This study used attachment theory to understand college students' working models of parenting and expectations for how they would use television in parenting. We found that secure parent-child attachment histories were related to more positive expectations of parenting and that avoidant and anxious-ambivalent parent-child attachment histories were…

Given the increasingly challenging task of balancing multiple adult life roles in contemporary society, this study examined the influences of both conflicting and (positively) synergistic work and family roles in mediating associations between the quality of adult attachment and both parental satisfaction and parenting stress. Participants were…

Relationships that have not been formalized by marriage but that function like marriage are increasingly common among couples. Many of these relationships involve children who are related to only one of the adults but who have established parent-child relationships with both adults. This raises questions about how best to preserve children's…

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…

Investigated factors associated with relationship quality of 49 first-time pregnant women and their mothers using data from a two-wave mail survey. Compared correlations of intimacy and perceptions of equity with correlations of intimacy and actual help patterns. Findings indicated that perception of equity is more associated with relationship…

Adult adoptees (n=100) and nonadoptees (n=100) were compared with regard to self-esteem, identity processing style, and parental bonding. Although some differences were found with regard to self-esteem, maternal care, and maternal overprotection, these differences were qualified by reunion status such that only reunited adoptees differed…

Our purpose was to test a model explaining the quality of attachment of 123 children in foster care receiving supervised visitation with their biological parents. The results indicated that for families in which reunification is a goal, children who have more consistent and frequent contact with their biological parents have stronger attachments…

Investigates older parents' feelings of closeness with a co-resident child with mental retardation in a sample of 96 married mother and fathers. For mothers, feelings of closeness were related to their education level and adult child's functional skills. For fathers, feelings of closeness were associated with their own personality characteristics,…

Examines the pairings of adult attachment styles among married couples raising young children. There was no relation between adult attachment styles, parenting behavior, and the security of infant/parent attachments. Future work would benefit by focusing on the dyadic constellations of adult attachment styles and their implications for family…

Family processes associated with childhood role reversal and related adult outcomes were examined in a community sample 128 adults using a semistructured interview exploring family, friend, and romantic relationships. Women showed stronger role reversal than men, and role reversal was stronger with mothers than with fathers. Role reversal of women…

Observed father's behaviors toward newborns. Found fathers who had been present during delivery exhibited more distal attachment-type behaviors. Proximal father behavior (touching) did not differ according to father presence at delivery. Attendance at prenatal classes was not related to either father behaviors observed. (Author)

Reviews research from several disciplines to examine impact of stillbirth and infant death on parents, and the effect of various socio-demographic, pregnancy-related, and postbirth factors upon parents' grieving and adjustment. Reports that one-third of mothers reported serious physical and emotional deterioration. Notes that care and emotional…

A defining characteristic of grandparents raising grandchildren is parenting a second generation of children. To learn how grandmothers compare parenting their grandchildren to parenting their children, 40 custodial grandmothers were interviewed. Results of a qualitative analysis indicated that grandmothers perceived themselves as wiser, more…

Child welfare legislation and policy have shifted away from a standard of reasonable efforts toward reunification for children in foster care to a standard in which the best interests of the child have priority. Authors apply a family bonding perspective to address risk assessment for children in foster care and demonstrate potential for…