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Marital Satisfaction and Child Adjustment: Direct and Mediated Pathways

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Abstract

We explored whether there is a direct association between marital satisfaction and children's psychological adjustment. We also investigated a competing model to assess whether marital satisfaction is indirectly related to child outcomes through its associations with parents' depression and involvement in childrearing. Analyses of data from 1,101 participants in the National Survey of Families and Households indicated that mothers' and fathers' reports of marital satisfaction were significantly associated with child symptomatology. Moreover, mothers who experienced marital dissatisfaction were less involved with their children, which in turn was associated with greater child psychological distress. This mediated pathway was not significant for fathers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Chicago, IL

    Elizabeth A. Fishman

  2. School of Psychology, Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60605

    Steven A. Meyers

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  1. Elizabeth A. Fishman
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  2. Steven A. Meyers
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Fishman, E.A., Meyers, S.A. Marital Satisfaction and Child Adjustment: Direct and Mediated Pathways. Contemporary Family Therapy 22, 437–452 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007848901640

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