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Children's Adjustment (children + adjustment)
Selected AbstractsTypologies of Family Functioning and Children's Adjustment During the Early School YearsCHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2010Melissa L. Sturge-Apple Guided by family systems theory, the present study sought to identify patterns of family functioning from observational assessments of interparental, parent,child, and triadic contexts. In addition, it charted the implications for patterns of family functioning for children's developmental trajectories of adjustment in the school context across the early school years. Two-hundred thirty-four kindergarten children (129 girls and 105 boys; mean age = 6.0 years, SD = 0.50 at Wave 1) and their parents participated in this multimethod, 3-year longitudinal investigation. As expected, latent class analyses extracted 3 primary typologies of functioning including: (a) cohesive, (b) enmeshed, and (c) disengaged families. Furthermore, family patterns were differentially associated with children's maladaptive adjustment trajectories in the school context. The findings highlight the developmental utility of incorporating pattern-based approaches to family functioning. [source] Infant Temperament Moderates Relations Between Maternal Parenting in Early Childhood and Children's Adjustment in First GradeCHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2008Anne Dopkins Stright A differential susceptibility hypothesis proposes that children may differ in the degree to which parenting qualities affect aspects of child development. Infants with difficult temperaments may be more susceptible to the effects of parenting than infants with less difficult temperaments. Using latent change curve analyses to analyze data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care, the current study found that temperament moderated associations between maternal parenting styles during early childhood and children's first-grade academic competence, social skills, and relationships with teachers and peers. Relations between parenting and first-grade outcomes were stronger for difficult than for less difficult infants. Infants with difficult temperaments had better adjustment than less difficult infants when parenting quality was high and poorer adjustment when parenting quality was lower. [source] Exposure to Interparental Conflict and Children's Adjustment and Physical Health: The Moderating Role of Vagal ToneCHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 6 2001Mona El-Sheikh Physiological regulation, as indexed by baseline vagal tone and delta vagal tone (the change in vagal tone during an attention-demanding or challenging task), was examined as a moderator in the relations between exposure to verbal and physical parental marital conflict and children's adjustment and physical health. Higher vagal tone was posited to serve a protective function (i.e., buffer) for children exposed to higher levels of marital conflict. Seventy-five 8- to 12-year-olds and their mothers completed measures of parental conflict, and children's adjustment and physical health. Children's vagal tone was assessed during baseline conditions and during exposure to an audiotaped interadult argument. Results indicate that higher vagal tone buffered children against increased externalizing, internalizing, and health problems related to exposure to more frequent marital conflict, especially verbal conflict. Further, higher levels of delta vagal tone protected boys against externalizing problems associated with verbal conflict, and health problems associated with physical conflict. [source] Children's adjustment to their divorced parents' new relationshipsJOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH, Issue 4 2002AR Isaacs Abstract: With new relationships common after divorce, researchers have tried to determine the factors that predict how well children adjust to their stepfamily. The many potential factors are often grouped into the categories of family process, individual risk and vulnerability, and ecological variables. Family process is concentrated on the impact of disrupted family relationships; positive outcomes are associated with low conflict and authoritative parenting. Individual risk and vulnerability includes attributes of the child and the adults; positive outcomes are associated with children who have an easy temperament. Adolescents and girls may have particular difficulty adjusting. Ecological perspectives include the larger social environment such as peers and school. [source] Predicting school adjustment from motor abilities in kindergartenINFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 6 2007Orit Bart Abstract The present study assessed the relations between basic motor abilities in kindergarten and scholastic, social, and emotional adaptation in the transition to formal schooling. Seventy-one five-year-old kindergarten children were administered a battery of standard assessments of basic motor functions. A year later, children's adjustment to school was assessed via a series of questionnaires completed by the children and their class teachers. The results indicate that in addition to the already documented association between visual,motor integration and academic achievement, other motor functions show significant predictive value to both scholastic adaptation and social and emotional adjustment to school. The results further suggest a better prediction of scholastic adaptation and level of disruptive behaviour in school when using an aggregate measure of children's ability in various motor domains than when using assessments of singular motor functions. It is concluded that good motor ability may serve as a buffer to the normative challenges presented to children in the transition to school. In contrast, poor motor ability emerges as a vulnerability factor in the transition to formal schooling. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Learning sobriety together: behavioural couples therapy for alcoholism and drug abuseJOURNAL OF FAMILY THERAPY, Issue 2 2009William Fals-Stewart Among the various types of partner- and family-involved interventions used to treat adults with substance use disorders, Behavioural Couples Therapy (BCT) has garnered the strongest empirical support for its efficacy. During the past thirty years, multiple studies have consistently found married or cohabiting substance-abusing patients who engage in BCT, compared to traditional individual-based counselling or partner-involved attention control treatments, report significantly greater (1) reductions in substance use, (2) levels of relationship satisfaction, and (3) greater improvements in other areas of relationship and family adjustment (e.g. reductions in partner violence, improvements in custodial children's adjustment). In addition to discussing the theoretical rationale for BCT as a treatment of substance abuse, this article describes specific therapeutic techniques used as part of this intervention and summarizes the relevant evaluative empirical literature. [source] Positive Marital Quality, Acculturative Stress, and Child Outcomes Among Mexican AmericansJOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 4 2009Melinda S. Leidy Previous research suggests that the quality of parents' relationships can influence their children's adjustment, but most studies have focused on the negative effects of marital conflict for children in White middle-class families. The current study focuses on the potential benefits of positive marital quality for children in working-class first generation Mexican American families using observational and self-report data. This study examined the links between positive marital quality and child internalizing and externalizing behaviors 1 year later when the child was in sixth grade (N = 134 families). Positive marital quality was negatively correlated with child internalizing behaviors. Parent acculturative stress was found to mediate the relationship between positive marital quality and child internalizing behaviors in sixth grade. [source] Marital Processes and Parental Socialization in Families of Color: A Decade Review of ResearchJOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 4 2000Vonnie C. McLoyd Research published during the past decade on African American, Latino, and Asian American families is reviewed. Emphasis is given to selected issues within the broad domains of marriage and parenting. The first section highlights demographic trends in family formation and family structure and factors that contributed to secular changes in family structure among African Americans. In the second section, new conceptualizations of marital relations within Latino families are discussed, along with research documenting the complexities in African American men's conceptions of manhood. Studies examining within-group variation in marital conflict and racial and ethnic differences in division of household labor, marital relations, and children's adjustment to marital and family conflict also are reviewed. The third section gives attention to research on (a) paternal involvement among fathers of color; (b) the relation of parenting behavior to race and ethnicity, grandmother involvement, neighborhood and peer characteristics, and immigration; and (c) racial and ethnic socialization. The article concludes with an overview of recent advances in the study of families of color and important challenges and issues that represent research opportunities for the new decade. [source] Parenting, Parental Mental Health, and Child Functioning in Families Residing in Supportive HousingAMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 3 2009Abigail H. Gewirtz PhD Long-term homelessness is associated with other psychosocial risk factors (e.g., adult mental illness, substance abuse, and exposure to violence). All of these factors are associated with impairments in parenting effectiveness and child adjustment, but there are very limited data investigating parenting among families who are homeless and highly mobile. In particular, there is no literature examining the relationships among observed parenting, parental mental health, and child adjustment in a supportive housing sample. Data are reported from a multimethod study of 200 children in 127 families residing in supportive housing agencies in a large metro area. Observed parenting and parents' mental health symptoms directly affected children's adjustment. The influence of parenting self-efficacy on children's adjustment was mediated through its impact on observed parenting. However, observed parenting did not mediate the relationship between parental mental health and child adjustment. Implications for research and practice with homeless populations are offered. [source] Psychosocial adjustment in children of mothers with breast cancerPSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 5 2001Lizbeth A. Hoke Thirty-five children of 28 mothers diagnosed with breast cancer during the previous year were compared to 34 children of 24 mothers with recent benign breast biopsies. Mothers and children, ages 8,16, completed questionnaires about mood, behavior problems and social functioning to assess whether children of mothers with breast cancer were at increased risk for adjustment problems. Significant differences were not found between children in the breast cancer group and the comparison group on any of the measures, even though mothers with breast cancer reported more psychological distress than mothers with benign biopsies. In addition, children in both groups were functioning better than normative samples on some adjustment measures. Variables measuring the mother's illness and treatment were not significantly related to children's adjustment in the breast cancer group. Findings suggested that some adolescents whose mothers had breast cancer did better in social and academic activities when their mothers were more distressed, while adolescents whose mothers had benign biopsies did less well when their mothers were distressed. The study's small sample size limits conclusions that can be drawn; however, clinical and research implications are discussed, given other reports that some children of parents with cancer may experience adjustment problems. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The representation of fathers by children of depressed mothers: refining the meaning of parentification in high-risk samplesTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 5 2010Matthew Woolgar Background:, Children's representations of mothers in doll-play are associated with child adjustment. Despite the importance of fathers for children's adjustment, especially in the context of maternal psychopathology, few studies have considered children's representations of their fathers. Method:, We examined the portrayal of fathers by 5-year-old children of depressed (N = 55) and non-depressed (N = 39) mothers in a doll-play procedure concerning family experience. Results:, Children gave equal prominence in their play to mothers and fathers. Representations of fathers were unrelated to maternal mood, but were associated with parental conflict. Representations of child care for the father that was unreciprocated predicted poor child adjustment in school, but only in children exposed to maternal postnatal depression. Conclusions:, It may be clinically useful to consider children's distinctive representations of their mother and father; but the concept of parentification in relation to