Themes and Theories Revisited: Perspectives on Processes in Family-Peer Relationships.

Nearly thirty years ago, we invited a consortium of esteemed researchers to contribute to a volume entitled Family-Peer Relations: Modes of Linkage that provided a state-of-the-science appraisal of theory and research within the newly emerging discipline of family-peer relations. The volume's first chapter was titled, "Themes and Theories: Perspectives on Processes in Family-Peer Relationships", and its primary aims were to identify the processes in the family system that were posited to have a bearing on children's development in the peer system (and vice versa), characterize potential mechanisms of linkage, describe extant lines of investigation, appraise empirical accomplishments, and identify issues in need of further investigation. Here, nearly thirty years hence, we are pleased to have the opportunity to reappraise the theory and research on family-peer relations. In this article, we revisit the primary objectives that were addressed in our previously published "Themes and Theories" chapter but do so with the express purpose of evaluating the discipline's progress. Likewise, we also revisit our prior roadmap and associated calls-to-action to update these entities in light of past accomplishments, current limitations, and pressing sociocultural issues and concerns.

Advancing Research and Measurement on Fathering and Child Development.

Fathers are more than social accidents. Research has demonstrated that fathers matter to children's development. Despite noted progress, challenges remain on how best to conceptualize and assess fathering and father-child relationships. The current monograph is the result of an SRCD-sponsored meeting of fatherhood scholars brought together to discuss these challenges and make recommendations for best practices for incorporating fathers in studies on parenting and children's development. The first aim of this monograph was to provide a brief update on the current state of research on fathering and to lay out a developmental ecological systems perspective as a conceptual framework for understanding the different spaces fathers inhabit in their children's lives. Because there is wide variability in fathers' roles, the ecological systems perspective situates fathers, mothers, children, and other caregivers within an evolving network of interrelated social relationships in which children and their parents change over time and space (e.g., residence). The second aim was to present examples of empirical studies conducted by members of the international working group that highlighted different methods, data collection, and statistical analyses used to capture the variability in father-child relationships. The monograph ends with a commentary that elaborates on the ecological systems framework with a discussion of the broader macrosystem and social-contextual influences that impinge on fathers and their children. The collection of articles contributes to research on father-child relationships by advancing theory and presenting varied methods and analysis strategies that assist in understanding the father-child relationship and its impact on child development.

Mother-Adolescent Proficiency in a Common Language Facilitates Socialization Among Mexican-Origin Families.

The primary goal of this study was to test how mother and adolescent proficiency in a common language moderates the link from parenting to adolescent development. A sample of Mexican-origin fifth-grade adolescents (N = 674, 50% female) was measured longitudinally on self-control and aggression. Mothers were rated on observed positive discipline, warmth, and harsh discipline. Positive discipline and warm parenting predicted increases in self-control and decreases in aggression, but only among mother-adolescent dyads who were proficient in a common language. Harsh parenting predicted decreases in self-control and increases in aggression, but only among dyads who were not proficient in a common language. Similar results were found in a conceptual replication among a second sample of 167 Mexican-origin adolescents.

Family psychology: Past and future reflections on the field.

Prominent issues in the field of family psychology during my term as editor (1998-2003) of this journal were briefly noted, including a focus on marital issues, divorce, remarriage and family conflict. Parenting, attachment and parent-child relationships were also significant topics in this period. Special sections of the journal focused on cultural variations, families and the law, families and religion, and family routines and rituals. Several neglected issues that need more attention in the future were noted. These include the need to recognize the embeddedness of families in socioecological contexts, the importance of monitoring the impact of secular changes on families, and the value and limitations of viewing family psychology as a separate field. Other topics for a future agenda include the challenge of defining "family" in the midst of changing family forms, the effects of technological change on families, and the challenges of integrating biological research into the family psychology agenda. A multilevel bio-social approach to family research was recommended. (PsycINFO Database Record

Parenting and later substance use among Mexican-origin youth: Moderation by preference for a common language.

