Marriage and the parenting alliance: longitudinal prediction of change in parenting perceptions and behaviors.

Full Abstract

The study evaluates how marriage and the parenting alliance affect parenting experiences over time. Couples (N = 79) with school-age children who have mental retardation completed self-report and observational measures of marriage, the parenting alliance, and parenting attitudes and behaviors at 2 periods, 18-24 months apart. Longitudinal structural equation modeling demonstrated significant effects of marital quality on changes over time in self-reports of perceived parenting competence for both the mothers and the fathers, and in observed negative mother-child interactions. Also, in all cases, the parenting alliance mediated the effects of marriage on parenting experiences. There was little evidence of reciprocal causation in which parenting variables predicted change in the quality of marriage and the parenting alliance. Interactions involving child age suggested that teenagers as opposed to younger children were more reactive to negative features of their parents' marital functioning and parenting alliance. Implications are discussed regarding stable but negative marital functioning and regarding possible differences in mothers' and fathers' parenting in the context of marital distress.

Author information

Author/s: Floyd, F J (FJ); Gilliom, L A (LA); Costigan, C L (CL);

Affiliation: Psychology Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 27599-3270, USA. ffloyd(-atsign-)email.unc.edu

Grants: K04 HD01023 (Agency:NICHD NIH HHS) ; R01 HD24205 (Agency:NICHD NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Journal: Child development (Child Dev), published in UNITED STATES. (Language: eng)

Reference: 1998-Oct; vol 69 (issue 5) : pp 1461-79

Dates: Created 1998/12/30; Completed 1998/12/30; Revised 2007/11/14;

PMID: 9839428, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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