Marriage, Parenting, and Preschoolers' Socioemotional Functioning

170 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1997.This investigation examined the relations among marriage, parenting, and preschoolers' socio-emotional functioning. Ninety mothers, fathers, and their three-year-olds participated in this investigation. Mothers and fathers independently completed measures of their marital adjustment and their children's behavior problems. Families were subsequently visited in their homes and videotaped in a variety of semi-structured episodes. Observations of father-child, mother-child, and marital interaction were included. During the home visit, parents also completed the Attachment Q-set and the Conners questionnaire. Preschool teachers or daycare providers completed measures of the child's behavior problems and social behavior, and observers completed the Conners questionnaire. Results indicated that there were both direct and indirect effects of the marital relationship on preschooler's socio-emotional functioning, and that marital adjustment and marital behavior were differentially associated with preschoolers' functioning. Parents' reports of greater marital adjustment were associated with reports of fewer child internalizing and externalizing problems and greater security. These associations were not mediated by parenting behavior. However, parenting behavior mediated the associations among observed marital behavior and child security and externalizing problems. Specifically, maternal parenting behavior more consistently mediated the associations between marital conflict, positive marital engagement and child behavior than fathers' parenting. In addition, mothers' and fathers' parenting behaviors were differentially associated with teachers' or care providers' reports of children's social behavior. These results underscore the importance of assessing multiple relationships within families as influences on preschoolers' socio-emotional functioning.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD