Background: Associations of exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and parent-to-child aggre... more Background: Associations of exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and parent-to-child aggression (PCA) with child adjustment have not been examined adequately for community samples. Objective: To examine main, cumulative, and interactive associations of IPV and PCA (separately for physical and psychological aggression) with four aspects of child adjustment (i.e., ex-ternalizing and internalizing behavior; social and scholastic competence). Associations were examined between (a) G1 parent behavior and the adjustment of G2 boys (N = 203) at ages 13-14 years and (b) G2 parent behavior and the adjustment of G3 children (N = 294) at ages 4-5 and 11-12 years. Participants and setting: Families in a prospective, multigenerational dataset. Methods: Measures included reports by caregivers, children, and teachers. Cross-sectional regression models (controlling for parent socioeconomic status and G3 child gender) examined: (a) main effects of IPV or PCA, (b) the simultaneous (i.e., cumulative) effects of both IPV and PCA, and (c) interactive effects of IPV and PCA (sample size permitting) on each of the child adjustment outcomes. Results: When considered simultaneously, PCA (but not IPV) was associated with each aspect of child adjustment. The interaction between PCA and IPV indicated lower G2 adolescent scholastic competence and greater G3 preschool externalizing behavior for children exposed to lower levels of IPV and higher levels of PCA. Conclusion: Psychological and physical PCA were associated with child adjustment problems even when accounting for IPV. Findings support the use of evidence-based programs to prevent PCA and PCA-associated child adjustment problems.
Parenting programs for incarcerated parents have become increasingly popular within corrections d... more Parenting programs for incarcerated parents have become increasingly popular within corrections departments over the past several decades. The programs are appealing as they are thought to improve not only long-term prosocial outcomes and reductions in recidivism for parents who are reentering their communities after lockup, but also outcomes for their children. While some parenting programs have been shown to be effective in various ways, they may be insufcient to produce long-lasting, positive impacts for families with loved ones involved in the criminal justice system. We proposed that an expanded denition of what a parenting program is might be useful-a "mul-timodal" parenting program. Such programs address not only the development of parenting knowledge and the practice of parenting skills, but also the numerous contextual challenges that many correction-involved parents face during and following incarceration. Some of these challenges include inadequate housing, parent unemployment, parental mental and physical health issues, and conflictual personal relationships. We overview our work to build a multimodal parenting program for incarcerated parents and their families, and discuss the implication of such for future research, practice, and policy.
Handbook of Interpersonal Violence across the Lifespan, 2019
In this chapter, theory regarding the development of intimate partner violence (IPV) and risk and... more In this chapter, theory regarding the development of intimate partner violence (IPV) and risk and protective factors for involvement in IPV are reviewed. In defining IPV, both perpetration of and victimization by act of psychological, physical, and sexual aggression are considered, along with injuries, which are a key indicator of physical IPV. Organized within the levels of an ecological or dynamic developmental systems model, risk and protective factors are considered within the domains of (a) contextual characteristics of partners (demographic, neighborhood, community and school factors), (b) developmental characteristics and behaviors of the partners (e.g., family, peer, psychological/behavioral, and cognitive factors), and (c) relationship influences and interactional patterns. Findings of a prior systematic review of risk factors (Capaldi DM, Knoble NB, Shortt JW, Kim HK, Partner Abuse 3:231-280, 2012) are summarized and extended by considering findings of recent reviews and empirical studies. Recommendations for prevention and intervention based on the review findings are presented.
An independent, randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the community-developed, multiple-component ... more An independent, randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the community-developed, multiple-component Relief Nursery prevention program was conducted with families with young children considered "at risk" for child abuse and neglect. This established program, currently operating at multiple sites in the state of Oregon, comprises an integrated package of prevention services to children and families, including early childhood education, home visiting, and parent education and support, as well as other interventions tailored to the needs of each particular family. Families who contacted the Relief Nursery for the first time were randomly assigned to one of two conditions, the Full Program condition, whose members had access to all services available from the Relief Nursery, or the Respite Care condition, whose members had access only to respite care and referrals to services provided by other community agencies. A primary caregiver in each family was interviewed prior to intervention and then every 6 months across a period of 2 years. Standardized measures were collected on a variety of risk and protective factors related to child abuse and neglect. Analyses were conducted at the end of the study period. Differences were found between the conditions in terms of perceived helpfulness and satisfaction with services and in terms of social support, in each case favoring the Full Program condition. Implications of the findings for future studies of multicomponent child abuse prevention programs with similar characteristics to the Relief Nursery are discussed.
