This study examined the effects of maternal psychological control on the depressive symptoms of 152 lower socioeconomic status African American adolescents. After controlling for the effects of other parenting practices, psychological control had a strong positive relationship with girls' depressive symptoms, but none for boys, even though the 2…

Parental deployment has substantial effects on the family system, among them ambiguity and uncertainty. Youth in military families are especially affected by parental deployment because their coping repertoire is only just developing; the requirements of deployment become additive to normal adolescent developmental demands. Focus groups were used…

Provides overview of the literature and major policy issues pertaining to topics of importance to noncustodial fathers: child support, visitation, custody, and policy implications. Resources available for professionals working with divorced fathers and their families are identified. (Author/NB)

Many students in the United States, particularly those from lower income or racially/ ethnically diverse families, are exposed to clusters of risk factors that have a negative impact on school success. This study examined the association between the number of supportive and caring adults in the home, school, and neighborhood and the school…

This study explored how immigration influenced Mexican family relationships. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 adolescents and 14 parents from 10 undocumented Mexican families. Participants immigrated to North Carolina within the past 7 years. A conceptual model derived from the data using grounded theory methods suggested that, after…

This qualitative study explores older parents' ambivalent perceptions of their relationships with their adult children. Interviews with 17 mothers and fathers (aged 67+) provided reports on 75 relationships (43 sons, 32 daughters). Two predominant sources of ambivalence emerged when parents discussed their current relationships. The first…

Data collected by depth interviews reveal that many gay fathers disclose their homosexuality to their children. All but one subject reported that their children accepted them as homesexuals. Often the disclosure had the effect of deepening the father-child relationship. (Author)

Examined the ways remarried adults with children prepared for remarriage. Asked 100 men and 105 women about their methods of preparing, pre-remarriage concerns, and issues discussed prior to marriage. Primary way subjects prepared for remarriage was by cohabitation. Living together appeared to be more effective for men than for women. (Author/NB)

Examined distance regulation styles through use of differentiation construct. Defined differentiation as family system's tolerance for individuality and for intimacy. Findings indicated that family differentiation levels served as significant predictors of all presenting problem categories examined among sample of 60 adolescents and their families…

Compares participants in a parent education program [Parents' Education about Children's Emotions Program (PEACE)] mandated for divorcing parents with a similar sample of individuals who had not participated in such a program. Although the findings provide little evidence for the longer-term impact of this program, the program participants…

Data on 96 foster families with a foster child and a birth child between the ages of 10 and 21 years were used to analyze the association between support and conflict processes within the foster family and youths' reports on four indexes of well-being: self-esteem, self-efficacy, emotional problems, and behavioral problems. The self-esteem of…

Maternal substance abuse is the most common factor involved when children come to the attention of the child welfare system. Although there is a clear need for clinical trials to evaluate parenting interventions for drug-dependent women, few studies to date have systematically examined the efficacy of interventions for this population. We first…

Used quantitative and qualitative data from 23 independent older adults to explore these salient aspects of their parenting role: change over time; current need for the role; current expectations of adult children; and rights and responsibilities of older parents. (Author/ABB)

Interviewed 24 expectant parents in the eighth month of pregnancy to determine if they noted fetal behavior patterns which created for them a sense of their unborn as an individual. Data indicated that prospective mothers and fathers described individual characteristics of the fetus in relation to appearance, communication, gender, temperament,…

Investigated adoptive parents' (N=42) attitudes toward the open birth record issues using a mail survey. Analysis indicated that parental fear was the most important variable. Most supported a measure allowing adult adoptees access to birth records, provided such access was agreeable to birth and adoptive parents. (JAC)