Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T17:08:52.795Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Interdependencies among interparental discord and parenting practices: The role of adult vulnerability and relationship perturbations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2004

PATRICK T. DAVIES ,
MELISSA L. STURGE–APPLE  and
E. MARK CUMMINGS
PATRICK T. DAVIES
Affiliation:
University of Rochester
MELISSA L. STURGE–APPLE
Affiliation:
University of Rochester
E. MARK CUMMINGS
Affiliation:
University of Notre Dame
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We examined the nature and directionality of associations between interparental discord and parenting practices in a sample of 227 mothers and fathers of kindergarten children over two measurement waves spaced 1 year apart. Cross-lagged models indicated that associations between interparental discord and maternal and paternal parenting practices (i.e., acceptance, discipline) were generally negligible with one exception: interparental discord at Time 1 predicted decreases in maternal acceptance from Time 1 to Time 2. However, consistent with the family systems conceptualization of the family as an open system, prospective associations among interparental and parent–child subsystems varied significantly as a function of parental depressive symptoms, interparental relationship insecurity, and child-rearing disagreements. The moderating role of adult characteristics commonly varied across the type of adult vulnerability (e.g., depressive symptoms, interparental relationship insecurity, child-rearing disagreements), dimension of parenting practices (e.g., maternal and paternal acceptance and inconsistent discipline), and the directionality of the paths between interparental and parent–child subsystems.This research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (Project R01 MH 57318) awarded to Patrick T. Davies and E. Mark Cummings. Melissa L. Sturge–Apple was supported by a postdoctoral National Research Service Award from the National Institute of Mental Health (F32 MH 66596). The authors are grateful to the children, parents, teachers, and school administrators who participated in this project. Gratitude is also expressed to the staff who assisted with the project, including Courtney Forbes, Marcie Goeke–Morey, Amy Keller, Michelle Sutton, and the graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Rochester and the University of Notre Dame.

Type
Research Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , September 2004 , pp. 773 - 797
Copyright
© 2004 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. London: Sage.
Almeida, D. M., Wethington, E., & Chandler, A. L. (1999). Daily transmission of tensions between marital dyads and parent–child dyads. Journal of Marriage & the Family 61, 49–61.Google Scholar
Bartholomew, K., & Horowitz, L. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 61, 226–244.Google Scholar
Becker, T. E., Billings, R. S., Eveleth, D. M., & Gilbert, N. W. (1997). Validity of scores on three attachment style scales: Exploratory and confirmatory evidence. Educational & Psychological Measurement 57, 477–493.Google Scholar
Belsky, J., & Fearon, R. M. P. (2004). Exploring marriage–parenting typologies: Their contextual antecedents and developmental sequelae. Development and Psychopathology 16, 501–524.Google Scholar
Belsky, J., & Pensky, E. (1991). Marital change across the transition to parenthood. Marriage & Family Review 12, 133–156.Google Scholar
Belsky, J., Youngblade, L., Rovine, M., & Volling, B. (1991). Patterns of marital change and parent–child interaction. Journal of Marriage and the Family 53, 487–498.Google Scholar
Bradbury, T. N., Cohan, C. L., & Karney, B. R. (1998). Optimizing longitudinal research for understanding and preventing marital dysfunction. In T. N. Bradbury (Ed.), The developmental course of marital dysfunction (pp. 279–311). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Buchanan, C. M., & Waizenhofer, R. (2001). The impact of interparental conflict on adolescent children: Considerations of family systems and family structure. In A. Booth & A. C. Crouter (Eds.), Couples in conflict (pp. 149–160). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Christensen, A., & Margolin, G. (1988). Conflict and alliance in distressed and nondistressed families. In R. A. Hinde & J. Stevenson–Hinde (Eds.), Relationships within families: Mutual influences (pp. 263–282). Oxford: Clarendon.
Cicchetti, D., & Howes, P. W. (1991). Developmental psychopathology in the context of the family: Illustrations from the study of child maltreatment. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science 23, 257–281.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F. A. (1996). Equifinality and multifinality in developmental psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology 8, 597–600.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (1995). A developmental psychopathology perspective on child abuse and neglect. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 34, 541–565.Google Scholar
Collins, N. L., & Read, S. J. (1990). Adult attachment, working models, and relationship quality in dating couples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 58, 644–663.Google Scholar
Cox, M., Paley, B., & Harter, K. (2001). Interparental conflict and parent–child relationships. In J. H. Grych & F. D. Fincham (Eds.), Interparental conflict and child development (pp. 249–272). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Cox, M. J., & Paley, B. (1997). Families as systems. Annual Review of Psychology 48, 243–267.Google Scholar
Cummings, E. M., & Davies, P. (1994). Children and marital conflict: The impact of family and dispute resolution. New York: Guilford Press.
