Contemporaneous Associations Research Articles

Marital Conflict, Parent-Child Relations, and Youth Maladjustment

Contemporaneous and longitudinal associations among marital conflict, parentchild relationship quality, and youth maladjustment were examined using data from the National Survey of Families and Households.Analyses were based on 551 married families with a child age 5 to 11 years at Wave 1. The concurrent association between marital conflict and youth externalizing problems at both waves was mediated completely at Wave 1 and partially at Wave 2 by harsh discipline and parent-youth conflict. The concurrent association between marital conflict and internalizing problems at both waves was mediated partially through parent-youth conflict. Longitudinal mediating effects were detected through stable marital conflict over 5 years and through its connection with parent-youth conflict. Findings delineate areas of specificity and stability in marital conflict processes as children transition from middle childhood through adolescence.

β‐diversity fluctuations in Early–Mid Ordovician brachiopod communities of South China

AbstractLower to Middle Ordovician transitional strata (Acrograptus filiformis Biozone to Exigraptus clavus Biozone) of the Upper Yangtze Platform contain rich and diverse brachiopods, particularly in the Daguanshan Formation of Sichuan Province, the Meitan Formation of Guizhou Province, and the Yingpan Formation of Houping, Chongqing City. On the basis of multivariate analyses of 207 samples (about 15 000 brachiopod specimens) and 61 species from these strata, 23 brachiopod‐dominated communities and associations are delineated through six graptolitic biozones (Acrograptus filiformis to Exigraptus clavus biozones). The disparity of brachiopod associations or β‐diversity, as measured by the number of contemporaneous associations across variable ecological settings, was low in the A. filiformis Biozone and increased through the overlying graptolitic biozones to reach an acme in the Azygograptus suecisus and Expansograptus hirundo biozones, where as many as nine different brachiopod associations thrived in mid‐shelf and also established in inner‐ and outer‐shelf environments. Despite a sharp increase in α‐diversity within the Didymograptellus eobifidus Biozone, β‐diversity remained relatively low, with only three distinct brachiopod communities. The diversity of brachiopod associations suffered an abrupt drop in the E. clavus Biozone, as a result of a major faunal turnover event, with only a single Metorthis Community present in an upper mid‐shelf setting. Temporally, brachiopod associations appear to be most stable in mid‐shelf settings, with the Paralenorthis, Sinorthis, Desmorthis, and Euorthisina communities having a relatively high α‐diversity and lasting through two to five graptolitic biozones. In both species composition and temporal duration, the brachiopod associations at the shallow‐ (BA1 to upper BA2) and deep‐shelf (BA4) settings are unstable, characterized by low α‐diversity and rapid vertical changes. This study implies that, during the Early and Mid Ordovician, brachiopod communities already attained a high level of organization in mid‐shelf settings, but remained poorly established in high‐stress environments of very shallow or very deep shelf settings. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Contemporaneous and Longitudinal Associations Between Social Behavior and Literacy Achievement in a Sample of Low‐Income Elementary School Children

This study investigates associations between social skills (aggression and prosocial behavior) and literacy achievement in a sample of low-income children (between 4 and 6 years old when the study began) during elementary school. Results revealed consistent associations between social skills and literacy achievement in the first, third, and fifth grades, but the patterns of the associations were different for aggression and prosocial behavior. While the strength of the association between aggression and literacy achievement increased over the elementary grades, the association between prosocial behavior and literacy achievement decreased. In addition, path analyses revealed that poor literacy achievement in the first and third grades predicted relatively high aggressive behavior in the third and fifth grades, respectively.

Social Indicator-Based Measures of Substance Abuse Consequences, Risk, and Protection at the Town Level

The Massachusetts State Needs Assessment Project (MassSNAP) developed and assessed social indicator-based measures of substance abuse consequences, risk, and protection at the town level. Structural equation models using longitudinal data showed that higher levels of the risk index were associated with subsequent increases in the index of substance abuse consequences, when autocorrelation and reciprocal and contemporaneous associations of these indexes were controlled for. Similar models indicated that (1) higher levels of the diversity of non-profit, community-based organizational activities were associated with subsequent declines in the risk index; and (2) an increase in the diversity of these activities for two successive years was also associated with subsequent declines in the risk index. The theoretical and planning implications of these measures are discussed.

