A Longitudinal Look at Parent-Partner Relationship Characteristics and Child Developmental Outcomes

• In Event: Parenting and Juvenile Delinquency

Abstract

The family environment has long been considered a critical domain in influencing child developmental outcomes due to the family’s centrality in children’s socialization process and its relationship to almost all other aspects of children’s lives. One particular subdomain of the family that has received substantial attention is family structure and parent-partner relationship characteristics. For example, children who experience parental separation or exposure to parent-partner conflict are often considered at risk for later problem behaviors. Unfortunately, much of this work has focused on cross-sectional snapshots of the family environment and has ignored how these characteristics change over time. In this study, a longitudinal perspective is used to examine how family structure and parent-partner relationship characteristics impact child problem behaviors. In particular, this study will take advantage of prospective longitudinal data from the Rochester Youth Development Study to look at how parent-partner relationship quality measures, such as stability and support, influence problem behaviors of children across adolescence.

Author

• Emily L Walter, University of Maryland