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Biomedical subjects

R D Conger

Publications and source records attributed to R D Conger.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Parents and peer group as mediators of the effect of community structure on adolescent problem behavior.

Used a sample of 207 single-parent families residing in 104 small, Midwestern communities to test hypotheses regarding the link between community context and adolescent conduct problems and psychological distress. For boys, community disadvantage had a direct affect on psychological distress, while it indirectly boosted the probability of conduct problems by disrupting parenting and increasing affiliation with deviant peers. Community disadvantage was unrelated to the deviant behavior or emotional well-being of girls. Proportion of single-parent households in the community had a direct effect on girls' conduct problems. It also contributed indirectly to girls' conduct problems by increasing the probability of involvement with deviant peers. Possible explanations for these gender differences are provided.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Adolescent paid labor and relationships with parents: early work-family linkages.

Earnings represent an important mechanism by which changes occur in the adolescent-parent relationship. The present study examines adolescent earnings and multiple dimensions of relationships with parents by drawing on 4 waves of data from the Iowa Youth and Families project. Dynamic models based on the multiple perspectives of adolescent and parent are estimated with hierarchical equations. Between the seventh and tenth grades, rural adolescent earnings and nonleisure spending are related to time spent with the family, less parental monitoring, and more sharing of advice within the family. Earnings and nonleisure spending have positive associations with the affective quality of the adolescent-parent relationship. These results are discussed in terms of the multifaceted dimensions of adolescent work experiences and their implications for the life course.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Coming of age too early: pubertal influences on girls' vulnerability to psychological distress.

This 4-year longitudinal study investigates 3 hypothesized effects of the pubertal transition on the psychological distress of adolescent girls (N = ca. 200): early maturation, the impact of heterosexual versus same-sex friends, and prepubertal vulnerabilities, such as early emotional distress and father hostility. Building on Caspi and Moffitt's study of girls' delinquency, this study found that early maturing girls experienced significantly higher levels of psychological distress compared to their on-time and late maturing age-mates. In line with prior studies of girls' delinquency (Caspi, Lynam, Moffitt, & Silva, 1993; Magnusson, 1988), early maturing girls also experienced higher levels of distress at the tenth grade as reported by fathers, mothers, and adolescents when they were associated with mixed- rather than same-sex friends during the seventh through ninth grades. Finally, early maturing girls were more vulnerable to prior psychological problems, deviant peer pressures, and fathers' hostile feelings when compared to on-time and late maturing peers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Work, marriage, lifestyle, and changes in men's physical health.

Using three waves of data for 320 men living in the rural Midwest, this study tested a model which proposed independent effects of work conditions and marital experiences on change in physical health through health behaviors. The findings support the hypothesized model. Both control over work and positive marital interactions reduced the probability of a risky lifestyle in terms of health related behaviors after controlling for family economic status. Risky lifestyle, in turn, was related to poorer self and spouse reported health after controlling for previous health status and family income. The findings underscore the importance of specific work and marital processes for men's physical health.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

It takes two to replicate: a mediational model for the impact of parents' stress on adolescent adjustment.

In this study of parental stress and adolescent adjustment, experiences of negative life events during the recent past were used to generate a measure of acute stress. In addition, multiple indicators based on reports from various informants were used to estimate latent constructs for parental depression, discipline practices, and adolescent adjustment. Employing 2 independent samples of families from 2 different regions of the country (rural Iowa and a medium-sized city in Oregon), structural equation models were used to test the hypothesis that in intact families acute stress experienced by parents is linked to boys' adjustment (average age equaled 11.8 years in the Oregon sample, 12.7 years in the Iowa sample) through 2 different causal mechanisms. The findings showed that parental stress was related to adjustment through stress-related parental depression that is, in turn, correlated with disrupted discipline practices. Poor discipline appears to provide the direct link with developmental outcomes. The structural equation model (SEM) used to test the proposed mediational process was consistent with the data for mothers and boys from both the Oregon and the Iowa samples. The similarity in results was less clear for fathers and boys. Implications of these results for future replication studies are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1995

Interaction style, problem-solving behavior, and family problem-solving effectiveness.

