Parental Marital Discord Research Articles

Effective Methods of Preventing the Risk of Juvenile Delinquency: A Case Study in High School Children

The problem of student delinquency has existed for a long time. However, it is currently difficult to overcome due to several factors such as the government, parents, and families. In particular, the contributing factors can include parental marital discord, social skills, and internet use. This study aims to analyze the relationship between parents' marital discord, social skills, internet use, and the occurrence of juvenile delinquency. This was quantitative research with an analytical descriptive design. The population was 508 students in Wonosobo. Furthermore, 84 were selected as the samples using the random sampling proportion technique. In addition, the test used the chi-square test. The results showed that most respondents had no marital discord with their parents (53.6%). Respondents with good social skills and moderate internet use (48.8%). Students committed juvenile delinquency, but not seriously by 65.5%. There is a correlation between parental marital discord, social skills, internet use, and juvenile delinquency. In the multivariate analysis, Juvenile delinquency can be prevented by controlling parental marital discord factors, and social skills and preventing interaction of Internet use without adolescent social skills. There is a correlation between parental marital discord, social skills, internet use, and juvenile delinquency. Social skills are a major factor in juvenile delinquency

The role of parental marital discord in the etiology of externalizing problems during childhood and adolescence.

Previous research has established that parental marital discord is associated with higher levels of offspring externalizing behaviors, but it is unclear how parental relationship functioning is associated with the genetic and environmental variance on a factor of externalizing problems. Thus, the current study assessed how parental marital discord moderates genetic and environmental variance on offspring externalizing problems at two different ages: childhood and late adolescence. That is, the magnitude of genetic and environmental influences on offspring externalizing at ages 11 and 17 was examined as a function of parental marital discord. Consistent with a diathesis-stress model of psychopathology, it was hypothesized that with increasing marital discord, genetic influences on externalizing would be more pronounced. Rather, results indicated that for the 11-year-old sample, nonshared environmental influences were greater when parental marital discord was low, and comparatively, shared environmental influences contributed more to the variance in externalizing problems when parental marital discord was high. No moderation was found for the 17-year-old cohort. In contrast to studies that do not find an effect of the shared environment, these results provide evidence that the common rearing environment has an impact on externalizing problems in preadolescent children.

The Impact of Marital Discord of Parents on Taiwanese Adolescents’ Academic Achievement: The Mediating and Moderating Effect of Maternal Parenting Practice

Previous studies point out that family experience is strongly linked to adolescents’ adjustment in school and has a central status in the field of educational sociology. However, the mechanism that operates between parental marital discord and Taiwanese adolescent children’s future academic achievement is not clear. The purposes of this study were to examine the impact of parental marital conflict on adolescents’ academic achievement and to determine if maternal parenting practices mediated or moderated the impact. Drawing on responses from 931 pairs of Taiwanese mothers and adolescent children, a longitudinal data collection approach using panel design provided repeated measurement of marital discord. Over the course of two years, adolescents reported on their academic achievements and their perceptions of maternal parenting practices while mothers completed questionnaires evaluating marital discord. The results of this study supported a spilled-over effect (partial mediation) model but failed to support a compensation (moderation) model. Overall, marital discord not only had a direct negative effect on adolescent academic achievement but also demonstrated an indirect impact through less desirable and adverse parenting practices with adolescent children.

The effects of parental marital discord and divorce on the religious and spiritual lives of young adults

A growing literature reveals that parental divorce and marital discord can have undesirable effects on the mental health and social well-being of children, some of which extend well into adulthood. Our study augments this body of work by focusing on the interplay of divorce and discord in shaping the religious and spiritual lives of young adults. Several discrete subgroups of young adults are identified in terms of parental marital status and degree of parents’ marital conflict, and multiple religious and spiritual outcomes are considered. Data are taken from the National Survey on the Moral and Spiritual Lives of Young Adults from Divorced and Intact Families, a nationwide US telephone survey of approximately 1500 young adults ages 18–35 conducted in 2001. Findings confirm that persons raised by parents in intact, happy, low-conflict marriages tend to score higher on most religious and spiritual outcomes. However, offspring from divorced families and those from intact high-conflict families differ on some outcomes, but not others. Indicators of traditional institutional religious practices and beliefs appear more vulnerable to the effects of parental divorce and discord than personal spiritual beliefs and practices. Overall, findings reveal a rich but complex set of relationships between family background and religious and spiritual lives among young adults.

