William Aquilino

Bio: William Aquilino is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Perspective (graphical). The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 2 publications receiving 169 citations.

The longitudinal course of marital quality and stability: A review of theory, methods, and research.

Abstract: Although much has been learned from cross-sectional research on marriage, an understanding of how marriages develop, succeed, and fail is best achieved with longitudinal data. In view of growing interest in longitudinal research on marriage, the authors reviewed and evaluated the literature on how the quality and stability of marriages change over time. First, prevailing theoretical perspectives are examined for their ability to explain change in marital quality and stability. Second, the methods and findings of 115 longitudinal studies--representing over 45,000 marriages--are summarized and evaluated, yielding specific suggestions for improving this research, Finally, a model is outlined that integrates the strengths of previous theories of marriage, accounts for established findings, and indicates new directions for research on how marriages change.

Interparental conflict and the children of discord and divorce.

Abstract: Data on the relation between marital turmoil (ie, discord and divorce) and behavior problems in children are reviewed It is concluded that a relation between the two domains docs exist Several parameters of this relation are outlined, including type of marital turmoil, form of the child's behavioral response, sex differences, age effects, parental buffering, and effects of parental psychopathology Conclusions drawn from this review are used to evaluate several broad etiological hypotheses about the effect of marital turmoil on children, and implications for the treatment of behavior problems in children from these families are discussed Finally, interpretative and methodological refinements are suggested for future research

Parenthood and Marital Satisfaction: A Meta-Analytic Review.

Abstract: This meta-analysis finds that parents report lower marital satisfaction compared with nonparents (d=−.19, r=−.10). There is also a significant negative correlation between marital satisfaction and number of children (d=−.13, r=−.06). The difference in marital satisfaction is most pronounced among mothers of infants (38% of mothers of infants have high marital satisfaction, compared with 62% of childless women). For men, the effect remains similar across ages of children. The effect of parenthood on marital satisfaction is more negative among high socioeconomic groups, younger birth cohorts, and in more recent years. The data suggest that marital satisfaction decreases after the birth of a child due to role conflicts and restriction of freedom.

SIBLING RELATIONSHIP QUALITY: Its Causes and Consequences

Abstract: ▪ Abstract Current work on children's individual characteristics and family processes that contribute to variation in sibling relationship quality is reviewed Findings from these studies are summarized in a heuristic model that specifies hypothesized links among family processes, intrapersonal characteristics, and variations in sibling relationship quality The model is designed to provide researchers with a host of hypotheses to test and refine in future studies The contributions that sibling relationships may make to cognitive and psychosocial development are then reviewed, with a suggestion that sibling relationships comprised of a balance of both prosocial and conflicted interactions create experiences that are most likely to nurture children's social, cognitive, and psychosocial development