Journal of Family Psychology

Developmental pathways of the family bereavement program to promote growth 15 years after parental death.
Although parental death increases the risks of negative developmental outcomes, some individuals report personal growth, an outcome that has received little attention. We tested a developmental cascade model of postloss growth in 244 parentally bereaved youth (ages 8–16 at baseline) from 156 families who participated in a randomized controlled trial of a family-based intervention, the Family Bereavement Program (FBP). Using five waves of data, the present study examined the prospective associations between the quality of parenting immediately following the FBP and postloss growth 6 and 15 years later, and whether these associations were mediated by changes in intra- and interpersonal factors (mediators) during the initial 11 months following the FBP. The mediators were selected based on the theoretical and empirical literature on postloss growth in youth. Results showed that improved quality of parenting immediately following the FBP was associated with increased support-seeking behaviors and higher perceived parental warmth at the 11-month follow-up, both of which were related to postloss growth at the 6-year follow-up and 15-year follow-up. No support was found for the other hypothesized mediators that were tested: internalizing problems, intrusive grief thoughts, and coping efficacy. To promote postloss growth for parentally bereaved youth, bereavement services should target parent–child relationships that help youth feel a sense of parental warmth and acceptance and encourage youth to seek parental support. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Undoing mothers’ avoidant coping with children’s negative emotion: A randomized controlled trial of relational savoring.
Some mothers report using avoidant coping strategies (minimizing, punishing) in response to their young children’s negative emotion, an aspect of insensitive parenting that places children at risk for emotional or behavioral dysregulation (Fabes et al., 2001) and insecure attachment (De Wolff & van Ijzendoorn, 1997). In prior work, an in-home attachment-based relational savoring (RS) intervention, administered over a month’s time, positively affected maternal emotion and sensitive behavior with young children (Borelli et al., 2023); further, a one-time online RS protocol had greater impacts on emotion and relationship satisfaction for mothers with greater attachment avoidance (Burkhart et al., 2015). However, we do not yet know whether a brief, laboratory intervention impacts highly avoidant mothers’ behavior with their children and not just their self-reports of satisfaction. Here, we examine whether mothers’ endorsement of avoidant coping strategies moderates the effect of an RS versus active control intervention on mothers’ use of emotion-coaching during an emotionally charged conversation with their child. Mothers (N = 122; Mage = 33.42, SD = 5.40) and their preschoolers (Mage = 41.80 months, SD = 4.65; 48.4% female) from diverse backgrounds (41% Latina, 40% White [non-Latina]; 42% under $60,000 annual income) participated. The interaction between condition and level of avoidant coping on mothers’ emotion-coaching behaviors was significant. Mothers high in avoidant coping (top quartile) displayed better emotion-coaching during the emotion conversation if they had been in the RS condition. Savoring may be a valuable tool to promote effective emotion-coaching among parents most prone to avoid their children’s negative emotion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Maternal executive function and stress and children’s behavior problem treatment outcomes.
This prospective, observational study was designed to investigate the relationship of mothers’ executive function capacities and parenting stress to early dropout, appointment attendance, and outcomes of in-clinic delivery of parent management training to address children’s behavior problems. We hypothesized that mothers’ executive functions (EFs) would be prospectively and positively associated with adherence to children’s behavioral treatment appointments and reduction in children’s behavior problems and that mothers’ stress levels would be inversely related to these outcomes. Mothers (n = 288) completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function for Adults (EF) and Parenting Stress Index at the beginning of treatment. Children were 2–12 years old. Regression models evaluated the extent to which deficits in maternal EF and clinical levels of parenting stress contributed to the three outcomes. The 11% of mothers with clinically significant deficits in executive functioning were significantly (3 times) more likely to drop out early compared to mothers in the normal range. Almost one third of mothers reported clinically significant parenting stress. Their children were half as likely to achieve a positive behavior outcome, although stress was not significantly associated with attendance. Remaining in treatment is fundamental to being able to learn and practice the parenting skills necessary to manage young children’s age-inappropriate behavior in positive ways. Clinical consideration of mothers’ EF challenges may help prevent early treatment attrition and clinical management of parenting stress may further help improve children’s treatment outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Parental differential warmth, hostility, and sibling differences in internalizing and externalizing behavior problems: A meta-analysis.
