Social .support ham been studied in the context of its relationship to and effect on negative exp... more Social .support ham been studied in the context of its relationship to and effect on negative experiences. While this buffer taspect cf social support is important, support'.bay also play a satigfaction-enhancihg role. Both the negative 'event -buffeting and positive event-boosting of social support on _students' ls'atisfaction with their collegeLexperience were investigated. A questionnaire on-life'stress and 'sotial support was completed by 312 community. college stUdents: Subjects reported which cf. 100 events had. occurredirecertly: whether the event was a positive, negative, or neutral experience; and who they hat talked to or .received assistance from about the event, i.e, family, friends, ,teachers. Eata from Anglos, Mexican-Americans, and Mature women students were analyzed. Results provided evidence for bbosting.and buffeting effects of social contact on satisfaction with college. Different types cf peopleserved different types cf safPOrtive fctions. Teacher . support appe-ired to enhance the effects .of positive school events on I. satisfactioi with college. Family support did not appear to enhance the effects of positive events but redUced the negative effects of only as a buffer agadmst-negative f. Wd. negative events. The-suplgive effects of friends were obtained only ot the Mexidan-American up a events. The findings suggest that enhancing, the positice as well-as reducing' the negative' aspects of life experiences is an important . aspect of life adjustment. lAuthor/NEB) ,
This article reviews prevention programs that target primary residential parents as change agents... more This article reviews prevention programs that target primary residential parents as change agents for improving children's postdivorce adjustment. First, we review parental risk and protective factors for children from divorced families, including parenting quality, parental mental health problems, interparental conflict, and contact with the nonresidential parent. Following a discussion of brief informational interventions, we describe the findings of evaluations of three multisession, skill-building interventions for divorced parents. Impressive evidence is presented that parenting is a modifiable protective factor and that improving parenting leads to improvements in children's postdivorce adjustment. We then discuss, in greater detail, the New Beginnings Program, which we highlight because it has shown repeated, immediate effects on children's mental health outcomes as well as long-term effects on a wide array of other meaningful outcomes, such as diagnosis of mental disorder in the past year, externalizing problems, alcohol and drug use, and academic performance. Also, mediational analyses have shown that program-induced changes in parenting accounted for changes in mental health outcomes. The remainder of the article describes a research and action agenda that is needed to successfully implement the New Beginnings Program in domestic relations courts.
Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been implicated in the associa... more Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been implicated in the association between adverse childhood experiences, such as parental death, and mental and physical health problems. Recent research indicates that children who experience the death of a parent exhibit HPA axis dysfunction; however, the mechanisms underlying this association have not been explored. It is theorized that physiological dysregulation may result from exposure to stressful life events subsequent to parental death. The current study examined the prospective relations between negative events following parental death and cortisol activity in parentally bereaved youth. A greater number of postbereavement negative events predicted significantly lower levels of cortisol activity 6 years later; this association remained significant after controlling for current externalizing symptoms and recent negative events. Results suggest that higher exposure to stressful events following childhood parental loss may result in long-term attenuated cortisol activity.
Objectives: Self-compassion, which involves mindfulness, self-kindness, and common humanity, has ... more Objectives: Self-compassion, which involves mindfulness, self-kindness, and common humanity, has been found to be related to individuals’ mental health. Few studies have examined caregivers’ self-compassion in relation to parenting behaviors and child adjustment in addition to its relation their own mental health. In the current study we examined caregivers’ self-compassion as a protective factor related to parentally bereaved children’s internalizing and externalizing problems and further tested whether these relations were mediated by caregivers’ mental health (complicated grief and psychological distress) and parenting. Methods: The sample consisted of 74 caregivers (female = 78.4%) who participated in a larger study designed for bereaved families. At T1 (baseline) and T2 (20 weeks later), caregivers completed measures on demographic information, self-compassion, complicated grief, parental warmth, and consistent discipline, as well as child internalizing and externalizing problems. Results: Findings supported that caregivers’ self-compassion was prospectively related to decreased internalizing and externalizing problems in bereaved children. Mediation analyses showed that the effect of self-compassion on externalizing problems was mediated by parental warmth and by consistent discipline. In addition, caregivers’ self-compassion was prospectively associated with decreased complicated grief and psychological distress of the caregiver. Conclusions: These findings add to the knowledge on the benefits of self-compassion for bereaved families and suggest that caregivers’ self-compassion intervention may be a leveraging point to protect both bereaved caregivers from complicated grief and distress but also to strengthen parenting which leads to bereaved children’s adjustment.
