Two-parent Households Research Articles

Factors Associated With Family Member's Spanking of 3.5-year-old Children in Japan.

BackgroundSpanking can cause adverse psychological development and biological functional changes in children. However, spanking is widely used by parents in Japan. This study explored the risk factors for family member’s spanking of 3.5-year-old children using nationwide population data in Japan.MethodsSurveys were administered to family members in Japan who had a child in 2001 (first cohort) or in 2010 (second cohort), and the data when their child was 0.5, 1.5, and 3.5 years old were used. We used multivariate binary and ordinal logistic regression analyses to examine the associations between risk factors and spanking children at 3.5 years of age, which was subcategorized into frequencies of never, sometimes, and always spanking, presented with odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).ResultsAmong 70,450 families, 62.8% and 7.9% sometimes and always spanked their children, respectively. Children in the second cohort were spanked less frequently compared with those in the first cohort, and fathers who responded to the questionnaire spanked children less frequently than mothers who responded. Identified associated factors for spanking were male child, presence of siblings of the child, not living in a two-parent household, not living in a three-generation household, younger parents, parents with lower education, no outside work or unstable work, and lower family income.ConclusionsWe found a high prevalence of spanking and its associated factors. Approaching those with lower socioeconomic factors and promoting fathers’ involvement in parenting may be important public health strategies for reducing and preventing spanking.

Multigenerational Households During Childhood and Trajectories of Cognitive Functioning Among U.S. Older Adults.

ObjectivesFamily structure in childhood influences early brain development and cognitive performance in adulthood. Much less is known about its long-term impact on later-life cognitive functioning. We extend the two-generation family structure approach to investigate the potential contribution of living with grandparents in multigenerational households to differences in cognitive functioning at older ages.MethodsData were drawn from 9 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (1998–2014) merged with newly collected childhood family history data. Five types of family structure were assessed: two-parent households, two-parent households with grandparents, single-parent households, single-parent households with grandparents, and grandparent-headed households. Growth curve models were used to estimate trajectories of cognitive functioning over time.ResultsChildhood family structure was significantly associated with level of cognitive functioning, but not to rate of cognitive decline. Relative to those from two-parent households, individuals who grew up in multigenerational households showed higher levels of cognitive functioning, including those living with a single parent and grandparents. Those who lived with a single parent alone were the most disadvantaged. The effects of these multigenerational households persisted net of childhood and adulthood socioeconomic status and health outcomes.DiscussionGrandparent coresidence may cultivate a socially enriched home environment, providing resources and protection for early cognitive development that could persist throughout life. Multigenerational living arrangements are likely to increase as the contemporary population ages. More research needs to be done to understand the impact of these living arrangements on future generations’ brain health and cognitive aging.

Curvilinear Relations Between Preschool-Aged Children's Effortful Control and Socioemotional Problems: Racial-Ethnic Differences in Functional Form.

The majority of studies of preschool-aged children's self-regulation presume that their higher levels of self-regulation are concurrently and prospectively associated with fewer externalizing and internalizing problems. This assumes their relations are only linear in form and negative, but studies with community samples of mostly non-Hispanic White children have found curvilinear or positive relations between self-regulation and socioemotional problems in early childhood. This cross-sectional study tests linear and quadratic relations between children's behavioral battery assessed effortful control and parent rated externalizing and internalizing problems, and whether their functional forms differ across racial-ethnic groups in a diverse sample of 2.5- to 3.5-years-olds (N = 72) from highly educated two-parent households. Child effortful control was negatively related to externalizing, quadratically related to internalizing (albeit marginally), and an interaction between effortful control and race-ethnicity indicated opposite linear relations between effortful control and internalizing problems for different racial-ethnic groups. By integrating tests of curvilinearity and interactions, this study builds on theoretical and empirical work indicating complex relations between the development of self-regulation and psychopathology.

Complementary and Alternative Therapy Use in Children with Cerebral Palsy.

