Actor-Partner Interdependence of Compassion toward Others with Qualities of Marital Relationship and Parent-Child Relationships in Chinese Families

Actor-partner interdependence of socially prescribed parenting perfectionism and parental control in Chinese families

The rise of intense competition for younger generation has intensified social expectations of being a good parent. Based on the data of 386 Chinese intact families with fathers (M_age  = 48.7), mothers (M_age  = 44.7), and adolescents (46.9% girls, M_age  = 14.6) as target respondents, this study examined the patterns of dyadic interdependence in the relationships between socially prescribed parenting perfectionism and parental control (indexed by close monitoring and psychological control) using actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) analyses. Results indicated an actor-only pattern in the association of socially prescribed parenting perfectionism with paternal monitoring, and a couple pattern in the relationship between socially prescribed parenting perfectionism and maternal monitoring. However, the patterns of individual and inter-spousal relationships between socially prescribed parenting perfectionism and psychological control were indistinguishable between fathers and mothers. The findings lend support to the social expectations model and the anxious rearing model by illustrating positive associations of socially prescribed parenting perfectionism with parental monitoring and psychological control. The present study suggests that father-prescribed social expectations about parenting are critical in shaping parental control practice in Chinese contexts, which shed light on the development of Chinese socialization model and clinical practice to support Chinese parents in their parenting.

Adolescent problematic Internet use and parental involvement: The chain mediating effects of parenting stress and parental expectations across early, middle, and late adolescence

Problematic Internet use (PIU), a common phenomenon, has negative effects on adolescents, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adolescents with PIU pose great challenges to parenting. However, little is known about the mediating mechanisms underlying this relationship. The study examines the chain mediating roles of parenting stress and parental expectations between PIU and parental involvement across early, middle, and late adolescence. Families (N = 1206) that included fathers, mothers, and adolescents (48.9% females, M_age  = 13.86 ± 2.48) participated in the study. Adolescents provided a rating of PIU, and fathers and mothers reported their own parenting stress, parental expectations, and parental involvement. The results showed that paternal parenting stress and then expectations mediated the association between PIU and paternal involvement, and maternal parenting stress and then expectations mediated the association between PIU and maternal involvement, indicating a spillover effect. By contrast, the crossover effect was established only in that maternal parenting stress was negatively related to paternal expectations in middle adolescents. Moreover, maternal expectations showed the strongest association with maternal involvement in middle adolescents, whereas paternal expectations were most associated with paternal involvement in late adolescents. These findings underline the necessity of understanding parenting by assessing adolescent developmental stages and paternal and maternal parenting separately. Furthermore, the mediators of parenting stress and parental expectations can be the focus on facilitating parental involvement; the effect of maternal parenting stress on paternal expectations may suggest that intervention programs for fathers should consider more contextual factors.

Relationship between Chinese middle-aged and old couples' Confucian coping thinking and marital quality

Objective

Drawing on the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM), the present study investigated the relationship between Chinese middle-aged and old couples' Confucian coping thinking and their marital quality in the hope to provide a theoretical basis for ameliorating marital quality.

Methods

With 744 middle-aged and old couples as participants, the Confucian Coping Questionnaire (CCQ) and the Quality of Marriage Index (QMI) were employed to probe the relationship between responsibility thinking (RT), pro-setback thinking (PT), fate thinking (FT), and marital quality.

Results

Husbands' and wives' scores in responsibility thinking and pro-setback thinking had significantly positive correlations with their own and their spouses' scores in marital quality, respectively, and husbands' and wives' scores in fate thinking had significantly negative correlations with their own and their spouses' marital quality, respectively. Husbands' responsibility thinking, pro-setback thinking, and fate thinking had a significant actor effect. Husbands' responsibility thinking and fate thinking had a significant partner effect. Wives' responsibility thinking, pro-setback thinking, and fate thinking had a significant actor effect. Wives' responsibility thinking and pro-setback thinking had a significant partner effect.

Conclusion

From the perspective of dyadic relationships, the present study found that responsibility thinking and pro-setback thinking could positively predict marital quality, while pro-setback thinking could negatively predict marital quality.

