Lauren M. Papp

Interrelations and moderators of longitudinal links between marital satisfaction and depressive symptoms among couples in established relationships.

Extending research based on newlywed couples, this study investigated longitudinal associations between marital satisfaction and depressive symptoms in a community sample of 296 couples in established relationships (M = 13.25 years, SD = 5.98) with children (M age = 11.05 years, SD = 2.31). Support was found for reciprocal relations between marital satisfaction and depressive symptoms in couples with established relationships. Further extending previous work, the study showed that relationship length and hostile marital conflict were significant moderators of these linkages. Husbands in longer term relationships were more vulnerable to depressive symptoms in the context of marital problems compared with husbands in shorter term relationships. At higher levels of marital conflict, the negative relationship between marital satisfaction and depressive symptoms was strengthened. Reflecting an unexpected finding, increased conflict buffered spouses from marital dissatisfaction in the context of depressive symptoms.

Parental Psychological Distress, Parent - Child Relationship Qualities, and Child Adjustment: Direct, Mediating, and Reciprocal Pathways

Objective. The purpose of this study was to explicate the role of parenting qualities of acceptance, psychological autonomy, and firm control in the link between maternal and paternal psychological distress and youth adjustment problems. Design. A community sample of 277 families provided information about parental psychological distress, parenting qualities, and child adjustment via mother, father, and child questionnaire ratings. Results. Direct associations among the variables were consistent with predictions. Mediation processes were identified using structural equation modeling. Specifically, parental acceptance and psychological autonomy served as mediators of the association between parental psychological distress and child problems, whereas firm control did not mediate the direct associations. Conclusions. Drawing on a developmental psychopathology perspective, this studys results indicate that the link between mother and father psychological distress and child adjustment problems is accounted for, in part, by parental acceptance and psychological autonomy than by behavioral control. Alternative pathways among these family processes also received empirical support.

Emotions in marital conflict interactions: Empathic accuracy, assumed similarity, and the moderating context of depressive symptoms

To examine affectivity in marital interaction, 267 couples participated in laboratory-based marital conflicts and afterward rated their own and their spouses’ emotions of positivity, anger, sadness, and fear. Actor—Partner Interdependence Models estimated empathic accuracy and assumed similarity effects, with symptoms of depression tested as a moderator. Depressive symptoms moderated spouses’ ratings of their partners’ negative emotions such that assumed similarity was higher and empathic accuracy was lower in the context of elevated depressive symptoms. The results suggest that depression may influence spouses’ judgments of how closely linked partner emotions are (i.e., assumed similarity) and spouses’ abilities to accurately perceive their partners’ negative emotions (i.e., empathic accuracy), potentially contributing to the established marital dysfunction—psychological distress cycle.

Changes in marital conflict and youths' responses across childhood and adolescence: A test of sensitization

Although the sensitization hypothesis is fundamental to process-oriented explanations of the effects of marital conflict on children, few longitudinal tests of the theorys propositions have been conducted. Hierarchical linear modeling was used in this prospective, longitudinal study (n = 297 families) to assess changes in the dimensions of responding to conflict (i.e., emotional, cognitive, and behavioral) for 3 consecutive years in youths between the ages of 8 and 19 years. Moreover, to test the notion of sensitization, analyses were conducted to examine whether change in marital conflict predicted change in childrens responding across middle childhood and adolescence. Supporting the sensitization hypothesis, increases in exposure to hostile marital conflict were associated with increases in childrens negative emotionality, threat, self-blame, and skepticism about resolution. With a few exceptions, the effects were largely consistent for boys and girls and for younger and older children.

Longitudinal associations between breastfeeding and observed mother–child interaction qualities in early childhood

BACKGROUND Despite extensive literature on the role of breastfeeding in maternal and child health and cognitive development, few studies have systematically tested whether breastfeeding predicts childrens socio-emotional outcomes. The present study examined associations between trajectories of breastfeeding and observed parent-child interaction qualities of maternal sensitivity, child positivity, and child negativity from 6 months to 3 years of age. METHODS Data were drawn from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (n = 1306 US families). Hierarchical linear modelling accounted for demographic and early characteristics, including home environment, maternal depression, and observed global relationship quality. RESULTS Breastfeeding was associated with increases in observed maternal sensitivity over time, even after the effects of demographic and early characteristics were controlled. Accounting for the covariates, breastfeeding was not associated with child behaviour (i.e. positivity, negativity) in mother-child interaction across early childhood. CONCLUSIONS Improved relationship quality, specifically through changes in maternal behaviour, may be another advantage experienced by breastfeeding mothers and children.