Parenting time, interparental conflict, and the quality of parenting a child experiences in the p... more Parenting time, interparental conflict, and the quality of parenting a child experiences in the postdivorce family environment have complex relations with child adjustment outcomes. Using person-centered latent profile analyses, the present study examined (a) separate profiles of mothers' (N = 472) and fathers' (N = 353) parenting time, interparental conflict, and quality of parenting following divorce; and (b) associations of mother and father profiles with concurrent child outcomes (48% female, 3-to 18-years-old) as well as child outcomes 3 and 10 months later. Mother and father profiles were primarily differentiated by levels of parenting time and quality of parenting, respectively. Mother and father profiles defined by greater parenting time and lower quality parenting were associated with the poorest child outcomes. Keywords child adjustment; conflict; latent profile analysis; parenting; parenting time Over the last 15 years, children's living arrangements following divorce have been characterized by a dramatic increase in shared parenting time between mothers and fathers and a small but significant increase in father's sole residential living arrangements (Cancian, Meyer, Brown, & Cook, 2014; Smyth, McIntosh, Emery, & Higgs Howarth, 2016). The increase in fathers' parenting time is accompanied by an increased need for research on the impact of parenting time on children's postdivorce adjustment (Nielsen, 2013). In addition, interparental conflict is associated with both quality of parenting and children's adjustment Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kit K. Elam, T.
The current study investigated the relationship of the passage of time and membership in a self-h... more The current study investigated the relationship of the passage of time and membership in a self-help group with coping behaviors and distress among people with genital herpes. A comparison between l l 6 people in herpes support groups and 36 community volunteers on the use of coping and level of emotional adjustment was undertaken. Results of the study indicated that people employed fewer coping strategies with increasing time since the onset of the stressor. This pattern was particularly clear in non-support-group subjects. In comparison, support-group members did not exhibit as significant a decrease in the use of coping strategies or as great an improvement in the level of depression and degree bothered by herpes over time. Selection factors and effects of self-help group membership are discussed as alternative explanations for these differences. Future research in the area of group membership as well as helpful and nonhelpful processes in these groups is suggested.
Investigated the effects of self-regulation as a moderator of the relations between coping effort... more Investigated the effects of self-regulation as a moderator of the relations between coping efforts and psychological symptoms of children of divorce. The interactions of two dimensions of self-regulation (task orientation and approach-flexibility) and two dimensions of coping (active and avoidant) predicting children's postdivorce symptoms were tested using a sample of 199 divorced mothers and their children, ages 8 to 12. The approach-flexibility dimension moderated the relations of both active and avoidant coping with children's self-report of anxiety. At higher levels of approach-flexibility, active coping was negatively related to anxiety, while at lower levels of approachflexibility, active coping was unrelated to anxiety. Avoidant coping was unrelated to anxiety at higher levels of approach-flexibility, whereas at lower levels of approach-flexibility, avoidant coping was positively related to anxiety. The task orientation dimension did not interact with coping, but had direct, independent effects on children's self-report of conduct problems, depression, and parent-report of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. The implications for understanding children's coping with divorce and future directions for research are discussed.
The current study examined how individuals deal with genital herpes, a recurrent, incurable disea... more The current study examined how individuals deal with genital herpes, a recurrent, incurable disease with a great psychological impact. An assessment battery composed of cognitive and problem-focused coping, attribution, and social support mechanisms was employed. These coping mechanisms were correlated with measures of psychological adjustment." self-esteem, depression, sexual adjustment, and amount upset by herpes. Subjects were 152 people with herpes recruited from self-help groups and people from the community who volunteered to participate in the study. Results supported several hypotheses derived from previous research on coping with life stressors. Cognitive coping mechanisms, especially negative thoughts, along with wishful thinking and characterological self-blame, were significant predictors of poor psychological adjustment. Social support was correlated with better psychological adjustment. In addition, the repeated use of disease management strategies was found to correlate with poor psychological adjustment. Further research in the area of coping with chronic illness is suggested.