Parental Marital Discord and Treatment Response in Depressed Adolescents

Evidence suggests that parental marital discord contributes to the development of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in children and adolescents. Few studies, however, have examined the association between parental marital discord and youth's response to treatment. The present study examined the impact of interparental discord on treatment response in a randomized control trial of adolescents with major depression enrolled in the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS). Participants were 260 adolescents from two-parent households randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups: fluoxetine (FLX), cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), their combination (COMB), or placebo (PBO). Logistic regressions revealed that parental marital discord interacted with youth gender and co-morbid oppositionality symptoms to predict group differences in treatment response.

Gene-environment interactions in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a heterogeneous disorder characterized by inattention, impulsivity, and/or hyperactivity in children and adults. Putative environmental risk factors for ADHD include toxin and prenatal smoke exposure, low socioeconomic status, and parental marital instability and discord. Genetic associations with ADHD have been found in the dopaminergic, serotonergic, and noradrenergic neurotransmitter systems, but findings are inconsistent across studies. Herein, we review studies of gene-environment interactions for ADHD to better understand how genetic and environmental risk factors may contribute to the disorder in a nonindependent fashion, which may account in part for the inconsistent findings on genetic associations. Although evidence of interactions between prenatal substance exposure and the dopamine genes DAT1 and DRD4 was found, findings across studies have been mixed. We discuss these findings and the future directions and limitations of current gene-environment research.

Perinatal and Familial Risk Factors Are Associated with Full Syndrome and Subthreshold Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in a Korean Community Sample

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to examine the effect of perinatal and familial risk factors on full syndrome and subthreshold attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among Korean children and adolescents.MethodsA sample of 2,673 students was randomly selected from 19 representative schools in Seoul, Korea. The parents of the students completed the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-version IV (DISC-IV), as well as questionnaires on perinatal and familial risk factors.ResultsMaternal stress and alcohol use during pregnancy, parental marital discord, parental separation or divorce, changes in primary caregivers, and notbreastfeeding were significantly associated with full syndrome ADHD; however, maternal stress during pregnancy was the only variable that differentiated subthreshold ADHD from non-ADHD.ConclusionOur results provide evidence the perinatal and familial risk factors contribute to the development of ADHD in Korea children and adolescents, and suggest that these perinatal and familial risk factors are more closely related to full syndrome than to subthreshold ADHD.

Parent Perceptions of the Psychological Functioning of Their Children Diagnosed With Pediatric Motility Disorders and That of Family Members

The aim of our study was to characterize the parental perceptions of the behavioral and emotional functioning of their children and families coping with gastrointestinal motility disorders. The American Pseudo-obstruction and Hirschsprung's disease Society sponsored an educational meeting for parents of children afflicted with a variety of pediatric gastrointestinal motility disorders. During the conference, parents completed a questionnaire pertaining to the behavioral and emotional functioning of the afflicted child and other family members. Parents perceived that the child's illness was more difficult on the parents than on the affected child or their siblings. Also, parents perceived support from professionals, family, and friends increased after the children were diagnosed with pediatric gastrointestinal motility disorders. Parents worried most about the health and medical management of their afflicted child. The most common behavioral problem of the afflicted children was fear of separation, whereas the most common behavioral problem of their siblings was jealousy. The majority of referrals to mental health professionals resulted from parental emotional problems or marital discord.

Sex Differences in the Effects of Family Structure on Children’s Aggressive Behavior