This PDF has been generated from SAGE Knowledge. Please note that the pagination of the online ve... more This PDF has been generated from SAGE Knowledge. Please note that the pagination of the online version will vary from the pagination of the print book.
Evidence on the intergenerational continuity of intimate partner violence (IPV) suggests small to... more Evidence on the intergenerational continuity of intimate partner violence (IPV) suggests small to moderate associations between childhood exposure and young adult IPV involvement, suggesting an indirect effects model. Yet, few prospective studies have formally tested meditational mechanisms. The current study tested a prospective (over 9 years) moderated-mediational model in which adolescent psychopathology symptoms (i.e., internalizing, externalizing, and combined) mediated the association between exposure to IPV in middle childhood and young adult IPV perpetration. In a more novel contribution, we controlled for proximal young adult partner and relationship characteristics. The sample consisted of n ¼ 205 participants, who were, on average, assessed for exposure to parent IPV at age 12.30 years, adolescent psychopathology symptoms at age 15.77 years, and young adult IPV at 21.30 years of age. Data suggest a small, significant direct path from IPV exposure to young adult perpetration, mediated only through adolescent externalizing. Gender moderation analyses reveal differences in sensitivity to exposure across developmental periods; for males, effects of exposure were intensified during the transition to adolescence, whereas for females, effects were amplified during the transition to adulthood. In both cases, the mediational role of psychopathology symptoms was no longer significant once partner antisocial behavior was modeled. Findings have important implications for both theory and timing of risk conveyance.
This study examines the influence of family, peer, and biological contributors to dating involvem... more This study examines the influence of family, peer, and biological contributors to dating involvement among early adolescents (11–14 years of age; n = 244). Further, we assess how parental monitoring may be modified by pubertal matu-ration and older sibling risky behavior. Data on delinquent peer affiliation, pubertal maturation, parental monitoring, older sibling risky behavior, and dating involvement were gathered through observations and surveys from adolescents , mothers, older siblings, and teachers. Results indicate that lower levels of parental monitoring and higher levels of older sibling risky behavior were related to adolescents' dating involvement through delinquent peer affiliation. Pubertal maturation was directly related to dating involvement for early daters. Findings emphasize the value of examining social and biological factors, in concert, over time.
Objective: Despite numerous studies on associations between substance use and intimate partner vi... more Objective: Despite numerous studies on associations between substance use and intimate partner violence (IPV), the literature lacks consistency and clarity, making it difficult to ascertain the strength and nature of such associations. Scientific understanding of contextual factors that contribute to IPV would be enhanced by studies adopting a dyadic perspective. The current study advances the literature by examining the role of alcohol and marijuana use on couples' IPV using an actor-partner framework. Method: Data were drawn from a community-based sample of 323 young adults at risk for delinquency and their romantic partners. Young adults and partners reported on their own alcohol and marijuana use and their own and their partners' IPV. Results: Results indicate actor and partner effects for psychological and sexual IPV; men and women who used more substances experienced greater IPV perpetration and victimization compared with men and women who used fewer substances. The only significant predictor of physical IPV was an actor effect, in which women's polysubstance use (vs. abstention) was predictive of higher levels of victimization. Conclusions: Findings indicate associations between alcohol use and IPV, particularly for men, and for polysubstance users of both sexes. This is consistent with other findings indicating that although alcohol use is a risk factor for IPV; effects vary considerably as a function of context, methodology, and samples. Given the presence of actor and partner effects, studies that use dyadic frameworks have the potential to yield more precise knowledge about the role of substance use in IPV.
This study examined parental emotion socialization processes associated with adolescent unipolar ... more This study examined parental emotion socialization processes associated with adolescent unipolar depressive disorder. Adolescent participants (N=107; 42 boys) were selected either to meet criteria for current unipolar depressive disorder or to be psychologically healthy as defined by no lifetime history of psychopathology or mental health treatment and low levels of current depressive symptomatology. A multisource/method measurement strategy was used to assess mothers’ and fathers’ responses to adolescent sad and angry emotion. Each parent and the adolescents completed questionnaire measures of parental emotion socialization behavior, and participated in meta-emotion interviews and parent-adolescent interactions. As hypothesized, parents of adolescents with depressive disorder engaged in fewer supportive responses and more unsupportive responses overall relative to parents of non-depressed adolescents. Between group differences were more pronounced for families of boys, and for fathers relative to mothers. The findings indicate that parent emotion socialization is associated with adolescent depression and highlight the importance of including fathers in studies of emotion socialization, especially as it relates to depression.
