Effects of intervention with the Oregon model of Parent Management Training (PMTO ™ ) on marital relationship processes and marital satisfaction in recently married biological mother and stepfather couples were examined. Sixty-seven of the 110 participating families were randomly assigned to PMTO, and 43 families to a non-intervention condition. Intervention had reliable positive indirect effects on marital relationship processes 24 months after baseline which in turn were associated with higher marital satisfaction. These indirect effects were mediated by the impact of PMTO on parenting practices 6 months after baseline. Enhanced parenting practices resulting from PMTO prevented escalation of subsequent child behavior problems at school. Consistent with a family systems perspective and research on challenges to marital quality in stepfamilies, improved co-parenting practices were associated with enhanced marital relationship skills and marital satisfaction as well as with prevention of child behavior problems. Keywords parent training; marital adjustment; stepfamiliesCorrespondence concerning this report should be addressed to James Snyder, Box 34, Dept. of Psychology, Wichita State University, Wichita, KS 67260-0034; james.snyder@wichita.edu. Publisher's Disclaimer: The following manuscript is the final accepted manuscript. It has not been subjected to the final copyediting, fact-checking, and proofreading required for formal publication. It is not the definitive, publisher-authenticated version. The American Psychological Association and its Council of Editors disclaim any responsibility or liabilities for errors or omissions of this manuscript version, any version derived from this manuscript by NIH, or other third parties. The published version is available at www.apa.org/pubs/journals/fam NIH Public Access NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptThe stepfamily is a common family constellation in America (Clarke-Stewart & Brentano, 2006). Prior to 13 years of age, 50% of children in the United States reside in a family comprised of a biological parent and an intimate partner (Stewart, 2007). Remarriage challenges multiple family systems, including the newly established marital relationship (Hetherington, Bridges, & Insabella, 1998), parenting, and child adjustment (Vuchinich, Hetherington, Vuchinich, & Clingempeel, 1991). Each challenge may reverberate throughout the stepfamily system (Margolin, Christenson, & John, 1996). This paper examines the family systems impact of Oregon Model of Parent Management Training (PMTO; Patterson, 2005) on marital relationships in recently constituted stepfamilies by assessing the degree to which changes in parenting practices and child behavior problems produce changes in the marital relationship, and examines the degree to which change in the marital relationship resulting from PMTO produce changes in parenting and child behavior problems.Establishing and maintaining a satisfying marriage require that couples actively manage a ra...

No abstract

Th e present study examined the relationship among religious denomination, fundamentalism, belief about human origins, gender, and support for animal rights. Eighty-two college undergraduates filled out a set of 3 questionnaires: Th e Religious Fundamentalism Scale (Altemeyer & Hunsberger, 2004), beliefs about human origins (creationism, intelligent design, or evolution), and the Animal Rights Scale (Wuensch, Jenkins, & Poteat, 2002). Because conservative Protestants and fundamentalists adhere to religious doctrine that espouses a discontinuity between humans and other species, the study predicted they would have lower support for animal rights. Further, proponents of evolution-who tend to view species as interconnected-would advocate animal rights more so than creationists and believers of intelligent design theory. Results supported the hypotheses. A multiple regression analysis revealed that the religious variables and gender were significant in predicting support for animal rights.

Those with differing levels of religious fundamentalism (RF) may be selective in their memory for religious information. In Study 1, participants read a text about money or sex, with a judgmental or not‐judgmental message. Higher RF was associated with more accurate recall and fewer intrusions. In Study 2, participants high or low in RF read texts about sex. High‐RF participants had more accurate recall and fewer intrusions. However, high‐RF participants had more recognition false alarms to sentences that were not presented. High RF may aid memory for religious information, but also increase familiarity of related but not presented information. Exposure to not‐judgmental messages decreased RF scores, suggesting that textual messages can impact responses to fundamentalism scales.

No abstract