Adolescent Triangulation Into Parental Conflicts: Longitudinal Implications for Appraisals and Adolescent‐Parent Relations

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 parent‐child relations in a sample of 171 adolescents, ages 14 to 19 years, at 2 time points. Cross‐lagged path analyses revealed that youths who experienced greater threat in response to conflict reported increases in triangulation over time, and triangulation was associated with increased self‐blame and diminished parent‐adolescent relations. This study highlights links between intrapersonal, dyadic, and triadic processes and suggests a mechanism by which interparental discord spills over into parent‐adolescent relations.     

Attachment,Affective Responsiveness,and Cohesion in Adoptive Families: Child and Parent Perspectives

Some adoptive families are at risk for problems in family functioning. This study investigated the extent to which attachment to parents and affective responsiveness of the family predicted family cohesion and satisfaction with the adoptive family from both the child's and the parent's perspectives. Using a sample of 50 adopted children and their parents, our findings indicated that attachment to mother was salient in predicting children's perceptions of family cohesion and satisfaction with their adoptive family. Parental ratings of affective responsiveness of the family predicted parents' evaluation of family cohesion and their satisfaction with the adoption. As hypothesized, children and parents differed in their ratings of the cohesion and affective responsiveness of their family, with children reporting lower levels of these constructs than parents. Implications for practitioners and directions for future research are discussed.     

Adolescent Psychological Functioning and Membership in Latent Adolescent–Parent Communication Dual Trajectory Classes

The primary goal of this study was to examine the relationship between adolescents’ psychological functioning (as indicated by depressive symptoms) and substance use (alcohol and drug use) and membership in adolescent–parent communication trajectory subgroups in a large, diverse community sample of adolescents from the United States (n = 1,057; 53% female; 51% Caucasian; Age: M = 16.15, SD = .75). Adolescents completed questionnaires at three annual assessments. Fit indices from parallel process growth mixture models suggested three dual trajectory classes: (1) Average communication with both parents (Average‐Both); (2) Good adolescent–mother and poor adolescent–father communication (Good‐Mom/Poor‐Dad); and (3) Poor adolescent–mother and good adolescent–father communication (Poor‐Mom/Good‐Dad). The trajectory classes differed by gender. In addition, psychological functioning and substance use were differentially related to the trajectory classes.     

Parental Problem Drinking and Adolescent Psychosocial Adjustment: The Mediating Role of Adolescent–Parent Communication

This study explored the relations between parental problem drinking, adolescent–parent communication, and adolescent psychosocial adjustment. Surveys were administered to a diverse sample of 683 15–17‐years‐old adolescents in the spring of 2007 and again in the spring of 2008. Results indicated that paternal problem drinking directly predicted substance use (alcohol and drug use) for boys, but not for girls. In contrast, maternal problem drinking directly predicted substance use (drug use) for girls, but not for boys. Adolescent–parent communication also mediated the relationship between parental problem drinking and psychosocial adjustment for girls, but not for boys. These gender differences highlight the need to consider both the gender of the adolescent and the parent when examining parental problem drinking and adolescent adjustment.     

A Weak Embrace: Popular and Scholarly Depictions of Single‐Parent Families, 1900 – 1998

The growth of single‐parent families constitutes one of the most dramatic and most studied social changes of the 20th century. Evolving attitudes toward these families have received less attention. This paper explores depictions of these families in representative samples of popular magazine (N = 474) and social science journal (N = 202) articles. Critical depictions of divorce plummeted between 1900 and 1998, a trend stemming not from any increase in favorable depictions but from the virtual disappearance of normative debate. Such de facto acceptance did not extend to nonmarital childbearing, however, depictions of which were almost as likely to be critical at the century’s end as at its beginning. These trends illustrate Americans’ ambivalent embrace of single‐parent families as a reality but not an ideal.     

Mother–Infant Person‐ and Object‐Directed Interactions in Latino Immigrant Families: A Comparative Approach

Cultural variation in durations, relations, and contingencies of mother–infant person‐and object‐directed behaviors were examined for 121 nonmigrant Latino mother–infant dyads in South America, Latina immigrants from South America and their infants living in the United States, and European American mother–infant dyads. Nonmigrant Latina mothers and infants engaged in person‐directed behaviors longer than Latino immigrant or European American mothers and infants. Mother and infant person‐directed behaviors were positively related; mother and infant object‐related behaviors were related for some cultural groups but not others. Nearly all mother and infant behaviors were mutually contingent. Mothers were more responsive to infants' behaviors than infants were to mothers. Some cultural differences in responsiveness emerged. Immigrant status has a differentiated role in mother–infant interactions.     