INTRODUCTIONThere is no dearth of scientific literature and stereotypes on sex differences in children's emotional and behavioral outcomes. Both academic research and popular media have linked some of these outcomes to changes in family structure, particularly in light of the rising proportion of children who live in lone-parent and stepfamilies, away from their biological parents. One of the most controversial and sensitive themes concerns sex differences in aggressive behavior resulting from the family disruption process. There are a number of questions related to this theme which remain largely unresojved because of mixed, sometimes contradictory, evidence. Using data from Canada's National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), in this paper we address three questions: (1) Is living with a lone parent more harmful to boys than to girls, while living with a stepparent more harmful to girls? (2) Do boys and girls resort to different behaviors-externalizing versus internalizing-to express their aggressions in the face of comparable family changes? (3) Do boys and girls behave differently for different reasons when they are confronted with-similar family changes?PAST RESEARCH AND THEORETICAL CONTEXTThere is a substantial body of literature on the negative consequences of family disruptions on children's well-being. Several studies have found the detrimental effects to be more severe and enduring on boys than on girls (Hetherington, 1993; Hetherington and StanleyHagan 1999; Krein and Beller 1988; Simons, et al., 1999; Weitoft, Hjern, Haglund, and Rosen, 2003), although there are some remarkable exceptions to this observation. A highly influential study by Cherlin and his colleagues (1991), which analyzed longitudinal data for British and American children, reached a mixed conclusion: boys were more likely than girls to exhibit emotional and behavioral problems in the American sample, while the converse was true in the British sample. Findings of another American study (Mott, Kowaleski-Jones, and Menaghan 1997), which analyzed data from the 1979-1990 rounds of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, were not conclusive either. In this study, the effects of a father's absence were generally more pronounced for boys than for girls, but these differences were not statistically significant. Using data from three national data sets on a broad array of social, emotional, academic and behavioral outcomes among adolescents Powell and Downey (1997; see also Downey and Powell, 1993) did not find any significant difference between male and female children, who lived with a lone parent. Amato and Sobolewski (2001) in their 17-year longitudinal data analysis of two generations did not find any significant differences between sons and daughters with respect to the effects of parental divorce and marital discord on adult children's psychological well-being. In some studies, sex differences were trivial (Zill, Morrison, and Coiro 1993), while in others (Cooney and Kurz 1996), the long-terms effects of parental divorce were shown to be stronger for girls than for boys. In their meta-analysis of 92 studies, Amato and Keith (1991) found that male and female children of divorce did not differ significantly on a number of outcomes, such as aggression, depression, delinquency, conduct, self esteem or happiness.Research also shows that both boys and girls are adversely affected by family change, but they express their reactions in different ways. Under stress, boys are more likely to externalize while girls are more likely to internalize their emotions (Davies and Lindsay, 2001; Shaw et al. 1998). This hypothesis derives from the literature that suggests that gender differences in temperament are based on sex roles prescribed by culture and socialization. Girls are more resilient to a variety of stressful situations and consequently they are more likely to control and hold back their emotions rather than exhibit them, while boys tend to act out and adapt to means that are discernible. …

The interrelatedness of multiple forms of childhood abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction

Objective: Childhood abuse and other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have historically been studied individually, and relatively little is known about the co-occurrence of these events. The purpose of this study is to examine the degree to which ACEs co-occur as well as the nature of their co-occurrence. Method: We used data from 8,629 adult members of a health plan who completed a survey about 10 ACEs which included: childhood abuse (emotional, physical, and sexual), neglect (emotional and physical), witnessing domestic violence, parental marital discord, and living with substance abusing, mentally ill, or criminal household members. The bivariate relationship between each of these 10 ACEs was assessed, and multivariate linear regression models were used to describe the interrelatedness of ACEs after adjusting for demographic factors. Results: Two-thirds of participants reported at least one ACE; 81%–98% of respondents who had experienced one ACE reported at least one additional ACE (median: 87%). The presence of one ACE significantly increased the prevalence of having additional ACEs, elevating the adjusted odds by 2 to 17.7 times (median: 2.8). The observed number of respondents with high ACE scores was notably higher than the expected number under the assumption of independence of ACEs ( p < .0001), confirming the statistical interrelatedness of ACEs. Conclusions: The study provides strong evidence that ACEs are interrelated rather than occurring independently. Therefore, collecting information about exposure to other ACEs is advisable for studies that focus on the consequences of a specific ACE. Assessment of multiple ACEs allows for the potential assessment of a graded relationship between these childhood exposures and health and social outcomes.

The Effects of Divorce and Marital Discord on Adult Children's Psychological Well-Being

Previous research has demonstrated associations between exposure to parental divorce and marital discord while growing up and children's psychological distress in adulthood. Few studies, however, have attempted to explain these associations. Three pathways are evaluated through which family disruption and discord may affect offspring's well-being: children's socioeconomic attainment, children's marital and relationship stability, and the quality of children's relations with parents. Using 17-year longitudinal data from two generations, results show that divorce and marital discord predict lower levels of psychological well-being in adulthood. Parentchild relationships mediate most of the associations between parents' marital discord and divorce and children's subsequent psychological outcomes. Marital discord appears to erode children's emotional bonds with mothers, whereas both divorce and marital discord appear to erode children's emotional bonds with fathers. The results highlight the continuing importance of parent-child ties for children's well-being in early adulthood.

