An attempt is made to integrate existing theories of family violence by introducing the concept of family role stress. Role stressors may be defined as factors inhibiting the enactment of family roles. Multiple regression analyses were performed on data from 190 families to test a hypothesis involving the prediction of negative discipline at…

This longitudinal study examined the effects of fathers' perceptions of work stress on the father-child relationship. The sample of families was fairly homogenous: all two-parent families, primarily white and of European descent, with a target child who, at the beginning of the study, was in fourth grade. In a little less than half the families,…

An investigation was undertaken in an effort to further understand the role of young, traditional dual-parent families. A total of 249 parents were asked to complete the Iowa Parent Behavior Inventory. Responses were categorized into parent involvement, limit setting, responsivity, reasoned guidance, free expression (mothers only), and intimacy.…

This literature review compares the adjustment of mothers and fathers to the stress resulting from having a child with a disability. The ABCX model developed by Hill was selected for the analysis due to its emphasis on the response to stress in general of both the family as a whole and of individual family members. The model distinguishes between…

The study compared the self-concepts of siblings of handicapped children with norms and examined mediators for this personality variable. Thirty-four siblings of handicapped children (2-15 years old) from the United States and Canada completed a children's self-concept scale while their parents filled out two questionnaires: one on parental…

The Parenting Alliance Inventory (PAI) was administered to 186 mothers and 75 fathers with a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds who had at least one child between 2 and 6 years of age. Subjects were recruited from child care facilities, pediatric practices, and public recreational facilities in central Virginia. Extrafamilial child caregivers…

Children's responses toward strangers, qualities of mother-child interaction, and maternal stresses were examined in 38 mother-child pairs, with children from single and two-parent families. Responses to female and male strangers were observed in a modified Strange Situation. Mother-child interaction was assessed with a modified version of…

This study was designed to enhance understanding of individuals' and couples' emotional regulation processes, and the psychological mechanisms that connect work and family spheres for men and women. Forty-three couples and their eldest child participated in this study. On three consecutive days the parents completed several measures of work stress…

This study investigated the effect of long-term professional social agency support on the level of stress perceived by mothers (N=65) of preschoolers with disabilities. Mothers completed the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress (QRS-F) and the Holmes and Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale. The hypothesis that stress is greater for mothers of…

The role of social support in moderating stress was examined in 65 parents of hyperactive children. The sample included 29 couples and 7 single mothers. The theoretical framework guiding the research was Lazarus' general model of stress. Each parent's psychological functioning was hypothesized to be a function of the severity of the child's…

To examine the effects of hearing impairment on the family, questionnaires were completed by 358 mothers and 184 fathers of hearing impaired children enrolled in special education. Questionnaires measured three areas: (1) family stress; (2) communication with the hearing-impaired child; and (3) relationships with professionals and others outside…

This paper examines sex and class differences in the style and circumstances of parental discipline of the child. Specifically, we have focused on Melvin Kohn's suggestive hypothesis that white collar parents stress the development of internal standards of conduct in their children and thus are more likely to discipline the child on the basis of…

This study examined gender differences in interactional style between parents and children, focusing on gender socialization and emotional expression. The subjects were 38 mother-child and father-child dyads from intact families, of which about 75 percent were Caucasian; 15 percent, Hispanic; and 10 percent, African American or Asian. Parents…

Despite previous research indicating that early negative child behavior and the quality of parent-child relationships are predictive of later externalizing problems, few investigators have attempted to trace these antecedents back to infancy. In a sample of 100 infants from low-income families, infant persistence and maternal responsiveness were…

Although the events associated with divorce can have negative effects on children who are involved, child maladjustment is not the inevitable consequence of divorce. To investigate the factors which may account for observed variation in children's response to divorce, 46 elementary school children (22 boys, 24 girls), residing with their mothers,…