Relationship between mindfulness and general health among couples in Mainland China: A crossover perspective

RATIONALE

Previous research has indicated that mindfulness can be beneficial both intrapersonally and interpersonally. Although mindfulness has been shown to improve an individual's health, much less is known about whether these health benefits extend to the individual's spouse.

OBJECTIVE

The present study aims to establish a crossover model to expound ''how'' and ''why'' mindfulness might be associated with both the individual's and the spouse's general health.

METHODS

In total, 319 married couples in Mainland China participated in a two-wave survey study with a 3-month interval. The hypotheses were tested by Structural Equation Modeling.

RESULTS

As expected, mindfulness was positively correlated with personal general health through decreases in perceived social undermining. However, mindfulness had an asymmetrical crossover effect on spouses' general health. Whereas wives' mindfulness had significant benefits for husbands' general health, husbands' mindfulness was not a significant protective factor of wives' general health. The benefits of wives' mindfulness on husbands' general health were mediated by the direct crossover of lower perceived social undermining from wives to husbands.

CONCLUSIONS

This study is the first to investigate the relationship between mindfulness and general health at the couple level. Our findings help clarify the benefits of mindfulness on couples' health management from a systemic perspective and provide further support for the crossover theory.

Pregnant Women's Experiences of the Conditions Affecting Marital Well-Being in High-Risk Pregnancy: A Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND

High-risk pregnancy is associated with many problems which can affect marital well-being as well as maternal and fetal health. Yet, there is limited information about the conditions which affect marital well-being in high-risk pregnancy. This study aimed to explore the pregnant women's experiences of the conditions affecting marital well-being in high-risk pregnancy.

METHODS

This qualitative study was conducted from October 2018 to December 2019. Participants were 24 women with high-risk pregnancy who were purposively selected from three public and two private hospitals as well as a primary healthcare center in Mashhad, Iran. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted for data collection. Data were analyzed concurrently with data collection through Graneheim and Lundman's content analysis (2004). The MAXQDA program (v. 10) was used for data management.

RESULTS

Conditions affecting marital well-being in high-risk pregnancy were categorized into eleven subcategories and three main categories, namely emotional spousal intimacy in the midst of danger, husband's commitment to manage the difficult conditions of pregnancy and sexual relationship during high-risk pregnancy.

CONCLUSION

Several conditions can affect marital well-being in high-risk pregnancy. Healthcare providers can develop and use strategies for the effective management of these conditions, thereby improving marital well-being among women with high-risk pregnancy.

The Impact of Child Autistic Symptoms on Parental Marital Relationship: Parenting and Coparenting Processes as Mediating Mechanisms

Research shows that parenting a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with increased marital conflicts and reduced marital love. Less is known, however, about the potential mechanism underlying these associations. The present study tested a family process model linking child autism to parental marriage. We hypothesized that child autistic symptoms would be associated with increased marital conflicts and reduced marital love among parents of children with ASD, and that these associations would be mediated by parenting stress and coparenting conflicts. A total of 382 parents of children with ASD from Hong Kong, China completed questionnaire measures of child autistic symptoms, parenting stress, coparenting conflicts, marital conflicts, and marital love. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and Bootstrap analyses were conducted to analyze the relations among the variables. SEM showed that child autistic symptoms were related to higher levels of parenting stress and coparenting conflicts, which were, in turn, related to increased marital conflicts and reduced marital love among parents of children with ASD. Bootstrap analyses further demonstrated that child autistic symptoms had significant indirect effects on marital conflicts and marital love via parenting stress and coparenting conflicts. Theoretically, this study revealed the potential pathways through which child autism symptomatology may adversely impact the family processes and compromise the marital relationships of parents of children with ASD. Practically, this study pointed to the utility of helping parents of children with ASD to manage child autistic symptoms, alleviate parenting stress, and reduce coparenting conflicts in improving their marital qualities. LAY SUMMARY: This study showed that child autistic symptoms were related to higher levels of parenting stress and coparenting conflicts, which were, in turn, related to increased marital conflicts and reduced marital love among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These findings pointed to the importance of helping parents of children with ASD to manage child autistic symptoms, alleviate parenting stress, and reduce coparenting conflicts in improving their marital qualities. © 2020 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Autism Res 2020, 13: 1516-1526. © 2020 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.