To describe complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use amongst children with cerebral palsy (CP) in Canada and to identify factors associated with CAM use. We conducted a cross-sectional study, utilising data from the Canadian CP Registry. We explored the association between CAM use and regional, socioeconomic and CP phenotypic variables, and parental perception of the family-centredness of clinical care using the Measures of Process of Care-56 (MPOC-56). Chi-square analyses were performed, and odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were obtained. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare MPOC-56 scores between CAM users and non-CAM users. The study sample consisted of 313 families of which 27% reported CAM use in the past year. Children with CP using CAM were more likely to reside in Western Canada (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.6-6.7), live in a two-parent household (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.5-8.4), have an ataxic/hypotonic or dyskinetic CP subtype (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.5-6.1) and have a greater motor impairment (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.7-4.9). MPOC-56 subscale scores were not significantly associated with CAM use. Physicians need to be aware of existing CAM therapies, the level of evidence supporting their efficacy (beneficence), their associated risks of adverse events (non-maleficence) and enable fair access to care that may be of benefit to each child.

Parental psychological distress in the postnatal period in Japan: a population-based analysis of a national cross-sectional survey

Mental health assessments of both members of a couple are important when considering the child-rearing environment. The prevalence and factors associated with both parents’ psychological distress have not been fully investigated. A nationally representative sample from the 2016 Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions in Japan was used to examine the prevalence of moderate and severe psychological distress in parents in the first year after childbirth. In total, 3,514 two-parent households raising children under one year old met the study criteria. The Japanese version of Kessler 6 was used to assess moderate and severe psychological distress. The prevalence of either or both parents experiencing psychological distress in the first year after birth were 15.1% and 3.4%, respectively. A multivariate logistic regression analysis showed factors of fathers who worked ≥ 55 h a week, reduced duration of sleep in mothers, age in months of the youngest child, and high household expenditures were significantly associated with both parents simultaneously having moderate or severe psychological distress. This study implied the importance of prevention and early detection of parental psychological distress in both parents. Assessing parents’ psychological distress and work-style reform in the childcare period is an urgent issue to improve their mental health conditions.

Religiosity differences in the transition to first intercourse before age 18 among Polish students

Poland is a Catholic country and is one of a few countries in Europe where the percentage of people declaring themselves as non-believing remains rather low. Thus, most young Poles are brought up in Catholic families and receive religious instruction at school.The purpose of this study is to estimate the effects of religiosity and gender on the risk of first intercourse before age 18 among university students in Poland. We analysed data from two comparative studies of affective life, sexual behaviour, and attitudes conducted among university students in 2001 and 2013. We used survival analysis techniques to test for relative differences in the effects of religiosity on the timing of first sexual intercourse. While the results confirm that religiosity was a significant differentiating factor in the sexual behaviours of students in Poland, they also show that religiosity was a significant predictor of sexual abstinence only if a young person regarded religion as very important. The unadjusted median age at first sex for the participants who attached no or little importance to religion was more than 2 years lower than the median age among those who considered religion very important and attended church services regularly. The findings also indicate that there were significant gender differences, with young males transitioning to sex earlier than young females, albeit only among the 2001 cohort. The multivariate analyses confirm the absence of significant gender differences in FSI before age 18 within religious groups (controlling for other factors) in the cohort of students born after 1990. The results for control variables are consistent with the literature indicating that growing up in a two-parent household has a protective effect, and that teenage lifestyles are significant. Our observation of a distinct polarity of students with respect to religiosity and the timing of sexual debut may be a starting point for further analyses of FSI determinants.

A pilot study of attachment relationships, psychological problems and negative automatic thoughts among college students in Pakistan.