The primary goal of the current study was to test whether parent and adolescent preference for a common language moderates the association between parenting and rank-order change over time in offspring substance use. A sample of Mexican-origin 7th-grade adolescents (Mage = 12.5 years, N = 194, 52% female) was measured longitudinally on use of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana. Mothers, fathers, and adolescents all reported on consistent discipline and monitoring of adolescents. Both consistent discipline and monitoring predicted relative decreases in substance use into early adulthood but only among parent-offspring dyads who expressed preference for the same language (either English or Spanish). This moderation held after controlling for parent substance use, family structure, having completed schooling in Mexico, years lived in the United States, family income, and cultural values. An unintended consequence of the immigration process may be the loss of parenting effectiveness that is normally present when parents and adolescents prefer to communicate in a common language. (PsycINFO Database Record

Effects of the interparental relationship on adolescents' emotional security and adjustment: The important role of fathers.

We examined the mediational roles of multiple types of adolescents' emotional security in relations between multiple aspects of the interparental relationship and adolescents' mental health from ages 13 to 16 (N = 392). General marital quality, nonviolent parent conflict, and physical intimate partner violence independently predicted mental health. Security in the father-adolescent relationship, over and above security with the mother and security in regard to parent conflict, mediated the link from general marital quality to adolescents' mental health. With 2 exceptions, paths were stable for boys and girls, biological- and stepfathers, and Anglo- and Mexican Americans. The findings reveal the need to expand the traditional foci on parent conflict and relationships with mothers to include general marital quality and relationships with fathers. (PsycINFO Database Record

Reconsidering the "acculturation gap" narrative through an analysis of parent-adolescent acculturation differences in Mexican American families.

Using a sample of 193 Mexican American adolescents (M age at Wave 1 = 14) and three waves of data over two years, this study longitudinally examined the effects of parent-youth acculturation differences, relative to no differences, on parent-adolescent relationship quality and youth problem behavior. We examined parent-youth differences in overall acculturation, Mexican acculturation, and American acculturation. We differentiated between cases in which the adolescent was more acculturated than the parent and cases in which the parent was more acculturated than the adolescent. Adolescents were more commonly similar to their parents than different. Where differences existed, adolescents were not uniformly more American than their parents, no type of difference was associated with parent-adolescent relationship quality, and no type of difference in overall acculturation was associated with youth problem behavior. One type of difference by dimension (adolescent had less Mexican acculturation than mother) was associated with less risk of problem behavior.

Optimal assessment of parenting, or how I learned to stop worrying and love reporter disagreement.

The purpose of this study was to examine differences and similarities across ratings of parenting by preadolescents, parents, and observers. Two hundred forty-one preadolescents rated their parents on warmth and harshness. Both mothers and fathers self-reported on these same dimensions, and observers rated each parents' warmth and harshness during a 10 min interaction task with the preadolescent. For the majority of outcomes assessed, the differences between preadolescent, parent, and observer ratings accounted for significant amounts of variance, beyond the levels accounted for by the average of their reports. A replication sample of 929 mother-child dyads provided a similar pattern of results. This methodology can help standardize the study of reporter differences, supports modeling of rater-specific variance as true score, and illustrates the benefits of collecting parenting data from multiple reporters. (PsycINFO Database Record

He Said What? Guided Cognitive Reframing About the Co-resident Father/Stepfather-adolescent Relationship.

We studied young adolescents' seeking out support to understand conflict with their co-resident fathers/stepfathers and the cognitive and affective implications of such support-seeking, phenomena we call guided cognitive reframing. Our sample included 392 adolescents (Mage = 12.5, 52.3% female) who were either of Mexican or European ancestry and lived with their biological mothers and either a stepfather or a biological father. More frequent reframing was associated with more adaptive cognitive explanations for father/stepfather behavior. Cognitions explained the link between seeking out and feelings about the father/stepfather and self. Feelings about the self were more strongly linked to depressive symptoms than cognitions. We discuss the implications for future research on social support, coping, guided cognitive reframing, and father-child relationships.