Cummings, E. M., & Davies, P. T. (1999). Depressed parents and family functioning: Interpersonal effects and children's functioning and development. In T. J. Joiner & J. C. Coyne (Eds.), The interactional nature of depression: Advances in interpersonal approaches (pp. 299–327). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Cummings, E. M., Davies, P., & Campbell, S. B. (2000). Developmental psychopathology and family process: Theory, research, and clinical implications. New York: Guilford Press.
Cummings, E. M., & O'Reilly, A. W. (1997). Fathers in family context: Effects of marital quality on child adjustment. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in child development (pp. 49–65). New York: Wiley.
Curran, P. J., & Chassin, L. (1996). A longitudinal study of parenting as a protective factor for children of alcoholics. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 57, 305–313.Google Scholar
Davies, P. T., & Cummings, E. M. (1994). Marital conflict and child adjustment: An emotional security hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin 116, 387–411.Google Scholar
Davies, P. T., Cummings, E. M., & Winter, M. A. (2004). Pathways between profiles of family functioning, child security in the interparental subsystem, and child psychological problems. Development and Psychopathology 16, 525–550.Google Scholar
Davies, P. T., Dumenci, L., & Windle, M. (1999). The interplay between maternal depressive symptoms and marital distress in the prediction of adolescent adjustment. Journal of Marriage & the Family 61, 238–254.Google Scholar
Davies, P. T., & Lindsay, L. (2001). Does gender moderate the effects of conflict on children? In J. H. Grych & F. D. Fincham (Eds.), Child development and interparental conflict (pp. 64–97). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Davies, P. T., & Windle, M. (1997). Gender-specific pathways between maternal depressive symptoms, family discord, and adolescent adjustment. Developmental Psychology 33, 657–668.Google Scholar
Davies, P. T., & Windle, M. (2001). Interparental discord and adolescent adjustment trajectories: The potentiating and protective role of intrapersonal attributes. Child Development 72, 1163–1178.Google Scholar
El-Sheikh, M. (1997). Children's responses to adult–adult and mother–child arguments: The role of parental marital conflict and distress. Journal of Family Psychology 11, 165–175.Google Scholar
El-Sheikh, M., & Elmore–Staton, L. (2004). The marital conflict–child adjustment link: Parent–child conflict, perceived attachments, and parental depression as potentiators and mitigators of risk. Development and Psychopathology 16, 631–648.Google Scholar
El-Sheikh, M., Harger, J., & Whitson, S. M. (2001). Exposure to interparental conflict and children's adjustment and physical health: The moderating role of vagal tone. Child Development 72, 1617–1636.Google Scholar
Engfer, A. (1988). The interrelatedness of marriage and the mother–child relationship. In R. Hinde & J. Stevenson–Hinde (Eds.), Relationships within families: Mutual influences (pp. 83–103). New York: Oxford University Press.
Erel, O., & Burman, B. (1995). Interrelatedness of marital relations and parent–child relations: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin 118, 108–132.Google Scholar
Fish, M., Belsky, J., & Youngblade, L. (1991). Developmental antecedents and measurement of intergenerational boundary violation in a nonclinic sample. Journal of Family Psychology 4, 278–297.Google Scholar
Floyd, F., Gilliom, L. A., & Costigan, C. L. (1998). Marriage and the parenting alliance: Longitudinal prediction of change in parenting perceptions and behaviors. Child Development 69, 1461–1479.Google Scholar
Glenn, N. D. (1998). Problems and prospects in longitudinal research on marriage: A sociologist's perspective. In T. N. Bradbury (Ed.), The developmental course of marital dysfunction (pp. 427–440). Cambridge: Cambridge Univesity Press.
Goodman, S. H., & Gotlib, I. H. (1999). Risk for psychopathology in the children of depressed mothers: A developmental model for understanding mechanisms of transmission. Psychological Review 106, 458–490.Google Scholar
Grych, J. H. (2002). Marital relationships and parenting. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting (2nd ed., pp. 203–225). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Grych, J. H., Raynor, S. R., & Fosco, G. M. (2004). Family processes that shape the impact of interparental conflict on adolescents. Development and Psychopathology 16, 649–666.Google Scholar
Grych, J. H., Seid, M., & Fincham, F. D. (1992). Assessing marital conflict from the child's perspective: The Children's Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale. Child Development 63, 558–572.Google Scholar
Haley, J. (1976). Problem-solving therapy. San Francisco, CA: Jossey–Bass.
Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 52, 511–524.Google Scholar
Holmbeck, G. N. (2002). Post-hoc probing of significant moderational and mediational effects in studies of pediatric populations. Journal of Pediatric Psychology 27, 87–96.Google Scholar
Jouriles, E., Murphy, C., Farris, A., Smith, D., Richters, J., & Waters, D. (1991). Marital adjustment, parental disagreements about child rearing, and behavior problems in boys: Increasing the specificity of marital assessment. Child Development 62, 1424–1433.Google Scholar
Jouriles, E., & Norwood, W. D. (1995). Physical aggression towards boys and girls in families characterized by the battering of women. Journal of Family Psychology 9, 69–78.Google Scholar
Kanoy, K., Ulku–Steiner, B., Cox, M., & Burchinal, M. (2003). Marital relationship and individual psychological characteristics that predict physical punishment of children. Journal of Family Psychology 17, 20–28.Google Scholar
Kerig, P. K. (1995). Triangles in the family circle: Effects of family structure on marriage, parenting, and child adjustment. Journal of Family Psychology 9, 28–43.Google Scholar
Kerig, P. K. (1996). Assessing the links between interparental conflict and adjustment: The conflict and problem-solving scales. Journal of Family Psychology 10, 454–473.Google Scholar
Kerig, P. K. (1998). Moderators and mediators of the effects of interparental conflict on children's adjustment. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 26, 199–212.Google Scholar
Lindahl, K. M., Clements, M., & Markman, H. (1997). Predicting marital and parent functioning in dyads and triads: A longitudinal investigation of marital processes. Journal of Family Psychology 11, 139–151.Google Scholar
Locke, H. J., & Wallace, K. M. (1959). Short marital-adjustment and prediction tests: Their reliability and validity. Marriage and Family Living 21, 251–255.Google Scholar
Mahoney, A., Jouriles, E. N., & Scavone, J. (1997). Marital adjustment, marital discord over childrearing, and child behavior problems: Moderating effects of child age. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 26, 415–423.Google Scholar
Margolin, G., Gordis, E. B., & Oliver, P. H. (2004). Linkages across marital, parent–child, and triadic interactions: Family systems perspectives. Development and Psychopathology 16, 753–772.Google Scholar
McClelland, G. H., & Judd, C. M. (1993). Statistical difficulties of detecting interactions and moderator effects. Psychological Bulletin 114, 376–390.Google Scholar
McHale, J. P. (1995). Coparenting and triadic interactions during infancy: The roles of marital distress and child gender. Developmental Psychology 31, 85–996.Google Scholar
Mikulincer, M., Florian, V., & Tolmacz, R. (1990). Attachment styles and fear of personal death: A case study of affect regulation. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 58, 273–280.Google Scholar
Minuchin, P. (1985). Families and individual development: Provocations from the field of family therapy. Child Development 56, 289–302.Google Scholar
Minuchin, S. (1974). Families and family therapy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Minuchin, S., & Fishman, H. C. (1981). Family therapy techniques. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
O'Connor, T. G., Hetherington, E. M., & Clingempeel, W. G. (1997). Systems and bidirectional influences in families. Journal of Social & Personal Relationships 14, 491–504.Google Scholar
O'Connor, T. G., Hetherington, E. M., & Reiss, D. (1998). Family systems and adolescent development: Shared and nonshared risk and protective factors in nondivorced and remarried families. Development and Psychopathology 10, 353–375.Google Scholar
Porter, B., & O'Leary, K. D. (1980). Marital discord and childhood behavior problems. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 8, 287–295.Google Scholar
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement 1, 385–401.Google Scholar
Rohner, R. P. (1990). Handbook for the study of parental acceptance and rejection. Storrs, CT: University of Connecticut, Center for the Study of Parental Acceptance and Rejection.
Richters, J. E. (1997). The Hubble hypothesis and the developmentalist's dilemma. Development and Psychopathology 9, 193–229.Google Scholar
Shaw, D. S., & Bell, R. Q. (1993). Developmental theories of parental contributors to antisocial behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 21, 493–518.Google Scholar
Shelton, K. K., Frick, P. J., & Wootton, J. (1996). Assessment of parenting practices in families of elementary school-age children. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology 25, 317–329.Google Scholar
Steinberg, L., Lamborn, S. D., Darling, N., Mounts, N. S., & Dornbusch, S. M. (1994). Over-time changes in adjustment and competence among adolescents from authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and neglectful families. Child Development 65, 754–770.Google Scholar
Thompson, E., & Walker, A. (1989). Gender in families: Women and men in marriage, work, and parenthood. Journal of Marriage and the Family 51, 845–872.Google Scholar
Toth, S. L., & Cicchetti, D. (1996). The impact of relatedness with mother on school functioning in maltreated children. Journal of School Psychology 34, 247–266.Google Scholar
Trickett, P. K., Aber, J. L., Carlson, V., & Cicchetti, D. (1991). Relationship of socioeconomic status to the etiology and developmental sequelae of physical child abuse. Developmental Psychology 27, 148–158.Google Scholar
Weissman, M. M., Sholomskas, D., Pottenger, M., Prusoff, B. A., & Locke, B. Z. (1977). Assessing depressive symptoms in five psychiatric populations: A validation study. American Journal of Epidemiology 106, 203–214.Google Scholar
Wootton, J. M., Frick, P. J., Shelton, K. K., & Silverthorn, P. (1997). Ineffective parenting and childhood conduct problems: The moderating role of callous-unemotional traits. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology 65, 301–308.Google Scholar