W. Justin Dyer

Putting the Family Into Family Business Research

Much of the recent research on family businesses has focused on how the family affects business performance. This commentary suggests that researchers should also consider how certain variables affect both the business and the family. Suggestions for how to do such research are presented.

A Process Model of Attachment–Friend Linkages: Hostile Attribution Biases, Language Ability, and Mother–Child Affective Mutuality as Intervening Mechanisms

This study identified mechanisms through which child-mother attachment security at 36 months was associated with mother- and teacher-reported friendship quality at 3rd grade. Data from a subsample of 1,071 children (536 boys) participating in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development were used. Separate structural equation models were tested for mother and teacher reports of peer functioning. For both models, the total indirect effect between attachment security and friendship quality was significant. Tests of specific indirect effects indicated that attachment security was associated with friendship quality via greater mother-child affective mutuality and better language ability at 54 months and fewer hostile attributions (teacher model only) and greater peer competence at first grade. The findings highlight interpersonal and intrapersonal mechanisms of attachment-friend linkages.

Marital Conflict and Growth in Children's Internalizing Symptoms: The Role of Autonomic Nervous System Activity.

We assessed trajectories of childrens internalizing symptoms, indexed through anxiety and depression, with a focus on the role of interactions between interparental marital conflict, childrens sympathetic nervous system activity indexed by skin conductance level (SCL), and parasympathetic nervous system activity indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) as predictors of growth. Children participated in 3 waves of data collection with a 1-year lag between each wave. At T1, 128 girls and 123 boys participated (M age = 8.23 years; SD = 0.73). The most important findings reveal that girls with either low RSA in conjunction with low SCL (i.e., coinhibition) at baseline or with increasing RSA and decreasing SCL in response to a challenging task (i.e., reciprocal parasympathetic activation) are susceptible to high or escalating anxiety and depression symptoms, particularly in the context of marital conflict. Findings support the importance of concurrent examinations of environmental risk factors and physiological activity for better prediction of the development of anxiety and depression symptoms.

Should My Spouse Be My Partner? Preliminary Evidence From the Panel Study of Income Dynamics

This study examines how firm performance and family income are affected when an “owner-managed” firm transitions to a “copreneurial” business. Data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics were used to track changes in firm performance and family income from 1996 to 2006 during which time an owner-manager decided to partner with his spouse. The findings suggest that (a) involvement of one’s spouse in the business had no significant impact on firm profits and (b) working with one’s spouse had a significant impact on family income. The authors hypothesize that the lack of spousal influence on firm performance is because of their inability to influence their spouses, their lack of education and skills needed by the firm, and organizational “imprinting.” Moreover, since it is hypothesized that many spouses work for little or no pay, there would not be a significant impact on family income as the result of one’s partnering with a spouse. However, this hypothesis was not confirmed.

Examining ECLS-B: Maternal Stress and Depressive Symptoms when Raising Children with ASD.

Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), a nationally representative data set, we examined the extent to which mothers of preschool children with and without the diagnosis of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) reported stress and depressive symptoms prior to and following diagnosis of ASD. At 4 years, approximately 100 children were parent-identified as diagnosed with ASD. Mothers of children with ASD at 9 months and 4 years had significantly higher incidence of depressive symptoms and stress than mothers of typically developing children. Mothers of children with ASD experienced higher levels of depressive symptoms than mothers of children with disabilities, but the difference was not statistically significant. Using linear regression, a within-group comparison of depressive symptoms of mothers of children with ASD indicated no differences based on child gender, ethnicity, number of children in the family, or partnership status. Implications are presented.

Early Predictors of ASD in Young Children Using a Nationally Representative Data Set

Current clinical diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) occurs between 3 and 4 years of age, but increasing evidence indicates that intervention begun earlier may improve outcomes. Using secondary analysis of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort data set, the current study identifies early predictors prior to the diagnosis of ASD at 4 years for approximately 100 children. Children with ASD were compared with children with other disabilities and children who were typically developing. Multinomial logistic regression analyses identified limited unique characteristics (e.g., self-regulation and sleep patterns) at the 9-month time point. A majority of the differences in communication and language, mental/cognitive function, motor function, social interaction, and self-regulation were found at the 2-year time point. Implications for research and practice are presented.