Parental differential treatment (PDT) of siblings is associated with differences in children’s behavioral adjustment. The current meta-analysis examined the extent to which associations between relative PDT and sibling differences in behavior problems differ by type of parenting behavior (i.e., differential hostility vs. differential warmth) and type of behavior problems (i.e., differential externalizing vs. internalizing behavior problems). In September 2021, we systematically searched APA PsycInfo and Web of Science, yielding 2,259 unique hits with 19 eligible publications reporting on 215 effect sizes from 13 unique samples. The overall association between relative PDT (i.e., receiving less warmth and more hostility than one’s sibling) and sibling differences in behavior problems was small but significant. Associations were stronger for differential hostility compared to differential warmth and for differential externalizing compared to differential internalizing behavior problems. Particularly marked was the finding that siblings who received more hostility from their parents showed higher levels of externalizing behavior problems. Future research investing in further dismantling the association between within-family PDT and sibling differences in adjustment is warranted to better understand why parents treat siblings differentially and to guide family support initiatives. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Longitudinal associations between maternal harsh parenting and child temperament: The moderating role of children’s respiratory sinus arrhythmia.
To better understand biology by environment interactions in early temperament, we examined whether children’s respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA; resting RSA and RSA reactivity) operated as a biological marker of differential susceptibility to maternal harsh parenting in predicting children’s temperament. Participants were 133 mother–child dyads (53% male children) from families oversampled for lower income, higher life stress, and child maltreatment risk. Mothers reported harsh parenting at age 3 and children’s temperament, including negative affectivity, effortful control, and surgency, at ages 3 and 4. Resting RSA was measured during a 3-min resting task. RSA reactivity was computed as a difference score between a 4-min toy cleanup task and the resting task. Results showed that the interaction between maternal harsh parenting and children’s resting RSA significantly predicted negative affectivity, after controlling for sex, household income, and age 3 negative affectivity. Specifically, harsh parenting positively predicted negative affectivity among children with higher, but not lower, resting RSA. Similarly, maternal harsh parenting interacted with children’s RSA reactivity to predict negative affectivity after adjusting for controls, such that harsh parenting positively predicted negative affectivity in children with higher, but not lower, RSA reactivity. These findings suggest that higher resting RSA and greater RSA reactivity may operate as markers of increased susceptibility to negative parenting in the development of negative affectivity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Parenting behaviors, inhibitory control, and aggression: Moderation by serotonin receptor 2A haplotypes.
Despite the well-established relationship between parenting and child aggression, the mechanisms by which children incur this risk and whether genetic sources contribute to the heterogeneity in their vulnerability are not entirely clear. This study utilized a longitudinal sample of adolescents (n = 1,047, 50.2% females, Mage = 13.32 ± 0.48 years at Time 1) to examine the effects of positive and negative parenting on aggression, as mediated by inhibitory control and moderated by the serotonin receptor 2A (5-HTR2A) haplotype. Mediation analysis revealed that inhibitory control indirectly mediated the link between both positive and negative parenting and overt aggression but not relational aggression. Further, the indirect effect of negative parenting on overt aggression via inhibitory control was moderated by the 5-HTR2A haplotype. Compared to adolescents carrying zero copies of Thymine–Thymine haplotype, those with one copy of Thymine–Thymine haplotype had better inhibitory control when experiencing less negative parenting, which buffers the risk for overt aggression. However, the mediating role of inhibitory control did not hold in the positive parenting model. These findings elucidate the manner by which adolescents with different genetic predispositions develop aggressive behaviors in the context of family and suggest different etiology of overt and relational aggression. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Bidirectional associations between maternal homework involvement, adolescents’ academic motivation, and school well-being.
This study examined bidirectional associations between mothers’ homework involvement (autonomy support and psychological control in homework situations), Finnish adolescents’ academic motivation (intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, amotivation), and school well-being (school satisfaction, school-related stress) across the transitions to lower and upper secondary school. The sample consisted of Finnish adolescents (n = 841; 457 girls; age 12 at T1) and their mothers (n = 652; T1). The results showed that increased levels of maternal psychological control in Grade 7 predicted adolescents’ decreased school satisfaction in Grade 9 but only indirectly via increased amotivation. In turn, adolescents’ increased levels of school satisfaction decreased maternal psychological control via increased intrinsic motivation within Grade 9 and the first year of upper secondary education. Taken together, more knowledge and understanding should be provided to mothers to help them to support adolescents’ motivation and school well-being in more optimal ways. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Moment-to-moment within-person associations between maternal autonomy support and child defeat predicting child behavioral adjustment.
