Secondary respondent data are underutilized because researchers avoid using these data in the presence of substantial missing data. The authors reviewed, evaluated, and tested solutions to this problem. Five strategies of dealing with missing partner data were reviewed: (a) complete case analysis, (b) inverse probability weighting, (c) correction…

Social competency gained in early childhood influences numerous domains of a child's life throughout the lifespan. Since the preschool years are a time when children begin forming friendships with peers and may be exposed to a classroom setting for the first time, developing social competency is imperative for functioning well with the many people…

The impacts of violence for young children and their caregivers are multidimensional. The story of 2-year-old Tyronne, his mother, Josephine, and his father, James, illustrates the use of a relationship-focused treatment, child-parent psychotherapy (CPP), in addressing the traumatic consequences of exposure to violence. This family's story…

This study examined multiple dimensions of religious involvement and the risk of divorce among a nationwide sample of 2,979 first-time married couples. Multivariate proportional hazards modeling was used to analyze two waves of the National Survey of Families and Households. Results indicated that although each partner's religious attendance bore…

Existing studies of mediation models have been limited to normal-theory maximum likelihood (ML). Because real data in the social and behavioral sciences are seldom normally distributed and often contain outliers, classical methods generally lead to inefficient or biased parameter estimates. Consequently, the conclusions from a mediation analysis…

Although triangulation into parental conflict is a risk factor for child and adolescent maladjustment, little is known about how triangulation affects adolescents' functioning or the factors that lead children to be drawn into parental disagreements. This prospective study examined the relations between triangulation, appraisals of conflict, and…

Guided by a family stress perspective, we examined the hypothesis that discussing money would be associated with the handling of marital conflict in the home. Analyses were based on dyadic hierarchical linear modeling of 100 husbands' and 100 wives' diary reports of 748 conflict instances. Contrary to findings from previous laboratory-based…

The present study examined the impact of domestic violence (DV) on children's emotion regulation abilities measured via baseline vagal tone (VT). Specifically, the authors examined the relationship between DV exposure and children's regulatory functioning over time, investigating whether DV exposure was related to the trajectory of children's…

The association between depression and relationship distress as well as the impact of treatment for the one on the other was examined across 2 treatment-seeking samples: individuals seeking treatment for depression (N = 120) and couples seeking marital therapy (N = 134 couples). Although there was a baseline association between depression and…

This article replicated and extended Harriet Presser's (2000) investigation of the linkages between nonstandard work and marital instability. We reexplored this question using data from a sample of 2,893 newlywed couples from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) and using different analytic techniques. In contrast to Presser, we found…

Finding it difficult to overcome the emotional distress experienced when considering her husband's infidelity, a client seeks counselling support. The client's goal was to learn about herself and to use the experience as an opportunity for self transformation. The case study utilizes Attachment Theory and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to help the…

Prior research found that lower sexual frequency and satisfaction were associated with higher rates of divorce, but little research had examined the role of sexual activity in the dissolution of cohabiting unions. We drew upon social exchange theory to hypothesize why sexual frequency is more important in cohabitation: (a) cohabitors' lower costs…

Using a risk and resiliency theoretical framework, the association between interparental conflict and academic achievement was examined. The sample consisted of 2,297 6th grade youth with a mean age of 11.92. Participants were mostly European American (81.8%) and 52% were girls. Results demonstrated that interparental conflict is a risk factor for…

Evidence suggests that parental marital discord contributes to the development of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in children and adolescents. Few studies, however, have examined the association between parental marital discord and youth's response to treatment. The present study examined the impact of interparental discord on treatment…

Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the association between marital distress and mental health service utilization in a population-based sample of men and women (N = 1,601). Method: The association between marital distress and mental health care service utilization was evaluated for overall mental health service utilization and for…