Claire M. Kamp Dush

Consequences of relationship status and quality for subjective well-being

This study examined the links among relationship status, relationship happiness, and a latent measure of subjective well-being. Using the study of Marital Instability over the Life Course, we found that married individuals reported the highest level of subjective well-being, followed (in order) by individuals in cohabiting relationships, steady dating relationships, casual dating relationships, and individuals who dated infrequently or not at all. Individuals in happy relationships reported a higher level of subjective well-being than did individuals in unhappy relationships, irrespective of relationship status. Even with relationship happiness controlled, however, relationship status was associated with subjective well-being. A longitudinal analysis suggested that shifting into more committed relationships was followed by improvements in subjective well-being. Little support was found for the assumption that people with a high level of well-being select themselves into more committed relationships.

Breaking Up is Hard to do: The Impact of Unmarried Relationship Dissolution on Mental Health and Life Satisfaction

This study examined the impact of unmarried relationship break-up on psychological distress and life satisfaction using a within-subjects design. Among unmarried 18- to 35-year olds (N = 1295), 36.5% had one or more break-ups over a 20-month period. Experiencing a break-up was associated with an increase in psychological distress and a decline in life satisfaction (from pre- to postdissolution). In addition, several characteristics of the relationship or of the break-up were associated with the magnitude of the changes in life satisfaction following a break-up. Specifically, having been cohabiting and having had plans for marriage were associated with larger declines in life satisfaction while having begun to date someone new was associated with smaller declines. An interesting finding, having higher relationship quality at the previous wave was associated with smaller declines in life satisfaction following a break-up. No relationship or break-up characteristics were significantly associated with the magnitude of changes in psychological distress after a break-up. Existing theories are used to explain the results. Implications for clinical work and future research on unmarried relationships are also discussed.

Maternal Obesity Is Associated with Alterations in the Gut Microbiome in Toddlers

Children born to obese mothers are at increased risk for obesity, but the mechanisms behind this association are not fully delineated. A novel possible pathway linking maternal and child weight is the transmission of obesogenic microbes from mother to child. The current study examined whether maternal obesity was associated with differences in the composition of the gut microbiome in children in early life. Fecal samples from children 18–27 months of age (n = 77) were analyzed by pyro-tag 16S sequencing. Significant effects of maternal obesity on the composition of the gut microbiome of offspring were observed among dyads of higher socioeconomic status (SES). In the higher SES group (n = 47), children of obese (BMI≥30) versus non-obese mothers clustered on a principle coordinate analysis (PCoA) and exhibited greater homogeneity in the composition of their gut microbiomes as well as greater alpha diversity as indicated by the Shannon Diversity Index, and measures of richness and evenness. Also in the higher SES group, children born to obese versus non-obese mothers had differences in abundances of Faecalibacterium spp., Eubacterium spp., Oscillibacter spp., and Blautia spp. Prior studies have linked some of these bacterial groups to differences in weight and diet. This study provides novel evidence that maternal obesity is associated with differences in the gut microbiome in children in early life, particularly among those of higher SES. Among obese adults, the relative contribution of genetic versus behavioral factors may differ based on SES. Consequently, the extent to which maternal obesity confers measureable changes to the gut microbiome of offspring may differ based on the etiology of maternal obesity. Continued research is needed to examine this question as well as the relevance of the observed differences in gut microbiome composition for weight trajectory over the life course.

Predictors of Supportive Coparenting After Relationship Dissolution Among At-Risk Parents

Supportive coparenting after relationship dissolution is associated with increased father involvement which can buffer against the negative effects of parental relationship dissolution. Low-income, at-risk families are much more likely to experience relationship dissolutions; hence, supportive coparenting after dissolution is particularly important in these families. We examined whether relationship (commitment and quality) and child (difficult temperament and gender) characteristics predicted initial levels of, and change in, supportive coparenting after relationship dissolution in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 1,603). We used structural equation modeling of latent growth curves to examine four time points collected at the focal childs birth and first, third, and fifth birthdays. Ninety-percent of the mothers had nonmarital births, and about three-quarters had a high school diploma or less education. Overall, supportive coparenting decreased over time. Mothers in more committed relationships prior to the dissolution initially had significantly lower supportive coparenting. But over time, mothers who had been in more committed relationships increased in supportive coparenting. Mothers who had been in higher quality relationships prior to dissolution initially reported more supportive coparenting. At each time point, if a mother was romantically involved with a new partner, she reported significantly lower supportive coparenting compared to mothers who were single. With regard to child characteristics, mothers who reported their child as more difficult had significantly lower initial supportive coparenting. Similar results for fathers are discussed. Overall, the relationship characteristics of parents were important predictors of supportive coparenting both initially and over time.