Spillover of Marital Interactions and Parenting Stress in Families of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Few disorders appear to be more challenging for parents than autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Little is known about the extent to which parenting stress experienced by parents of children with ASD affects or is affected by marital quality. We examined daily spillover between level of parenting stress and marital interactions in a sample of 176 married couples (89.4% Caucasian, non-Hispanic) who have a child with ASD (5–12 years of age, 85% male) via a 14-day daily diary approach. On each day of the daily diary, parents individually reported on 8 positive and 8 negative marital interactions and their level of parenting stress. Dyadic multilevel modeling analyses using hierarchical linear modeling were conducted to examine same-day and lagged-effect associations between number of positive and negative marital interactions and level of parenting stress. Having a day with a higher number of negative marital interactions was associated with a higher level of parenting stress for both mothers and fathers of children with ASD. Having a day with fewer positive marital interactions was associated with having a more stressful parenting day for mothers of children with ASD. Same-day spillover was moderated by parent gender and the functioning of the child with ASD. Spillover flowed bidirectionally for mothers of children with ASD. Helping parents of children with ASD find ways to engage in positive marital interactions on stressful parenting days and avoid having negative affect, tension, and behaviors stemming from negative marital interactions spill into parenting experiences are important intervention targets.

Topics of Marital Conflict in the Everyday Lives of Empty Nest Couples and Their Implications for Conflict Resolution

ABSTRACT To improve our understanding of marriage experiences during midlife, diary reports of naturalistic marital conflict were collected from 55 couples who were parents of grown children who had left the home. Communication, chores, and habits were the most frequent sources of disagreements reported by husbands and wives. Hierarchical linear models tested the unique associations between multiple conflict topics and interaction characteristics (length, recurrence, initiator, and importance) and constructive, angry, and depressive resolution strategies. Husbands and wives similarly rated money and habits as recurrent topics and conflicts concerning money and children as holding relatively high levels of current and long-term importance to the relationship. Compared with other topics, husbands and wives consistently perceived conflicts concerning habits and communication as being handled in relatively angry ways (e.g., defensiveness) and marital conflicts about children as eliciting greater depressive conflict (e.g., withdrawal, sadness). Husbands also viewed conflicts concerning relatives and commitment as being handled in relatively depressive ways. The findings explicate substantive sources of midlife marital disagreements and offer future research and clinical directions.

Couple Conflict in Parents of Children with versus without Autism: Self-Reported and Observed Findings

We compared the couple conflict of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to a comparison group of parents of children without disabilities using self-reported and observational measures. In total, 178 couples who had a child with ASD (aged 5–12 years) and 174 couples who had children without disabilities (aged 5–12 years), recruited from a Midwestern state in the United States, reported on couple conflict in everyday life and engaged in an observed couple conflict interaction. Parents of children with ASD reported more frequent, severe, and unresolved couple problems than the comparison group. Parents who had a child with ASD were observed to have less engaged, balanced, and cooperative couple conflict interactions, but demonstrated more positive affect and sensitivity towards one another, than parents in the comparison group. Group differences had small effect sizes. Findings have implications for marital therapy and relationship education programs.

Breastfeeding Duration Predicts Greater Maternal Sensitivity Over the Next Decade

The current study represents the first longitudinal investigation of the potential effects of breastfeeding duration on maternal sensitivity over the following decade. This study also examined whether infant attachment security at 24 months would mediate longitudinal relations between breastfeeding duration and changes in maternal sensitivity over time. Using data from 1,272 families from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, we found that longer breastfeeding duration (assessed up to age 3) predicted increases in observed maternal sensitivity up to child age 11, after accounting for maternal neuroticism, parenting attitudes, ethnicity, maternal years of education, and presence of a romantic partner. Additionally, secure attachment at 24 months was predicted by breastfeeding duration, but it did not act as a mediator of the link from breastfeeding duration to maternal sensitivity in this study. Generating a more specific understanding of how breastfeeding impacts the mother–child dyad beyond infancy will inform recommendations for best practices regarding breastfeeding.

Mothers’ and fathers’ prescription drug misuse in family contexts: implications for the adjustment of parents of children with and without autism

Abstract Although prescription drug misuse is an identified risk factor for individuals’ outcomes, less is known about its occurrence in and implications for families. To address this limitation, we examined whether mothers’ and fathers’ prescription drug misuse is associated with the adjustment of parents, including those with a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and those without. Mothers and fathers from families with a child with ASD (n = 178) and comparison families without a child with ASD (n = 174) completed surveys of past-year prescription drug misuse and their personal and relationship adjustment. In total, 7.7% (N = 27) of mothers and 8.2% (N = 29) of fathers reported recent prescription drug misuse. There was significant interdependence between mothers’ and fathers’ recent prescription drug misuse in families with a child with ASD but not in comparison families. Actor-partner interdependence modeling was used to examine associations between parents’ prescription drug misuse and their own and their partner’s adjustment, controlling for medical use of prescription drugs and demographic covariates. Across family diagnosis statuses, mothers’ prescription drug misuse predicted higher levels of their own alcohol problems, whereas fathers’ prescription drug misuse related only to mothers’ poorer sleep quality. Moreover, mothers’ prescription drug misuse was associated with higher levels of their own depression symptoms in ASD-status (but not in comparison) families. Understanding parents’ prescription drug misuse and its effects on family members is critical for informing future research and prevention and treatment strategies.