risk and resilience effects requires refinement. [source] Annotation: Children's relationships with their nonresident fathersTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 4 2004Judy Dunn Background:, The frequency of parental separation means that increasing numbers of children have fathers who live in different households from mother-and-child; the significance of contact and relationships between children and their nonresident fathers for children's adjustment is receiving growing attention. Lessons from this research are considered. Methods:, Recent meta-analyses and overviews of research, and key research projects, are discussed. Findings related to contact and relationship quality are the main focus of the annotation. Results:, Economic support from nonresident fathers is related to children's well-being, and continues to be a key factor. Findings on contact are more mixed, especially from early studies; the effect size of associations between contact and positive child outcome has increased in recent research. Quality of child,father relationships is consistently related to adjustment outcome. Authoritative parenting, involvement and feelings of closeness are of particular importance in relation to adjustment, and these links are related to the quality of mother,nonresident father relations, and the mother,child relationship. Age differences, patterns over time, and gender are discussed; the perspectives of fathers and the problems they face in maintaining authoritative relationships are considered. Conclusions:, The significance of child,nonresident father relationships for children's and fathers' well-being is clear and merits further research; fruitful new directions for such research, within the framework of other family relationships, are outlined. [source] Children's perspectives on their relationships with their nonresident fathers: influences, outcomes and implicationsTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 3 2004Judy Dunn Background:, Children's relationships with their nonresident fathers, and associations between these relationships, children's relationships with mothers and stepfathers, and the children's adjustment were studied in 162 children from single-parent and stepfamilies, selected from a representative community sample in the UK, studied at 2 time points two years apart. Method:, Children were interviewed about their relationships with their nonresident fathers, mothers and stepfathers; mothers reported on children's adjustment, and other family variables. Results:, Positive child,nonresident father relationships were correlated with (a) contact between child and father, (b) the quality of the mother,child relationship, and (c) the frequency of contact between the mother and her former partner. Conflict between child and father was correlated with conflict between child and mother, and child and stepfather. Child,nonresident father contact and relationships were stable over 2 years, and related to children's adjustment; these associations were stronger for children from single-parent families than for those with stepfathers, and for those whose mothers had been first pregnant as teenagers. Conclusions:, Associations between the quality of children's relationships with nonresident fathers and their adjustment need to be considered within the framework of the larger family system; child,father relationships are particularly important for children from ,high risk' families. [source] Effects of marital conflict on children: recent advances and emerging themes in process-oriented researchTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 1 2002E. Mark Cummings Background: The effects of marital conflict on children's adjustment are well documented. For the past decade research has increasingly focused on advancing a process-level understanding of these effects, that is, accounting for the particular responses and patterns embedded within specific contexts, histories, and developmental periods that account for children's outcomes over time. Methods: As a vehicle for presenting an update, this review follows the framework for process-oriented research initially proposed by Cummings and Cummings (1988), concentrating on recent research developments, and also considering new and emerging themes in this area of research. Results: In this regard, areas of advancement include (a) greater articulation of the effects of specific context/stimulus characteristics of marital conflict, (b) progress in identifying the psychological response processes in children (e.g., cognitive, emotional, social, physiological) that are affected and their possible role in accounting for relations between marital conflict and child outcomes, (c) greater understanding of the role of child characteristics, family history, and other contextual factors, including effects on children due to interrelations between marital conflict and parenting, and (d) advances in the conceptualization of children's outcomes, including that effects may be more productively viewed as dynamic processes of functioning rather than simply clinical diagnoses. Conclusions: Understanding of the impact of marital conflict on children as a function of time-related processes remains a gap in a process-oriented conceptualization of effects. Based on this review, a revised model for a process-oriented approach on the effects of marital discord on children is proposed and suggestions are made for future research directions. [source] Exposure to Interparental Conflict and Children's Adjustment and Physical Health: The Moderating Role of Vagal ToneCHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 6 2001Mona El-Sheikh Physiological regulation, as indexed by baseline vagal tone and delta vagal tone (the change in vagal tone during an attention-demanding or challenging task), was examined as a moderator in the relations between exposure to verbal and physical parental marital conflict and children's adjustment and physical health. Higher vagal tone was posited to serve a protective function (i.e., buffer) for children exposed to higher levels of marital conflict. Seventy-five 8- to 12-year-olds and their mothers completed measures of parental conflict, and children's adjustment and physical health. Children's vagal tone was assessed during baseline conditions and during exposure to an audiotaped interadult argument. Results indicate that higher vagal tone buffered children against increased externalizing, internalizing, and health problems related to exposure to more frequent marital conflict, especially verbal conflict. Further, higher levels of delta vagal tone protected boys against externalizing problems associated with verbal conflict, and health problems associated with physical conflict. [source] | ||||||||||||||||