This study examines mother–child mutual regulation processes during a challenging puzzle task as predictors of preschoolers’ behavioral adjustment 6 months later in a Chinese sample (N = 101, 46 boys, Mage = 57.41 months, SD = 6.58). Mother–child mutual regulation was measured by the moment-to-moment bidirectional within-person associations between maternal autonomy support and child defeat (i.e., expression of frustration, incapacity to complete the task, or giving up). Children whose mother provided more autonomy support after increases of child defeat showed lower levels of externalizing problems 6 months later, and children who showed less defeat after increases of maternal autonomy support showed higher levels of prosocial behaviors 6 months later. These predictive effects were significant after controlling for child behavioral adjustment at the initial time point, and mean levels of mother’s autonomy support and child’s defeat throughout the task. The mutual regulation processes did not significantly predict child internalizing problems. The findings suggest that the coordinated mother–child mutual regulation patterns in real time may have positive implications for preschoolers’ behavioral adjustment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Predictors of veteran attendance in an intimate partner violence intervention.
This study examined session attendance data from 2,754 veterans who participated in a national implementation of a trauma-informed intimate partner violence intervention, Strength at Home, across the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. Potential correlates of attendance were demographic characteristics, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity, alcohol use, court involvement, current military involvement, and intervention modality (in-person vs. virtual). Given the trauma-informed nature of the intervention, it was expected that trauma-relevant risk factors, specifically PTSD symptom severity and racial minority status, would be less strongly associated with attendance than barriers related to other demographic variables and higher alcohol use, intervention modality, and court involvement. Results indicated that age, education level, employment status, retirement status, PTSD symptom severity, alcohol use, and court involvement were associated with session attendance in the expected direction at the bivariate level. Only education level, employment status, retirement status, alcohol use, and court involvement emerged as unique predictors of attendance such that more educated, employed, retired, and court-mandated veterans with less alcohol use attended more sessions. These findings suggest the importance of a trauma-informed, coordinated community response to intimate partner violence intervention and integration of motivational components surrounding problematic alcohol use to enhance compliance and mitigate barriers to attendance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
A day in the life: Couples’ everyday communication and subsequent relationship outcomes.
Understanding how communication processes contribute to well-functioning versus distressed couple relationships has relied largely on brief, laboratory-based conversations. Harnessing technological advancements, the present study extends the literature by capturing couples’ naturalistic communication over one full day at Time 1 (T1). This study tested associations between data-driven categories of couple communication behaviors and relationship outcomes (i.e., relationship aggression, satisfaction, and dissolution) at Time 2 (T2), approximately 1 year later. Emerging adults in different-gender dating couples (n = 106 couples; 212 individuals; Mage = 22.57 ± 2.44; M relationship length = 30.49 months ± 24.05; 72.2% non-White) were each provided a smartphone programmed to audio record approximately 50% of a typical day. Interactions between partners were transcribed and coded for location, activity, affect, and a range of positive and negative communication behaviors for each partner. Even after controlling for T1 assessments of the relevant outcome, one’s own hostility and one’s partner’s hostility at T1 were each positively associated with T2 relationship aggression and negatively associated with T2 relationship satisfaction. One’s own withdrawal at T1 was positively associated with T2 relationship aggression perpetration, whereas one’s partner’s withdrawal was negatively linked to relationship satisfaction at T2. One’s own playfulness, unexpectedly, was linked to lower subsequent relationship satisfaction. Withdrawal increased the likelihood of relationship dissolution, whereas warmth and playfulness decreased the likelihood of dissolution. The relevance of couples’ ordinary, everyday communication for meaningful relationship outcomes is discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Discrimination, gender, and class: An intersectional investigation of Black Americans’ personal and relational well-being.
Discrimination is a chronic stressor for Black Americans that occurs alongside other social positions and has implications for personal and relational well-being. Using data from the Survey of Midlife in the United States, this study examined the relative and multiplicative effects of gender and financial strain on the links between discrimination and personal and relational well-being among Black Americans in romantic relationships (N = 443). Results indicate that financial strain was associated with poorer personal well-being and that being female was associated with poorer relational well-being. Further, among women (but not men), discrimination was associated with poorer quality of life across levels of financial strain. The findings speak to the potential resilience of Black individuals and their relationships in the face of discrimination. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Worrying about our children: Parental worry and psychological well-being among Korean middle-aged couples.
