Child Characteristics,Parent Education and Depressive Symptoms,and Marital Conflict Predicting Trajectories of Parenting Behavior from Childhood Through Early Adolescence in Taiwan

The study examined how child and parent characteristics, and contextual sources of stress, such as marital conflict predict initial status and trajectories of parent involvement, support, and harsh control, over a 4‐year period in families in Taiwan (n = 4,754). Based on Belsky's (1984) ecological model of parenting, three domains predicting parenting were tested, child characteristics (age cohort and gender), father and mother characteristics (education and depressive symptoms), and contextual sources of stress (marital conflict). The study followed two cohorts of children; the younger cohort was followed from first to fourth grade and the older cohort from fourth to seventh grade. Initially, fourth graders reported more parental involvement, support, and harsh control than first graders. However, involvement, support, and harsh control decreased across the 4 years for the older cohort as they transitioned to early adolescence. In the first year, girls reported more parental involvement and support and less harsh control than boys. Across the 4 years, involvement and support increased, and harsh control decreased for boys; whereas involvement stayed the same, support slightly decreased, and harsh control slightly increased for girls. Children whose parents were more educated reported more parent involvement, support, and harsh control in the first year. Children whose fathers were chronically depressed and whose parents were experiencing marital conflict reported decreasing parent involvement and support over the years.     

Contribution Patterns in Major U.S. Marital and Family Therapy Journals: 1992 Through 2002

The institutional sources of articles published between 1992 and 2002 in five major family therapy journals—the American Journal of Family Therapy, Contemporary Family Therapy, Family Process, Journal of Family Psychology, and the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy were reviewed. Noteworthy similarities and differences as compared to earlier reviews were found. While no single institution dominated in numbers of publications, six of the top 10 institutions found between 1980 and 1995 were also found to be within the top 10 most productive institutions between 1992 and 2002. Patterns and changes in contributions from international sources, as well as from institutions with a COAMFTE-accredited program are discussed. Contributions from private practitioners and clinicians are also addressed.     

The vocational well-being of workers with childhood onset of disability: Life satisfaction and perceived workplace discrimination

Workers with disabilities are understudied, and workers with childhood onset of disability have been excluded from many of the studies on disability and work that do exist. This research compares the effects of childhood and adult onset of disability in a nationally representative sample of workers with disabilities. Educational disruptions due to disability status in childhood are negatively associated with life satisfaction and positively associated with perceived discrimination. Although age is associated with increased life satisfaction and decreased perceptions of discrimination for workers with adult disability onset, age is unrelated to these outcomes for workers with childhood disability onset. Receiving workplace accommodations is positively associated with satisfaction and negatively associated with discrimination for both groups, however, these relationships are stronger in magnitude for the childhood disability onset group. Organizational environments, both in education and in the workplace, play a critical role in the vocational well-being of workers with childhood disability onset.     

The effect of security-related stress on dyadic closeness among Jews and Arabs in Israel: a daily diary study

An important aspect of Israeli life is its continuous state of conflict with the neighboring Palestinian people and Arab countries. Given that security-related stress is so intensely experienced by all Israeli residents, we examined the effects of daily fluctuations in security-related stress on dyadic closeness among Jewish and Arab couples. Time sampling approach was used to study repeated sequences of associations between stress and dyadic closeness. Data were collected from 188 Jewish and 93 Arab couples by means of daily diaries. Hierarchical multivariate linear modeling was used to analyze the data. The findings indicate that stress results in increasing distance between intimate partners, but the effect varies with the level of marital quality and socioethnic affiliation.     

Pathways between attachment and marital satisfaction: The mediating roles of rumination,empathy, and forgiveness

This study explored a path to marital satisfaction based on attachment theory. For this purpose, a sample of 208 Korean married teachers completed a survey on adult attachment, rumination, empathy, forgiveness, and marital satisfaction. Through structural equation modeling (SEM), a path in which adult attachment leads to marital satisfaction, mediated by dispositional forgiveness, was found. I also found a distinctive path by which anxious and avoidant attachment negatively affect forgiveness and marital satisfaction through excessive rumination and lack of empathy. These results suggest that the most accurate model of the relation between attachment, rumination, empathy, forgiveness, and marital satisfaction involves analyzing direct, indirect, and gender effects. Marriage counselors and therapists can use these results to gain a deeper understanding of the underpinnings of marital life and, ultimately, help reduce the very high divorce rate in Korea.     

