Abstract
Objectives
Frequent exposure to poor marital relationship is closely associated with behavioral and emotional problems in children, including oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms. However, the longitudinal links between parental marital quality and child ODD symptoms, and whether these links vary by child or parent gender remain unclear. In the present study, we aimed to examine the bidirectional associations between parental marital quality and child ODD symptoms and whether the associations differed across parent and child gender.
Methods
The sample included 253 children with ODD and their parents and teachers from Mainland China. Parental marital quality and child ODD symptoms were measured at two waves (T1, T2), roughly 1 year apart.
Results
Results from cross-lagged analyses showed bidirectional associations between parental marital quality and child ODD symptoms in the whole sample. Specifically, more child ODD symptoms predicted poorer parental marital quality, and lower levels of parental marital quality predicted subsequent increase in child ODD symptoms. Multigroup path analysis indicated that these associations differed across child gender. That is, girls but not boys’ ODD symptoms predicted poorer parental marital quality; marital quality predicted subsequent ODD symptoms for boys but not for girls. There was no difference in the association between marital quality and child ODD symptoms for mothers and fathers.
Conclusions
Results highlight the importance of considering child gender in understanding the bidirectional relations between parental marital quality and child ODD symptoms.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Almeida, D. M., Wethington, E., & Chandler, A. L. (1999). Daily transmission of tensions between marital dyads and parent–child dyads. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 49–61. https://doi.org/10.2307/353882.
American Psychiatric Association (2013). The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 5th edn. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th Edition. Text Revision Edition. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Barnett, M. A., Deng, M., Mills-Koonce, W. R., Willoughby, M., & Cox, M. (2008). Interdependence of parenting of mothers and fathers of infants. Journal of Family Psychology, 22, 561–573. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.22.3.561.
Bernier, A., Jarryboileau, V., & Lacharité, C. (2014). Marital satisfaction and quality of father-child interactions: the moderating role of child gender. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 175, 105–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221325.2013.799059.
Bornovalova, M. A., Cummings, J. R., Hunt, E., Blazei, R., Malone, S., & Iacono, W. G. (2014). Understanding the relative contributions of direct environmental effects and passive genotype–environment correlations in the association between familial risk factors and child disruptive behavior disorders. Psychological Medicine, 44, 831–844. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291713001086.
Boss, P. (2001). Family stress management. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Burke, J. D., Hipwell, A. E., & Loeber, R. (2010). Dimensions of oppositional defiant disorder as predictors of depression and conduct disorder in preadolescent girls. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 49, 484–492. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-014-9853-1.
Burke, J. D., & Loeber, R. (2010). Oppositional defiant disorder and the explanation of the comorbidity between behavioral disorders and depression. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 17, 319–326. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2850.2010.01223.x.
Bussing, R., Gary, F. A., Mason, D. M., Leon, C. E., Sinha, K., & Garvan, C. W. (2003). Child temperament, ADHD, and caregiver strain: exploring relationships in an epidemiological sample. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 184–192. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-200302000-00012.
Cameron, L., Erkal, N., Gangadharan, L., & Meng, X. (2013). Little emperors: behavioral impacts of China’s one-child policy. Science, 339, 953–957. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1230221.
Chang, L., Lansford, J. E., Schwartz, D., & Farver, J. M. (2004). Marital quality, maternal depressed affect, harsh parenting, and child externalizing in Hong Kong Chinese families. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28, 311–318. https://doi.org/10.1080/01650250344000523.
Cheng, S., & Kuo, L. (2008). Marital satisfaction and parent-child triangulation (In Chinese). Bulletin of Educational Psychology, 40, 220–238.
Christenson, J. D., Crane, D. R., Malloy, J., & Parker, S. (2016). The cost of oppositional defiant disorder and disruptive behavior: a review of the literature. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25, 2649–2658. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0430-9.
Coiro, M. J., & Emery, R. E. (1998). Do marriage problems affect fathering more than mothering? A quantitative and qualitative review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 1, 23–40. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021896231471.
Coln, K. L., Jordan, S. S., & Mercer, S. H. (2013). A unified model exploring parenting practices as mediators of marital conflict and children’s adjustment. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 44, 419–429. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-012-0336-8.
Cox, M. J., & Paley, B. (1997). Families as systems. Annual review of psychology, 48, 243–267. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.48.1.243.
