Showing papers in "Journal of Family Issues in 2006"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined how norms of filial responsibility influence adult children to provide social support to their aging parents and found that filial norms are more strongly converted into support when the parent experiences increased need and the child in question is a daughter.
Abstract: This investigation examines how norms of filial responsibility influence adult children to provide social support to their aging parents. Relying on intergenerational solidarity and social capital theories, the authors hypothesize that filial responsibility as a latent resource is more strongly converted into support when (a) the parent experiences increased need and (b) the child in question is a daughter. Using data from 488 adult children in the Longitudinal Study of Generations, the authors examine change in support provided between 1997 and 2000. Declining health of either parent increases the strength with which filial norms predisposed children to provide support. The conversion of filial norms into support is stronger among daughters than among sons but only toward mothers. Results are discussed in terms of the contingent linkage between latent and manifest functions and the persistence of gender role differentiation in the modern family.
374 citations
TL;DR: In this article, associations among three dimensions of parenting (support, behavioral control, psychological control) and measures of adolescent depression, delinquency, and academic achievement were assessed in a sample of African American youth.
Abstract: Associations among three dimensions of parenting (support, behavioral control, psychological control) and measures of adolescent depression, delinquency, and academic achievement were assessed in a sample of African American youth. All data were adolescent self-reports by way of school-administered questionnaires in random samples of classrooms in southeastern U.S. metropolitan areas. Path analysis revealed several associations between parenting dimensions and youth outcomes, including negative relationships between paternal support and depression and between parental behavioral control and delinquency. Group comparisons (by youth grade level, gender, and family socioeconomic status [SES]) were also conducted, and no age or SES differences were noted.
334 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the effect of the father-child relationship and the parent's parenting style as predictors of first delinquency and substance use in adolescents, using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997, Round 1 to 3 (N = 5,345).
Abstract: The father-child relationship and father’s parenting style are examined as predictors of first delinquency and substance use, using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997, Rounds 1 to 3 (N = 5,345), among adolescents in intact families. Discrete time logistic regressions indicate that a more positive father-child relationship predicts a reduced risk of engagement in multiple first risky behaviors. Having a father with an authoritarian parenting style is associated with an increased risk of engaging in delinquent activity and substance use. Two-way interaction models further indicate that the negative effect of authoritarian parenting is reduced when fathers have a positive relationship with their adolescent. Permissive parenting also predicts less risky behavior when the father-child relationship is positive. The positive influence of the father-child relationship on risk behaviors is stronger for male than for female adolescents.
241 citations
TL;DR: The authors identify ways that Latino immigrant parents with adolescent children cope with their new environment and how that environment shapes their parenting practices, and two primary themes emerge: overcoming new challenges and finding new strengths.
Abstract: One in five children living in the United States is an immigrant or a child of an immigrant, and 62% of these children are Latino. Through qualitative methods, this study identifies ways that Latino immigrant parents with adolescent children cope with their new environment and how that environment shapes their parenting practices. Two primary themes emerge: overcoming new challenges and finding new strengths. Immigrant parents discuss the challenges of overcoming fears of the unknown; navigating unfamiliar work, school, and neighborhood environments; encountering and confronting racism; and losing family connections and other forms of social capital. In response to these challenges, immigrant parents discuss developing bicultural coping skills, increasing parent–child communication, empathizing with and respecting their adolescent children, and fostering social supports. The results fit well with a risk and protective factor framework and provide a basis for improving policies and programs to support effective parenting in Latino immigrant families.
233 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a longitudinal association among marital conflict, parentchild relationship quality, and youth maladjustment was examined using data from the National Survey of Families and Households using data based on 551 married families with a child age 5 to 11 years at Wave 1.
Abstract: Contemporaneous and longitudinal associations among marital conflict, parentchild relationship quality, and youth maladjustment were examined using data from the National Survey of Families and Households.Analyses were based on 551 married families with a child age 5 to 11 years at Wave 1. The concurrent association between marital conflict and youth externalizing problems at both waves was mediated completely at Wave 1 and partially at Wave 2 by harsh discipline and parent-youth conflict. The concurrent association between marital conflict and internalizing problems at both waves was mediated partially through parent-youth conflict. Longitudinal mediating effects were detected through stable marital conflict over 5 years and through its connection with parent-youth conflict. Findings delineate areas of specificity and stability in marital conflict processes as children transition from middle childhood through adolescence.