Gut microbiome composition is associated with temperament during early childhood

BACKGROUND Understanding the dynamics of the gut-brain axis has clinical implications for physical and mental health conditions, including obesity and anxiety. As such disorders have early life antecedents, it is of value to determine if associations between the gut microbiome and behavior are present in early life in humans. METHODS We used next generation pyrosequencing to examine associations between the community structure of the gut microbiome and maternal ratings of child temperament in 77 children at 18-27months of age. It was hypothesized that children would differ in their gut microbial structure, as indicated by measures of alpha and beta diversity, based on their temperamental characteristics. RESULTS Among both boys and girls, greater Surgency/Extraversion was associated greater phylogenetic diversity. In addition, among boys only, subscales loading on this composite scale were associated with differences in phylogenetic diversity, the Shannon Diversity index (SDI), beta diversity, and differences in abundances of Dialister, Rikenellaceae, Ruminococcaceae, and Parabacteroides. In girls only, higher Effortful Control was associated with a lower SDI score and differences in both beta diversity and Rikenellaceae were observed in relation to Fear. Some differences in dietary patterns were observed in relation to temperament, but these did not account for the observed differences in the microbiome. CONCLUSIONS Differences in gut microbiome composition, including alpha diversity, beta diversity, and abundances of specific bacterial species, were observed in association with temperament in toddlers. This study was cross-sectional and observational and, therefore, does not permit determination of the causal direction of effects. However, if bidirectional brain-gut relationships are present in humans in early life, this may represent an opportunity for intervention relevant to physical as well as mental health disorders.

Trajectories of Marital Conflict Across the Life Course: Predictors and Interactions With Marital Happiness Trajectories

Using typologies outlined by Gottman and Fitzpatrick as well as institutional and companionate models of marriage, the authors conducted a latent class analysis of marital conflict trajectories using 20 years of data from the Marital Instability Over the Life Course study. Respondents were in one of three groups: high, medium (around the mean), or low conflict. Several factors predicted conflict trajectory group membership; respondents who believed in lifelong marriage and shared decisions equally with their spouse were more likely to report low and less likely to report high conflict. The conflict trajectories were intersected with marital happiness trajectories to examine predictors of high and low quality marriages. A stronger belief in lifelong marriage, shared decision making, and husbands sharing a greater proportion of housework were associated with an increased likelihood of membership in a high happiness, low conflict marriage, and a decreased likelihood of a low marital happiness group.

Casual Sexual Relationships and Mental Health in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood

Casual sexual relationships are relatively common in emerging adulthood. Yet the mental health implications of engaging in these relationships are unclear; past research has found negative associations, positive associations, or no association with mental health. In addition, little research has accounted for mental health status prior to entering casual sexual relationships. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 12,401), we measured mental health prior to engaging in casual sexual relationships and subsequent mental health after engaging in these relationships. We found that suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms in adolescence were associated with entrance into casual sexual relationships in emerging adulthood. Furthermore, casual sexual relationships were associated with an increased likelihood of reporting suicidal ideation in emerging adulthood.

Who Are the Gatekeepers? Predictors of Maternal Gatekeeping

SYNOPSIS Objective. The goal of this study was to identify determinants of maternal gatekeeping at the transition to parenthood. Design. Participants included 182 different-gender dual-earner couples. During pregnancy, expectant parents completed questionnaires regarding their psychological functioning, attitudes, and expectations, and at 3 months postpartum questionnaires regarding maternal gatekeeping behavior and gate-closing attitudes. Results. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that mothers were more likely to close the gate to fathers when mothers held greater perfectionistic expectations for fathers’ parenting, had poorer psychological functioning, perceived their romantic relationship as less stable, and had higher levels of parenting self-efficacy. In contrast, fathers with lower parenting self-efficacy appeared to elicit greater maternal gate-closing behavior. Mothers who engaged in greater gate-opening behavior were more religious. Conclusions. Maternal gatekeeping may be more strongly associated with maternal expectations and psychological functioning than with maternal traditional gender attitudes. Fathers’ characteristics are less predictive of maternal gatekeeping than mothers’ characteristics.

Parents’ and Offspring's Perceptions of Change and Continuity when Parents Experience the Transition to Old Age

Abstract Most parents and children are fortunate to share several decades of the life course when both parties are healthy adults. When parents reach the transition to old age, however, they typically experience health declines and both parties must adjust to changes in the relationship. The sample included older adults (aged 70+) suffering vision loss, hearing loss, or seeking general health care and a grown son or daughter (N=121 dyads, 242 individuals). Aging parents also suffered common health problems (e.g., hypertension, arthritis). Parents and offspring provided open-ended descriptions of changes and continuities in their relationship. Although prior studies link parental health declines to intergenerational ambivalence, most parents and offspring in this study mentioned positive changes in the relationship in recent years, regardless of parental health. Multilevel models revealed that perceptions of changes in parental health or receipt of support were associated with objective indicators of parental health. Findings suggest offsprings views of the relationship converge with parents’ when parents reach the transition to old age and show physical signs of aging.

Another baby? Father involvement and childbearing in fragile families.

An historic number of women in the United States have children outside of marriage, and with more than one father, yet little research has examined the association between family process and womens childbearing decisions. Using a subsample of unmarried women from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 2028), a study of primarily low-income unmarried parents, we conducted discrete-time survival analysis models to predict whether women had another child with the focal childs father (same-father birth) or with a new father (new-father birth). Father involvement was measured by engagement, indirect care, accessibility, and financial support. Overall, mothers who reported greater engagement and indirect care from the focal childs father were more likely to have a same-father birth even when he was not living in her home, and were also less likely to have a new-father birth. Further, mothers who reported greater accessibility and stable financial support from the focal childs nonresident father were also less likely to have a new-father birth. One pathway through which this may have occurred was that single mothers who perceived less indirect care and accessibility from the focal childs nonresident father were more likely to begin new romantic relationships. Indeed, whether or not the mother had a new romantic partner partially mediated the association between indirect care and a same-father birth and fully mediated the association between accessibility and a new-father birth, suggesting that one pathway linking father involvement to a new-father birth was through maternal repartnering. Clinical and policy implications are discussed.