Developmental cascade models of a parenting-focused program for divorced families on mental health problems and substance use in emerging adulthood

A developmental cascade model from functioning in adolescence to emerging adulthood was tested using data from a 15-year longitudinal follow-up of 240 emerging adults whose families participated in a randomized, experimental trial of a preventive program for divorced families. Families participated in the program or literature control condition when the offspring were ages 9–12. Short-term follow-ups were conducted 3 months and 6 months following completion of the program when the offspring were in late childhood/early adolescence. Long-term follow-ups were conducted 6 years and 15 years after program completion when the offspring were in middle to late adolescence and emerging adulthood, respectively. It was hypothesized that the impact of the program on mental health and substance use outcomes in emerging adulthood would be explained by developmental cascade effects of program effects in adolescence. The results provided support for a cascade effects model. Specifically, academic competence in adolescence had cross-domain effects on internalizing problems and externalizing problems in emerging adulthood. In addition, adaptive coping in adolescence was significantly, negatively related to binge drinking. It was unexpected that internalizing symptoms in adolescence were significantly negatively related to marijuana use and alcohol use. Gender differences occurred in the links between mental health problems and substance use in adolescence and mental health problems and substance use in emerging adulthood

Emotionality and self-regulation, threat appraisal, and coping in children of divorce.

Abstract A model of the effects of children's temperament (negative and positive emotionality, impulsivity and attention focusing) on post-divorce threat appraisals, coping (active and avoidant), and psychological symptoms (depression and conduct problems) was investigated. The study utilized a sample of 223 mothers and children (ages 9 to 12 years) who had experienced divorce within the last two years. Evidence was found of direct effects of child-report negative emotionality on children's threat perceptions and of child-report positive emotionality and impulsivity on children's coping. Indirect effects of negative emotionality on active and avoidant coping through threat appraisal were found. Direct effects of the temperament variables on symptoms were also found. Cross group analyses indicated that the models were robust to age differences, but gender differences were found in the relation between negative emotionality and depression. The results of this study indicate that temperament and threat appraisals are important predictors of children's post-divorce symptoms, and that temperament is a predictor of children's appraisal and coping process

Latent Profiles of Postdivorce Parenting Time, Conflict, and Quality: Children’s Adjustment Associations

Parenting time, interparental conflict, and the quality of parenting a child experiences in the postdivorce family environment have complex relations with child adjustment outcomes. Using person-centered latent profile analyses, the present study examined (a) separate profiles of mothers’ ($N$ = 472) and fathers’ ($N$ = 353) parenting time, interparental conflict, and quality of parenting following divorce; and (b) associations of mother and father profiles with concurrent child outcomes (48% female, 3- to 18-years-old) as well as child outcomes 3 and 10 months later. Mother and father profiles were primarily differentiated by levels of parenting time and quality of parenting, respectively. Mother and father profiles defined by greater parenting time and lower quality parenting were associated with the poorest child outcomes