Residential Instability,Family Support,and Parent–Child Relationships Among Ethnically Diverse Urban Families

From a social disorganization standpoint, neighborhood residential instability potentially brings negative consequences to parent–child relationship qualities, but family social support and racial/ethnic identity may modify this association. Using data (n = 3,116) from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, this study examines associations between neighborhood residential instability and parent–child warmth and conflict, whether family social support moderates associations between residential instability and parent–child relationships, and variation by race/ethnicity. Multilevel models reveal that residential instability undermines parent–child relationship qualities, particularly for non‐White individuals. Family support is a protective factor for families in less stable neighborhoods and specifically buffers the association between neighborhood residential instability and reduced parent–child warmth. Among Hispanics, family support mitigates the association between residential instability and heightened parent–child conflict. Findings highlight residential instability as a detriment to parent–child relationships; families in unstable neighborhoods may benefit from family social support.     

Do Nonresidential Fathers’ Financial Support and Contact Improve Children’s Health?

Nonresidential father investment of time and money has been shown to ameliorate the negative consequences of family dissolution on children’s behavior and achievement; however, no research has shown whether this investment also has positive effects on child health. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey, Kindergarten cohort, this research uses a two-wave cross-lagged model to examine how child support and contact are associated with maternal reports of children’s physical health over time following parental separation. Child support in kindergarten is not associated with child health in third grade. Instead, children who are healthier in kindergarten receive greater financial support from their father. Although contact and child support are positively related, greater contact is not associated with better child health.     

Perceptions of Equity,Balance of Support Exchange,and Mother–Adult Child Relations

Equity theory suggests that relationships are more harmonious when both members of a dyad believe that their exchanges are fair. However, the level and frequency of exchange, rather than perceptions of equity, have been the focus of most research on support and the quality of intergenerational relations. Using data from 1,426 mother–child dyads nested within 413 families collected as part of the Within‐Family Differences Study, the authors explored whether mothers' perceptions of equity are better predictors of closeness and tension than are mothers' reports of balanced exchanges of support. Mixed‐model analyses revealed that mothers' perceptions of equity were more consistent predictors of relationship quality than were the balanced exchanges of support, though the results varied somewhat by gender of adult child. These findings contribute to a growing body of research demonstrating that the psychological processes that shape intergenerational relationships mirror those of other ties.     

A Preliminary Investigation of Family Systems' Influences on Individual Divorce Adjustment

The influence of family systems variables on family member's divorce adjustment was examined in this study. Subjects included 36 families who had been separated or divorced only once, for 6 to 30 months, and had a child between 6 and 16 years old. The custodial parent completed questionnaires regarding family functioning, single parenting, occurence and subjective evaluation of specific post-divorce events, one child's adjustment to the divorce, and parental divorce adjustment. Data were analyzes using hybrid (stepwise/hierarchical) multiple regression analyses. Sixty-three percent of families were high on the Cohesion and/or Democratic family style dimensions. These family styles were related to healthier, more supportive family relationships and clearer, more direct, communication among family members. Approximately 30 percent of families were high on the Conflict and/or Laissez-Faire family style dimensions. These latter dimensions related less to healthy family relationships and communication styles. Notably, significantly poorer child and/or parental functioning were associated to these latter families. The impact of competent custodial parenting on child and family adjustment to divorce is discussed.     

An exploratory investigation of family functioning for child inpatients: Implications for practice

This paper presents the results of an empirical investigation of family functioning for a sample of child and adolescent psychiatric inpatients. The McMaster Family Assessment Device, completed by patients and other family members at the time of the child's admission, provides an assessment of family competence in six areas; problem solving, communication, roles, affective communication, affective involvement, and behavior control. Results indicate that families of child and adolescent inpatients experience significant problems across all dimensions of family functioning. Further, patients report that family problems are more severe than do other family members. Implications of the study findings for social work practice are discussed.     

Child,Mother, Father,and Teacher Beliefs About Child Academic Competence: Predicting Math and Reading Performance in European American Adolescents

Beliefs about child competence in math and reading have important implications for academic performance in adolescence. However, it is unclear whether children's own beliefs are the most important predictor of their academic performance or whether parents’ and teachers’ beliefs about child competence influence child academic performance. We assessed mothers’, fathers’, teachers’, and children's beliefs about European American children's (N = 189) competence in math and reading at age 10 and children's math and language performance at ages 10, 13, and 18 years. Confirmatory factor models demonstrated that children's and teachers’ beliefs had lower loadings on a latent variable of child competence in math and reading than mothers’ beliefs. Children's self‐competence beliefs in math and reading were not significantly correlated, suggesting children may use dimensional comparisons when assessing their own competence. Mothers’, fathers’, and teachers’ assessments of child competence in math were strongly correlated with their assessments of child competence in reading. Controlling for stability in academic performance, family socioeconomic status, and other reporters, mothers and fathers who rated their children's math competence higher had adolescents who performed better in math, and fathers who rated their children's reading competence higher had adolescents who performed better in language tasks. However, children who rated their own competence higher in math and reading had lower math and language (for girls only) performance in adolescence. European American children may use dimensional comparisons that render them poorer judges of their math and reading competence than parents.     