A model of the effects of children’s temperament (negative and positive emotionality, impulsivity... more A model of the effects of children’s temperament (negative and positive emotionality, impulsivity and attention focusing) on post-divorce threat appraisals, coping (active and avoidant), and psychological symptoms (depression and conduct problems) was investigated. The study utilized a sample of 223 mothers and children (ages 9 to 12 years) who had experienced divorce within the last two years. Evidence was found of direct effects of child-report negative emotionality on children’s threat perceptions and of child-report positive emotionality and impulsivity on children’s coping. Indirect effects of negative emotionality on active and avoidant coping through threat appraisal were found. Direct effects of the temperament variables on symptoms were also found. Cross group analyses indicated that the models were robust to age differences, but gender differences were found in the relation between negative emotionality and depression. The results of this study indicate that temperament and threat appraisals are important predictors of children’s post-divorce symptoms, and that temperament is a predictor of children’s appraisal and coping process.
Objective-Childhood parental divorce is associated with an increased risk of behavioral and physi... more Objective-Childhood parental divorce is associated with an increased risk of behavioral and physical health problems. Alterations in adrenocortical activity may be a mechanism in this relation. Parent-child relationships have been linked to cortisol regulation in children exposed to adversity, but prospective research is lacking. We examined maternal warmth in adolescence as a predictor of young adults' cortisol stress response 15 years after parental divorce. Methods-Participants included 240 youth from recently divorced families. Mother and child reports of maternal warmth were assessed at 6 time points across childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. Offspring salivary cortisol was measured in young adulthood before and after a social stress task. Structural equation modeling was used to predict cortisol response from maternal warmth across early and late adolescence. Results-Higher child-reported maternal warmth in early adolescence predicted higher childreported maternal warmth in late adolescence (std. regression = .45, SE = .065, p < .01), which predicted lower cortisol response to a challenging interpersonal task in young adulthood (std. regression = −.20, SE = .094, p = .031). Neither mother-reported warmth in early adolescence nor late adolescence was significantly related to offspring cortisol response in young adulthood. Conclusions-Results suggest that for children from divorced families, a warm mother-child relationship post-divorce and across development, as perceived by the child, may promote efficient biological regulation later in life. Keywords parental divorce; cortisol; mother-child relationship; warmth Mounting evidence demonstrates that adverse experiences early in life are associated with a number of health problems later in life. Stress that occurs during a developmentally sensitive period is theorized to promote dysregulation of biological stress responses systems, increasing vulnerability to stress-related illnesses during childhood and across the lifespan. The development and functioning of the neuroendocrine system is commonly posited as a
Appraisals about the implications of stressful events that are evaluated as involving a threat to... more Appraisals about the implications of stressful events that are evaluated as involving a threat to self (negative self-evaluation, negative evaluation from others, rejection by others) have been shown to place youth at risk for the development of mental health problems. This longitudinal study tested a protective-stabilizing interactive model, in which high maternal acceptance was predicted to mitigate the prospective relation
This 15-year longitudinal follow-up of a randomized controlled trial of a parenting-focused preve... more This 15-year longitudinal follow-up of a randomized controlled trial of a parenting-focused preventive intervention for divorced families examined cascade models of program effects on offsprings’ competence. It was hypothesized that intervention-induced improvements in parenting would lead to better academic, work, peer, and romantic competence in emerging adulthood through effects on behavior problems and competencies during adolescence. Families (N = 240) participated in the 11-session program or literature control condition when children were ages 9–12. Data were drawn from assessments at pretest, posttest, and follow-ups at 3 and 6 months and 6 and 15 years. Results showed that initial intervention effects of parenting on externalizing problems in adolescence cascaded to work outcomes in adulthood. Parenting effects also directly impacted work success. For work outcomes and peer competence, intervention effects were moderated by initial risk level; the program had greater effect...