Attributions of Fathering Behaviors Among Adolescents: The Role of Gender, Ethnicity, Family Structure, and Depressive Symptoms.

Little attention has been paid to how early adolescents make attributions for their fathers' behavior. Guided by symbolic interaction theory, we examined how adolescent gender, ethnicity, family structure, and depressive symptoms explained attributions for residential father behavior. 382 adolescents, grouped by ethnicity (European American, Mexican American) and family structure (intact, stepfamilies), reported attributions for their fathers' positive and negative behaviors. Results indicated that for positive events girls made significantly more stable attributions, whereas boys made more unstable attributions. Mexican American adolescents tended to make more unstable attributions for positive events than European Americans, and adolescents from intact families made more stable attributions for positive events than adolescents from stepfamilies. Implications are discussed for the role of attributions in father-adolescent relationships as prime for intervention in families.

Marital problems, maternal gatekeeping attitudes, and father-child relationships in adolescence.

We evaluated maternal gatekeeping attitudes as a mediator of the relation between marital problems and father-child relationships in 3 waves when children were in Grades 7-10. We assessed each parent's contribution to the marital problems experienced by the couple. Findings from mediational and cross-lagged structural equation models revealed that increased marital problem behaviors on the part of mothers at Wave 1 predicted increased maternal gatekeeping attitudes at Wave 2, which in turn predicted decreased amounts of father-adolescent interaction at Wave 3. Decreased amounts of interaction with either parent were associated within each wave with adolescents' perceptions that they mattered less to that parent. Amount of interaction with fathers at Wave 2 positively predicted changes in boys' perceptions of how much they mattered to their fathers at Wave 3, and amount of interaction with mothers at Wave 2 positively predicted changes in girls' perceptions of how much they mattered to their mothers at Wave 3. The findings did not differ for European American versus Mexican American families or for biological fathers versus step-fathers.

Guided cognitive reframing of adolescent-father conflict: who Mexican American and European American adolescents seek and why.

Adolescents may seek to understand family conflict by seeking out confidants. However, little is known about whom adolescents seek, whether and how such support helps youth, and the factors that predict which sources are sought. This chapter offers a conceptual model of guided cognitive reframing that emphasizes the behavioral, cognitive, and affective implications of confidant support as well as individual, family, and cultural factors linked to support seeking. The authors present empirical data from 392 families of seventh graders of Mexican and European ancestry to predict whether adolescents seek mothers, coresident fathers, and other sources and provide directions for subsequent research.

Parents' promotion of psychological autonomy, psychological control, and Mexican-American adolescents' adjustment.

Mexican-American adolescents are at an elevated risk for adjustment difficulties. In an effort to identify parenting practices that can affect the adjustment of Mexican-American youth, the current study examined parents' promotion of psychological autonomy and parents' psychological control as perceived by Mexican-American early adolescents, and explored their associations with adolescents' adjustment in the context of acculturation. In 5th grade, 134 (54.5% female) Mexican-American adolescents reported on their acculturation level and the parenting practices of their mothers and fathers. In 5th and 7th grade, adolescents also reported on their depressive symptoms, number of delinquent friends, and self-worth. Perceptions of promotion of psychological autonomy and of psychological control were positively correlated. However, perceptions of more promotion of psychological autonomy and of less psychological control predicted fewer depressive symptoms 2 years later. Perceptions of more promotion of psychological autonomy also predicted fewer delinquent friends two years later. Finally, perceptions of more promotion of psychological autonomy predicted higher self-worth only among less acculturated adolescents. The study underscores the roles that promotion of psychological autonomy and psychological control may play in Mexican-American children's well-being during early adolescence.

Fathering and Adolescent Adjustment: Variations by Family Structure and Ethnic Background.

