Lynn Fainsilber Katz

How a couple views their past predicts their future : predicting divorce from an oral history interview

A longitudinal study of 52 married couples is reported. A principal components analysis was used to select nine Time 1 variables based on a couple s behavior during an oral history interview. These variables were able to significantly predict which couples would separate or divorce or remain intact upon 3-year follow-up. A discriminant function analysis showed that the oral history variables could predict divorce or marital stability with approximately 94% accuracy. The oral history variables also correlated in clear ways with Time I marital interaction in both problem solving and affect, the couples physiological reactivity during marital interaction, as well as Time 1 and Time 2 marital satisfaction. Despite the correlation of oral history variables with Time 1 marital satisfaction, in a discriminant function analysis, Time 1 marital satisfaction variables alone resulted in a nonsignificant canonical correlation coefficient in the prediction of divorce.

Vagal tone protects children from marital conflict

In a previous article we reported linkages between marital hostility and childrens externalizing behavior problems (Katz & Gottman, 1993). In this paper we examined whether individual differences in childrens ability to regulate emotion (as indexed by vagal tone, a physiological measure of parasympathetic nervous system activity) could buffer children from the deleterious effects of marital hostility. Observational data was collected on 56 families during marital interaction when the children were 5 years-old. Baseline recordings of childrens cardiac interbeat interval were also obtained for computations of vagal tone. Teacher ratings of childrens behavior problems were obtained 3 years later when the children were on average 8 years old. Results indicated that children with low vagal tone showed a strong link between the amount of marital hostility displayed by their parents and subsequent displays of childrens externalizing behavior. There was no relationship between marital hostility and childrens externalizing for children with high vagal tone, suggesting that high vagal tone can buffer children from the negative effects of marital hostility.

Hostility, Hostile Detachment, and Conflict Engagement in Marriages: Effects on Child and Family Functioning

This study examined the relations between patterns of marital communication, child adjustment, and family functioning. Couples with a 4- or 5-year-old child were divided into three groups (N = 126) based on observed patterns of emotional communication: Hostile couples showed a cumulative increase in negative speaker behaviors over the course of a high-conflict marital discussion; hostile-withdrawn couples showed a cumulative increase in both negative speaker and negative listener behaviors over the course of the interaction; and engaged couples showed a cumulative increase in both positive speaker and listener behaviors over the course of the interaction. The families of these three types of couples were then compared on child outcomes (i.e., peer relations, behavior problems), parenting quality, co-parenting quality, and family-level functioning. Differences in marital violence and marital satisfaction between marital couples were also examined in relation to family risk. Families in which couples were hostile-detached showed the most negative outcomes. Hostile-detached couples were more likely than hostile or conflict-engaging couples to use more power-assertive methods of discipline; to be ineffective in co-parenting their child; to have family units that were less cohesive, less playful, and more conflictual; and to have children that exhibited behavior problems. Results also indicated that marital typology still accounted for significant variance in child outcome after controlling for marital violence and marital satisfaction. Differences in the absolute degree of negative behaviors also did not account for results. Findings are discussed in terms of the detrimental impact of marital conflict on child and family functioning.

Parental meta-emotion structure predicts family and child outcomes

Abstract Fifty-six families with a preschool child whose parents varied widely in parental marital satisfaction were studied at two time points: at time-I when the children were 5 years old and again at time-2 when the children were 8 years old. At time-1 each parent was separately interviewed about their “meta-emotion structure”, that is, their feelings about their own emotions, and their attitudes, and responses to their childrens anger and sadness. Their behaviour during this interview was coded with a meta-emotion coding system. Two meta-emotion variables were studied for each parent, awareness of the parents own sadness, and parental “coaching” of the childs anger. We termed the high end of these variables an “emotion coaching” (EC) meta-emotion structure. Meta-emotion structure was found to relate to time-1 marital and parent-child interaction. EC-type parents had marriages that were less hostile and they were less negative and more positive during parent-child interaction. Their children showed ...

Marital violence, co-parenting, and family-level processes in relation to children's adjustment

A multimethod approach was used to examine relations between marital violence, coparenting, and family-level processes and childrens adjustment in a community-based sample of marital violence. Two hypotheses were tested, one in which family-level and co-parenting processes mediate relations between marital violence and child functioning and one in which marital violence and family-level/co-parenting processes function relatively independently in influencing childrens adjustment. Observations of family processes were made within a triadic parent-child interaction, and several dimensions of childrens socioemotional adjustment (i.e., peer relations, behavior problems) were examined. Results indicated that hostile-withdrawn co-parenting mediated the relations between marital violence and childrens anxiety and depression. Marital violence, co-parenting, and family-level processes also functioned independently in predicting child outcome. Findings are discussed in terms of the family dynamics present in maritally violent homes.

