This study examined the link between parental divorce and marital conflict and young adult romantic relationships, and it tested whether offspring efficacy beliefs and conflict mediate this association. Young adults (N=358) provided data at three time points each separated by 7-week intervals. Results from structural equation modeling demonstrated that (a) parents' marital conflict, rather than parental divorce, was associated with offspring conflict behavior; (b) relationship efficacy mediated this association; and (c) conflict behavior, in turn, mediated the association between efficacy beliefs and the quality of offspring romantic relationships. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding the impact of parents' marital problems on romantic relationships in young adulthood. Their implications for preventive interventions and future research are also outlined.

Drawing from the National Survey of Families and Households data set, a group of adopted children and their parents (n = 72) and a matched group of biological children and their parents were identified. Parents' responses on items related to their own well-being, attitudes toward family life, parenting behaviors and values, and perceptions of their child's behaviors were compared. Results indicated no significant differences between the groups' responses. Findings thus challenged pathological assumptions and myths about adopted children and their parents, suggesting that deficiency models are inadequate for researching--and working with--adopted children and their families.

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In this study of 262 individuals caring for victims of Alzheimer's disease, the time-invariant factors of caregiver gender and generational relationship were analyzed for their negative impacts on caregiving. Caregiving impacts included strain in family relationships, restrictions in social activity, and decline in health. Results indicate that the impacts of caregiving are not distributed uniformly among caregivers but vary according to both caregiver gender and the generational relationship between the caregiver and the care recipient. Caregiver gender influences strain in family relationships and decline in caregiver health; generational relationship affects restrictions in caregiver social activity. To a lesser extent, caregiving involvement is affected by both gender and generational relationship.

The goal of this research was to identify predictors of college students' relationship dissolution and how a relationship education (RE) curriculum integrated into a college course (Relationship U [RU]) influenced students' breakup (BU) and relationship formation decisions. Study 1 (n ¼ 854) showed the strongest predictors of BU by the end of the semester were low relationship efficacy, dedication, satisfaction, and relationship length and greater emotional safety, distance, and extradyadic behavior. Study 2 (n ¼ 7,957) examined the perceived influence of RU on students' decisions to end and begin relationships through thematic analysis of open-ended questions asking participants to identify what (if any) aspect of the curriculum influenced their decisions. Participant responses highlighted specific RE components differentially salient to their decisions to end and begin romantic relationships. Implications for creating tailored and adaptive RE curricula with emerging adults are discussed.