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Longitudinal relations between parental drinking problems, family functioning, and child adjustment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2008

PEGGY S. Keller ,
E. Mark Cummings ,
Patrick T. Davies  and
Patricia M. Mitchell
PEGGY S. Keller
Affiliation:
University of Notre Dame
E. Mark Cummings*
Affiliation:
University of Notre Dame
Patrick T. Davies
Affiliation:
University of Rochester
Patricia M. Mitchell
Affiliation:
University of Notre Dame
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: E. Mark Cummings, Department of Psychology, Haggar Hall, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556; E-mail: [email protected].
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Abstract

Relations between maternal and paternal problem drinking symptoms and destructive marital conflict, parenting problems, and children's internalizing and externalizing problems were investigated. Participants were community families with a child in kindergarten who completed questionnaire measures at baseline (N = 235), 1 year later (N = 227), and 2 years later (N = 215). Structural equation modeling revealed that paternal problem drinking at Time 1 was associated with greater destructive marital conflict 1 year later. In turn, destructive marital conflict was related to decreased parental warmth and increased parental psychological control; these parenting problems were associated with greater child internalizing and externalizing problems at the third time point. Further analyses revealed that the indirect effects of paternal drinking on children's adjustment were significant, and that relations remained even after including autoregressive effects. Findings are discussed in terms of family process models for relations between parental drinking and child adjustment problems.

Type
Research Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , Winter 2008 , pp. 195 - 212
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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