Parental Meta-Emotion Philosophy in Families with Conduct-Problem Children: Links with Peer Relations

We addressed the question of whether mothers of conduct-problem (CP) children differ from mothers of non-CP children in their awareness and coaching of emotion, and also examined whether mothers awareness and coaching of emotion is associated with better peer relations in CP children. Meta-emotion philosophy, assessed through audio taped interviews, and preschool childrens peer relations, observed in same-sex dyadic interaction with a close friend, were investigated in families with CP and non-CP children. Results indicated that mothers of CP children were less aware of their own emotions and less coaching of their childrens emotions than mothers of non-CP children. Moderation analyses revealed that childrens level of aggression moderated the relationship between mothers meta-emotion and childrens peer play. For both aggressive and nonaggressive children, higher levels of mother awareness and coaching of emotion was associated with more positive and less negative peer play, although effects were stronger for families with nonaggressive children. These data suggest that both aggressive and nonaggressive children can benefit when parents are more aware and coaching of emotion. Implications for the development of an intervention program aimed at improving parental awareness and coaching of emotion is discussed.

Domestic violence, emotion coaching, and child adjustment.

This article addresses the question of whether parents in domestically violent homes have difficulty talking to and helping their children manage their emotions-what has been referred to as emotion coaching. Emotion coaching as a moderator in the relationship between domestic violence (DV) and childrens behavior problems was also examined. Results indicated that DV was not associated with a general deficit in emotion coaching but that DV was associated with less coaching of anger and fear depending on whether the parent was the perpetrator or victim of DV. Emotion coaching also moderated the relationship between DV and childrens behavior problems. Implications for the development of an intervention program to improve parental coaching of emotion in domestically violent homes is discussed.

Brief report: Associations between emotional competence and adolescent risky behavior

The current study examines associations between emotional competence (i.e., awareness, regulation, comfort with expression) and adolescent risky behavior. Children from a longitudinal study participated at age 9 and 16 (N=88). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with children about their emotional experiences and coded for areas of emotional competence. Associations were examined for the emotions of sadness and anger concurrently during adolescence, and longitudinally from middle childhood to adolescence. Results suggested that children with poor emotional awareness and regulation had a higher likelihood of using hard drugs. Difficulty regulating emotions was associated with having more sexual partners, and both emotion regulation and expression difficulties were associated with greater behavioral adjustment problems. Results were consistent across the concurrent and longitudinal findings and pointed to anger as an important emotion. Findings suggest that childrens emotional competence may serve as a useful point of intervention to decrease risky behavior in adolescence.

Dynamics of affective experience and behavior in depressed adolescents.

BACKGROUND Depression is often characterized as a disorder of affect regulation. However, research focused on delineating the key dimensions of affective experience (other than valence) that are abnormal in depressive disorder has been scarce, especially in child and adolescent samples. As definitions of affect regulation center around processes involved in initiating, maintaining, and modulating the occurrence, intensity, and duration of affective experiences, it is important to examine the extent to which affective experiences of depressed youth differ on these dimensions from those of healthy youth. METHODS The affective behavior and experience of adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD; n = 75) were compared to a demographically matched cohort of healthy adolescents (n = 77). Both samples were recruited from community high schools. A multi-source (parents and adolescent), multi-method (interviews, behavioral observations, questionnaires) assessment strategy was used to examine positive and negative affects. RESULTS Depressed youth had significantly longer durations, higher frequency, and greater intensity when experiencing angry and dysphoric affects and shorter durations and less frequency of happy affect when compared to healthy youth. The most consistent, cross-method results were evident for duration of affect. CONCLUSIONS Clinically depressed adolescents experienced disturbances in affective functioning that were evident in the occurrence, intensity, and duration of affect. Notably, the disturbances were apparent in both positive and negative affects.

Coparenting, family-level processes, and peer outcomes: the moderating role of vagal tone.

This article examines the relationship between coparenting and family-level processes during preschool and peer relationship outcomes in middle childhood, and the hypothesis that childrens ability to regulate emotion (as indexed by basal vagal tone and the ability to suppress vagal tone) may moderate this relationship. We predicted that high vagal tone and a greater ability to suppress vagal tone would buffer children from the effects of negative coparenting and family processes. Results indicated that hostile-withdrawn coparenting predicted higher levels of conflicted play and lower levels of positive peer conversation. Vagal suppression also moderated the relationship between hostile-withdrawn coparenting and peer conflict. For children who were unable to suppress vagal tone, hostile-withdrawn coparenting was associated with higher levels of peer conflict, while for children who were able to suppress vagal tone there was no relationship hostile-withdrawn coparenting and peer conflict. The relationship between hostile-withdrawn coparenting and positive peer conversation was also moderated by childrens ability to suppress vagal tone. For children who were unable to suppress vagal tone, there was no relationship between hostile-withdrawn coparenting and positive peer conversation, while for those who were able to suppress vagal tone, hostile-withdrawn coparenting was associated with less positive peer conversation. Cohesive family-level processes also predicted positive conversation in play at age 9 after controlling for positive conversation at age 5; however, this relationship was not moderated by vagal suppression. Basal vagal tone also did not function as a moderator of relations between hostile-withdrawn coparenting and peer play. Results are discussed in terms of the effects of negative coparenting on children with different patterns of modulating physiological arousal.