Health-Promoting Influences of the Family on Late Adolescent Functioning

This study examined whether potentially modifiable health-promoting family factors during mid-adolescence (age 15) predicted adaptive functioning in late adolescence (age 18) among members of a working-class community cohort. Family factors included feeling valued in the family, cohesion, and social support. Late adolescent outcomes covered developmentally salient areas: academic functioning; mental health; suicidal behavior; and social, psychological, and behavioral functioning. Our findings demonstrate that a positive adolescent family milieu is related to both adaptive outcomes and a reduced likelihood of serious difficulties, including mental and behavior problems. Although each hypothesized health-promoting factor was significantly associated with multiple areas of age 18 functioning, the patterns of association differed by type of family factor. Taken together, results suggest that the family remains an important social context during mid-adolescence and that to be most effective programs designed by practitioners aimed at strengthening families should target multiple features of the family environment.     

The Consequences of Parental Underestimation and Overestimation of Youth Exposure to Violence

This study investigated differences in parent and child estimates of the child's exposure to violence. Using data (N = 1,517) from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, analyses related differences between parent and child reports of the child's exposure to violence to the child's psychosocial functioning. Most parents (66%) underestimated their children's exposure to violence. Further, parental underestimation was associated with the child's internalizing and externalizing problems and delinquent behaviors but parental overestimation was not. Family support partially mediated these associations. Parental underestimation of the child's exposure to violence, therefore, reflected lower levels of family support, which in turn led to more internalizing and externalizing problems and delinquency for the child.     

Longitudinal Prediction of Mid‐Adolescent Psychosocial Outcomes From Early Adolescent Family Help Seeking and Family Support

This study examined whether family help seeking and family support represented the same or distinct constructs and prospective associations between emergent constructs and psychosocial outcomes. Data were from 1,713 school‐based adolescents participating in a randomized controlled trial, in Victoria, Australia. Family help seeking emerged as a single factor, distinct from family support, and was prospectively associated with improved psychosocial outcomes. Father closeness predicted lower depressive symptoms. Family help seeking predicted higher help seeking for peers. Interactions between family help seeking and family support on psychosocial outcomes were not apparent. Findings highlight the importance of examining family help seeking and family support separately in future studies of adolescents' help‐seeking behavior.     

Exotic Enterprise No More? Adolescent Reports of Family and Parenting Processes From Youth in Four Countries

The current investigation cross‐nationally examined the relationship between adolescent reports of family or parenting processes and a series of developmental outcomes in a sample of adolescents (N=8,417) from Hungary, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States. Based on confirmatory factor analyses and tests of scalar equivalence, results suggest that the Adolescent Family Process Measure (AFP), which assesses maternal and paternal closeness, support, monitoring, communication, conflict, and peer approval, was valid and reliable for males, females, middle adolescents, and late adolescents in all four national contexts. In addition, based on model‐free LISREL analyses, findings suggested that the relationships between these family processes and measures of adolescent externalizing (alcohol use, drug use, school misconduct, and total deviance) and internalizing (anxiety, depression, low self‐esteem, and low well‐being) behaviors were similar cross‐nationally. Findings are discussed in terms of their importance for the conceptualization and measurement of family and parenting processes.     

The Relationship of Birth Order and Gender with Academic Standing and Substance Use Among Youth in Latin America

Alfred Adler attempted to understand how family affects youth outcomes by considering the order of when a child enters a family (Adler, 1964). Adler's theory posits that birth order formation impacts individuals. We tested Adler's birth order theory using data from a cross-sectional survey of 946 Chilean youths. We examined how birth order and gender are associated with drug use and educational outcomes using three different birth order research models including: (1) Expedient Research, (2) Adler's birth order position, and (3) Family Size theoretical models. Analyses were conducted with structural equation modeling (SEM). We conclude that birth order has an important relationship with substance use outcomes for youth but has differing effects for educational achievement across both birth order status and gender.     

Family Ties and Young Fathers' Engagement in Cape Town,South Africa

Young South African fathers are often engaged in their children's lives even if they do not live together. Using longitudinal data on children (n = 1,209) from the Cape Town area, the authors show that although only 26% of young fathers live with their children, 66% of nonresidential fathers maintain regular contact, and 61% provide financial support. The father–child relationship, however, is embedded in broader family ties. The type of father–mother relationship is strongly associated with whether fathers coreside with their children but not with fathers' contact with nonresidential children. Close mother and maternal grandmother bonds reduce the likelihood that fathers live with their children, whereas close ties between fathers and paternal grandmothers increase the chance that fathers visit nonresidential children. Family ties do not affect fathers' financial contributions, which are driven by men's current economic situation. These findings illustrate that father–child relationships are best understood in the context of interacting family systems.     

