Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Mother Knows Best? Inhibitory Maternal Gatekeeping, Psychological Control, And The Mother–Adolescent Relationship, Erin Kramer Holmes, Kaylee C. Dunn, James P. Harper, W. Justin Dyer, Randal D. Day

Faculty Publications

We used structural equation modeling to explore associations between inhibitory maternal gatekeeping attitudes, reports of inhibitory maternal gatekeeping behaviors, maternal psychological control, observed mother–adolescent warmth, and adolescent reports of maternal involvement. Our random stratified sample consisted of 315 mothers and their adolescents. Results revealed that inhibitory maternal gatekeeping attitudes were positively associated with reports of inhibitory gatekeeping behaviors. Psychological control fully mediated the relationship between inhibitory gatekeeping attitudes, reports of inhibitory gatekeeping behaviors, and adolescent reports of maternal involvement. Though gatekeeping attitudes and behaviors were not associated with observed mother–adolescent warmth, psychological control was negatively associated with observed mother–adolescent warmth. …

Does Therapist Guidance Enhance Assessment-Based Feedback As Couple Relationship Education?, W. Kim Halford, Raylene Chen, Keithia L. Wilson, Jeffry Larson, Dean M. Busby, Thomas Holman

Faculty Publications

Assessment and feedback of relationship strengths and challenges is a widely used brief approach to couple relationship education (CRE). It can be fully automated through the internet, with couples self-interpreting the feedback. This study assessed whether therapist guidance of couples to interpret the report and develop relationship goals enhanced the benefits of the feedback. Thirty-nine couples seeking CRE were randomly assigned to either self-interpretation of an internet-based relationship assessment report (RELATE), or therapist-guided interpretation of the same report (RELATE+). Participants were assessed on relationship satisfaction and psychological distress pre- and post-CRE, and a 6-month follow-up. RELATE and RELATE+ were not …

Stress Spillover Of Health Symptoms From Healthy Spouses To Patient Spouses In Older Married Couples Managing Both Diabetes And Osteoarthritis, Jeremy B. Yorgason, Susanne O. Roper, Jonathan G. Sandberg, Cynthia A. Berg

Faculty Publications

Many studies examining illness within marriage have investigated how illness in one spouse influences the other spouse. In later-life marriages, where both spouses are more likely to have health challenges, there is an increased likelihood that health symptoms from both spouses affect each other. In the current study we examined how health symptoms in a “healthy” spouse may exacerbate health problems in a partner (the patient) who is managing multiple chronic illnesses. Surveys were collected across 14 days from 27 later-life couples where patients had both diabetes and osteoarthritis. Results indicated that higher healthy spouse symptoms were generally associated with …

"We See What We Seek": A Rejoinder To The Responses Of Amato, Eggebeen, And Osborne, Loren Marks

Faculty Publications

In this rejoinder I adopt a conversational and less dehydrated tone, to the relief of any who labored through my full-length piece. I will be comparatively brief and, hopefully, more engaging.

Same-Sex Parenting And Children’S Outcomes: A Closer Examination Of The American Psychological Association’S Brief On Lesbian And Gay Parenting, Loren Marks

Faculty Publications

In 2005, the American Psychological Association (APA) issued an official brief on lesbian and gay parenting. This brief included the assertion: “Not a single study has found children of lesbian or gay parents to be disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to children of heterosexual parents” (p. 15). The present article closely examines this assertion and the 59 published studies cited by the APA to support it. Seven central questions address: (1) homogeneous sampling, (2) absence of comparison groups, (3) comparison group characteristics, (4) contradictory data, (5) the limited scope of children’s outcomes studied, (6) paucity of long-term outcome data, …

Black Hawk Down?: Establishing Helicopter Parenting As A Distinct Construct From Other Forms Of Parental Control During Emerging Adulthood, Laura M. Padilla-Walker, Larry J. Nelson

Faculty Publications

The purpose of the current study was to establish a measure of helicopter parenting that was distinct from other forms of parental control, and to examine parental and behavioral correlates of helicopter parenting. Participants included 438 undergraduate students from four universities in the United States (Mage = 19.65, SD = 2.00, range = 18–29; 320 women, 118 men), and at least one of their parents. Analyses revealed that helicopter parenting loaded on a separate factor from both behavioral and psychological control, and that helicopter parenting was positively associated with behavioral and psychological control, but not at levels suggesting …

Community-Based Programs Serving Fathers, Erin Kramer Holmes, Sean Brotherson, Kevin Roy

Faculty Publications

Community-based programs have been an important vehicle for the promotion of father involvement in the lives of children over the past decade. There is little available research, however, on the effectiveness of these programs in promoting involvement, or on the experiences of men and staff in building such programs. Despite the emergence of a new generation of federally-funded, state-funded, and locally-funded programs for the fathers and families, a lack of available research means researchers and practitioners run the risk of losing valuable insight to inform better practices for fathering. Devoting a special issue of Fathering to these efforts is our …

Impacts Of A Parenting Newsletter On Fathers Of Kindergarten Children, Sean E. Brotherson, Erin Kramer Holmes, Christopher J. Bouwhuis

Faculty Publications

This study is the first assessment of the perceived effectiveness of a parenting newsletter written specifically for fathers or father figures. The Father Times newsletter was distributed weekly for six weeks to all families of kindergarten children at a local school. Once hundred seventy-seven fathers responded to a self-report questionnaire regarding usage of the parenting newsletter, perceptions of the newsletter as a resource, and impacts of fathers' attitudes, knowledge, behaviors, and father–child relationship quality. Two-thirds of fathers in the sample reported changing at least "somewhat" in all nine outcomes explored. Neither father age nor number of children in the home …

Two Sides To The Same Coin: Relational And Physical Aggression In The Media, Sarah M. Coyne, Laura Stockdale, David A. Nelson

Faculty Publications

Purpose - This review aims to examine how aggression is portrayed in the media and how it can influence behavior and attitudes regarding aggression.

Design/methodology/approach - The authors reviewed the relevant literature and examined both physical and relational forms of aggression in multiple media forms (television, film, video games, music, books).

Findings - Across media types, evidence is found that both physical and relational aggression are portrayed frequently and in ways that may contribute to subsequent aggression. Furthermore, though there are studies finding no effect of exposure to media aggression, evidence is found that watching physical and relational aggression in …

A Proposal For A Feasible, First-Step, Legislative Agenda For Divorce Reform, Alan J. Hawkins

Faculty Publications

American sociologist Andrew Cherlin argues that the institutional boundaries of marriage have shrunk; marriage no longer effectively governs intimate associations before marriage, or structures "proper" pathways to the desired goal of healthy, stable marriage. Personal development and individual emotions are at the core of modern marriage, rather than societal expectations and religious and civil norms. Accordingly, marriages are held together now by internal, psychological forces rather than external, societal forces, and these bonds are substantially weaker. As a result, divorce is common, with about half ending within twenty years; second marriages have even higher rates of disruption. While the divorce …