The present pilot study examined the associations between attachment relationships, psychological problems, and negative automatic thoughts among late adolescents in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. A total of 98 participants (male=49, female=49) were recruited from government colleges in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The measures used to assess the research variables of this cross sectional study were the Inventory of Parent-Peer Attachment (IPPA-Urdu), Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-Urdu), and the Automatic Thought Questionnaire (ATQ-Urdu). All of these measures had good reliabilities. Findings of the correlation analyses demonstrated that maternal, paternal and peer attachment relationships were negatively related to symptoms of depression and anxiety as well as to negative automatic thoughts. On the other hand, depressive and anxiety symptoms were positively associated with negative automatic thoughts. Additionally, findings suggested that future studies must investigate adolescents from two-parent households and exclude those with only one living parent. The results underscored the need for further investigations of the linkages between attachment relationships, negative automatic thoughts and psychological problems on larger samples.

Quantity or Quality?: Assessing the Role of Household Structure and Parent-Child Relationship in Juvenile Delinquency

ABSTRACT Research investigating the risk factors for delinquency has found that single-parent households are more criminogenic than two-parent households. Using data (N = 4,626) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, this study expands on prior research by considering various types of households and parent-child relationship, along with three categories of delinquency: status offenses, property crimes, and violent crimes. Contrary to previous research, we find that juveniles living in single-parent households are significantly less likely to engage in all three types of delinquency than those from intact and stepparent households. Further, while an increased quantity of parents in the household does not lessen engagement in delinquency, the quality of the parent-child relationship does, as those who have stronger relationships with their parents are at lower risk of delinquent behavior. Our study highlights the importance of distinguishing between different types of delinquency and household structures, as well as how such classifications may influence research findings in this area.

Paternal migration and children’s educational attainment and work activity: the case of Mexico

ABSTRACT Most of the research evaluating the import of paternal migration for children’s outcomes has taken ‘left-behind children’ as a single group. Taking a life course perspective, this paper distinguishes fathers’ short-term and long-term migrations, as well as return migration, as they affect children’s productive activities. Using the Mexican Family Life Survey (2002–2009), we followed school-aged children from two-parent households in 2002 and observed their activities as they transitioned into adulthood from 2005 through 2009. We found that fathers’ short-term migration is negatively associated with children’s labor force participation, especially for 12 – to 18-year-old boys, suggesting that paternal migration may interrupt adolescent boys’ labor market transition in the short-term. Fathers’ long-term migration and return migration does not significantly alter children’s activities. However, the negative role of fathers’ long-term absence and benefits brought by the paternal migration trip are important mechanisms for educational persistence and the labor force entrance of 12 – to 18-year-old girls, highlighting the conditions under which certain mechanisms may work. This suggests that migration is a family process, with the outcomes lying in the interplay of the stages of migration, children’s life stages, and how gender is treated within cultural and familial contexts.

Types and correlates of school non-attendance in students with autism spectrum disorders

School non-attendance in autism spectrum disorders has received very little attention to date. The study aimed to provide a comprehensive description of school non-attendance in students with autism spectrum disorders. Through an online survey, parents of 486 children (mean age: 11 years) reported on school attendance over 1 month and reasons for instances of non-attendance. On average, students missed 5 days of school of a possible 23 days. Persistent non-attendance (absent on 10%+ of available sessions) occurred among 43% of students. School non-attendance was associated with child older age, not living in a two-parent household, parental unemployment and, especially, attending a mainstream school. School refusal accounted for 43% of non-attendance. School exclusion and school withdrawal each accounted for 9% of absences. Truancy was almost non-existent. Non-problematic absenteeism (mostly related to medical appointments and illness) accounted for 32% of absences. Non-problematic absenteeism was more likely among those with intellectual disability, school refusal was more likely among older students and school exclusion was more likely among students from single-parent, unemployed and well-educated households. Findings suggest that school non-attendance in autism spectrum disorders is a significant issue, and that it is important to capture detail about attendance patterns and reasons for school non-attendance.Lay abstractOur study aimed to describe school non-attendance in students with autism. We conducted an online survey. Parents of 486 students (mean age: 11 years) indicated which days their child had missed school (over a period of 1 month). If the child had missed a day, the parent was asked to select a reason from a list of 15 possible reasons (this is a measure of types of school non-attendance called SNACK (School Non-Attendance ChecKlist; Heyne et al., 2019)). On average, students missed 5 days of school of a possible 23 days. Missing over 10% of school is known as persistent absence, and in our study, 43% of students experienced persistent absence. Older students, who attended mainstream schools, who did not live in a two-parent household and whose caregiver was unemployed were more likely to miss school. Looking at the reasons for absence, school refusal was the most frequent reason, accounting for 43% of absences. Nine percent of absence was due to school exclusion. Nine percent of absence was due to school withdrawal. Truancy was almost non-existent. A final reason describes non-problematic absence that is mostly due to medical appointments and illness. This type of absence accounted for 32% of absences in our study, and it was more likely in student with intellectual disability. School refusal was more likely among older students. School exclusion was more likely among students from single-parent, unemployed and well-educated households. Findings from this study help us to understand better the difficulties students with autism experience attending school.

