title: A prospective study of the effects of marital status and family relations on young children's adjustment among African American and European American families.
abstract: The present study investigated the effects of divorce and family relations on young children's development prospectively, using an ethnically diverse sample of approximately 300 low-income families. We also were able to examine the moderating effects of ethnicity on child adjustment in always two-parent, to-be-divorced, already-divorced, and always single-parent families. Results indicated that to-be-divorced European American and African American families demonstrated higher rates of preschool-age behavior problems, and already-divorced families showed similar trends. Parental conflict and behavior problems accounted for predivorce differences in child behavior problems, whereas rejecting parenting accounted for differences in problem behavior between always single-parent and always two-parent families. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of ethnicity in influencing young, low-income children's adjustment to different family structures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15260-0001, USA. casey@pop.pitt.edu
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: E B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Winslow
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Flanagan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004243:Divorce / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D005192:Family Health / Q000208:ethnology; D005195:Family Relations / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009497:Neurotic Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D010414:Pennsylvania; D011203:Poverty / Q000523:psychology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012917:Social Adjustment; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014504:Urban Health; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*