Couples' Anger Dynamics during Conflict: Interpersonal Anger Regulation, Relationship Satisfaction, and Intimate Partner Violence.

We tested hypotheses about moment-to-moment interpersonal influences on anger during couples' conflict, and the association of those anger dynamics with relationship satisfaction and intimate partner violence (IPV). Displayed anger was coded from laboratory observations of cohabiting couples (N = 197); experienced anger was assessed via a video-recall procedure. Credible, but variable, associations were found in which a person's anger display at one moment was linked to change in the partner's anger display and experience in the next moment. Women's anger experience was more strongly influenced by men's anger displays in couples with higher levels of IPV and couples with lower levels of relationship satisfaction. The displayed anger of men who perpetrated higher levels of IPV was more strongly influenced by women's anger displays. Overall, when individuals displayed higher intensity anger, partners reacted with increasingly angry feelings but decreasingly angry displays. Results suggest that anger dynamics relate to dyadic processes and that dynamics relate to important relationship outcomes. Dyadic anger dynamics might prove a worthy intervention target.

Comprobamos hipótesis acerca de las influencias interpersonales en la ira de un momento a otro durante el conflicto de las parejas y la asociación de esas dinámicas de la ira con la satisfacción con la relación y la violencia de pareja. Se codificó la ira demostrada a partir de observaciones en laboratorio de parejas convivientes ((N = 197); la ira sufrida se evaluó mediante un procedimiento de videollamada. Se hallaron asociaciones creíbles, pero variables, en las cuales la demostración de ira de una persona en un momento estuvo ligada a un cambio en la demostración y la experiencia de ira del otro integrante de la pareja al momento siguiente. La experiencia de ira de las mujeres estuvo influenciada más marcadamente por las demostraciones de ira de los hombres en las parejas con niveles más altos de violencia de pareja y en las parejas con niveles más bajos de satisfacción en la relación. La ira demostrada de los hombres que ejercían niveles más altos de violencia de pareja estuvo influenciada más marcadamente por las demostraciones de ira de las mujeres. En general, cuando las personas demostraron una ira de mayor intensidad, sus parejas reaccionaron con sentimientos de ira cada vez mayores, pero con demostraciones de ira cada vez menores. Los resultados sugieren que la dinámica de la ira se relaciona con procesos diádicos y que esa dinámica se relaciona con importantes resultados para las relaciones. La dinámica diádica de la ira podría ser un objetivo valioso de intervención.

Implementation of evidence-based home visiting programs aimed at reducing child maltreatment: A meta-analytic review.

In recent years there has been an increase in the popularity of home visitation programs as a means of addressing risk factors for child maltreatment. The evidence supporting the effectiveness of these programs from several meta-analyses, however, is mixed. One potential explanation for this inconsistency explored in the current study involves the manner in which these programs were implemented. In the current study we reviewed 156 studies associated with 9 different home visitation program models targeted to caregivers of children between the ages of 0 and 5. Meta-analytic techniques were used to determine the impact of 18 implementation factors (e.g., staff selection, training, supervision, fidelity monitoring, etc.) and four study characteristics (publication type, target population, study design, comparison group) in predicting program outcomes. Results from analyses revealed that several implementation factors, including training, supervision, and fidelity monitoring, had a significant effect on program outcomes, particularly child maltreatment outcomes. Study characteristics, including the program's target population and the comparison group employed, also had a significant effect on program outcomes. Implications of the study's results for those interested in implementing home visitation programs are discussed. A careful consideration and monitoring of program implementation is advised as a means of achieving optimal study results.

The influence of differential response and other factors on parent perceptions of child protection involvement.

As Child Protective Services (CPS) agencies examine how to produce better outcomes with the families they serve, child welfare literature has increasingly focused on the perspectives, emotional responses, and engagement of CPS-involved parents or other primary caregivers. Despite this encouraging trend, the construct of engagement is ill-defined and our understanding of precursors to and factors affecting parent engagement is limited. This article extends the literature by presenting a conceptual framework for examining engagement and associating the identified constructs with parent outcomes. Using data from a survey of parents who were randomly assigned to receive either an assessment response (AR) or investigation response (IR) in two states' Differential Response CPS systems, a factor analysis on 12 commonly assessed emotional responses reported by parents indicated that parents responded with three primary emotions: positive affect, worry, or anger and that these responses varied by their receipt of AR or IR. Further, the results of multivariate analyses indicate that pathway assignment (AR or IR), parents' assessments of the quality of the casework they received, and other parent or household factors contribute to differences observed on the three emotional response factors identified.