Acculturation Gap,Intergenerational Conflict,Parenting Style,and Youth Distress in Immigrant Chinese American Families

This study examined mother–child acculturation gaps in relationship to youth distress and the possible mediating role of parent–child conflict and parenting style in a sample of 81 Chinese American families. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses provided partial support for a relationship between acculturation gaps and youth distress. No mediators of this relationship were found; however, post-hoc analyses indicated that intergenerational conflict and parenting style were associated with youth distress above and beyond acculturation gaps. These results suggest that interventions developed to reduce parent–child conflict and increase parental bonding (increase parental warmth and decrease parental overprotection) may be valuable for Chinese American adolescents, regardless of acculturation gap status.     

Parent‐Adolescent Language Use and Relationships Among Immigrant Families With East Asian,Filipino, and Latin American Backgrounds

This study examined differences in the quality of relationships between immigrant parents and their adolescent children as a function of the languages with which they speak to one another. Over 620 adolescents with East Asian, Filipino, and Latin American backgrounds completed measures on parent‐adolescent language use and relationships. Adolescents who spoke in different languages with their parents reported less cohesion and discussion with their mothers and fathers than did their peers who spoke the same language with their parents. Adolescents who mutually communicated in the native language with their parents reported the highest levels of cohesion and discussion. Longitudinal analyses indicated that whereas language use did not predict differential changes in parent‐adolescent relationships over a 2‐year period, the quality of relationships did predict changes in language use. The associations between language use and relationships generally existed regardless of the families' ethnic and demographic backgrounds, and these associations did not vary across families of different backgrounds.     

Authority,Autonomy, and Deception: Evaluating the Legitimacy of Parental Authority and Adolescent Deceit

This research examined adolescents’ judgments about lying to avoid parental control over different types of activities. Participants (N = 66, M_age = 16.38, 73% European American) were interviewed about hypothetical situations describing adolescents who defied parental directives and lied about their defiance. Judgments about the legitimacy of parents’ directives and protagonists’ deception differed by types of parent relationship with adolescents (mutual or unilateral). Directives were least accepted, and deception was most accepted, in the context of unilateral relationships. Judgments also differed by domain of the action (personal, prudential, or conventional). Participants were least accepting of parental directives, and most accepting of deception about personal activities. Findings indicate that adolescents value honesty and parental authority, but sometimes give priority to concerns with autonomy and mutuality.     

Modeling Trajectories of Adolescent‐Perceived Family Conflict: Effects of Marital Dissatisfaction and Parental Alcoholism

We evaluated the effects of marital dissatisfaction on adolescent‐perceived conflict in 435 families with and without a parental history of alcoholism. On average, family conflict decreased linearly as adolescents aged. Families with an alcoholic parent demonstrated higher adolescent‐reported family conflict and this effect was partially mediated by higher mother‐ and father‐reported marital dissatisfaction. Families with higher marital dissatisfaction had greater conflict when adolescents were young (based on fathers’ marital dissatisfaction) and as they aged (based on mother's marital dissatisfaction). Years in which mothers reported higher marital dissatisfaction than usual coincided with years in which adolescents reported greater family conflict. Results indicate that marital dissatisfaction has both within and between‐family effects on adolescent perceptions of conflict.     

Spanning Borders,Cultures, and Generations: A Decade of Research on Immigrant Families

The authors review research conducted during the past decade on immigrant families, focusing primarily on the United States and the sending countries with close connections to the United States. They note several major advances. First, researchers have focused extensively on immigrant families that are physically separated but socially and economically linked across origin and destination communities and explored what these family arrangements mean for family structure and functions. Second, family scholars have explored how contexts of reception shape families and family relationships. Of special note is research that documented the experiences and risks associated with undocumented legal status for parents and children. Third, family researchers have explored how the acculturation and enculturation process operates as families settle in the destination setting and raise the next generation. Looking forward, they identify several possible directions for future research to better understand how immigrant families have responded to a changing world in which nations and economies are increasingly interconnected and diverse, populations are aging, and family roles are in flux and where these changes are often met with fear and resistance in immigrant-receiving destinations.     

Familism, Interparental Conflict, and Parenting in Mexican-Origin Families: A Cultural-Contextual Framework

The present investigation examined the relations between the cultural belief of familism and various aspects of family functioning and child adjustment, including interparental conflict, parenting, and children's attachment to school, in a sample of 549 two-parent Mexican-origin families. The results indicated that parents' familistic values were negatively associated with interparental conflict for both mothers and fathers. Parents' familistic values were also indirectly associated with parenting through the marital relationship. Interparental conflict was negatively associated with nurturant-involved parenting for both parents, but particularly for fathers. Interparental conflict had an indirect negative effect on children's attachment to school via mothers' and fathers' nurturant-involved parenting. Both paternal and maternal nurturant-involved parenting behaviors were positively associated with children's attachment to school across two time points. Child gender differences are also discussed.     