232 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an ecological model of ethnic identity was examined among 639 adolescents of Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Vietnamese, and Salvadoran descent, and the results indicated that familial ethnic socialization played a significant role in ethnic identity formation for all adolescents.
Abstract: An ecological model of ethnic identity was examined among 639 adolescents of Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Vietnamese, and Salvadoran descent. Using structural equation modeling and, specifically, multiple group comparisons, findings indicated that familial ethnic socialization (FES) played a significant role in the process of ethnic identity formation for all adolescents, regardless of ethnic background. Specifically, adolescents’ reports of FES were significantly and positively associated with their reports of exploration, commitment, and affirmation and belonging toward their ethnic background. These results are consistent with empirical work that has found familial socialization to be a central component of ethnic identity formation among children, and with theoretical work on adolescents, which has emphasized the important role of families in the process ethnic identity formation.
211 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored the effects of the transition to fatherhood and the addition of subsequent children on men's psychological and physical health, contacts with extended family, social interactions, and work behaviors.
Abstract: This study uses data (N = 3,088) from the first two waves of the National Survey of Families and Households to explore the effects of the transition to fatherhood and the addition of subsequent children on men’s psychological and physical health, contacts with extended family, social interactions, and work behaviors. The results sugget that new children lead to changes in men’s well-being and social participation, but the effects are conditioned by the structural context of fatherhood and men’s initial fatherhood status. Overall, the evidence indicates that the transition to parenthood and the addition of subsequent children primarily transform the organization of men’s lives, especially when they become coresident fathers. Men making the transition to parenthood are most likely to be affected. Fatherhood encourages men to increase intergenerational and extended family interactions, participation in service-oriented activities, and hours in paid labor—at the expense of spending time socializing.
209 citations
TL;DR: Wang et al. as discussed by the authors examined the puzzles intrinsic to Chinese family research and related progress as highlighted by the articles in this special issue, including quantitative versus qualitative approach, cross-sectional versus longitudinal study, simple versus complex statistical analyses, local versus comparative research, intuitive versus validated assessment tools, assessment based on single perspective versus multiple perspectives, and indigenous versus imported family concepts.
Abstract: The adoption of the open-door policy and economic reforms in China since the late 1970s have placed Chinese families, which have deep roots in traditional Chinese cultural values and Chinese socialist thoughts, under the strong influences of Western cultural values, market economy, and globalization. This article examines the puzzles intrinsic to Chinese family research and the related progress as highlighted by the articles in this special issue. Several issues regarding research paradigms in Chinese family research are identified, including quantitative versus qualitative approach, cross-sectional versus longitudinal study, simple versus complex statistical analyses, local versus comparative research, intuitive versus validated assessment tools, assessment based on single perspective versus multiple perspectives, and indigenous versus imported family concepts and theories. Finally, the question of how Chinese family research may inform public policies is discussed.
177 citations
TL;DR: This article found that women experience higher levels of work-family conflict than men do in all three countries and Hong Kong respondents were more likely than those in the United States and in England to worry about workfamily conflict when controlling for job and family characteristics.
Abstract: Work-family conflict is a pressing research and policy issue. The authors extend previous scholarship on this issue by studying elite employees’worries about the effects of longwork hours on those in their personal life. This issue is researched cross-nationally in a sample of managers and professionals based in the United States, London, and Hong Kong, all of whom work for one division of a high-commitment, global, financial services firm. Hong Kong respondents are more likely than those in the United States and in England to worry about work-family conflict when controlling for job and family characteristics. The authors argue that the meaning of family varies by national context, in part because of the emphasis in Hong Kong on the extended family as a robust institution with intense ties and obligations. In all three countries, women experience higher levels of work-family conflict than men do.
172 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined the effects of China's one-child policy on two traditional aspects of Chinese family life: filial piety and patrilineality, and found that only children were as likely to plan on helping their parents as were those with siblings and were more likely to intend to reside in the same city.