Social support,family competence,and informal kinship caregiver parenting stress: The mediating and moderating effects of family resources

Informal kinship care is the most common form of care of related children and it occurs without the oversight or assistance of the child welfare system. This study examined whether and how social support, family competence, and family resources were related to parenting stress in a sample of 207 informal kinship caregivers. Results of GEE analysis supported the hypotheses that social support, family competence, and adequacy of family resources have direct effects on parenting stress in these families; and, adequacy of family resources mediate and moderate the effects of social support and family competence on parenting stress. Implications for practice, future research and policy are discussed.     

Neighborhood Poverty and Children's Academic Skills and Behavior in Early Elementary School

Neighborhoods provide resources that may affect children's cognitive and behavioral outcomes. However, it is unclear to what degree associations between neighborhood disadvantage and outcomes persist into elementary school and whether neighborhood disadvantage interacts with household disadvantage. Using data from the 2010–2011 Early Childhood Longitudinal Study‐Kindergarten Cohort (N = 15,100 children) merged with census data from the American Community Survey, this study examines associations between neighborhood poverty and children's math, reading, and behavioral outcomes at kindergarten and first and second grades. Findings indicate that as tract‐level poverty increases, children's achievement worsens after controlling for child and family characteristics. These associations persist into second grade and are stronger for children in poor versus nonpoor households. Findings suggest that neighborhood disadvantage may contribute to poorer achievement scores, particularly among children with few household resources, but that household disadvantage and other characteristics largely explain behavioral outcomes. Research and policy implications are discussed.     

Exploring the relationship between employment-based social capital, job stress, burnout, and intent to leave among child protection workers: An age-based path analysis model

Research suggests that age and organizational factors are consistently linked with job stress, burnout, and intent to leave among child protection workers. However, no study has contextualized how age matters with regards to these adverse employee outcomes. We conducted a theory driven path analysis that identifies sources of employment-based social capital, job stress, burnout, and intent to leave among two age groups. We used a statewide purposive sample of 209 respondents from a public child welfare organization in a New England state in the United States. Results suggest that the paths to job stress, burnout and intent to leave differed by age group. Social capital dimensions were more influential in safeguarding against job stress for older workers compared to younger workers. Our results justify creating workplace interventions for younger workers that target areas of the organization where relational support could enhance the quality of social interactions within the organization. Organizations may need to establish intervention efforts aimed at younger workers by creating different structures of support that can assist them to better deal with the pressures and demands of child protection work.     

FACES IV and the Circumplex Model: validation study

Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES) IV was developed to tap the full continuum of the cohesion and flexibility dimensions from the Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems. Six scales were developed, with two balanced scales and four unbalanced scales designed to tap low and high cohesion (disengaged and enmeshed) and flexibility (rigid and chaotic). The six scales in FACES IV were found to be reliable and valid. High levels of concurrent, construct, and discriminant validity were found and new ratio scores measure the balanced and unbalanced level of cohesion and flexibility. A clinical example on the use of FACES IV scores to assess family dynamics, plan the treatment, and determine the impact of family therapy is provided.     

Is Family Cohesion a Risk or Protective Factor During Adolescent Development?

This study investigated linear aspects of family cohesion using a cohort sequential design. Adolescents (N= 4,677) were surveyed and followed in three cohorts from 6th to 10th grade. Family cohesion was measured using the cohesion subscale of the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales. Latent Growth Curve Modeling procedures were conducted to explore whether family cohesion decreased, increased, or remained stable from early to middle adolescence. Results show a linear trajectory with statistically significant decreases in family cohesion from 6th through 10th grades. The findings support the linear nature of the trajectories but the decrease in levels may not be substantive because of the large sample size.     

Parenting From Abroad: Migration,Nonresident Father Involvement,and Children's Education in Mexico

In Mexico, a country with high emigration rates, parental migration matches divorce as a contributor to child–father separation. Yet little has been written about children's relationships with migrating parents. In this study, I use nationally representative data from the 2005 Mexican Family Life Survey to model variation in the interaction between 739 children in Mexico and their nonresident fathers. I demonstrate that, from the perspective of sending households, parental migration and parental divorce are substantively distinct experiences. Despite considerable geographic separation, Mexican children have significantly more interaction with migrating fathers than they do with fathers who have left their homes following divorce. Further, ties with migrant fathers are positively correlated with schooling outcomes, which potentially mitigates the observed education costs of family separation.     

Parental Divorce and Children From Diverse Backgrounds: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Mental Health,Parent–Child Relationships,and Educational Experiences

This article utilizes multidisciplinary perspectives to examine the developmental outcomes of divorce for children from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. The authors present a literature review on the outcomes of divorce in terms of mental health, family relationships, and educational achievement for children by focusing on discipline-specific aspects of divorce in sociology, education, and family studies. Furthermore, this study builds on previous literature by examining parental divorce among children with special needs. A discussion of changes in family structure and child outcomes concludes this study with implications for policy and practice to support current population.     

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