The focus on parental stress in the literature on inmate family contact builds on the broader lit... more The focus on parental stress in the literature on inmate family contact builds on the broader literature on the impact of imprisonment on the mental health of prisoners and the direct consequences of such on their family members. This work points to the ways in which requisite coping strategies developed in response to stressors that are specific to prisons and prison culture can result in hypervigilance, interpersonal distrust and suspicion, emotional overcontrol, alienation, psychological distancing, social withdrawal and isolation, the incorporation of exploitative norms of prisoner culture, and a diminished sense of self-worth and personal value. In the present report, we examine associations between mother-child contact, self-report and biological measures of maternal stress and adjustment, and caregiver report of child adjustment during and after maternal imprisonment. Three sets of research questions are examined.
Aggression and coercive behaviors in the form of physical assaults, psychological aggression, and... more Aggression and coercive behaviors in the form of physical assaults, psychological aggression, and sexual coercion—often referred to as intimate partner violence (IPV)—are highly prevalent in couples during early adulthood (ages 18 through 29 years). Although such IPV has long been recognized as a major public health problem, the existing intervention programs have shown limited effects. Since the late 1990s researchers have sought to identify more nuanced developmental pathways and interactional processes of IPV in young couples in order to better inform prevention and intervention efforts. This chapter first discusses characteristics of IPV in early adulthood and then outlines key assumptions of the dynamic developmental systems model, an extension of coercion theory, as a framework for understanding the development of IPV. It then provides relevant empirical findings from our Oregon Youth Study-Couples Study. We also discuss clinical implications of the findings from our work.
This study examined whether physical intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization was associated... more This study examined whether physical intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization was associated with diurnal patterns of salivary cortisol in a community sample of 122 couples in their 30s from predominantly lower socioeconomic status backgrounds. Findings indicate that women with higher levels of victimization exhibited flatter patterns of diurnal cortisol characterized by both higher midday levels and more attenuated decreases in cortisol levels across the day, compared to women with lower levels of victimization. However, men’s victimization was not associated with their diurnal cortisol levels. This study advances our understanding of the association between physical IPV victimization and dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning in women, which is likely to have further implications for their subsequent mental and physical health.
Nearly 2 million children in the United States have a parent in prison. The circumstances related... more Nearly 2 million children in the United States have a parent in prison. The circumstances related to this situation place them at increased risk for behavioral and emotional disorders. The process of reunification between mother and child after release is a stressful and emotional one. A pilot study was conducted to develop and test a new program, Emotions: Taking Care of Yourself and Your Child When You Go Home. The objective of the Emotions Program was to teach emotion regulation and emotion coaching skills to incarcerated mothers so as to assist mothers and their children to cope better with the stress associated with incarceration and the transition home from prison. Pilot participants (N = 47) had previously participated in Parenting Inside Out, an evidence-based parenting program for incarcerated parents. The participants were then assigned to the Emotions Program (n = 29) or the comparison condition of no additional treatment (n = 18). All mothers were assessed before (T1) and after the program (T2), and again 6 months after release from prison (T3). Intervention effects of the Emotions Program on mothers’ emotion regulation, emotion socialization, and adjustment were examined using repeated-measures analysis of variance with a between-subjects factor of group (Emotions Program vs. comparison) and a within-subjects factor of time (T1 vs. T2 vs. T3). Moderate time by group interaction effects were observed for aspects of emotion regulation, emotion socialization behavior, and criminal behavior in mothers, with participants in the Emotions condition showing improvement relative to those in the comparison condition.