Abstract: This study examined the effects of China's one-child policy on two traditional aspects of Chinese family life: filial piety and patrilineality. Eighty-four graduating university seniors, who were part of the first cohort born under the onechild policy, were interviewed about their life plans. Comparisons between only children and those with siblings showed that only children were as likely to plan on helping their parents as were those with siblings and were more likely to intend to reside in the same city. The only children seemed to feel especially responsible for their parents’ happiness because of their singleton status. Among only children and those with siblings, patrilineal norms seemed weak. Students’mentions of family structure to explain their decisions suggest that the one-child policy is undermining patrilineal norms.
156 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined whether socioeconomic resources and psychosocial resources explain the mental health advantage of the married compared to different types of unmarried individuals, as well as the remarried.
Abstract: This study takes a multifaceted approach to examining reasons for the well-noted mental health advantage of the married. The authors examine whether socioeconomic resources and psychosocial resources explain this advantage for three aspects of mental health by comparing the consistently married to different types of unmarried individuals, as well as the remarried. The authors find that even though the consistently married generally fare better than all the other groups, the reasons for this advantage not only varied by category of marital status but also, for any specific group, these reasons are sometimes varied depending on the aspect of mental health being examined. This study demonstrates that not only is it advisable for researchers to use a variety of outcome measures to understand the mental health advantage of the married, they should also consider how different resources may explain this advantage, depending on the outcomes and groups being examined.
TL;DR: The authors examined the ways that widowhood affects older adults' perceived exchange of support with their children and whether exchange patterns differ by gender, and found that widows are more dependent on their children for financial and/or legal advice yet provide more emotional and instrumental support.
Abstract: This study examines the ways that widowhood affects older adults' perceived exchange of support with their children, and whether exchange patterns differ by gender. Data are from the Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC), a prospective study of 1,532 married individuals age 65 years and older. Spousal loss increases older adults'dependence on their children 6 months after the loss yet decreases children's dependence on their surviving parents. Patterns of postloss parent-child exchanges differ by gender of parent. Compared to widowers, widows are more dependent on their children for financial and/or legal advice yet provide more emotional and instrumental support. However, these gender differences are contingent on educational attainment. Education decreases widows' dependence on children for financial and legal advice yet increases widowers'provision of emotional support to their children. The findings suggest that adherence to traditional gender roles among married couples may influence older adults' a...
TL;DR: The authors conducted life history interviews with 40 low-income non-custodial African American men in three age cohorts to explore how the stories that men told of their fathers' life experiences shaped their own paternal identities.
Abstract: Life history interviews were conducted with 40 low-income noncustodial African American men in three age cohorts. Using four elements of a life course perspective (human agency, linked lives, social context, and multiple rhythms of time), the author explored how the stories that men told of their fathers' life experiences shaped their own paternal identities. Three narrative themes (stability, liminality, and inquiry) gave meaning to men's struggles to become involved fathers and linked them to similar challenges faced by their fathers years earlier. Differences in narrative construction between cohorts suggest how sociohistorical context defines opportunities for men to become involved parents.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe the motives people give for their divorce and distinguish motives regarding three types of issues: relational issues, behavioral problems, and problems about work and the division of labor.
Abstract: Using survey data on 1,718 ever-divorced men and women in the Netherlands, the authors describe the motives people give for their divorce. The authors distinguish motives regarding three types of issues: relational issues, behavioral problems, and problems about work and the division of labor. They observe three important trends: the normalization of divorce, the psychologization of relationships, and the emancipation of women. First, severe divorce motives (e.g., violence and infidelity) have become less important. The authors interpret this finding in terms of a threshold hypothesis: When the threshold for divorce is higher, marriages that end in divorce will be more problematic. Second, there has been a trend toward more relational and psychological motives, particularly among women. Third, problems in the realm of work and household labor have become more important motives for a divorce. This is consistent with the increase in emancipatory attitudes in the past decades.
TL;DR: The authors compared the well-being of African American, Latina, and White grandmothers raising or helping to raise grandchildren in custodial and coparenting families, finding that African American grandmothers had higher negative mood and assumed care more frequently in response to serious parental substance-related reasons and less frequently because of the parent's financial need.
Abstract: This study compares the well-being of African American, Latina, and White grandmothers raising or helping to raise grandchildren in custodial and coparenting families. Grandmother caregivers (N = 1,051) were recruited through schools and media for 1-hr interviews. Latina grandmothers had higher life satisfaction than African American or White grandmothers when they coparented with a parent in the household. Among African American grandmothers, higher life satisfaction was evident in custodial compared to coparenting arrangements. White grandmothers had higher negative mood and assumed care more frequently in response to serious parental substance-related reasons and less frequently because of the parent’s financial need. In contrast, levels of depression were the same regardless of ethnicity. Results suggest that expectations regarding caregiving roles and socioeconomic resources may shape the grandmother’s mood and sense of satisfaction with life in response to family circumstances but not affect her dep...