Cummings, E. M., & Davies, P. T. (2011). Marital conflict and children: an emotional security perspective. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Cummings, E. M., Goeke-Morey, M. C., & Raymond, J. (2004). Fathers in family context: effects of marital quality and marital conflict. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in child development. 4th edn. (pp. 196–221). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Cummings, E. M., Merrilees, C. E., & George, M. W. (2010). Fathers, marriages, and families: revisiting and updating the framework for fathering in family context. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in child development (pp. 154–176). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
Cummings, E. M., Schermerhorn, A. C., Davies, P. T., Goeke-Morey, M. C., & Cummings, J. S. (2006). Interparental discord and child adjustment: prospective investigations of emotional security as an explanatory mechanism. Child Development, 77, 132–152. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00861.x.
Davies, P. T., & Lindsay, L. L. (2001). Does gender moderate the effects of marital conflict on children? In J. H. Grych & F. D. Fincham (Eds.), Interparental conflict and child development: Theory, research and application. UK: Cambridge University Press.
Davies, P. T., & Lindsay, L. L. (2004). Interparental conflict and adolescent adjustment: why does gender moderate early adolescent vulnerability? Journal of Family Psychology, 18, 160–170. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.18.1.160.
Davies, P. T., & Martin, M. (2014). Children’s coping and adjustment in high-conflict homes: the reformulation of emotional security theory. Child Development Perspectives, 8, 242–249. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12094.
Davies, P. T., & Cummings, E. M. (1994). Marital conflict and child adjustment: an emotional security hypothesis. Psychologically Bulletin, 116, 387–411. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.116.3.387.
Deault, L. C. (2010). A systematic review of parenting in relation to the development of comorbidities and functional impairments in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 41, 168–192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-009-0159-4.
DeKlyen, M., Speltz, M. L., & Greenberg, M. T. (1998). Fathering and early onset conduct problems: positive and negative parenting, father-son attachment, and the marital context. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 1(1), 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021844214633.
Demmer, D. H., Hooley, M., Sheen, J., McGillivray, J. A., & Lum, J. A. (2017). Sex differences in the prevalence of oppositional defiant disorder during middle childhood: a meta-analysis. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 45, 313–325. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-016-0170-8.
Doherty, W. J., Kouneski, E. F., & Erickson, M. F. (1998). Responsible fathering: an overview and conceptual framework. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 277–292. https://doi.org/10.2307/353848.
Enders, C. K. (2010). Applied missing data analysis. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Erel, O., & Burman, B. (1995). Interrelatedness of marital relations and parent-child relations: a meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 118(1), 108–132. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.118.1.108.
Fosco, G. M., & Feinberg, M. E. (2015). Cascading effects of interparental conflict in adolescence: linking treat appraisals, self-efficacy, and adjustment. Development and Psychopathology, 27, 239–252. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579414000704.
Gau, S. S. F., Chou, M. C., Chiang, H. L., Lee, J. C., Wong, C. C., & Wu, Y. Y. (2012). Parental adjustment, marital relationship, and family function in families of children with autism. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6, 263–270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2011.05.007.
Greene, R. W., Biederman, J., Zerwas, S., Monuteaux, M. C., Goring, J. C., & Faraone, S. V. (2002). Psychiatric comorbidity, family dysfunction, and social impairment in referred youth with oppositional defiant disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 159(7), 1214–1224. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.159.7.1214.
Harden, K. P., Turkheimer, E., Emery, R. E., D’Onofrio, B. M., Slutske, W. S., & Martin, N. G. (2007). Marital conflict and conduct problems in children of twins. Child Development, 78(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.00982.x.
Helgeson, V. S. (2016). Psychology of gender. 4th edn. New York, NY: Routledge.
Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118.
Johnston, C., & Mash, E. J. (2001). Families of children with ADHD: review and recommendations for future research. Clinical Child & Family Psychology Review, 4, 183–207. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017592030434.
Jouriles, E. N., & Norwood, W. D. (1995). Physical aggression toward boys and girls in families characterized by the battering of women. Journal of Family Psychology, 9, 69–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.9.1.69.
Kelly, J. B. (2000). Children’s adjustment in conflicted marriage and divorce: a decade review of research. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 963–973. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-200008000-00007.
Kouros, C. D., Papp, L. M., Goeke-Morey, M., & Cummings, E. M. (2014). Spillover between marital quality and parent-child relationship quality: parental depressive symptoms as moderators. Journal of Family Psychology, 28, 315–325. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036804.
Kwok, S. Y., Cheng, L., Chow, B. W., & Ling, C. C. (2015). The spillover effect of parenting on marital satisfaction among Chinese mothers. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24, 772–783. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-013-9888-x.
Lavigne, J. V., Bryant, F. B., Hopkins, J., & Gouze, K. R. (2015). Dimensions of oppositional defiant disorder in young children: model comparisons, gender and longitudinal invariance. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 43, 423–439. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-014-9919-0.