When children reach a certain age of maturity, middle-aged parents often reflect on their parenting, harboring continuous worries about their adult children. These parenting experiences are also shared within couples and continue to impact parents’ well-being. Utilizing couple data from the 2010 Korean Baby Boomer Panel Study, we examined the dyadic associations of worry about child issues and psychological well-being among middle-aged couples (N = 1,091; aged 47–55) who have at least one adult child (Mage = 23.13 years). Results from the actor–partner interdependence model showed that one’s own parental worry was significantly associated with psychological well-being for both husbands and wives (i.e., actor effects). Further, wives’ worry about children was significantly associated with husbands’ psychological well-being (i.e., partner effects)—but not vice versa. These findings highlight that aspects of parenting not only impact children but also extend to the linked lives of midlife parents themselves. Research on parental experiences at the couple level may inform interventions to enhance middle-aged parents’ well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Self-expansion perceptions and behaviors uniquely contribute to relationship quality over time.
Self-expansion refers to the process of broadening the self via engaging in novel activities, gaining new skills, and acquiring new perspectives and is proposed to be driven in large part by one’s close relationships. Self-expansion experiences include perceptions of potential (i.e., beliefs about how self-expanding a relationship could be in the future), perceptions of current experiences (i.e., beliefs about how self-expanding a relationship is present), and enacted behaviors (i.e., engagement in novel, interesting activities). In two preregistered dyadic daily experience studies, we examined whether self-expansion potential is an antecedent to behavioral self-expansion and current perceptions, and how these distinct self-expansion components uniquely and synergistically predict relationship satisfaction and commitment daily and over time. Results revealed that self-expansion potential prospectively predicted both behavioral self-expansion and daily perceptions of current self-expansion. Self-expansion potential, current perceptions, and behaviors separately predicted greater relationship satisfaction and commitment daily. Self-expansion potential—but not behaviors or current perceptions—also positively predicted satisfaction and commitment 2 months later. Implications regarding the power of potential in relationships are discussed, including the need for future research to consider this important facet of self-expansion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Longitudinal associations between inhibitory control, gratitude, and positive parenting during early childhood.
Children’s inhibitory control, which refers to the capability to recognize social and task demands by suppressing inappropriate behavior, is a key element closely related to both external and internal issues in preschoolers. The protective roles of parenting factors and social and moral functions, such as gratitude, remain unknown in the mechanism of inhibitory control. The present study employed a general cross-lagged panel model to explore the relationships between positive parenting, child gratitude, and inhibitory control. The research design involved repeated measurements based on parents’ reports on 373 Chinese preschoolers in Hong Kong (179 males, 182 females; Mage = 4.51, SD = 0.60). The cross-lagged panel model revealed that positive parenting at Time 1 (T1) was significantly associated with preschool children’s gratitude but not with inhibitory control at Time 2 (T2). Conversely, child gratitude at T1 was positively associated with inhibitory control at T2. These findings underscore the impact of positive parenting on gratitude and the predictive role of gratitude on inhibitory control. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Pretreatment relationship characteristics predict outcomes from an uncontrolled trial of intensive, multicouple group PTSD treatment.
Cognitive behavioral conjoint therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (CBCT for PTSD; Monson & Fredman, 2012) is associated with improvements in patients’ and partners’ mental health and relationship satisfaction. Some pretreatment relationship characteristics have predicted CBCT for PTSD outcomes for patients, but findings were limited to a single community sample consisting primarily of female patients with male partners. A better understanding of whether pretreatment relationship characteristics predict outcomes in other patient populations and whether there are partners who may be particularly responsive to couple therapy for PTSD could optimize treatment matching. This study investigated whether pretreatment partner accommodation and relationship satisfaction predicted patient and partner treatment outcomes from an uncontrolled trial of an abbreviated, intensive, multicouple group version of CBCT for PTSD conducted with 24 active-duty military or veteran couples (96% male patients/female partners). In general, changes in patients’ PTSD and comorbid symptoms and relationship satisfaction did not vary by pretreatment partner accommodation or patients’ own pretreatment relationship satisfaction. In contrast, pretreatment relationship characteristics predicted partner outcomes. Partners who engaged in higher levels of accommodation pretreatment and partners who reported lower levels of pretreatment relationship satisfaction experienced greater declines in psychological distress following treatment. Also, partners who began the study relationally distressed exhibited significant increases in relationship satisfaction following treatment, whereas those who were not relationally distressed did not. Findings suggest that improvements generally do not vary by pretreatment relationship characteristics for patients, whereas partners who begin treatment with elevated relationship risk factors may be especially likely to experience improvement across outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)

Journal of Family Psychology - Vol 38, Iss 3