Prevalence and Health Characteristics of Prescription Opioid Use, Misuse, and Use Disorders Among U.S. Adolescents

PurposeThe prevalence of past-year prescription opioid use (POU), nonmedical POU (NMPOU), and POU disorder (POUD) and their correlates were examined in a national sample of American adolescents (N = 41,579). MethodsThis study used data from the public-use files of the 2015, 2016, and 2017 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, which captured substance use and mental health problems among noninstitutionalized individuals. Prevalence and specific types of prescription opioids and other substances used and misused in the past year were examined among adolescents. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine correlates (demographics, other substances used, past-year major depressive episode, school enrollment, two-parent household, number of lifetime medical conditions, and survey year) of POU, NMPOU, and POUD. ResultsMultiple substance use was common within the past year. The most frequently used prescription opioids were hydrocodone, codeine, oxycodone, and other opioids among adolescents. Cannabis use disorder and alcohol use disorder were comparatively prevalent among opioid misusers. Several correlates (demographics, other substances used, lifetime medical conditions, major depressive episode, and survey year) of POU, NMPOU, and POUD were found. ConclusionsIn this national sample, multiple substance use was common among adolescents with past-year POU and NMPOU. Clinical screening for opioid use problems, assessment, and treatment expansion for POUD can focus on persons with substance use, mental health, and/or behavioral problems. Longitudinal studies are needed to better elucidate temporal associations between POU and NMPOU/POUD among adolescents, and more prevention and treatment research on rural residents and minority groups is needed.

Attachment, Psychological Wellbeing, and Educational Development among Child Members of Transnational Families.

The current research investigated attachment styles, psychological wellbeing, and academic development among children in transnational family arrangements in Zimbabwe. Purposive sampling was employed to select 57 children in transnational family arrangements and 41 children in conventional two-parent households aged between 8 and 14 years. Attachment Style Classification Questionnaire for latency-age children, Stirling Children's Well-being Scale, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and Questionnaire for Evaluation of Development and Behavior were applied. The results revealed that there were no significant differences in attachment styles, conduct problems, hyperactivity, and academic development between the transnational and conventional family groups. Social desirability and prosocial behavior were significantly lower in the transnational group. Children with both parents as migrants had significantly lower scores for psychological wellbeing and higher scores for emotional symptoms and literacy problems than children with one migrant parent or conventional families. There was no difference in attachment styles and academic development, which may be a reflection of the strength of the extended family in substituting parental care. However, children in transnational family arrangements scored poorly on the prosocial subscale of psychological wellbeing, which is associated with family cohesion. Parental migration negatively impacts family cohesion, especially when both parents migrate. When both parents migrate, the children exhibited emotional symptoms, literacy problems, poor prosocial behaviors, and poor psychological wellbeing because children receive reduced social support. This study reveals that a child's age at the parent's departure, family cohesion, and economic security are integral to ensuring the wellbeing of children in transnational family arrangements.

Nonstandard Work Schedules and Father Involvement Among Resident and Nonresident Fathers.