The Effects of Divorce and Marital Discord on Adult Children's Psychological Well-being

Previous research has demonstrated associations between exposure to parental divorce and marital discord while growing up and children's psychological distress in adulthood. Few studies, however, have attempted to explain these associations. Three pathways are evaluated through which family disruption and discord may affect offspring's well-being: children's socioeconomic attainment, children's marital and relationship stability, and the quality of children's relations with parents. Using 17-year longitudinal data from two generations, results show that divorce and marital discord predict lower levels of psychological well-being in adulthood. Parent-child relationships mediate most of the associations between parents’ marital discord and divorce and children's subsequent psychological outcomes. Marital discord appears to erode children's emotional bonds with mothers, whereas both divorce and marital discord appear to erode children's emotional bonds with fathers. The results highlight the continuing importance of parent-child ties for children's well-being in early adulthood.

Husbands' marital violence and the adjustment problems of clinic-referred children

This research assessed the relation between husbands' marital violence and child problems in a sample of families seeking clinical services for their children's (4 to 7 years) oppositional, noncompliant behavior. We assessed whether husbands' marital violence was associated with increased levels of child problems after accounting for parental marital discord, parent-child aggression, and wives' acts of aggression toward husbands. We also assessed the contribution of data collected from fathers in evaluating the relation between husbands' marital violence and child problems. Ninety mothers and fathers each provided data on husbands' marital violence, their children's externalizing and internalizing problems, general marital discord, parental aggression toward children, and wives' aggression toward husbands. Husbands' marital violence was associated with child problems, even after accounting for general marital discord, parental aggression toward children, and wives' aggression toward husbands. The documented relations were more a function of fathers' than mothers' reports of child problems. In fact, relations between husbands' marital violence and child problems emerged only when fathers' data were included.

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders

Parental and Occupational Stress as Predictors of Depressive Symptoms among Dual-Income Couples: A Multilevel Modeling Approach

This study evaluates the influence of parental and occupational stress on depressive symptoms. Multi-level modeling is used with a matched pairs, couples research design to address statistical dependency relations among husband-wife pairs and to estimate the contributions of individual- and couple-level variables on depressive symptoms. The findings of 200 dual-earner, married couples with children (x = 2.8 children) indicate that higher levels of parental and occupational stress are equally predictive of depressive symptoms for husbands and their wives. Lower marital satisfaction, less family cohesion, and lengthier marriages are also equally predictive of depressive symptoms for husbands and their wives. Key Words: depression, dual-earners, occupational stress, parental stress. Dual-earner couples have become common in contemporary society's landscape of traditional and nontraditional families. Historical shifts in the workplace over the past few decades have included substantial increases in women working outside the home either part-time or full-time. The consequences of these historical shifts have been of considerable interest to a variety of investigators, including those interested in the impact of dual-earner couples on family functioning and mental health (e.g., Aneshensel & Pearlin, 1987; Barnett, Marshall, Raudenbush, & Brennan, 1993; Pleck, 1985; Wethington & Kessler, 1989). Some of the initial research on dual-earner couples focused not on family functioning and mental health, per se, but rather on the compounding of multiple-role stresses (e.g., occupational, as well as parental and marital) and their potentially adverse impact on women's mental health (e.g., Barnett, Marshall, & Singer, 1992; Frankenhaeuser, Lundberg, & Chesney, 1991; Repetti, Matthews, & Waldron, 1989). Much of this research centered on women's health, rather than on men's health, because there typically was not a commensurate shift in men's roles toward the addition of burdensome homemaking tasks. The upshot of this research was that workplace participation by women often increased their selfesteem and feelings of perceived worth, rather than increasing mental health problems (e.g., Barnett & Marshall, 1991; Repetti et al., 1989; Wilsnack & Cheloha, 1987). Parenthetically, this generalization of previous findings does not suggest that the occurrence of multiple stressors across these social roles (i.e., occupational, parental, marital) is not associated with poorer mental health, only that there is nothing inherently stressful in women's participation in the workplace that is inevitably associated with poorer mental health. Further, higher levels of multiple stressors are detrimental to the mental well-being of men, as well as women. For instance, the combined impact of occupational and parental role stress and marital discord is associated with lower levels of mental health for both men and women. More recent research in this area has focused on the importance of different social roles (e.g., occupational, parental) for men and women and the association of successful functioning in these roles to mental health indicators such as depression (e.g., Barnett et al., 1993; Bielby & Bielby, 1989; Deaux, 1984; Simon, 1992). The initial assumptions of many researchers investigating this topic were that occupational role functioning would be more salient than parental or family role functioning to mental health for men, whereas parental or family role functioning would be more salient than occupational role functioning to mental health for women. These assumptions have been seriously challenged by the empirical findings and critiques in the literature (e.g., Barnett, 1993; Rodin & Ickovics, 1990; Wethington & Kessler, 1989). Briefly, expectations and socialization for social roles, rather than inherent gender differences, account for the seemingly disparate findings in the literature. …

Predicting outcome in a multimodal day treatment program for children with severe behaviour problems.

