This meta-analysis examined 118 studies of the psychosocial outcomes of children exposed to interparental violence. Correlational studies showed a significant association between exposure and child problems (d ϭ Ϫ0.29). Group comparison studies showed that witnesses had significantly worse outcomes relative to nonwitnesses (d ϭ Ϫ0.40) and children from verbally aggressive homes (d ϭ Ϫ0.28), but witnesses' outcomes were not significantly different from those of physically abused children (d ϭ 0.15) or physically abused witnesses (d ϭ 0.13). Several methodological variables moderated these results. Similar effects were found across a range of outcomes, with slight evidence for greater risk among preschoolers. Recommendations for future research are made, taking into account practical and theoretical issues in this area.In the past several decades, researchers, clinicians, and policymakers have expressed increasing concern that children who witness marital violence may suffer negative consequences even when they are not themselves the target of violence (Osofsky, 1995). However, research on children who witness marital violence is much less extensive than research on children who are the direct victims of physical abuse (Fantuzzo, Boruch, Beriama, Atkins, & Marcus, 1997). Case studies of child witnesses first appeared in the 1970s, with the first empirical studies conducted in the 1980s. Because witnessing domestic violence can terrorize children and significantly disrupt child socialization, many researchers have begun to consider exposure to domestic violence to be a form of psychological maltreatment (McGee & Wolfe, 1991;Peled & Davis, 1995;Somer & Braunstein, 1999).The focus on child witnesses is important because, relative to the general population, families with documented incidents of domestic violence have a significantly higher number of children in the home, especially children younger than age 5 (Fantuzzo et al., 1997). Other research suggests that physical violence is highest early in the marital relationship, when children are likely to be young . Although many parents report trying to shelter their children from marital violence, research suggests that children in violent homes commonly see, hear, and intervene in episodes of marital violence (Fantuzzo et al., 1997;Holden & Ritchie, 1991;Rosenberg, 1987).The past 20 years have seen a flurry of research on child witnesses to domestic violence, and numerous qualitative reviews of this research have concluded that children's exposure to marital violence is associated with a wide range of psychological, emotional, behavioral, social, and academic problems (e.g., Fantuzzo & Lindquist, 1989;Jaffe, Wolfe, & Wilson, 1990;Kolbo, Blakely, & Engleman, 1996;Margolin & Gordis, 2000;Wolak & Finkelhor, 1998). At this point, there are several benefits to integrating these results using quantitative, meta-analytic procedures. First, although two influential meta-analyses have been conducted on the effects of interparental conflict (Buehler et al., 1997) and marital di...

Family-based interventions for pediatric obesity are defined by active parent involvement in treatment. In the current review the authors examine 31 family-based interventions with published outcome data and distinguish 4 categories of family-based interventions: (a) Target a narrow range of parent behaviors related to eating/exercise and assess change only in terms of child eating, exercise, or weight; (b) target a similarly narrow range of parent behaviors but nevertheless assess program-related changes in general parenting skills or family functioning; (c) target a broad range of parent behaviors related to general parenting and family functioning but do not assess program-related changes in these areas; and (d) target general parenting or family functioning and also assess program-related changes in these areas. The authors highlight methodological and conceptual challenges facing researchers in this area and argue for an even broader family focus in family-based interventions for pediatric obesity.

This study examined marital conflict's indirect effects on children through disruptions in family alliances and parenting. Forty married couples were observed interacting with their 6-8-year-old sons after pleasant and conflictual discussions. After conflictual discussion, fathers showed lower support/engagement toward sons, and coparenting styles were less democratic. Couple negativity was correlated with family negativity, regardless of the topic of discussion, which suggests continuity in the affective quality of the two family subsystems. Mothers' marital satisfaction moderated families' responses to the experimental manipulation. The results provide stronger evidence than previously available of a causal link between conflict and disrupted parenting. Further research is needed to identify which conflict-related disruptions in parenting influence the development of children's problems.

