TY - JOUR
T1 - Connections between dimensions of marital quality and school-age children's adjustment
AU - McHale, Susan M.
AU - Freitag, Milam K.
AU - Crouter, Ann C.
AU - Todd Bartko, W.
N1 - Funding Information:
Professionals concerned with the mental health of children point to the quality of the marriage relationship as a potentially significant influence on children's adjustment. Research aimed at documenting such linkages has been diverse in terms of sampling and measurement strategies, and generally has revealed associations between marital problems and child adjustment difficulties (Emery, We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Sue Crowley, Alan Hawkins, Michelle Hostetler, Shelley MacDermid, and Maureen Perry-Jenkins in conducting this investigation, and an anonymous reviewer for comments on an earlier draft of this article. The research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (#R01 HD 21050), Ann C. Crouter and Susan M. McHale, Coprincipal investigators. Correspondence and requests for reprints should be sent to Susan M. McHale, College of Health and Human Development, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802.
PY - 1991
Y1 - 1991
N2 - This study provides data relevant to potential explanations for the linkages between marital relationships and children's functioning in a nonclinic sample of school-age children. Subjects were 152 intact families (mothers, fathers, and firstborn children) participating in a longitudinal study of family relationships. The children, 85 girls and 67 boys, were 9-12 years of age. In home interviews, mothers, fathers, and children independently rated dimensions of the marriage relationship and children's internalizing and externalizing problems. Children's school grades also were obtained. Analyses revealed that parent's reports of marital conflict, dissatisfaction about their spouse's child-rearing philosophy, and global marital satisfaction, as well as children's ratings of the marriage were linked to some indices of children's adjustment. Rater effects, however, accounted for most of the observed associations. We found little evidence for a modeling hypothesis whereby marital conflict is linked to child adjustment problems, but some evidence that boys, in particular, might be adversely affected by parental disagreement about childrearing strategies. The necessity of obtaining data from multiple sources about both the marriage and children's adjustment is emphasized, as is the importance of moving away from global indices of marital quality.
AB - This study provides data relevant to potential explanations for the linkages between marital relationships and children's functioning in a nonclinic sample of school-age children. Subjects were 152 intact families (mothers, fathers, and firstborn children) participating in a longitudinal study of family relationships. The children, 85 girls and 67 boys, were 9-12 years of age. In home interviews, mothers, fathers, and children independently rated dimensions of the marriage relationship and children's internalizing and externalizing problems. Children's school grades also were obtained. Analyses revealed that parent's reports of marital conflict, dissatisfaction about their spouse's child-rearing philosophy, and global marital satisfaction, as well as children's ratings of the marriage were linked to some indices of children's adjustment. Rater effects, however, accounted for most of the observed associations. We found little evidence for a modeling hypothesis whereby marital conflict is linked to child adjustment problems, but some evidence that boys, in particular, might be adversely affected by parental disagreement about childrearing strategies. The necessity of obtaining data from multiple sources about both the marriage and children's adjustment is emphasized, as is the importance of moving away from global indices of marital quality.
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U2 - 10.1016/0193-3973(91)90027-2
DO - 10.1016/0193-3973(91)90027-2
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0002668523
SN - 0193-3973
VL - 12
SP - 1
EP - 17
JO - Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
JF - Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
IS - 1
ER -