School achievement and adolescents’ interactions with their fathers, mothers, and friends

This article explores effects of parents’ and friends’ behaviour in verbal interactions with adolescents concerning adolescents’ school achievement. The behaviour of adolescents’ partners was observed in interactions elicited by a plan-something-together task at first measurement of a two-year longitudinal investigation. Grades in school and perceived school success at measurement points 1, 2, and 3 were included to capture adolescents’ academic achievement. Cross-sectional correlations (n=32) and longitudinal partial correlations (n=24–26) served to analyse contemporaneous associations and directed effects across a one-and two-year time interval. Findings confirmed systematic influences of parents’ as well as friends’ behaviours on the objective and subjective measures of school achievement. Patterns of effects, however, partly depending on the type of partner in interactions. The differential effects are discussed with reference to structural differences between adolescents’ family and friendship relationships.

Aptian-Turonian palynology of the Ghazalat-1 Well (GTX-1), Qattara Depression, Egypt

Palynomorphs were studied in nineteen Cretaceous samples obtained from the Ghazalat-1 Well, Qattara Depression, northwestern Egypt. Well-preserved and diverse assemblages comprise at least 125 species of spores, pollen, dinocysts and other phytoplankton. Five new pollen species are described: Droseridites baculatus, Foveomorphomonocolpites rashadi, Retimonocolpites eckarti, R. saadii and Dichastopollenites ghazalatensis. Five palynological assemblage zones, with ages ranging from Aptian to early Turonian, are recognized; these correlate well with other contemporaneous associations. The palynological results confirm previous datings of the Alamein, Kharita, Bahariya and Abu Roash Formations. Palynofacies analysis shows that the chlorococcalean-rich basal part of the Abu Roash Formation (G and F Members) was deposited in restricted shallow brackish water; it is considered as a high-potential source rock for oil in the site of Ghazalat-1 Well.

Contemporaneous and longitudinal associations of sibling conflict with family relationship assessments and family discussions about sibling problems.

The first purpose of this study was to examine contemporaneous and longitudinal associations of maternal and paternal measures of family functioning with observational and self-report assessments of sibling conflict. The second purpose was to determine whether the ways in which families attempt to solve siblings' problems are associated with contemporaneous and longitudinal assessment of sibling conflict. The results indicate that paternal equality of treatment and family harmony during family discussions about sibling problems, as well as parents' perceptions of family cohesiveness, are associated with lower sibling conflict levels.

Contemporaneous and Longitudinal Associations of Sibling Conflict with Family Relationship Assessments and Family Discussions about Sibling Problems

Contemporaneous and Longitudinal Associations of Sibling Conflict with Family Relationship Assessments and Family Discussions about Sibling Problems

Further Reflections on an Evolutionary Theory of Socialization

In response to Maccoby's and Hinde's thoughtful commentaries, we highlight points of concurrence and disagreement. In particular, we note that mating and reproduction are affected by many factors beyond those to which our theory draws immediate attention; that the data linking socialization experiences and social structural conditions with pubertal timing are not restricted to either correlational studies or investigations of contemporaneous associations; that there may be more reason to question the theory's applicability to males than to females; that the question of whether male behave and develop the way we propose and Maccoby doubts is an empirically testable one; and that the data on relations between antecedent socialization conditions and pubertal timing and on variation in parental investment in the case of females run counter to Maccoby's doubts about the theory's applicability to females. Attention is drawn to the potential benefits of asking questions about proximal and ultimate causation simultaneously, and thus the need for child developmentalists to think both about the how and why of development.

A Further Assessment of the Association between Sea Surface Temperature Gradient and the Overlying Mid-Tropospheric Circulation

The local association between ocean and atmosphere was examined statistically by correlating the anomalous sea surface temperature (SST) gradient and the anomalous geostrophic wind at the 700 mb level using 30 years (1949–78) of monthly data. Under the assumption that anomalous oceanic thermal gradients are transmitted to the lower troposphere via anomalous fluxes of latent and sensible heat, and by applying the thermal wind relationship, a significant positive correlation is expected. This analysis is an extension of earlier work by Harnack and Broccoli and includes results for both the Atlantic and Pacific, for both zonal and meridional components, for lags as well as contemporaneous associations, and includes an examination of spatial variability. The major findings are: 1) the expected association is found in both oceans and for both components, although it is somewhat stronger in the Pacific and when relating the zonal wind to the meridional SST gradient, 2) the best association is found in the zonal band of 35–45°N, although some seasonal variability is experienced in the Pacific, 3) the lag relationships are significant only at zero lag or with atmosphere leading ocean and 4) the effect of the association is enhanced by time averaging (over 3 months).