This study compared parental socialization of adolescent positive affect in families of depressed... more This study compared parental socialization of adolescent positive affect in families of depressed and healthy adolescents. Participants were 107 adolescents (42 boys) aged 14 -18 years and their parents. Half of the participants met criteria for major depressive disorder and the others were demographically matched adolescents without emotional or behavioral disorders. Results based on multi-source questionnaire and interview data indicated that mothers and fathers of depressed adolescents were less accepting of adolescents' positive affect and more likely to use strategies that dampen adolescents' positive affect than were parents of healthy adolescents. Additionally, fathers of depressed adolescents exhibited fewer responses likely to enhance the adolescents' positive affect than were fathers of healthy adolescents. These findings build on those of previous work in examining parental responses to adolescent emotions, focusing on positive emotions and including both mothers and fathers.
The substantial number of young people in romantic relationships that involve intimate partner vi... more The substantial number of young people in romantic relationships that involve intimate partner violence, a situation deleterious to physical and mental health, has resulted in increased attention to understanding the links between risk factors and course of violence. The current study examined couples' interpersonal stress related to not liking partners' friends and not getting along with parents as contextual factors associated with couples' psychological partner violence and determined whether and when couples' friend and parent stress increased the likelihood of couples' psychological partner violence. A linear latent growth curve modeling approach was used with multiwave measures of psychological partner violence, friend stress, parent stress, and relationship satisfaction obtained from 196 men at risk for delinquency and their women partners over a 12-year period. At the initial assessment, on average, the men were age 21.5 years and the women were age 21 years. Findings indicated that couples experiencing high levels of friend and parent stress were more likely to engage in high levels of psychological partner violence and that increases in couples' friend stress predicted increases in couples' partner violence over time, even when accounting for the couples' relationship satisfaction, marital status, children in the home, and financial strain. Interactive effects were at play when the couples were in their early 20s, with couples being most at risk for increases in psychological partner violence if they experienced both high friend stress and low relationship satisfaction. Couples' friend stress had the greatest effect on psychological partner violence when the couples were in their early to mid 20s when levels of friend stress were high. As the couples reached their 30s, low relationship satisfaction became the leading predictor of couples' psychological partner violence.
Though much is known about the stable mood patterns that characterize depressive disorder, less a... more Though much is known about the stable mood patterns that characterize depressive disorder, less attention has been directed to identifying and understanding the temporal dynamics of emotions. In the present study, we examined how depression affects the trajectory of dysphoric and angry adolescent emotional behavior during adolescent-parent interactions. Adolescents (72 depressed; 69 nondepressed) engaged in video recorded positive and negative interactions with their parents. Depressed adolescents showed a linear increase in dysphoric behaviors throughout the negative interactions, while the incidence of these behaviors remained relatively stable across the interactions among nondepressed adolescents. A similar linear increase was not found in angry behavior. These findings show that depression in adolescence is associated with greater escalation of dysphoria during conflictual interactions between adolescents and their parents.
The current study examines the role of economic strain as a moderator of the microsocial processe... more The current study examines the role of economic strain as a moderator of the microsocial processes influencing younger siblings' delinquency (externalizing behavior and substance use) in a longitudinal design. The younger siblings (122 younger brothers and 122 younger sisters) were from 244 families with same-sex biological siblings. Structural equation modeling was utilized to examine a process model whereby mothers' harsh/inconsistent parenting and older sibling delinquency influence younger siblings' delinquent behavior via sibling aggression and delinquent peer affiliation. Findings suggest that indirect mechanisms vary as a function of economic strain, with sibling aggression having a stronger, more detrimental effect on adolescent delinquency in economically strained families. Data suggest that familial economic conditions contextualize the relative roles of parenting, sibling, and peer processes in the transmission of risk to adolescent delinquency.
The present study examined the stability of young men’s intimate partner violence (IPV) over a 12... more The present study examined the stability of young men’s intimate partner violence (IPV) over a 12-year period as a function of relationship continuity or discontinuity. Multiwave measures of IPV (physical and psychological aggression) were obtained from 184 men at risk for delinquency and their women partners. The effects of relationship continuity versus transitions on change in IPV were examined using multilevel analyses. In general, men’s IPV decreased over time. Men’s physical aggression in their early 20s predicted levels of physical aggression about 7 years later, and men’s psychological aggression in their early 20s predicted levels of psychological aggression about 10–12 years later. As hypothesized, higher stability in IPV was found for men who stayed with the same partners, whereas men experiencing relationship transitions showed greater change. The IPV of new partners was linked to the changes in men’s IPV that occurred with repartnering. There was less change in men’s IPV over time as men changed partners less frequently.