Food in Foster Families: Care,Communication and Conflict

This study explores the significance of food and mealtimes in relation to the transition into foster care and the therapeutic settling of the child in a new family. In doing so, we draw upon an in‐depth, qualitative case study of 10 experienced foster families in the UK focusing on what helped them to be successful. At the time of the study, there were 16 foster children, aged 9–16, living with the families. Data collection included semi‐structured qualitative interviews and audio‐diaries with all family members who wished to be involved as well as eco‐maps produced by the young people. Thematic analysis and data extracts are reproduced in the study to demonstrate that meals and food preferences can function to affirm identities, membership and boundaries of family life as well as provide a site of conflict and control.     

Authority,Autonomy, and Ambivalence: Moral Choice in Twentieth-Century Commencement Speeches

This paper examines whether moral individualism has become a public moral philosophy by tracking changes in the ritualized rhetoric of moral choice in twentieth-century college commencement speeches. Content analysis of 171 speeches reveals that the rhetoric of choice becomes more prevalent and increasingly individualistic during the twentieth century. In addition, the rhetoric of moral choice is found to increasingly emphasize subjective moral autonomy rather than objective moral authority. Despite the importance of individual moral choice in commencement speech rhetoric, expressions of anxiety and ambivalence about the subjective approach to morality indicate unease with the rapid individualization characteristic of our times.     

Adolescent Well‐Being in Cohabiting,Married, and Single‐Parent Families

Cohabitation is a family form that increasingly includes children. We use the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to assess the well‐being of adolescents in cohabiting parent stepfamilies (N= 13,231). Teens living with cohabiting stepparents often fare worse than teens living with two biological married parents. Adolescents living in cohabiting stepfamilies experience greater disadvantage than teens living in married stepfamilies. Most of these differences, however, are explained by socioeconomic circumstances. Teenagers living with single unmarried mothers are similar to teens living with cohabiting stepparents; exceptions include greater delinquency and lower grade point averages experienced by teens living with cohabiting stepparents. Yet mother's marital history explains these differences. Our results contribute to our understanding of cohabitation and debates about the importance of marriage for children.     

Mother–Child Conflict and Sibling Relatedness: A Test of Hypotheses From Parent–Offspring Conflict Theory

Parent–offspring conflict theory (POCT) has been underutilized in studies of human family dynamics. An implication of POCT is that the presence of siblings will increase conflict in biological parent–child dyads, and that half siblings will increase that conflict more than full siblings. Evidence consistent with this prediction was found in a longitudinal study of 236 early adolescent children and their mothers. Following parental disruption, the entry of younger maternal half siblings into the home was uniquely associated with elevated conflict between mothers and their biological children, independent of the effects of family size, socioeconomic status, and maternal depression. As predicted by the model, the effect of parental disruption on mother–child conflict was partially mediated by the entry of half siblings (but not stepfathers) into the home.     

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.     

Parent–Child Relationships in Stepfather Families and Adolescent Adjustment: A Latent Class Analysis

In the current study the authors drew on Waves I and III from Add Health to examine the closeness of parent–adolescent relationships in married mother–stepfather families (N = 1,934). They used latent class analysis to identify family constellations defined by adolescents' relationships with all of their parents: mothers, stepfathers, and biological nonresident fathers. In particular, the authors (a) identified the most common underlying patterns of adolescent–parent relationships in stepfamilies; (b) determined the background characteristics that predict membership in these groups; and (c) examined how adolescents in these groups fare with respect to depressive symptoms, delinquency, and substance use. The results indicate that adolescents' relationships can be represented with 4 latent classes. Adolescents in these classes differ on measures of adjustment, and many of these differences persist into the early adult years.     

Mother–Adolescent Conflict: Adolescent Goals,Maternal Perspective‐Taking,and Conflict Intensity

Younger and older adolescents were interviewed about their goals in recent disagreements with their mothers. Six goals were identified: instrumental (simply gaining their immediate desire); dyadic concern; achieving emotional support; autonomy; dominance; and nonengagement (avoidance of conflict). Younger adolescents reported significantly more instrumental and significantly fewer emotional support and dominance goals than did older adolescents. Maternal perspective‐taking predicted more dyadic concern and fewer dominance goals, as well as more nonengagement goals for younger adolescents. Dominance goals mediated the effect of maternal dyadic perspective‐taking on conflict intensity for older adolescents.