adolescents, and young adults. This line of research, however, has not been extended to families in later life. In this article, we use data from 671 mother‐child dyads in 275 families in the greater Boston area to explore whether mothers' differentiation among their children is related to psychological well‐being among offspring. We examined actual and perceived maternal differentiation in the domains of closeness, expectations for care, and conflict. We hypothesized that depressive symptoms would be higher when mothers differentiated among their children and when adult children perceived differentiation. Although the specific patterns varied somewhat by mothers' and children's reports, the findings indicated that, across all 3 domains, maternal differentiation was related to higher depression scores.     

The Interactive Effects of Marital Conflict and Divorce on Parent – Adult Children's Relationships

This study examines main effect and interactive models of the relations between marital conflict, divorce, and parent – adult child relationships and gender differences in these relations. Data were drawn from a longitudinal study of a community sample (N = 585). Parental marital conflict and divorce were measured from age 5 through age 17 years. Mother‐child and father‐child relationship quality at age 22 years was assessed in terms of closeness‐support and conflict‐control. Results indicated that both marital conflict and divorce are associated with poorer quality parent – adult child relationships. Divorce moderated the link between marital conflict and subsequent negativity in mother‐child relationships, with the estimated effects being stronger in continuously married families than in divorced families, especially for women.     

Parental Work Demands and the Frequency of Child‐Related Routine and Interactive Activities

This study examined whether the frequency of child‐related activities was associated with parents' own work demands and those of their partners. In addition to parental paid working hours, we considered the parents' organizational culture and experienced job insecurity. Moreover, we differentiated between child‐related routine and interactive activities. Using self‐collected data on 639 Dutch couples with children, we found that paid working hours were consistently associated with a lower frequency of child‐related activities. Fathers generally responded more strongly to their own and their partner's work demands than mothers. For fathers, both their own and their partner's work demands were more strongly associated with routine than with interactive activities. Mothers did not differentiate between these activities, however.     

Marital Conflict and Children’s Adjustment: Evaluation of the Parenting Process Model

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 adjustment (externalizing and internalizing) were examined. Structural equation models indicated multiple dimensions of parenting mediated relations between marital conflict and children’s adjustment. When including controls for earlier adjustment, behavioral control continued to mediate relations between marital conflict and change in children’s internalizing symptoms over time. These results advance parenting process models for relations between marital conflict and child adjustment and provide impetus for study of other pathways, including direct and child effects.     

Mothering and Peer Associations Mediate Cumulative Risk Effects for Latino Youth

The present study examined whether positive parenting and deviant peer associations mediated the relations between a cumulative risk composite comprising financial strain, neighborhood problems, and maternal psychological distress and subsequent youth adjustment problems. Drawn from the Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three City Study, the sample consisted of 449 economically disadvantaged Latino families. Structural equation modeling showed that after controlling for baseline levels of youth adjustment problems, cumulative risk, assessed when adolescents were 10 to 14 years old, was directly and indirectly predictive of youths’ deviant peer associations 16 months later, through mother’s positive parenting. Deviant peer associations, in turn, were proximally associated with youth externalizing and internalizing problems. Findings underscore the role of mothers and peers in Latino youth adjustment problems.     

The long reach of divorce: Divorce and child well‐being across three generations

We used data from the study of Marital Instability Over the Life Course to examine links between divorce in the grandparent generation and outcomes in the grandchild generation (N= 691). Divorce in the first (G1) generation was associated with lower education, more marital discord, weaker ties with mothers, and weaker ties with fathers in the third (G3) generation. These associations were mediated by family characteristics in the middle (G2) generation, including lower education, more marital discord, more divorce, and greater tension in early parent‐child relationships. In supplementary analyses, we found no evidence that the estimated effects of divorce differed by offspring gender or became weaker over time. Our results suggest that divorce has consequences for subsequent generations, including individuals who were not yet born at the time of the original divorce.     

Developmental Processes in African American Families: An Application of McLoyd’s Theoretical Model

In accordance with McLoyd’s model of African American children’s development, we examined the linkages among family income, maternal psychological distress, marital conflict, parenting, and children’s outcomes in early and middle childhood, using a sample of 591 African American children from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Income during early childhood had a direct effect on behavior problems and reading recognition in middle childhood. Income also had an indirect effect on the child outcomes via maternal psychological distress and parenting. In a comparison of African American and White families, marital conflict predicted children behavior problems only in White families. Findings suggest that family psychological and material resources influence parenting as well as behavioral and cognitive outcomes for African American children.     

Individual and Family Factors Related to Psychosocial Adjustment in Stepmother Families With Adolescents

This article presents additional data analyses from an earlier study on risk and resilience factors linked with adjustment in stepfamilies with adolescents. The primary objective addressed how individual and family-level factors impacted adjustment in a sample composed of 3 members (biological father, stepmother, and adolescent) from a subsample of 39 stepmother families. Multiple regression results showed that each stepmother family member's adjustment is affected by both shared and nonshared processes. Results also highlighted the role of triangulations and role ambiguity in the psychosocial adjustment of stepmother family members.     

Expanding the Family Economic Stress Model: Insights From a Mixed‐Methods Approach

The current study used a mixed‐methods approach to examine how low‐income mothers managed their household economies, their experiences of economic pressure, and the consequences for family and child functioning. Qualitative analyses (N = 32 families) revealed that experiences of economic pressure were associated with an inability to afford both basic needs and some modest but highly valued “extras.” To meet demands, mothers reported using a variety of strategies, including instrumental support from friends and family members and other financial strategies. Results from the quantitative analyses (N= 516 families; 800 children, ages 6 – 15) were generally consistent with patterns observed in the qualitative analyses and extended the findings to include effects on parenting practices and children’s behavioral functioning.     

Parent Conflict as a Mediator Between Marianismo Beliefs and Depressive Symptoms for Mexican American College Women

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine how marianismo is related to the depressive symptoms of Mexican American women with family conflict as a mediator. Participants: During January of 2010, 170 Mexican American women college students in a southern, Hispanic-serving institution were sampled. Methods: A mediation analysis was conducted to determine if parent conflict mediates the relationship between marianismo values and depressive symptoms. Results: Results from Barron and Kenny's¹ mediation analysis method, in conjunction with a Sobel² test indicated that parent conflict significantly mediated the relation between marianismo and depressive symptoms. Conclusion: Findings and implications of the mediation will be discussed for the mental health and treatment of Mexican American women college students.