The demand for day treatment programs for children with severe behaviour problems has greatly increased in the past decade. The objective of this study is to identify characteristics of children who benefit most from such a program. The sample consisted of 63 children, aged five to 13, assessed at admission and discharge from the program. Outcome measures included behavioural improvement and school reintegration. At admission, multivariate analyses revealed that children who made the greatest behavioural improvements had less severe behaviour problems, lower IQ scores and more disturbed family functioning. Children reintegrated into regular classes after discharge were younger at admission, had better reading skills, no attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and little parental marital discord. Findings suggest that successful outcome can be predicted from characteristics of children at intake. A multimodal approach is needed to address the different problems areas in a child's life.

Personal and family distress in homeless adolescents

Previous research has indicated that homeless children exhibit high rates of behavioral and emotional problems and come from families characterised by conflict and rejection. Further, some evidence exists to show that family variables may relate to adolescent distress differently for homeless males and females. In this study, 117 homeless adolescents were compared to a sample of non-homeless youths on the self reported incidence of personal and family problems. The homeless children reported the highest incidence of all behavioral and emotional problems, parental marital discord, overprotection, and the lowest levels of parental care and acceptance. Sex effects were not evident in reported levels of personal or family problems. However, substantially more variance in the adolescents level of behavioral and emotional disturbance was predictable from family measures for females than males. Overall, the results point to the importance of incorporating family distress models in the understanding and remediation of adolescent homelessness.

Effects of Parental Adjustment on the Adaptation of Children with Congenital or Acquired Limb Deficiencies

Maternal and paternal depression, anxiety, and marital discord were investigated as predictors of depression, anxiety, and self-esteem in 54 children with congenital or acquired limb deficiencies. Higher paternal depression predicted higher child depression and higher anxiety. Higher paternal anxiety predicted higher child depression and anxiety and lower self-esteem. Higher marital discord predicted higher child depression and anxiety and lower self-esteem. Maternal depression and anxiety did not predict child psychological adaptation. Family support had a positive effect on child adaptation, as did parent, classmate, teacher, and friend social support. The findings are discussed in terms of the risk and protective effects of parental distress, marital discord, and social support on the psychological adaptation of children with visible chronic physical disorders. J Dev Behav Pediatr 14:13-20, 1993. Index terms: limb deficiencies, children, adjustment, social support, parental distress, family functioning, marital discord.

Parenting Stress and the Child With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Presents a critical review of research concerning the stress of parenting a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Four lines of research have been pursued. First, studies demonstrate increased stress reported by parents of hyperactive children. Second, studies of parental psychopathology suggest that for some parents such disturbance is independent of the child's pathology and reflects a genetic substrate for the same and related disorders. Third, ADHD is associated with increased parental marital discord. Fourth, research regarding parent-child interaction patterns suggests a child-to-adult direction of effect more than the reverse. Directions for future research are recommended.

Prevalence and Etiology

Of a total of 800 children (aged 3-12 years) attending a pediatric outpatient department, 182 (22.8%) were found to be having temper tantrums (mean age, 4.7 years). Temper tantrums were found to be most common at 3-5 years (75.3%), less common at 6-8 years (20.8%), and least common at 9-12 years (3.9%). Children aged 3-5 years were more likely to be of a lower social class (p &lt; 0.01), whereas in other age groups (6-8 years and 9-12 years) children were more likely to be of an upper social class. Boys dominated the study significantly: the ratio of boys to girls was 3.1:1. Boys having temper tantrums were more likely to be of an upper social class (p &lt; 0.001) compared with girls, who tended to be of a lower social class (p &lt; .01). Children showed a higher incidence of history of postnatal trauma and seizure disorder compared with the control group (p &lt; 0.05). Parental overprotection and marital discord were found to be stress factors in a significantly higher number of boys than girls (p &lt; 0.01); parental negligence was a significant stress factor for girls (p &lt; 0.01). Associated behavioral problems, such as thumb sucking, enuresis, tics, head banging, sleep disturbances, and hyperkinesis were found to be significantly higher among children with tantrums.