Immigration to a host culture often involves significant changes in parenting norms and behaviors. The authors take an acculturation lens to explore parental involvement among different generations of Latin American immigrant families. It compares the quantity and type of parental involvement of first- and second-generation Latin American immigrants to that of parents who are at least a third generation in the United States while examining whether differences exist between mothers and fathers. Data from the 2003–2013 American Time Use Survey are used for our analyses, which finds differences between parenting behaviors of first-generation immigrants from Latin America and third-generation parents. Second-generation mothers were also found to be significantly different from third-generation mothers in almost every type of parental involvement, while second-generation Latin American fathers were similar to third-generation fathers in quantity and type of parental involvement.

The present study investigated developmental pathways that can contribute to chronic disease among rural African Americans. With a sample of 342 African American youth (59% female) from the southeastern United States followed for nearly two decades (2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018)(2019), we examined the prospective association between family poverty during adolescence (ages 11-18) and insulin resistance (IR) in young adulthood (ages 25-29) as well as underlying biological and psychosocial mechanisms. Results indicated family poverty during adolescence forecast higher levels of IR in young adulthood, with accelerated immune cell aging at age 20 partially mediating this association. Serial mediational models confirmed the hypothesized pathway linking family poverty, perceived life chances, cellular aging, and IR. Findings provide empirical support for theorized developmental precursors of chronic disease.

Marital conflict is common in many families. The effects of marital conflict may often spill over to parentchild dyads and affect children's development via their parenting practices. However, couples handle their marital conflict in different ways, and conflict resolution strategies may play a role in children's outcomes. Although mother-reported marital conflict has been a primary focus in most prior studies, little is known about fathers' perspectives. To that end, we examined the mediating effect of fathers' parenting in the association between the frequency of marital conflict and mother-reported children's socioemotional skills in preschool, as well as the moderating role of father constructive conflict resolution frequency in the association between father reports of the frequency of the marital conflict and parenting. Results indicate that father parenting warmth and parenting stress mediated the association between the frequency of marital conflict and children's socioemotional skills. We also found that father reports of the frequency of the marital conflict was positively associated with involvement and negatively associated with warmth at higher levels of constructive conflict resolution frequency. Fathers who reported higher constructive conflict resolution frequency showed higher father involvement and warmth. Finally, the moderated-mediation analysis revealed that, after accounting for mothers' parenting variables, father warmth was the moderated mediator, such that there was a negative indirect effect between the frequency of marital conflict and children's socioemotional skills through father warmth at average and higher levels of constructive conflict resolution frequency.

The current study was designed to investigate the protective effects of gratitude in romantic relationships. Particular attention was given to differentiating the beneficial effects of perceived gratitude (i.e., gratitude from one’s partner, or feeling appreciated) versus expressed gratitude (i.e., gratitude to one’s partner, or being appreciative) in mitigating the negative effects of ineffective arguing and financial strain on multiple indicators of relationship quality, both concurrently and longitudinally. The sample comprised 316 African American couples with three waves of data spanning approximately 16 months. Results indicated higher levels of perceived gratitude – but not expressed gratitude – weakened the association between relationship stressors and worsened outcomes (i.e., less satisfaction and confidence, more instability) at both between-person and within-person levels. Concurrently, perceived gratitude exhibited protective effects with respect to ineffective arguing and financial strain; longitudinal protective effects were observed only with respect to ineffective arguing. Results highlight the ways in which perceiving gratitude from one’s partner, both at a single instance and sustained over many months, can be protective for multiple facets of relationship quality. Collectively, findings underscore the importance of interpersonal gratitude for romantic relationships and its merit for increased attention in research and practice.

The current study investigated changes in couple, parenting, and individual functioning following participation in Family Expectations, a relationship and parenting education program for new or expectant parents. The sample comprised 339 couples who participated in most sessions of the Family Expectations program and completed assessments at three different time points over a 12‐month period. Study analyses examined: (a) change shortly following completion of the program, (b) associations between short‐term change and subsequent change in outcomes at 12‐month follow‐up, and (c) differences in short‐term change between married and unmarried couples. Significant improvements were observed in all three domains at short‐term follow‐up. Short‐term changes, particularly for psychological distress, were predictive of long‐term change in multiple domains. Few moderation effects by marital status were evident; those that appeared suggested stronger effects for married participants compared to unmarried. Study findings inform ongoing discussions into the utility of federally‐funded relationship and parenting programming.