TL;DR: In this paper, the degree of stress in 50 African American grandparents (M = 63.12 years) who are raising their grandchildren and identified the importance of caregiver characteristics, the caregiving situation, and specific coping strategies that influence stress.
Abstract: This study investigated the degree of stress in 50 African American grandparents (M = 63.12 years) who are raising their grandchildren and identified the importance of caregiver characteristics, the caregiving situation, and specific coping strategies that influence stress. Data were collected via interview at senior centers and churches in Harris County, Texas. The instruments used to measure stress and coping were the Parenting Stress Index and the Ways of Coping Questionnaire. Of grandparents, 94% reported a clinically significant level of stress. Use of professional counseling, special school programs, and length of caregiving longer than 5 years were associated with less stress. Coping strategies significantly correlated with less stress included accepting responsibility, confrontive coping, self-control, positive reappraisal, planful problem solving, and distancing. This study adds to the limited information about custodial grandparents and suggests counseling, support groups, and education to help ...
TL;DR: This paper analyzed gender attitudes and behaviors of husbands and wives across three urban Chinese cohorts and found that women remain egalitarian in gender ideology across cohorts, while men who hold egalitarian gender attitudes decline significantly across cohorts.
Abstract: This article analyzes gender attitudes and behaviors of husbands and wives across three urban Chinese cohorts. Whilewomen remain egalitarian in gender ideology across cohorts, the percentage of men who hold egalitarian gender attitudes declines significantly across cohorts. At the same time, the division of household labor has become somewhat less inequitable for women; however, their expectations of equality appear to have changed faster than the division of labor. Men's attitudes reflect a backlash to egalitarian pressures from their wives and the state, with significantly negative implications for their partner's marriage quality.
TL;DR: This paper investigated the direction of the relationship between marital happiness and wives' full-time employment using the 1987 to 1988 and 1992 to 1994 waves of the National Survey of Families and Households.
Abstract: The authors investigate the direction of the relationship between marital happiness and wives’ full-time employment using the 1987 to 1988 and 1992 to 1994 waves of the National Survey of Families and Households. First, the authors predict change in wives’ employment between the two waves using marital happiness and other Time 1 characteristics. The results show that shifting into full-time employment is more likely for unhappily married than for happily married wives. Second, they examine how changes in wives’ employment between Times 1 and 2 influence marital stability and changes in marital happiness. The authors find that contrary to frequently invoked social and economic theories, wives’ full-time employment is associated with greater marital stability. Nonetheless, changes in wives’ employment have no significant effect on how marital quality changes between Times 1 and 2.
TL;DR: This paper examined the effect of exposure to interparental conflict on the mental health of young adults and found that exposure to conflict significantly increased the odds of experiencing a subsequent episode of major depressive disorder and alcohol abuse or dependency disorder.
Abstract: This article examines the effect of exposure to interparental conflict on the mental health of young adults. Based on a diverse sample of 649 students from three New England colleges, the authors investigate the association between nonviolent interparental conflict during childhood, subsequent distress and disorder, and identified factors that mediate the relationship. Results indicate that exposure to interparental conflict significantly increases the odds of experiencing a subsequent episode of major depressive disorder and alcohol abuse or dependency disorder, controlling for demographic factors, parental divorce, and any incident of parent to parent or parent to child physical assault. Exposure to interparental conflict in childhood or adolescence is also associated with current levels of depressive symptoms in young adults. This association is partially mediated by ongoing strain in parent and child relationships, greater strain within offspring’s own romantic relationships, and reduced self-esteem. ...
TL;DR: In this article, a longitudinal sample of dating couples was analyzed to test the aspect of Waller's (1938) principle of least interest that states that unequal emotional involvement between romantic partners has implications for relationship quality and stability.