We examined associations between resident and nonresident fathers' nonstandard work schedules, work hours, and their level of involvement with their young children in the United States. Nonstandard work schedules may negatively impact father involvement either directly by reducing fathers' availability or indirectly by taking a toll on their wellbeing. Prior research on nonstandard schedules and father involvement has focused on two-parent households, yet nonstandard schedules may pose similar or greater challenges to nonresident fathers. Using data on 1598 resident and 759 nonresident fathers from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we estimated regression models to test associations between fathers' nonstandard work schedules, work hours, and fathers' involvement-accessibility, engagement, and responsibility-controlling for confounding factors and using residualized change models. For nonresident fathers only, we estimated associations between nonstandard schedules, work hours, and child support. Among nonresident fathers, working evenings was associated with lower engagement relative to working standard hours only and other nonstandard schedules, and in some models, working a variable schedule was associated with greater responsibility relative to other nonstandard schedules. Among resident fathers, working any nonstandard schedule versus standard hours only was associated with greater responsibility, and total work hours were negatively associated with each measure of involvement. Findings suggest that fathers' work schedules may be an important factor in understanding resident and nonresident fathers' involvement with their young children.

Could increasing income in lone-parent households reduce inequality in child mental health problems?

Abstract Half of lone-parent families in the UK live in relative poverty (income <60% national median) compared to a quarter of two-parent families. Family hardship is associated with increased risk of child mental health problems (CMHP). Using data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study (∼18,000 children born 2000-02), we investigated whether equalising income between lone- and two-parent households could reduce prevalence and inequality in CMHP. Exposure was family structure (lone-/ two-parent household) at 9 months; mediator was equivalised weekly household income at 3 years(y); outcome was parent-report CMHP at 5y (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; normal/ borderline-abnormal). The analytic sample comprised 11,193 children. We modelled the relationship between family structure, income and CMHP in logistic marginal structural models, weighted for attrition to MCS at 5y, and adjusted for baseline and intermediate confounding. Prevalence of CMHP was assessed overall and according to family structure. Differences between lone and two-parent households were represented by risk ratios (RRs) and differences (RDs) [95% CIs]. We modelled a hypothetical increase in income for all lone-parent households, so that median income was equalised between lone- and two-parent households, and re-estimated prevalence, RRs and RDs. Prevalence of CMHP was 8.5%. Children from lone-parent households were more likely to exhibit CMHP (RR 1.73[1.28-2.19]; RD 5.70[2.44-8.97]). Equalising income reduced prevalence (8.2%), and differences in CMHP by family structure (RR, 1.37[0.90-1.83]; RD, 2.86[-0.06-6.31]). Sensitivity analyses showed that associations between exposure, mediator and outcome were comparable in more recent MCS sweeps, indicating that these relationships still hold today. Inequalities in CMHP between lone- and two-parent families in the UK are large. Levelling up income for lone-parents households could reduce differences in child mental health problems related to family structure. Key messages Inequalities in CMHP between lone- and two-parent families in the UK are large. Levelling up income for lone-parents households could reduce differences in child mental health problems related to family structure.

Development of a Survey to Assess Latino Fathers' Parenting Practices Regarding Energy Balance-Related Behaviors of Early Adolescents.