Mother knows best? Inhibitory maternal gatekeeping, psychological control, and the mother–adolescent relationship

We used structural equation modeling to explore associations between inhibitory maternal gatekeeping attitudes, reports of inhibitory maternal gatekeeping behaviors, maternal psychological control, observed mother-adolescent warmth, and adolescent reports of maternal involvement. Our random stratified sample consisted of 315 mothers and their adolescents. Results revealed that inhibitory maternal gatekeeping attitudes were positively associated with reports of inhibitory gatekeeping behaviors. Psychological control fully mediated the relationship between inhibitory gatekeeping attitudes, reports of inhibitory gatekeeping behaviors, and adolescent reports of maternal involvement. Though gatekeeping attitudes and behaviors were not associated with observed mother-adolescent warmth, psychological control was negatively associated with observed mother-adolescent warmth. Thus, although prior research emphasized the negative effects of inhibitory gatekeeping on father-child relationships, the present research elucidates that in conjunction with psychological control, inhibitory gatekeeping negatively influences the mother-adolescent relationship. All findings are discussed in the context of family systems theory.

Physiological indicators of pathologic video game use in adolescence.

PURPOSE Pathologic video game use (PVGU) has been associated with a host of negative psychological, physical, and social outcomes during adolescence; however, little research has examined physiological predictors of such use. The purpose of the study was to examine physiological predictors of the development of PVGU across adolescence. METHODS The article involves a 1-year longitudinal study across midadolescence. Participants were 374 adolescents and their parents from a large metropolitan area in the Northwest United States. PVGU was assessed via questionnaire, as were a number of control variables. A number of physiological indicators including respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and galvanic skin conductance (indices of parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system activity, respectively) were measured during baseline, a cognitively stimulating task (Rubiks cube), and a family problem-solving task. RESULTS Less RSA withdrawal to a cognitively simulating task was related to greater pathologic video game symptoms, but less RSA withdrawal to a family problem-solving task was associated with the presence of pathologic video game symptoms (p < .05). For girls only, galvanic skin conductance activation during the family problem solving was related to greater pathologic video game symptoms (p < .01). CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that adolescents who do not find cognitive tasks stimulating physiologically have a greater severity of PVGU. Additionally, adolescents who show physiological signs of stress in a family task were more likely to have PVGU symptoms and only girls have more severe PVGU levels. This study is the first to show that physiological indicators predict PVGU over time in adolescence and has important implications regarding the prevention and treatment of PVGU in adolescence.

“Keep on Keeping On, Even When It’s Hard!” Predictors and Outcomes of Adolescent Persistence

The current study examined adolescent persistence as a mediator between authoritative parenting and adolescents’ school engagement, prosocial behavior, and delinquency. Participants were taken from Time 2, 3, and 4 of the Flourishing Families Project and included 325 two-parent families with a child between the ages of 11 and 14 at Time 2 (mean age = 12.34, SD = 1.06, 52% female), 96% of whom had complete data for Time 4 (2 years later). Analyses suggested that authoritative fathering at Time 2 (but not mothering) was positively associated with adolescent persistence at Time 3, and adolescent persistence was positively related to school engagement and negatively related to delinquency at Time 4. Discussion focuses on the importance of the socialization of persistence during adolescence.

Self-perceived Coparenting of Nonresident Fathers: Scale Development and Validation

This study reports on the development and validation of the Fatherhood Research and Practice Network coparenting perceptions scale for nonresident fathers. Although other measures of coparenting have been developed, this is the first measure developed specifically for low-income, nonresident fathers. Focus groups were conducted to determine various aspects of coparenting. Based on this, a scale was created and administered to 542 nonresident fathers. Participants also responded to items used to examine convergent and predictive validity (i.e., parental responsibility, contact with the mother, father self-efficacy and satisfaction, child behavior problems, and contact and engagement with the child). Factor analyses and reliability tests revealed three distinct and reliable perceived coparenting factors: undermining, alliance, and gatekeeping. Validity tests suggest substantial overlap between the undermining and alliance factors, though undermining was uniquely related to child behavior problems. The alliance and gatekeeping factors showed strong convergent validity and evidence for predictive validity. Taken together, results suggest this relatively short measure (11 items) taps into three coparenting dimensions significantly predictive of aspects of individual and family life.