The current study investigated how fathering behaviors (acceptance, rejection, monitoring, consistent discipline, and involvement) are related to preadolescent adjustment in Mexican American and European American stepfamilies and intact families. Cross-sectional data from 393 7th graders, their schoolteachers, and parents were used to examine links between different dimensions of fathering and adolescent outcomes. Following an ecological multivariate model, family SES, marital satisfaction, and mothers' parenting were included as controls. In all contexts, fathering had significant effects on adolescent adjustment. Both mothers' parenting and adolescent gender moderated the associations, and we uncovered some provocative nonlinear relations between fathering and adolescent outcomes. The importance of ethnicity and family structure in studies of fathering are highlighted.

Parental correlates of children's peer relations: an empirical test of a tripartite model.

In recognition of the multiple pathways through which family and peer systems are linked, this short-term longitudinal study tested a tripartite model of family-peer relationships. One hundred fifty-nine fourth-grade children (82 boys, 77 girls) and their parents participated in a study of the links between parent behaviors and children's peer relations both concurrently and 1 year later. A multimethod approach--including observations of parent?child interactions, parent report, child report, and teacher and peer ratings--was used to evaluate a tripartite model of family-peer relations. Results indicate that parent?child interaction, parent advice giving, and parental provision of opportunities by both mothers and fathers predict children's social competence and, in turn, social acceptance 1 year later. Suggestions for future research and practical implications are noted, and limitations of the study are acknowledged.

Bridging the acculturation gap: parent-child relationship quality as a moderator in Mexican American families.

The authors examined the degree to which disparities in parent and child acculturation are linked to both family and child adjustment. With a sample of 1st- and 2nd-generation Mexican American children, acculturation and parent-child relationship quality at 5th grade, and parent-child conflict, child internalizing, and child externalizing at 7th grade were measured. Acculturation gaps with fathers were found to be related to later father-child conflict as well as internalizing and externalizing outcomes. Many of the associations between father-child acculturation gaps and outcomes were moderated by the child's report of the relationship quality between the child and his or her father. Father-child acculturation gaps were associated with negative outcomes only when children reported a poor relationship with their fathers. Mother-child acculturation gaps were not associated with mother-child conflict or adjustment indices.

Economic stress, parenting, and child adjustment in Mexican American and European American families.

To assess the impact of economic hardship on 111 European American and 167 Mexican American families and their 5th-grade (M age=11.4 years) children, a family stress model was evaluated. Structural equation analyses revealed that economic hardship was linked to indexes of economic pressure that were related to depressive symptoms for mothers and fathers of both ethnicities. Depressive symptoms were linked to marital problems and hostile parenting. Paternal hostile parenting was related to child adjustment problems for European Americans, whereas marital problems were linked to child adjustment problems for Mexican Americans. Maternal acculturation was associated with both higher marital problems and lower hostile parenting. The utility of the model for describing the effects of economic hardship in Mexican Americans is noted.

The Society for Research in Child Development at 70: progress and promise.

The major conceptual and empirical advances in the field of child development and in the Society for Research for Child Development (SRCD) as a professional organization over the last 70 years are examined. First, despite reasons for some skepticism, it is argued that both the field and organization have achieved significant progress. Second, several issues that need more attention in the future are noted. These include the need for a culturally diverse approach to child development, an interdisciplinary approach to the field, and increased attention to interdomain links. Finally, the value of a multisite, multi-investigator collaborative model as a complement to an individual-investigator paradigm for developmental science is emphasized.

Development in the family.

In this chapter we review theoretical conceptual and empirical advances in family research and the implications for children's development. Three interdependent family subsystems are considered: the parent-child subsystem, the marital subsystem, and the sibling subsystem. Recent work on the family as a unit of analysis is reviewed as well. Several determinants of family socialization strategies are noted, including child and parental characteristics and resources and social capital available to families. Ethnicity is considered by reviewing recent advances in our understanding of African American, Asian American, and Hispanic families. Several new directions in family research are highlighted. These include research on the linkage between families and work, gay and lesbian parenting, the new reproductive technologies, and the effect of parental incarcerations on families. Future trends in family research are noted, including the role of genetics, the biological correlates of family processes, the role of intervention and prevention designs in family research, and the importance of process work on ethnicity-oriented family research.