We proposed that an individual's characteristic style of interaction will predict his or her problem-solving behavior and family problem-solving effectiveness. We test this hypothesis for mothers, fathers, and adolescent boys and girls (M age = 12.7 years) in 431 rural families using both warm and hostile interaction styles. One set of videotape coders observed a general family discussion and measured interaction style. A year later, another, independent set of coders observed a family problem-solving task. Family members reported family problem-solving effectiveness immediately following the problem-solving task. The results indicated that a hostile interaction style directly predicted destructive problem-solving behavior and indirectly predicted family problem-solving effectiveness. A warm interaction style related directly to constructive problem-solving behavior and indirectly to family problem-solving effectiveness.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Economic stress, coercive family process, and developmental problems of adolescents.

We propose a model of family conflict and coercion that links economic stress in family life to adolescent symptoms of internalizing and externalizing emotions and behaviors. The 180 boys and 198 girls in the study were living in intact families in the rural Midwest, an area characterized by economic decline and uncertainty. Theoretical constructs in the model were measured using both trained observer and family member reports. These adolescents and their parents were interviewed each year for 3 years during the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades. Our theoretical model proposes that economic pressure experienced by parents increases parental dysphoria and marital conflict as well as conflicts between parents and children over money. High levels of spousal irritability, coupled with coercive exchanges over money matters, were expected to be associated with greater hostility in general by parents toward their children. These hostile/coercive exchanges were expected to increase the likelihood of adolescent emotional and behavioral problems. Overall, results were consistent with the proposed model. Moreover, the hypothesized processes applied equally well to the behavior of mothers and fathers, as well as sons and daughters.

Acting Out↗
PubMed1994

Parents' stressful life events and adolescent depressed mood.

The present study of 451 families living in the rural Midwest examines a mediational model of the relationship between the stressful life events experienced by parents and adolescent depressed mood. This model is intended to overcome two limitations in previous research on the relationship between parents' stressful events and adolescent depressed mood by 1) examining a mediating process involving parental mood and parenting behavior, and 2) using multiple informants to assess the theoretical constructs. Findings from the present study indicate that stressful life events experienced by parents are first related to parents' depressed mood which operates to disrupt skillful parenting practices. The disrupted parenting practices in turn place adolescents at increased risk for developing depressive symptoms. The results show that inclusion of these mediating processes represents a significant improvement over the bivariate model and that the hypothesized mediational model generalizes to four parent-adolescent dyads: fathers and sons, fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, and mothers and daughters. Moreover, parents' stressful life events are related directly to adolescent boys' depressed mood only when parents' reports are included in both theoretical constructs. When parents' reports are removed as an indicator for the adolescent depressed mood construct, the effects of parental stress on adolescent depressed mood are largely accounted for by stress-related parental depressed mood and harsh/inconsistent parenting.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Husband and wife differences in response to undesirable life events.

In the present study of 451 married couples living in the rural midwest, gender differences were examined in reports of exposure and vulnerability to specific types of undesirable life events. Consistent with expectations derived from either a social structural or identity perspective, the results demonstrated that men are more likely than women to report exposure to and to be distressed by work and financial events. Women, on the other hand, are more strongly influenced by exposure to negative events within the family but not within their network of friends. Outcomes vary according to the type of emotional distress. Financial stress, for example, increases hostility among men more than among women, but wives are more likely than husbands to report somatic complaints in response to the same stressor. The findings demonstrate the need for future research that more directly investigates the intraindividual and social mechanisms which account for gender differences in a broad range of emotional and behavioral responses to varying types of significant life changes.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1992

Intergenerational continuity of parental rejection and depressed affect.