Despite a recent shift in the allocation of parenting time arrangements following divorce, there ... more Despite a recent shift in the allocation of parenting time arrangements following divorce, there is no clear consensus regarding the effects of shared parenting on children's adjustment in high-conflict families. We propose key questions and methodological options to increase the ability of results from well-designed empirical studies to inform practice and policy. We review 11 studies of relations between parenting time and parenting quality with children's adjustment in high-conflict divorced families. Despite heterogeneity of methods used across the studies, some tentative conclusions can be made based on findings of multiple studies. Higher levels of shared parenting were related to poorer child adjustment in samples with high conflict many years following the divorce, but typically not in samples that assessed conflict during the divorcing process or in the 2 or 3 years following the divorce. There is also evidence that the effects of shared parenting on child adjustment in the presence of high conflict differs by gender, and that high quality of parenting by at least 1 parent is associated with better child adjustment in high-conflict divorces. Implications for policy and practice are discussed as well as directions for research to strengthen the knowledge base to inform policy. KEYWORDS Fathers; interparental conflict; parenting quality; parenting time; shared parenting; youth adjustment Over the past several decades, there has been a significant shift in the allocation of parenting time following divorce, such that fathers are receiving more parenting time than ever before (Meyer, Cancian, & Cook, 2017). Reasons for this cultural shift in parenting time include increases in women's participation in the workforce, legislation encouraging shared parenting arrangements, changing attitudes about the benefits of father involvement in children's upbringing (Lamb, 2012), and changes in what is considered a fair distribution of parenting time following divorce (Braver, Ellman, Votruba, & Fabricius, 2011). As shared parenting arrangements have become more widely accepted, changes in court practices have followed, either by holding a presumption for shared parenting (Fabricius, Aarons, Akins, &
The field of prevention has established the potential to promote child adjustment across a wide a... more The field of prevention has established the potential to promote child adjustment across a wide array of outcomes. However, when evidence-based prevention programs have been delivered at scale in community settings, declines in implementation and outcomes have resulted. Maintaining high quality implementation is a critical challenge for the field. We describe steps towards the development of a practical system to monitor and support the high-quality implementation of evidence-based prevention programs in community settings. Research on the implementation of an evidence-based parenting program for divorcing families called the "New Beginnings Program" serves as an illustration of the promise of such a system. As a first step, we describe a multidimensional theoretical model of implementation that links aspects of program delivery with improvements in participant outcomes. We then describe research on the measurement of each of these implementation dimensions and test their relations to intended program outcomes. As a third step, we develop approaches to the assessment of these implementation constructs that are feasible to use in community settings and to establish their reliability and validity. We focus on the application of machine learning algorithms and web-based data collection systems to assess implementation and provide support for high quality delivery and positive outcomes. Examples are presented to demonstrate that valid and reliable measures can be collected using these methods. Finally, we envision how these measures can be used to develop an unobtrusive system to monitor implementation and provide feedback and support in real time to maintain high quality implementation and program outcomes.
Social .support ham been studied in the context of its relationship to and effect on negative exp... more Social .support ham been studied in the context of its relationship to and effect on negative experiences. While this buffer taspect cf social support is important, support'.bay also play a satigfaction-enhancihg role. Both the negative 'event -buffeting and positive event-boosting of social support on _students' ls'atisfaction with their collegeLexperience were investigated. A questionnaire on-life'stress and 'sotial support was completed by 312 community. college stUdents: Subjects reported which cf. 100 events had. occurredirecertly: whether the event was a positive, negative, or neutral experience; and who they hat talked to or .received assistance from about the event, i.e, family, friends, ,teachers. Eata from Anglos, Mexican-Americans, and Mature women students were analyzed. Results provided evidence for bbosting.and buffeting effects of social contact on satisfaction with college. Different types cf peopleserved different types cf safPOrtive fctions. Teacher . support appe-ired to enhance the effects .of positive school events on I. satisfactioi with college. Family support did not appear to enhance the effects of positive events but redUced the negative effects of only as a buffer agadmst-negative f. Wd. negative events. The-suplgive effects of friends were obtained only ot the Mexidan-American up a events. The findings suggest that enhancing, the positice as well-as reducing' the negative' aspects of life experiences is an important . aspect of life adjustment. lAuthor/NEB) ,
This article reviews prevention programs that target primary residential parents as change agents... more This article reviews prevention programs that target primary residential parents as change agents for improving children's postdivorce adjustment. First, we review parental risk and protective factors for children from divorced families, including parenting quality, parental mental health problems, interparental conflict, and contact with the nonresidential parent. Following a discussion of brief informational interventions, we describe the findings of evaluations of three multisession, skill-building interventions for divorced parents. Impressive evidence is presented that parenting is a modifiable protective factor and that improving parenting leads to improvements in children's postdivorce adjustment. We then discuss, in greater detail, the New Beginnings Program, which we highlight because it has shown repeated, immediate effects on children's mental health outcomes as well as long-term effects on a wide array of other meaningful outcomes, such as diagnosis of mental disorder in the past year, externalizing problems, alcohol and drug use, and academic performance. Also, mediational analyses have shown that program-induced changes in parenting accounted for changes in mental health outcomes. The remainder of the article describes a research and action agenda that is needed to successfully implement the New Beginnings Program in domestic relations courts.
Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been implicated in the associa... more Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been implicated in the association between adverse childhood experiences, such as parental death, and mental and physical health problems. Recent research indicates that children who experience the death of a parent exhibit HPA axis dysfunction; however, the mechanisms underlying this association have not been explored. It is theorized that physiological dysregulation may result from exposure to stressful life events subsequent to parental death. The current study examined the prospective relations between negative events following parental death and cortisol activity in parentally bereaved youth. A greater number of postbereavement negative events predicted significantly lower levels of cortisol activity 6 years later; this association remained significant after controlling for current externalizing symptoms and recent negative events. Results suggest that higher exposure to stressful events following childhood parental loss may result in long-term attenuated cortisol activity.
Objectives: Self-compassion, which involves mindfulness, self-kindness, and common humanity, has ... more Objectives: Self-compassion, which involves mindfulness, self-kindness, and common humanity, has been found to be related to individuals’ mental health. Few studies have examined caregivers’ self-compassion in relation to parenting behaviors and child adjustment in addition to its relation their own mental health. In the current study we examined caregivers’ self-compassion as a protective factor related to parentally bereaved children’s internalizing and externalizing problems and further tested whether these relations were mediated by caregivers’ mental health (complicated grief and psychological distress) and parenting. Methods: The sample consisted of 74 caregivers (female = 78.4%) who participated in a larger study designed for bereaved families. At T1 (baseline) and T2 (20 weeks later), caregivers completed measures on demographic information, self-compassion, complicated grief, parental warmth, and consistent discipline, as well as child internalizing and externalizing problems. Results: Findings supported that caregivers’ self-compassion was prospectively related to decreased internalizing and externalizing problems in bereaved children. Mediation analyses showed that the effect of self-compassion on externalizing problems was mediated by parental warmth and by consistent discipline. In addition, caregivers’ self-compassion was prospectively associated with decreased complicated grief and psychological distress of the caregiver. Conclusions: These findings add to the knowledge on the benefits of self-compassion for bereaved families and suggest that caregivers’ self-compassion intervention may be a leveraging point to protect both bereaved caregivers from complicated grief and distress but also to strengthen parenting which leads to bereaved children’s adjustment.
Parenting time, interparental conflict, and the quality of parenting a child experiences in the p... more Parenting time, interparental conflict, and the quality of parenting a child experiences in the postdivorce family environment have complex relations with child adjustment outcomes. Using person-centered latent profile analyses, the present study examined (a) separate profiles of mothers' (N = 472) and fathers' (N = 353) parenting time, interparental conflict, and quality of parenting following divorce; and (b) associations of mother and father profiles with concurrent child outcomes (48% female, 3-to 18-years-old) as well as child outcomes 3 and 10 months later. Mother and father profiles were primarily differentiated by levels of parenting time and quality of parenting, respectively. Mother and father profiles defined by greater parenting time and lower quality parenting were associated with the poorest child outcomes. Keywords child adjustment; conflict; latent profile analysis; parenting; parenting time Over the last 15 years, children's living arrangements following divorce have been characterized by a dramatic increase in shared parenting time between mothers and fathers and a small but significant increase in father's sole residential living arrangements (Cancian, Meyer, Brown, & Cook, 2014; Smyth, McIntosh, Emery, & Higgs Howarth, 2016). The increase in fathers' parenting time is accompanied by an increased need for research on the impact of parenting time on children's postdivorce adjustment (Nielsen, 2013). In addition, interparental conflict is associated with both quality of parenting and children's adjustment Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kit K. Elam, T.
The current study investigated the relationship of the passage of time and membership in a self-h... more The current study investigated the relationship of the passage of time and membership in a self-help group with coping behaviors and distress among people with genital herpes. A comparison between l l 6 people in herpes support groups and 36 community volunteers on the use of coping and level of emotional adjustment was undertaken. Results of the study indicated that people employed fewer coping strategies with increasing time since the onset of the stressor. This pattern was particularly clear in non-support-group subjects. In comparison, support-group members did not exhibit as significant a decrease in the use of coping strategies or as great an improvement in the level of depression and degree bothered by herpes over time. Selection factors and effects of self-help group membership are discussed as alternative explanations for these differences. Future research in the area of group membership as well as helpful and nonhelpful processes in these groups is suggested.