SYNOPSISObjective. We examined correspondence in parents' and children's perceptions of parenting and associations between these perceptions and children's social adjustment in the classroom. Design. The sample included 214 children (M age = 9) from third to fifth grades and their parents. Children and parents reported on parenting behavior. Results. Parents' self-reports and children's reports about parents showed systematic differences, with parents perceiving themselves as more supportive than children perceived them to be. Direction of discrepancy between child and parent reports appeared to be more important than size of discrepancy in predicting child outcomes. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that parents' self-perceptions of parenting and children's perceptions of parenting were predictive of different measures of child psychosocial adjustment. Conclusions. The results of this study support the assumption that parents' self-perceptions and children's perceptions of parenting provide unique views of the family and unique relations to children's psychosocial adjustment.

The results suggest that lifestyle interventions can be effective under a wide range of conditions not limited to the highly controlled conditions of efficacy studies. Parent involvement is associated with significantly better results.

In a longitudinal study of a national sample, more externalizing behavior problems were found among 222 children from never-married and 142 children from divorced families than among 840 children from married families. However, delinquent behavior reported when future mothers were single, childless adolescents prospectively predicted their future marital status and behavior problems among their offspring 14 years later. Maternal history of delinquent behavior accounted for much, but not all, of the relationship between marital status and children's externalizing behavior. Divorce and nonmarital childbirth do not occur at random, and these findings demonstrate that marital status is predicted by individual characteristics as well as by demographic factors. These findings highlight the importance of cautiously interpreting the much-discussed correlation between marital status and children's behavior problems. Much research has been conducted on the psychological adjustment of children who are born outside of marriage or whose parents divorce. Research has been stimulated by the dramatic increases in the rates of both divorce and nonmarital childbirth in the United States since the 1960s. Rates have stabilized and are slowly showing a downward trend, but about 40% of all children born to married parents still are predicted to experience their parents' divorce (U.S. Census Bureau, 1992), and about 25% of all children in the United States

A 1-year follow-up study was conducted on families randomly assigned to settle custody disputes either in mediation or through adversary procedures. Consistent with Time 1 reports, at Time 2 fathers who mediated were substantially more satisfied than were fathers who litigated. Fathers who mediated also complied more with child support orders. Contrary to prediction, the greater satisfaction and compliance of fathers did not lead to increased satisfaction among mothers who mediated. In contrast to Time 1, at follow-up mothers who mediated were significantly less satisfied than were mothers who litigated, but selective attrition may account for these differences. The psychological adjustment of mothers and fathers was not significantly different between settlement groups at Time 2, but mothers in both groups reported less satisfaction with dispute settlement and less dysphoria at Time 2 than they had reported at Time 1.

Context To aid translation of childhood obesity research interventions evidence into practice, research studies must report results in a way that better supports pragmatic decision making. The current review evaluated the extent to which information on key external validity dimensions, participants, settings, interventions, outcomes, and maintenance of effects, was included in research studies on behavioral treatments for childhood obesity. Evidence acquisition Peer-reviewed studies of behavioral childhood obesity treatments published between 1980 and 2008 were identified from: (1) electronic searches of social science and medical databases, (2) research reviews of childhood obesity interventions, and (3) reference lists cited in these reviews. Included studies: reported on a controlled obesity intervention trial, targeted overweight or obese children aged 2–18 years, included a primary or secondary anthropometric outcome, and targeted change in dietary intake or physical activity behaviors. Evidence synthesis 1071 publications were identified and 77 met selection criteria. Studies were coded on established review criteria for external validity elements. All studies lacked full reporting of generalizability elements. Across criteria, the average reporting was 23.9% (range: 0% to 100%). Infrequently reported were setting-level selection criteria and representativeness, characteristics regarding intervention staff, implementation of the intervention content, costs, and program sustainability. Conclusions Enhanced reporting of relevant and pragmatic information in behavioral investigations of childhood obesity interventions is needed to improve the ability to evaluate the applicability of results to practice implementation. Such evidence would improve translation of research to practice, provide additional explanation for variability in intervention outcomes, and provide insights into successful adaptations of interventions to local conditions.