Using survey and observational data from a sample of 451 intact families, this study used structural equation modeling to examine the intergenerational continuity of depressed mood and rejecting parenting. The model partially replicated the intergenerational model of Elder, Caspi, and Downey (1986) that indicates a cyclical transmission process by which parents' personality traits affect parent-child interaction, which, in turn, increases the propensity for developmental problems among offspring. The results indicated a pattern of intergenerational transmission of depressed mood through parental rejection of offspring. Multiple reporters and multiple indicators strengthen previous intergenerational findings by reducing some of the method variance biases that have been problematic in prior studies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

A family process model of economic hardship and adjustment of early adolescent boys.

We propose a family process model that links economic stress in family life to prosocial and problematic adolescent adjustment. Employing a sample of 205 seventh-grade boys aged 12 to 14 years (M = 12.7) and living in intact families in the rural Midwest, the theoretical constructs in the model were measured using both trained observer and family member reports. In general, results were consistent with the proposed model. Objective economic conditions such as per capita income and unstable work were related to parents' emotional status and behaviors through their perceptions of increased economic pressures such as the inability to pay monthly bills. These pressures were associated with depression and demoralization for both parents, which was related to marital conflict and disruptions in skillful parenting. Disrupted parenting mediated the relations between the earlier steps in the stress process and adolescent adjustment. The emotions and behaviors of both mothers and fathers were almost equally affected by financial difficulties, and disruptions in each parent's child-rearing behaviors had adverse consequences for adolescent development.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1992

Support from spouse as mediator and moderator of the disruptive influence of economic strain on parenting.

A model is presented regarding associations between economic strain, support from spouse, and quality of parenting. The model was tested using a sample of 451 2-parent families, each of which included a seventh grader (age 12-13). Parent and adolescent reports, as well as observational ratings, were used as indicators of constructs. Analysis using structural equation modeling procedures indicated that level of spouse support was positively related to supportive parenting, whereas economic strain operated to undermine parental involvement. As posited, economic strain produced its effect through a direct relation with parenting and indirectly through its association with spouse support. These findings held for mothers and fathers, regardless of the gender of the child. Spouse support moderated the impact of economic strain on supportive parenting for mothers but not fathers. Possible explanations for this gender difference are presented.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

The effects of early family relationships on contemporary relationships and assistance patterns between adult children and their parents.

We investigated the influence of early parent-child relationships on contemporary adult child-parent relationships and the effects of these relationships on the level of assistance between adult child and parent. A sample of 902 married men and women were questioned regarding their current relationships with their elderly parents, the level of assistance provided them, and the quality of their relationship with their parents when they were growing up. The findings indicated that early parent-child relationships and the characteristics of parents when adult children were growing up influenced contemporary adult child-parent relationships. In turn, the quality of the contemporary adult child-parent relationship was found to have a slight effect on assistance from adult children to their parents.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1984

Perception of child, child-rearing values, and emotional distress as mediating links between environmental stressors and observed maternal behavior.

This observational study of 74 families investigated 3 areas of maternal psychological functioning (emotional distress, authoritarian child-rearing values, negative perceptions of children) that might mediate the relationship between 3 separate dimensions of family demographic characteristics, conceptualized as chronic environmental stressors (i.e., financial, structural, and historical circumstances), and the emotionally affective behavior of mothers. Demographic conditions accounted for 52.9% of the variance in mothers' psychological characteristics and as much as 36.6% of the variance in positive and negative behaviors to children. The psychological characteristics explained as much as 15.1% of the variance in maternal behavior. Both chronic stress and the psychological variables had an independent influence on the general emotional tone of maternal behavior. The findings provide tentative support for the conclusion that the psychological characteristics examined here partially mediate the influence of some demographic or stressful life conditions on the positive and negative behaviors of mothers.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Family interaction in abusive, neglectful, and normal families.

This study represents an attempt to discover whether there are distinctive patterns of day-to-day interactions that distinguish abusive and neglectful families from families with no known history of abusing or neglecting their children. Observational data collected in the homes of 17 abuse, 17 neglect, and 19 control families indicated that the abusive and neglectful parents demonstrated lower rates of interaction, overall, and were more likely to emphasize the negative in their relationships with their children. The implications of these data for further research and for intervention efforts are discussed.

Adult↗