Background: Associations of exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and parent-to-child aggre... more Background: Associations of exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and parent-to-child aggression (PCA) with child adjustment have not been examined adequately for community samples. Objective: To examine main, cumulative, and interactive associations of IPV and PCA (separately for physical and psychological aggression) with four aspects of child adjustment (i.e., ex-ternalizing and internalizing behavior; social and scholastic competence). Associations were examined between (a) G1 parent behavior and the adjustment of G2 boys (N = 203) at ages 13-14 years and (b) G2 parent behavior and the adjustment of G3 children (N = 294) at ages 4-5 and 11-12 years. Participants and setting: Families in a prospective, multigenerational dataset. Methods: Measures included reports by caregivers, children, and teachers. Cross-sectional regression models (controlling for parent socioeconomic status and G3 child gender) examined: (a) main effects of IPV or PCA, (b) the simultaneous (i.e., cumulative) effects of both IPV and PCA, and (c) interactive effects of IPV and PCA (sample size permitting) on each of the child adjustment outcomes. Results: When considered simultaneously, PCA (but not IPV) was associated with each aspect of child adjustment. The interaction between PCA and IPV indicated lower G2 adolescent scholastic competence and greater G3 preschool externalizing behavior for children exposed to lower levels of IPV and higher levels of PCA. Conclusion: Psychological and physical PCA were associated with child adjustment problems even when accounting for IPV. Findings support the use of evidence-based programs to prevent PCA and PCA-associated child adjustment problems.
Parenting programs for incarcerated parents have become increasingly popular within corrections d... more Parenting programs for incarcerated parents have become increasingly popular within corrections departments over the past several decades. The programs are appealing as they are thought to improve not only long-term prosocial outcomes and reductions in recidivism for parents who are reentering their communities after lockup, but also outcomes for their children. While some parenting programs have been shown to be effective in various ways, they may be insufcient to produce long-lasting, positive impacts for families with loved ones involved in the criminal justice system. We proposed that an expanded denition of what a parenting program is might be useful-a "mul-timodal" parenting program. Such programs address not only the development of parenting knowledge and the practice of parenting skills, but also the numerous contextual challenges that many correction-involved parents face during and following incarceration. Some of these challenges include inadequate housing, parent unemployment, parental mental and physical health issues, and conflictual personal relationships. We overview our work to build a multimodal parenting program for incarcerated parents and their families, and discuss the implication of such for future research, practice, and policy.
Handbook of Interpersonal Violence across the Lifespan, 2019
In this chapter, theory regarding the development of intimate partner violence (IPV) and risk and... more In this chapter, theory regarding the development of intimate partner violence (IPV) and risk and protective factors for involvement in IPV are reviewed. In defining IPV, both perpetration of and victimization by act of psychological, physical, and sexual aggression are considered, along with injuries, which are a key indicator of physical IPV. Organized within the levels of an ecological or dynamic developmental systems model, risk and protective factors are considered within the domains of (a) contextual characteristics of partners (demographic, neighborhood, community and school factors), (b) developmental characteristics and behaviors of the partners (e.g., family, peer, psychological/behavioral, and cognitive factors), and (c) relationship influences and interactional patterns. Findings of a prior systematic review of risk factors (Capaldi DM, Knoble NB, Shortt JW, Kim HK, Partner Abuse 3:231-280, 2012) are summarized and extended by considering findings of recent reviews and empirical studies. Recommendations for prevention and intervention based on the review findings are presented.
An independent, randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the community-developed, multiple-component ... more An independent, randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the community-developed, multiple-component Relief Nursery prevention program was conducted with families with young children considered "at risk" for child abuse and neglect. This established program, currently operating at multiple sites in the state of Oregon, comprises an integrated package of prevention services to children and families, including early childhood education, home visiting, and parent education and support, as well as other interventions tailored to the needs of each particular family. Families who contacted the Relief Nursery for the first time were randomly assigned to one of two conditions, the Full Program condition, whose members had access to all services available from the Relief Nursery, or the Respite Care condition, whose members had access only to respite care and referrals to services provided by other community agencies. A primary caregiver in each family was interviewed prior to intervention and then every 6 months across a period of 2 years. Standardized measures were collected on a variety of risk and protective factors related to child abuse and neglect. Analyses were conducted at the end of the study period. Differences were found between the conditions in terms of perceived helpfulness and satisfaction with services and in terms of social support, in each case favoring the Full Program condition. Implications of the findings for future studies of multicomponent child abuse prevention programs with similar characteristics to the Relief Nursery are discussed.