Latino adolescents face challenges to performing energy balance-related behaviors (EBRBs) to prevent childhood obesity, including healthy dietary intake, adequate physical activity, and limited screen time. Fathers are underrepresented in family-based obesity interventions but could be influential in shaping the EBRBs of Latino children. Three types of parenting practices (setting expectations/limits, role modeling, managing availability and accessibility) have shown relatively consistent positive relationships with children's EBRBs in studies that have mostly involved mothers. The purpose of this study was to develop measures to assess Latino fathers' parenting practices based on existing measurement instruments, focus groups and cognitive testing. Criterion validity of the measures (40 items) was examined with Latino fathers and their early adolescents (10-14 years old, n = 96 dyads) who were predominantly from low-income, two-parent households. Criterion validity was indicated by significantly higher intakes of fruit and vegetables; lower intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages, sweets/salty snacks and fast foods; more weekly physical activity hours; and fewer daily screen time hours among adolescents who reported high versus low levels/frequencies of supportive parenting practices. In addition, nearly all scales of adolescent-reported paternal behavioral modeling and availability/accessibility practices were significantly correlated with adolescents' corresponding EBRBs (r = 0.22 to 0.54). However, poor validity and agreement with early adolescents' reports were found for most father-reported parenting practices. Overall, this study indicated that the measures were acceptable for assessing adolescents' report of Latino fathers' parenting practices around EBRBs. The findings also indicate the importance of including early adolescents' reports in measuring paternal parenting practices.

Look to the Future and SMILE: Feasibility of Interactive Voice Assistant Technology to Support Maternal Infant Health

Background Both maternal and infant mortality rates serve as indicators of population health and are unacceptably high worldwide. Voice assistant (VA) technologies present a potential new modality to support maternal child health. We developed an interactive VA intervention app (SMILE) to deliver brief, maternal-infant education and management skills (eg, perinatal care, stress management, breast feeding, infant-care) using evidence-based content. Objective The objective was to understand the feasibility and usability of an interactive VA intervention to support maternal and infant health among a group of pregnant women. Methods We employed a mixed methods study design. Pregnant women were recruited via email and word of mouth. Participants completed a baseline demographic and technology-use survey and were asked to use the intervention over the course of two weeks. Postintervention, participants were invited to participate in an individual or group interview. Interviews were conducted to elicit feedback regarding thoughts and attitudes towards VA technology to support the health of mothers and infants. Descriptive analysis was used to summarize quantitative data (ie, survey responses, app logs) and thematic analysis was used for qualitative data (ie, transcriptions of voice recordings collected from SMILE, transcriptions of follow-up interviews). Results Out of 46 respondents, 19 participants were consented, completed baseline surveys and used SMILE. Approximately 63% (n=12) of participants participated in exit interviews. The sample was predominantly 25-34 years old (n=16, 84%), part of a two-parent household (n=19, 100%), white (n=15, 79%), and pregnant with their first child (n=12, 63%). Nine participants (47.4%) reported that they practice stress management, and favorable stress-management activities were mainly comprised of exercise activities, yoga, and outdoor activities without technology involvement. Over half of the participants reported using technology to support pregnancy self-management (n=10, 53%). However, participants preferred mobile apps for education and self-management support during pregnancy and relied on the Internet to access health-related information. More than half of participants reported using default VAs on their phone (n=11, 58%) and on smart speakers (n=10, 53%). Yet, VA technology was mainly reported as being used for basic tasks, such as setting a timer or reminder, checking the weather, turning on/off the lights, or playing music. Postintervention, participants verbalized that VA technology was a potential medium for receiving health information, pregnancy-related information, and could be a strategy to engage other family members in the process. Major concerns revolved around security, privacy, trust, and concerns regarding interacting via voice when in public. Conclusions Although this research is limited by the small and predominantly white sample size, this research represents one of the first studies to explore perceptions and attitudes towards VA to promote maternal-infant health. As VA technology increases in popularity, adoption and utility to support health and well-being among pregnant women is nascent. While VA technology offers some benefits (eg, reduce literacy barriers, hands-free), familiarity and trust of nonvoice digital health tools (eg, mobile apps, Web-based content) remain important in supporting maternal-child health. Digital health solutions that incorporate multiple platforms (eg, mobile apps, Internet, voice) warrant further exploration to optimize support for maternal child health.