Natural disaster induced cognitive disruption: impacts on action slips

Previous research has indicated an increase in stress levels and cognitive intrusions after natural disasters. These previous studies have not, however, assessed the impact disaster induced cognitive disruption has on human performance. In the present report, we investigated the impact of the 7.1 magnitude 2010 Christchurch, New Zealand earthquake on self-reported earthquake-induced cognitive disruption and its relationship to performance on the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART). Participants who self-reported greater cognitive disruption induced by the earthquake also had higher levels of errors of commission during SART (r = .80, p < .001). This was even the case when controlling for earthquake-induced anxiety, depression, participant sex, and self-reported sleep amount. Post-disaster assessments need to include the impact of the events directly on cognitive self-regulation and conscious thoughts, in addition to more clinical constructs, such as anxiety and depression.     

The relation of family cohesion to marital adjustment

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between family cohesion and marital adjustment. The sample consisted of 70 married graduate students from the State University of New York at Buffalo. The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale was used to measure family cohesion. The Dyadic Adjustment Scale was used to measure marital adjustment. The Demographic Data Sheet was used for demographic characteristics. Overall, the result of ANOVA with planned comparison revealed that high marital adjustment was not only associated with a moderate level of family cohesion but also associated with a high level of family cohesion.This article is based on the first author's doctoral dissertation at State University of New York at Buffalo.     

Extramarital Sex and Marital Dissolution: Does Identity of the Extramarital Partner Matter?

Panel data from married adults (N = 1,853) in the General Social Survey, a probability sample of the adult household population of the United States, were used to evaluate (a) the longitudinal association between extramarital sex and marital dissolution 2 years later, (b) whether probability of marital dissolution differed as a function of the type of relationship people reported having with their extramarital sex partner, and (c) the degree to which these associations were incremental to participants’ level of marital satisfaction at baseline. Compared to people who reported not engaging in extramarital sex, those who reported engaging in extramarital sex at baseline were significantly more likely to be separated or divorced 2 years later. Furthermore, the association between having extramarital sex with a close personal friend and marital dissolution was particularly strong. These associations remained statistically significant after adjusting for marital satisfaction. Results suggest that the identity of the extramarital sex partner and the type of relationship a person has with him or her has important implications for probability of marital dissolution above and beyond the contribution of marital satisfaction.     

Dimensionality of psychosocial responses to marital disruption

The purpose of the study was to assess whether psychosocial responses to marital disruption were best arranged along one single dimension ranging from maximum positive to maximum negative responses, or whether positive and negative responses constituted two separate and distinct dimensions. Participants were 658 recently divorced individuals. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed that a two-factor model provided a better fit to the data than a one-factor model. Moreover, a number of external variables differentiated between positive and negative responses, indicating that such responses reflect two separate domains. Thus, the findings support the notion that psychosocial responses after marital disruption comprise a bidimensional rather than a unidimensional pattern. The findings are discussed within the general framework of positive-negative asymmetry and the idea that positive and negative evaluations belong to different psychological system.     

Marital Conflict and Risk for Child Maladjustment over Time: Skin Conductance Level Reactivity as a Vulnerability Factor

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, participants' SCLR was assessed in response to lab challenges. Parents completed measures of aggressive marital conflict and child adjustment at T1 and T2. Supportive of moderation effects, T1 marital conflict interacted with T1 SCLR and gender in the prediction of changes in maladjustment. The link between marital conflict and increased internalizing and externalizing symptoms was stronger for girls with higher SCLR than girls with lower SCLR. Marital conflict predicted increased externalizing behaviors for boys with lower SCLR but not higher SCLR, although levels of externalizing behaviors were similar among boys with lower and higher SCLR especially at higher levels of marital conflict. Findings build on the literature by illustrating the importance of examinations of both family risk and youth biological vulnerability for the prediction of psychopathology.