This PDF has been generated from SAGE Knowledge. Please note that the pagination of the online ve... more This PDF has been generated from SAGE Knowledge. Please note that the pagination of the online version will vary from the pagination of the print book.
Evidence on the intergenerational continuity of intimate partner violence (IPV) suggests small to... more Evidence on the intergenerational continuity of intimate partner violence (IPV) suggests small to moderate associations between childhood exposure and young adult IPV involvement, suggesting an indirect effects model. Yet, few prospective studies have formally tested meditational mechanisms. The current study tested a prospective (over 9 years) moderated-mediational model in which adolescent psychopathology symptoms (i.e., internalizing, externalizing, and combined) mediated the association between exposure to IPV in middle childhood and young adult IPV perpetration. In a more novel contribution, we controlled for proximal young adult partner and relationship characteristics. The sample consisted of n ¼ 205 participants, who were, on average, assessed for exposure to parent IPV at age 12.30 years, adolescent psychopathology symptoms at age 15.77 years, and young adult IPV at 21.30 years of age. Data suggest a small, significant direct path from IPV exposure to young adult perpetration, mediated only through adolescent externalizing. Gender moderation analyses reveal differences in sensitivity to exposure across developmental periods; for males, effects of exposure were intensified during the transition to adolescence, whereas for females, effects were amplified during the transition to adulthood. In both cases, the mediational role of psychopathology symptoms was no longer significant once partner antisocial behavior was modeled. Findings have important implications for both theory and timing of risk conveyance.
This study examines the influence of family, peer, and biological contributors to dating involvem... more This study examines the influence of family, peer, and biological contributors to dating involvement among early adolescents (11–14 years of age; n = 244). Further, we assess how parental monitoring may be modified by pubertal matu-ration and older sibling risky behavior. Data on delinquent peer affiliation, pubertal maturation, parental monitoring, older sibling risky behavior, and dating involvement were gathered through observations and surveys from adolescents , mothers, older siblings, and teachers. Results indicate that lower levels of parental monitoring and higher levels of older sibling risky behavior were related to adolescents' dating involvement through delinquent peer affiliation. Pubertal maturation was directly related to dating involvement for early daters. Findings emphasize the value of examining social and biological factors, in concert, over time.
Objective: Despite numerous studies on associations between substance use and intimate partner vi... more Objective: Despite numerous studies on associations between substance use and intimate partner violence (IPV), the literature lacks consistency and clarity, making it difficult to ascertain the strength and nature of such associations. Scientific understanding of contextual factors that contribute to IPV would be enhanced by studies adopting a dyadic perspective. The current study advances the literature by examining the role of alcohol and marijuana use on couples' IPV using an actor-partner framework. Method: Data were drawn from a community-based sample of 323 young adults at risk for delinquency and their romantic partners. Young adults and partners reported on their own alcohol and marijuana use and their own and their partners' IPV. Results: Results indicate actor and partner effects for psychological and sexual IPV; men and women who used more substances experienced greater IPV perpetration and victimization compared with men and women who used fewer substances. The only significant predictor of physical IPV was an actor effect, in which women's polysubstance use (vs. abstention) was predictive of higher levels of victimization. Conclusions: Findings indicate associations between alcohol use and IPV, particularly for men, and for polysubstance users of both sexes. This is consistent with other findings indicating that although alcohol use is a risk factor for IPV; effects vary considerably as a function of context, methodology, and samples. Given the presence of actor and partner effects, studies that use dyadic frameworks have the potential to yield more precise knowledge about the role of substance use in IPV.
This study examined parental emotion socialization processes associated with adolescent unipolar ... more This study examined parental emotion socialization processes associated with adolescent unipolar depressive disorder. Adolescent participants (N=107; 42 boys) were selected either to meet criteria for current unipolar depressive disorder or to be psychologically healthy as defined by no lifetime history of psychopathology or mental health treatment and low levels of current depressive symptomatology. A multisource/method measurement strategy was used to assess mothers’ and fathers’ responses to adolescent sad and angry emotion. Each parent and the adolescents completed questionnaire measures of parental emotion socialization behavior, and participated in meta-emotion interviews and parent-adolescent interactions. As hypothesized, parents of adolescents with depressive disorder engaged in fewer supportive responses and more unsupportive responses overall relative to parents of non-depressed adolescents. Between group differences were more pronounced for families of boys, and for fathers relative to mothers. The findings indicate that parent emotion socialization is associated with adolescent depression and highlight the importance of including fathers in studies of emotion socialization, especially as it relates to depression.