Abstract: Data from a longitudinal sample of dating couples (some of whom married) were analyzed to test the aspect of Waller’s (1938) principle of least interest that states that unequal emotional involvement between romantic partners has implications for relationship quality and stability. Both members of the couples were asked multiple times over several years which partner, if either, was more emotionally involved. Perceptions of unequal emotional involvement were common and tended to remain stable over time. Less emotionally involved partners perceived themselves as having more control over the continuation of their relationships. Equal emotional involvement was associated with greater relationship satisfaction and stability. Concurrent and retrospective perceptions of relative emotional involvement were associated with several aspects of relationship breakup within the subsample of those who broke up during the study. Perceptions of emotional involvement have many implications for dating couples, including be...
TL;DR: This paper examined the distribution of time pressure associated with the roles of marital partner and parent using data from a telephone survey Results of an analysis of open-ended responses indicate that less than a quarter of respondents are satisfied with the time they spend with their children and spouses.
Abstract: In this article, I examine the distribution of time pressure associated with the roles of marital partner and parent using data from a telephone survey Results of an analysis of open-ended responses indicate that less than a quarter of respondents are satisfied with the time they spend with their children and spouses Women are more likely to want to improve the quality of family time, whereas men are somewhat more likely to want more time with their spouses and children Regression analysis indicates that social support, hours of paid labor, hours of housework, job control, and having dependent children are all associated with significant variation in family time pressures In contrast to research on general time pressure, there are no socioeconomic differences in family time pressures, and women do not experience significantly higher family time pressures than men do
TL;DR: The authors examined the influence of the parent-child relationship on adolescent virginity status using data from two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (NLSH) and found that girls who enjoy a close relationship with their father are less likely to report first sex between study waves.
Abstract: The present study considers the influence of the parent-child relationship on adolescent virginity status using data from two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The authors examine how adolescents’ perceptions of the quality of their parent-child relationships—and the varying levels of parental involvement in their lives—influences the likelihood of first sex among a sample of adolescent virgins living in biologically intact, two-parent families. The authors pose and test a conceptual model linking parent-child relationships to first sex via diminished actual and cognitive opportunities for sex. The results indicate that girls who enjoy a close relationship with their father are less likely to report first sex between study waves. No comparable direct relationship appeared for boys or with the mother-child relationship. Actual and cognitive opportunities—including dating and anticipation of guilt—corresponded with diminished likelihood of first sex and appeared to mediate the d...
TL;DR: In this article, the meaning of the institution of marriage for young, unmarried adults was examined based on their belief systems about marriage, and a qualitative content analysis of scholarly literature revealed that marital meaning is multifaceted and can be conceptualized as including five distinct dimensions.
Abstract: The purpose of the study is to examine the meaning that the institution of marriage can hold for young, unmarried adults, based on their systems (or collections) of beliefs about marriage. Based on symbolic interactionism, it is argued that marital meaning has implications for how people behave prior to and during marriage that may relate to marital functioning. A qualitative content analysis of scholarly literature reveals that marital meaning is multifaceted and can be conceptualized as including five distinct dimensions. A confirmatory factor analysis identifies beliefs that are scaled to represent their respective dimensions. A cluster analysis categorizes participants into three groups based on participants’ scores along these dimensions. Similarities and distinctions across the three groups are discussed to highlight the complexity of belief systems that young adults can have about the institution of marriage.
TL;DR: The authors examined the effect of gender ideology on marital happiness in later life and found that those who hold egalitarian attitudes report significantly higher levels of marital happiness than do those with more traditional attitudes.
Abstract: In this study, the authors examine the effect of gender ideology on marital happiness in later life. Studies of marital satisfaction in later life have tended to neglect such attitudes, although they have received increasing attention in the literature on younger marriages. The authors use data from married individuals who range in age from 51 to 92 years old and are members of the 1994 Iowa Youth and Families Project. Results indicate that those who hold egalitarian attitudes report significantly higher levels of marital happiness than do those with more traditional attitudes. However, this effect is only significant for men.
TL;DR: This paper used data from the 1988 National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS) to examine immigrant youths' reading comprehension and mathematics' standardized scores as well as their parents' demographic characteristics and parent-child relations that could influence children's educational achievements.
