Parents have a great influence on the lives of their children, even as children develop into adolescents seeking independent identity. Families may find the transition of their children into adolescence difficult as they renegotiate their parenting strategies to allow for their children’s growing desire for independence. Because marital quality has been found to be related to parenting outcomes, the link between the parental and marital roles of a married couple becomes important to understand during the transition of their children into adolescents. The present study uses the Inventory of Father (Parent) Involvement, Social Connectedness Scale, Quality Marriage Index, Couple Commitment Inventory, and Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale (CES-D). In order to more fully understand how marital quality is linked to parenting quality, this study focused on families that had married parents with early adolescent children. The study had three main goals: (1) to examine predictors of parents’ perceptions of their marital quality and commitment, (2) to examine the associations among marital quality indicators and perceived parenting quality, and (3) to include early adolescent children’s, mothers,’ and fathers’ perceptions of parenting quality. These findings could be used to identify family process or dysfunction. The results of this study indicate that mothers and fathers who have higher household income and fewer depressive symptoms are more likely to have higher quality and more committed marriages than mothers and fathers with lower household incomes and more depressive symptoms. Mothers and fathers who were involved with their early adolescent children reported higher marital commitment than those who were less involved. Fathers who felt connected to their adolescent were also more likely to rate their marital quality more highly than fathers who felt less connected. Adolescent perceptions of high father involvement were more likely when fathers reported high martial quality and commitment. Examining parenting quality from these multiple perspectives may have valuable implications for teaching extension and community classes on marital, parenting, and adolescent development topics.

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Aggression between couples is a pervasive social problem throughout various life stages, including the transition to parenthood. Partner aggression during this life stage is particularly problematic given the possible negative effects it has on children’s development, including the possibility of the intergenerational transmission of aggression. However, not all children who are exposed to parental aggression become perpetrators of aggression. The present study used an initial community sample of 98 pregnant couples that were followed for two years. It was found that over 90% of children were exposed to parental psychological aggression, and approximately a third of children were exposed to parental physical aggression. Exposure to psychological aggression was related to externalizing symptoms for girls, and exposure to physical aggression was related to select internalizing symptoms for boys and girls. Parenting behaviours moderated the link between exposure to parental psychological aggression and childhood aggressive behaviour. Surprisingly, although consistent with a strict interpretation of the social learning theory, high quality parenting behaviours were related to more childhood aggression within the context of an aggressive household. The findings of this study can be applied to prevention and treatment programs focused on curtailing childhood exposure to partner aggression and the intergenerational transmission of aggression. / Graduate / 0622 / 0620 / 0384

Aggression between couples is a pervasive social problem throughout various life stages, including the transition to parenthood. Partner aggression during this life stage is particularly problematic given the possible negative effects it has on children’s development, including the possibility of the intergenerational transmission of aggression. However, not all children who are exposed to parental aggression become perpetrators of aggression. The present study used an initial community sample of 98 pregnant couples that were followed for two years. It was found that over 90% of children were exposed to parental psychological aggression, and approximately a third of children were exposed to parental physical aggression. Exposure to psychological aggression was related to externalizing symptoms for girls, and exposure to physical aggression was related to select internalizing symptoms for boys and girls. Parenting behaviours moderated the link between exposure to parental psychological aggression and childhood aggressive behaviour. Surprisingly, although consistent with a strict interpretation of the social learning theory, high quality parenting behaviours were related to more childhood aggression within the context of an aggressive household. The findings of this study can be applied to prevention and treatment programs focused on curtailing childhood exposure to partner aggression and the intergenerational transmission of aggression. / Graduate / 0622 / 0620 / 0384

abstract: The current study delineated the developmental trajectories of early childhood externalizing and internalizing symptoms reported by mothers and fathers, and examined the role of the 18-month observed parenting quality × Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA) interaction in predicting these trajectories. Child sex was tested as a covariate and moderator. It was found that children's low baseline RSA or high RSA reactivity , in comparison to high baseline RSA or low RSA reactivity , was more reactive as a function of early parenting quality when predicting the development of early childhood problem symptoms. Differential patterns of the interaction between parenting quality and RSA were detected for mothers' and fathers' reports. Mother-reported models showed a diathesis-stress pattern, whereas the father-reported model showed a vantage-sensitivity pattern, especially for internalizing symptoms. This may imply the potential benefit of fathers' active engagement in children's early development. In addition, the effect of the parenting quality × RSA interaction in predicting the mother-reported models was found to be further moderated by child sex. Specifically, the parenting quality × baseline RSA interaction was significantly predictive of girls' 54-month internalizing, and the parenting quality × RSA reactivity interaction significantly predicted boys' internalizing slope. Girls with low baseline RSA or boys with high RSA reactivity were vulnerable to the less positive parenting, exhibiting high levels of 54-month internalizing symptoms or slow decline in internalizing over time, respectively. Future research directions were discussed in terms of integrating the measures of SNS and PNS in psychopathology study, exploring the mechanisms underlying the sex difference in parenting quality × RSA interaction, and comparing the findings of children's typical and atypical development. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Psychology 2014

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