The focus on parental stress in the literature on inmate family contact builds on the broader lit... more The focus on parental stress in the literature on inmate family contact builds on the broader literature on the impact of imprisonment on the mental health of prisoners and the direct consequences of such on their family members. This work points to the ways in which requisite coping strategies developed in response to stressors that are specific to prisons and prison culture can result in hypervigilance, interpersonal distrust and suspicion, emotional overcontrol, alienation, psychological distancing, social withdrawal and isolation, the incorporation of exploitative norms of prisoner culture, and a diminished sense of self-worth and personal value. In the present report, we examine associations between mother-child contact, self-report and biological measures of maternal stress and adjustment, and caregiver report of child adjustment during and after maternal imprisonment. Three sets of research questions are examined.
Aggression and coercive behaviors in the form of physical assaults, psychological aggression, and... more Aggression and coercive behaviors in the form of physical assaults, psychological aggression, and sexual coercion—often referred to as intimate partner violence (IPV)—are highly prevalent in couples during early adulthood (ages 18 through 29 years). Although such IPV has long been recognized as a major public health problem, the existing intervention programs have shown limited effects. Since the late 1990s researchers have sought to identify more nuanced developmental pathways and interactional processes of IPV in young couples in order to better inform prevention and intervention efforts. This chapter first discusses characteristics of IPV in early adulthood and then outlines key assumptions of the dynamic developmental systems model, an extension of coercion theory, as a framework for understanding the development of IPV. It then provides relevant empirical findings from our Oregon Youth Study-Couples Study. We also discuss clinical implications of the findings from our work.
This study examined whether physical intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization was associated... more This study examined whether physical intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization was associated with diurnal patterns of salivary cortisol in a community sample of 122 couples in their 30s from predominantly lower socioeconomic status backgrounds. Findings indicate that women with higher levels of victimization exhibited flatter patterns of diurnal cortisol characterized by both higher midday levels and more attenuated decreases in cortisol levels across the day, compared to women with lower levels of victimization. However, men’s victimization was not associated with their diurnal cortisol levels. This study advances our understanding of the association between physical IPV victimization and dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning in women, which is likely to have further implications for their subsequent mental and physical health.
Nearly 2 million children in the United States have a parent in prison. The circumstances related... more Nearly 2 million children in the United States have a parent in prison. The circumstances related to this situation place them at increased risk for behavioral and emotional disorders. The process of reunification between mother and child after release is a stressful and emotional one. A pilot study was conducted to develop and test a new program, Emotions: Taking Care of Yourself and Your Child When You Go Home. The objective of the Emotions Program was to teach emotion regulation and emotion coaching skills to incarcerated mothers so as to assist mothers and their children to cope better with the stress associated with incarceration and the transition home from prison. Pilot participants (N = 47) had previously participated in Parenting Inside Out, an evidence-based parenting program for incarcerated parents. The participants were then assigned to the Emotions Program (n = 29) or the comparison condition of no additional treatment (n = 18). All mothers were assessed before (T1) and after the program (T2), and again 6 months after release from prison (T3). Intervention effects of the Emotions Program on mothers’ emotion regulation, emotion socialization, and adjustment were examined using repeated-measures analysis of variance with a between-subjects factor of group (Emotions Program vs. comparison) and a within-subjects factor of time (T1 vs. T2 vs. T3). Moderate time by group interaction effects were observed for aspects of emotion regulation, emotion socialization behavior, and criminal behavior in mothers, with participants in the Emotions condition showing improvement relative to those in the comparison condition.