Abstract: Data from the 1988 National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS) are used to examine immigrant youths’ reading comprehension and mathematics’ standardized scores as well as their parents’ demographic characteristics and parent-child relations that could influence children’s educational achievements. The comparisons were among parents who had emigrated from Asian, Central and South American, or the less often included European countries and their first- and second-generation offspring. It appeared that Asian students did somewhat better than the other groups. However, regardless of ethnicity and also as hypothesized, parents’ aspirations for their children to obtain more education as well as the children’s own aspirations generally were positively related to their children’s doing well in school. Contrary to previous research, though, ethnic background did not consistently differentiate parental help with homework or parent-child conversations about school on the adolescents’ standardized scores.
TL;DR: In this paper, interviews were conducted with 17 grandchildren (ages 21 to 29 years old) who were currently providing care for a grandparent, and they reported that filial obligation and preparing for the future were how they made sense of their role.
Abstract: Despite the fact that caregiving related issues are well researched in the field of family gerontology, the developmental experiences of grandchildren caregivers and the meanings of their caregiving experiences have not been explored. Influenced by the lifespan perspective and a constructionism lens, interviews were conducted with 17 grandchildren (ages 21 to 29 years old) who were currently providing care for a grandparent. Grandchildren cargivers reported that filial obligation and preparing for the future were how they made sense of their role. Grandchildren experienced benefits and costs from their caregiving role and developed coping mechanisms that allowed them to be successful caregivers. Professionals should include grandchildren in established caregiver support programs to recognize the generational needs of grandchildren caregivers in their 20s.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the effects of partners' attitudes on the timing of the birth of a first child, the division of domestic labor, child care, and paid labor of couples.
Abstract: In this article, the authors examine effects of partners’ attitudes on the timing of the birth of a first child, the division of domestic labor, the division of child care, and the division of paid labor of couples. They use data from the Panel Study of Social Integration in the Netherlands, which includes independent measures of both partners’ attitudes in one wave (1995) and family life behavior in the next wave (1999). Using theories about decision rules, the authors formulate hypotheses about possible outcomes when partners have dissimilar attitudes. The results show that partners’ attitudes are not always identical. Most important, attitudes of both partners are found to be equally important in joint decisions.
TL;DR: In this paper, the relationship between work and family variables and children's internalizing and externalizing behavior was examined in 132 dual-earner couples of preschool-age children, and the importance of mothers' and fathers' work and families issues for children's behavior was discussed.
Abstract: Relationships between work and family variables and children’s internalizing and externalizing behavior are examined in 132 dual-earner couples of preschool-age children. Mothers’ and fathers’ parenting stress and mothers’ work-family conflict predict children’s internalizing behavior; mothers’ work-family conflict, mothers’ and fathers’ parenting stress, the number of hours fathers’ worked, and mothers’ beliefs about father involvement predict externalizing symptoms in children. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of mothers’ and fathers’ work and family issues for children’s behavior.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore how aspects of stepfather involvement are related to adolescent well-being and whether these relationships depend on maternal involvement, non-residential father involvement, or amount of time in the household.
Abstract: Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the authors explore how aspects of stepfather involvement are related to adolescent well-being and whether these relationships depend on maternal involvement, non-residential father involvement, or amount of time in the household. Results indicate that a close, nonconflictual stepfather-stepchild relationship improves adolescent well-being, but it is most beneficial when the adolescent also has a close, nonconflictual mother-child relationship. Engaging in shared activities with the stepfather decreases depression when the stepfather has been in the household for a longer period of time. The relationships between stepfather involvement and adolescent well-being are separate from nonresidential father involvement.
TL;DR: This paper investigated whether the psychological consequences of transitioning into a caregiver role for a biological parent, parent-in-law, spouse, other kin, or nonkin among married adults might be moderated by marital role quality.
Abstract: Guided by a life course perspective, this study investigated whether the psychological consequences of transitioning into a caregiver role for a biological parent, parent-in-law, spouse, other kin, or nonkin among married adults might be moderated by marital role quality. Using longitudinal data from a national sample of 1,842 married adults aged 35 years and older, this study estimated regression models examining whether marital disagreement prior to the transition to caregiving predicted differences in change in global happiness and depressive symptoms because of a transition into caregiving. Results indicated that, compared to noncaregivers, new caregivers for a biological parent or spouse experienced both a greater decline in happiness and a greater increase in depressive symptoms when they reported a higher level of marital disagreement. These findings suggest that the psychological effects of becoming a caregiver for a biological parent or spouse among married adults are contingent on marital role q...