Investigated the effects of self-regulation as a moderator of the relations between coping effort... more Investigated the effects of self-regulation as a moderator of the relations between coping efforts and psychological symptoms of children of divorce. The interactions of two dimensions of self-regulation (task orientation and approach-flexibility) and two dimensions of coping (active and avoidant) predicting children's postdivorce symptoms were tested using a sample of 199 divorced mothers and their children, ages 8 to 12. The approach-flexibility dimension moderated the relations of both active and avoidant coping with children's self-report of anxiety. At higher levels of approach-flexibility, active coping was negatively related to anxiety, while at lower levels of approachflexibility, active coping was unrelated to anxiety. Avoidant coping was unrelated to anxiety at higher levels of approach-flexibility, whereas at lower levels of approach-flexibility, avoidant coping was positively related to anxiety. The task orientation dimension did not interact with coping, but had direct, independent effects on children's self-report of conduct problems, depression, and parent-report of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. The implications for understanding children's coping with divorce and future directions for research are discussed.
The current study examined how individuals deal with genital herpes, a recurrent, incurable disea... more The current study examined how individuals deal with genital herpes, a recurrent, incurable disease with a great psychological impact. An assessment battery composed of cognitive and problem-focused coping, attribution, and social support mechanisms was employed. These coping mechanisms were correlated with measures of psychological adjustment." self-esteem, depression, sexual adjustment, and amount upset by herpes. Subjects were 152 people with herpes recruited from self-help groups and people from the community who volunteered to participate in the study. Results supported several hypotheses derived from previous research on coping with life stressors. Cognitive coping mechanisms, especially negative thoughts, along with wishful thinking and characterological self-blame, were significant predictors of poor psychological adjustment. Social support was correlated with better psychological adjustment. In addition, the repeated use of disease management strategies was found to correlate with poor psychological adjustment. Further research in the area of coping with chronic illness is suggested.
A model of the effects of children’s temperament (negative and positive emotionality, impulsivity... more A model of the effects of children’s temperament (negative and positive emotionality, impulsivity and attention focusing) on post-divorce threat appraisals, coping (active and avoidant), and psychological symptoms (depression and conduct problems) was investigated. The study utilized a sample of 223 mothers and children (ages 9 to 12 years) who had experienced divorce within the last two years. Evidence was found of direct effects of child-report negative emotionality on children’s threat perceptions and of child-report positive emotionality and impulsivity on children’s coping. Indirect effects of negative emotionality on active and avoidant coping through threat appraisal were found. Direct effects of the temperament variables on symptoms were also found. Cross group analyses indicated that the models were robust to age differences, but gender differences were found in the relation between negative emotionality and depression. The results of this study indicate that temperament and threat appraisals are important predictors of children’s post-divorce symptoms, and that temperament is a predictor of children’s appraisal and coping process.
Objective-Childhood parental divorce is associated with an increased risk of behavioral and physi... more Objective-Childhood parental divorce is associated with an increased risk of behavioral and physical health problems. Alterations in adrenocortical activity may be a mechanism in this relation. Parent-child relationships have been linked to cortisol regulation in children exposed to adversity, but prospective research is lacking. We examined maternal warmth in adolescence as a predictor of young adults' cortisol stress response 15 years after parental divorce. Methods-Participants included 240 youth from recently divorced families. Mother and child reports of maternal warmth were assessed at 6 time points across childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. Offspring salivary cortisol was measured in young adulthood before and after a social stress task. Structural equation modeling was used to predict cortisol response from maternal warmth across early and late adolescence. Results-Higher child-reported maternal warmth in early adolescence predicted higher childreported maternal warmth in late adolescence (std. regression = .45, SE = .065, p < .01), which predicted lower cortisol response to a challenging interpersonal task in young adulthood (std. regression = −.20, SE = .094, p = .031). Neither mother-reported warmth in early adolescence nor late adolescence was significantly related to offspring cortisol response in young adulthood. Conclusions-Results suggest that for children from divorced families, a warm mother-child relationship post-divorce and across development, as perceived by the child, may promote efficient biological regulation later in life. Keywords parental divorce; cortisol; mother-child relationship; warmth Mounting evidence demonstrates that adverse experiences early in life are associated with a number of health problems later in life. Stress that occurs during a developmentally sensitive period is theorized to promote dysregulation of biological stress responses systems, increasing vulnerability to stress-related illnesses during childhood and across the lifespan. The development and functioning of the neuroendocrine system is commonly posited as a