Comparing the availability of paid parental leave for same-sex and different-sex couples in 34 OECD countries

AbstractThe availability of paid family leave has been widely researched in the context of a two-parent household with one mother and one father, yet few studies have explored whether households with same-sex parents have access to equal benefits. Expanding on previous cross-country comparisons of parental leave policies, this study examines parental leave policies in 34 OECD countries to compare the total duration of paid parental leave available to same-sex and different-sex parent families within a country. We find that same-sex female and different-sex couples receive equal durations of leave in the majority of countries. However, same-sex male couples often receive shorter durations of paid parental leave compared to both different-sex and same-sex female couples. In addition to addressing the implications of laws and policies surrounding same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption on parental leave availability, we highlight specific aspects of paid leave policies that may explain the unequal durations of paid leave between same-sex and different-sex couples.

A Longitudinal Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Model of Storybook Reading: Children’s Word Use as a Mediator

ABSTRACTThe present study examined the dyadic nature of fathers’ and mothers’ reported frequency of storybook reading by testing (1) the longitudinal association in parents’ frequency of storybook reading when their children were 10.47 months old and 52.95 months old, (2) the interdependence between both parents’ reported frequency of storybook reading, (3) whether children’s word use would be a potential mediator, and (4) potential moderators (e.g., education levels, language skills). The analytical sample consisted of 8,400 two-parent households from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). The actor-partner interdependence mediation model was conducted. Findings showed a significant effect for the continuity in mothers’ storybook reading, but not fathers. Mothers’ reported storybook reading when their children were 10.47 months old significantly predicted fathers’ reported storybook reading when their children were 52.95 months old. Children’s word use was not a significant mediator. Implications and future research are discussed.

Social Class and Educational Attainment: Do Blacks Benefit Less from Increases in Parents’ Social Class Status?

Classic and contemporary studies show that greater social class status is associated with higher levels of education for youth. However, racialized processes might constrain the benefits blacks receive from increases in parents’ social class. In this study the authors use the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 to estimate whether race moderates the relationship among three common measures of youths’ social class during high school (parents’ occupations, family income, and parents’ level of education) and their college enrollment two years after high school and educational attainment eight years after high school. The results suggest that black youth receive lower benefits from social class than whites for both outcomes, and parents’ gender plays a role in the racial differences in the link between social class and both outcomes. The authors also find a three-way interaction with family structure for mothers (among race, social class, and family structure); among youth not in two-parent households, blacks benefit less than whites from mothers’ occupational prestige on enrollment. This study extends the literature on social class and racial inequality in education by explicitly testing whether black youth receive lower benefits from social class in their attainment. Doing so separately for mothers’ and fathers’ social class characteristics uncovers a nuanced pattern useful for understanding race as a moderator to social class.

“The Stress of the Situation has Changed us Both”: A Grounded Theory Analysis of the Romantic Relationship of Parents Raising Children with Autism

Extant literature on family life and autism demonstrates that parents of children with autism experience significantly more parental stress when compared with parents of typically developing children, as well as parents of children with other types of disabilities. In two-parent households, however, how having a child with autism specifically impacts the parents’ romantic relationship with each other is less well understood. The present study aims to better understand how family life that includes parenting a child with autism impacts the romantic relationship of parents; what particular challenges this poses for these parents; and what specific resources, tools, and skills parents bring to bear on negotiating these challenges. This study uses a grounded theory approach to gain an in-depth, phenomenological perspective on family life with autism, from the perspective of nine (n = 9) parents participating in interviews with the study’s primary investigator. A research team approach was used in the development and analysis stages of the project. Analysis of the nine interview transcripts with parents of children with autism revealed 45 master categories, grouped into 14 key categories, which were further grouped into four constructs: (1) Parents’ Expectations of What Family Life Would Have Been Like Without Autism, (2) Perceptions of Family Life, (3) Perceptions of Challenges that Autism Brings to the Family, and (4) Coping Strategies. An emergent theory is articulated concerning how these constructs are interrelated, including the role of specific facilitative factors, barriers, and coping strategies present in the lives of these parents. Through a grounded theory analysis, the present study demonstrates that parents’ expectations for and perceptions of their child with autism has an effect on their ability to cope and to co-parent, and that these experiences, in turn, influence their relationship with their partner.