This study compared parental socialization of adolescent positive affect in families of depressed... more This study compared parental socialization of adolescent positive affect in families of depressed and healthy adolescents. Participants were 107 adolescents (42 boys) aged 14 -18 years and their parents. Half of the participants met criteria for major depressive disorder and the others were demographically matched adolescents without emotional or behavioral disorders. Results based on multi-source questionnaire and interview data indicated that mothers and fathers of depressed adolescents were less accepting of adolescents' positive affect and more likely to use strategies that dampen adolescents' positive affect than were parents of healthy adolescents. Additionally, fathers of depressed adolescents exhibited fewer responses likely to enhance the adolescents' positive affect than were fathers of healthy adolescents. These findings build on those of previous work in examining parental responses to adolescent emotions, focusing on positive emotions and including both mothers and fathers.
The substantial number of young people in romantic relationships that involve intimate partner vi... more The substantial number of young people in romantic relationships that involve intimate partner violence, a situation deleterious to physical and mental health, has resulted in increased attention to understanding the links between risk factors and course of violence. The current study examined couples' interpersonal stress related to not liking partners' friends and not getting along with parents as contextual factors associated with couples' psychological partner violence and determined whether and when couples' friend and parent stress increased the likelihood of couples' psychological partner violence. A linear latent growth curve modeling approach was used with multiwave measures of psychological partner violence, friend stress, parent stress, and relationship satisfaction obtained from 196 men at risk for delinquency and their women partners over a 12-year period. At the initial assessment, on average, the men were age 21.5 years and the women were age 21 years. Findings indicated that couples experiencing high levels of friend and parent stress were more likely to engage in high levels of psychological partner violence and that increases in couples' friend stress predicted increases in couples' partner violence over time, even when accounting for the couples' relationship satisfaction, marital status, children in the home, and financial strain. Interactive effects were at play when the couples were in their early 20s, with couples being most at risk for increases in psychological partner violence if they experienced both high friend stress and low relationship satisfaction. Couples' friend stress had the greatest effect on psychological partner violence when the couples were in their early to mid 20s when levels of friend stress were high. As the couples reached their 30s, low relationship satisfaction became the leading predictor of couples' psychological partner violence.
Though much is known about the stable mood patterns that characterize depressive disorder, less a... more Though much is known about the stable mood patterns that characterize depressive disorder, less attention has been directed to identifying and understanding the temporal dynamics of emotions. In the present study, we examined how depression affects the trajectory of dysphoric and angry adolescent emotional behavior during adolescent-parent interactions. Adolescents (72 depressed; 69 nondepressed) engaged in video recorded positive and negative interactions with their parents. Depressed adolescents showed a linear increase in dysphoric behaviors throughout the negative interactions, while the incidence of these behaviors remained relatively stable across the interactions among nondepressed adolescents. A similar linear increase was not found in angry behavior. These findings show that depression in adolescence is associated with greater escalation of dysphoria during conflictual interactions between adolescents and their parents.
The current study examines the role of economic strain as a moderator of the microsocial processe... more The current study examines the role of economic strain as a moderator of the microsocial processes influencing younger siblings' delinquency (externalizing behavior and substance use) in a longitudinal design. The younger siblings (122 younger brothers and 122 younger sisters) were from 244 families with same-sex biological siblings. Structural equation modeling was utilized to examine a process model whereby mothers' harsh/inconsistent parenting and older sibling delinquency influence younger siblings' delinquent behavior via sibling aggression and delinquent peer affiliation. Findings suggest that indirect mechanisms vary as a function of economic strain, with sibling aggression having a stronger, more detrimental effect on adolescent delinquency in economically strained families. Data suggest that familial economic conditions contextualize the relative roles of parenting, sibling, and peer processes in the transmission of risk to adolescent delinquency.
The present study examined the stability of young men’s intimate partner violence (IPV) over a 12... more The present study examined the stability of young men’s intimate partner violence (IPV) over a 12-year period as a function of relationship continuity or discontinuity. Multiwave measures of IPV (physical and psychological aggression) were obtained from 184 men at risk for delinquency and their women partners. The effects of relationship continuity versus transitions on change in IPV were examined using multilevel analyses. In general, men’s IPV decreased over time. Men’s physical aggression in their early 20s predicted levels of physical aggression about 7 years later, and men’s psychological aggression in their early 20s predicted levels of psychological aggression about 10–12 years later. As hypothesized, higher stability in IPV was found for men who stayed with the same partners, whereas men experiencing relationship transitions showed greater change. The IPV of new partners was linked to the changes in men’s IPV that occurred with repartnering. There was less change in men’s IPV over time as men changed partners less frequently.
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Papers by Joann Wu Shortt