Appraisals about the implications of stressful events that are evaluated as involving a threat to... more Appraisals about the implications of stressful events that are evaluated as involving a threat to self (negative self-evaluation, negative evaluation from others, rejection by others) have been shown to place youth at risk for the development of mental health problems. This longitudinal study tested a protective-stabilizing interactive model, in which high maternal acceptance was predicted to mitigate the prospective relation
This 15-year longitudinal follow-up of a randomized controlled trial of a parenting-focused preve... more This 15-year longitudinal follow-up of a randomized controlled trial of a parenting-focused preventive intervention for divorced families examined cascade models of program effects on offsprings’ competence. It was hypothesized that intervention-induced improvements in parenting would lead to better academic, work, peer, and romantic competence in emerging adulthood through effects on behavior problems and competencies during adolescence. Families (N = 240) participated in the 11-session program or literature control condition when children were ages 9–12. Data were drawn from assessments at pretest, posttest, and follow-ups at 3 and 6 months and 6 and 15 years. Results showed that initial intervention effects of parenting on externalizing problems in adolescence cascaded to work outcomes in adulthood. Parenting effects also directly impacted work success. For work outcomes and peer competence, intervention effects were moderated by initial risk level; the program had greater effect...
Despite a recent shift in the allocation of parenting time arrangements following divorce, there ... more Despite a recent shift in the allocation of parenting time arrangements following divorce, there is no clear consensus regarding the effects of shared parenting on children's adjustment in high-conflict families. We propose key questions and methodological options to increase the ability of results from well-designed empirical studies to inform practice and policy. We review 11 studies of relations between parenting time and parenting quality with children's adjustment in high-conflict divorced families. Despite heterogeneity of methods used across the studies, some tentative conclusions can be made based on findings of multiple studies. Higher levels of shared parenting were related to poorer child adjustment in samples with high conflict many years following the divorce, but typically not in samples that assessed conflict during the divorcing process or in the 2 or 3 years following the divorce. There is also evidence that the effects of shared parenting on child adjustment in the presence of high conflict differs by gender, and that high quality of parenting by at least 1 parent is associated with better child adjustment in high-conflict divorces. Implications for policy and practice are discussed as well as directions for research to strengthen the knowledge base to inform policy. KEYWORDS Fathers; interparental conflict; parenting quality; parenting time; shared parenting; youth adjustment Over the past several decades, there has been a significant shift in the allocation of parenting time following divorce, such that fathers are receiving more parenting time than ever before (Meyer, Cancian, & Cook, 2017). Reasons for this cultural shift in parenting time include increases in women's participation in the workforce, legislation encouraging shared parenting arrangements, changing attitudes about the benefits of father involvement in children's upbringing (Lamb, 2012), and changes in what is considered a fair distribution of parenting time following divorce (Braver, Ellman, Votruba, & Fabricius, 2011). As shared parenting arrangements have become more widely accepted, changes in court practices have followed, either by holding a presumption for shared parenting (Fabricius, Aarons, Akins, &
The field of prevention has established the potential to promote child adjustment across a wide a... more The field of prevention has established the potential to promote child adjustment across a wide array of outcomes. However, when evidence-based prevention programs have been delivered at scale in community settings, declines in implementation and outcomes have resulted. Maintaining high quality implementation is a critical challenge for the field. We describe steps towards the development of a practical system to monitor and support the high-quality implementation of evidence-based prevention programs in community settings. Research on the implementation of an evidence-based parenting program for divorcing families called the "New Beginnings Program" serves as an illustration of the promise of such a system. As a first step, we describe a multidimensional theoretical model of implementation that links aspects of program delivery with improvements in participant outcomes. We then describe research on the measurement of each of these implementation dimensions and test their relations to intended program outcomes. As a third step, we develop approaches to the assessment of these implementation constructs that are feasible to use in community settings and to establish their reliability and validity. We focus on the application of machine learning algorithms and web-based data collection systems to assess implementation and provide support for high quality delivery and positive outcomes. Examples are presented to demonstrate that valid and reliable measures can be collected using these methods. Finally, we envision how these measures can be used to develop an unobtrusive system to monitor implementation and provide feedback and support in real time to maintain high quality implementation and program outcomes.
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Papers by Irwin Sandler