title: The effects of the family foundations prevention program on coparenting and child adjustment: a mediation analysis.
abstract: Behavioral and emotional problems are common in early childhood and put children at risk for developing more serious problems. This study tested the mediating mechanisms through which a universal coparenting intervention implemented during the transition to parenthood led to reduced child adjustment problems at age 3 and explored child gender as a potential moderator. One hundred sixty-nine heterosexual couples expecting their first child were randomly assigned to a control condition or Family Foundations, a series of eight classes that targeted the coparenting relationship. Data were collected through videotaped triadic mother-father-child interaction tasks when the child was 1 and 3 years of age. Separate longitudinal path analyses for mothers and fathers tested coparenting competition and positivity as mediators of program effects on child adjustment problems. Significant mediated effects for coparenting competition were found for fathers with both sons and daughters and for mothers with sons but not for mothers with daughters. These effects accounted for between 39 and 55% of the intervention's impact on child adjustment problems. Coparenting positivity did not mediate program effects. These results support the use of a prevention approach to reduce coparenting competition and enhance child adjustment and provide information that can be used to refine theory.
authors: Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, 106 Beecher Dock House, University Park, PA, 16802, USA. asolmeyer@psu.edu.
authors: Anna R
authors: AR
authors: Solmeyer
authors: Prevention Research Center, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
authors: Mark E
authors: ME
authors: Feinberg
authors: The Methodology Center, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
authors: Donna L
authors: DL
authors: Coffman
authors: Prevention Research Center, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
authors: Damon E
authors: DE
authors: Jones
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012044:Regression Analysis; D055815:Young Adult
references: Dev Psychopathol. 2004 Summer;16(3):753-71
references: 15605635
references: Psychol Methods. 2007 Jun;12(2):157-76
references: 17563170
references: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2002 Oct;59(10):877-83
references: 12365874
references: J Fam Psychol. 2001 Sep;15(3):526-45
references: 11584800
references: Annu Rev Psychol. 2007;58:593-614
references: 16968208
references: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1996 Nov;53(11):1033-9
references: 8911226
references: Dev Psychol. 2008 Jul;44(4):1095-109
references: 18605837
references: Parent Sci Pract. 2003 Jan 1;3(2):95-131
references: 21980259
references: J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. 2005 Sep;26(3):173-83
references: 16295515
references: JAMA. 1998 Oct 14;280(14):1238-44
references: 9786373
references: Dev Psychopathol. 2002 Fall;14(4):731-59
references: 12549702
references: Prev Sci. 2006 Jun;7(2):179-95
references: 16775760
references: J Marriage Fam. 2007 Aug 1;69(3):687-702
references: 21874069
references: Dev Psychopathol. 1998 Winter;10(1):39-59
references: 9524807
references: Int J Epidemiol. 2009 Jun;38(3):838-45
references: 19261660
references: J Abnorm Child Psychol. 1990 Feb;18(1):105-17
references: 2139068
references: Nurs Res. 2012 May-Jun;61(3):224-30
references: 22551997
references: J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2000 Feb;28(1):15-31
references: 10772347
references: J Fam Psychol. 2008 Feb;22(1):41-50
references: 18266531
references: J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2001 Jul;40(7):811-9
references: 11437020
references: J Fam Psychol. 2001 Mar;15(1):3-21
references: 11322083
references: Dev Psychopathol. 2008 Summer;20(3):899-911
references: 18606037
references: J Fam Psychol. 2005 Jun;19(2):208-16
references: 15982096
references: Pediatrics. 2009 Jun;123(6):1472-6
references: 19482756
references: Psychol Methods. 2002 Dec;7(4):422-45
references: 12530702
references: Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev. 2002 Sep;5(3):173-95
references: 12240706
references: Multivariate Behav Res. 2004 Jan 1;39(1):99
references: 20157642
references: Ann Behav Med. 2005 Aug;30(1):65-73
references: 16097907