Lavigne, J. V., Cicchetti, C., Gibbons, R. D., Binns, H. J., Larsen, L., & DeVito, C. (2001). Oppositional defiant disorder with onset in preschool years: longitudinal stability and pathways to other disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 40, 1393–1400. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-200112000-00009.
Lavigne, J. V., Gouze, K. R., Hopkins, J., Bryant, F. B., & LeBailly, S. A. (2012). A multi-domain model of risk factors for ODD symptoms in a community sample of 4-year-olds. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 40(5), 741–757. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-011-9603-6.
Lerner, R. M. & Spanier, G. B. (Eds.) (2013). Child influences on marital and family interaction: a life-span perspective. New York, NY: Academic Press.
Liang, Z., Zhang, G., Deng, H., Song, Y., Zheng, W., & Sun, L. (2013). Links between marital relationship and child-parent relationship: mediating effects of parents’ emotional expressiveness (in Chinese). Acta Psychologica Sinica, 45, 1335–1367. https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1041.2013.01355.
Lin, X., Li, L., Chi, P., Wang, Z., Heath, M. A., Du, H., & Fang, X. (2016). Child maltreatment and interpersonal relationship among Chinese children with oppositional defiant disorder. Child Abuse & Neglect, 51, 192–202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.10.013.
Lin, X., Li, L., Heath, M. A., Chi, P., Xu, S., & Fang, X. (2018). Multiple levels of family factors and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms among Chinese children. Family Process, 57, 195–210. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12269.
Lin, X., Li, Y., Zhang, Y., He, J., & Fang, X. (2015). The association of parent’s parenting stress and children’s oppositional defiant symptoms: a longitudinal study (In Chinese). Studies of Psychology & Behavior, 13, 153–161.
Li, Y., Putallaz, M., & Su, Y. (2011). Interparental conflict styles and parenting behaviors: associations with overt and relational aggression among Chinese children. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 57, 402–428. https://doi.org/10.1353/mpq.2011.0017.
Munkvold, L. H., Lundervold, A. J., & Manger, T. (2011). Oppositional defiant disorder—gender differences in co-occurring symptoms of mental health problems in a general population of children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 39, 577–587. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-011-9486-6.
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (2010). 1998–2010 Mplus user’s guide (6th ed). Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.
Nock, M. K., Kazdin, A. E., Hiripi, E., & Kessler, R. C. (2007). Lifetime prevalence, correlates, and persistence of oppositional defiant disorder: results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 48, 703–13.
Osborne, L. N. (2003). Neuropsychological and psychosocial predictors of children’s depression (Order no. 3086150). Available from ProQuest dissertations and theses A&I: The Sciences and Engineering Collection. (305331119).
Papp, L. M., Goeke-Morey, M. C., & Cummings, E. M. (2004). Mothers’ and fathers’ psychological symptoms and marital functioning: examination of direct and interactive links with child adjustment. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 13, 469–482. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JCFS.0000044728.34058.c0.
Patterson, J. (1988). Families experiencing stress: the family adjustment and adaptation response model. Family Systems Medicine, 5, 202–237. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0089739.
Patterson, J. M. (2002). Integrating family resilience and family stress theory. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 349–360. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2002.00349.x.
Ponnet, K., Mortelmans, D., Wouters, E., Van Leeuwen, K., Bastaits, K., & Pasteels, I. (2013). Parenting stress and marital relationship as determinants of mothers’ and fathers’ parenting. Personal Relationships, 20, 259–276. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6811.2012.01404.x.
Ratcliffe, G. C., Norton, A. M., & Durtschi, J. A. (2016). Early romantic relationships linked with improved child behavior 8 years later. Journal of Family Issues, 37, 717–735. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X14525618.
Rydell, A. M. (2010). Family factors and children’s disruptive behavior: an investigation of links between demographic characteristics, negative life events and symptoms of ODD and ADHD. Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, 45, 233–244. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-009-0060-2.
Sandberg, S., Rutter, M., Pickles, A., McGuinnes, D., & Angold, A. (2001). Do high-threat life events really provoke the onset of psychiatric disorder in children? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42, 523–532. https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00746.
Shek, D. T. (1995). Gender differences in marital quality and well-being in Chinese married adults. Sex Roles, 32, 699–715. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01560185.
Shek, D. T. (2000). Parental marital quality and well-being, parent-child relational quality, and Chinese adolescent adjustment. American Journal of Family Therapy, 28, 147–162. https://doi.org/10.1080/019261800261725.
Simon, V. A., & Furman, W. (2010). Interparental conflict and adolescents’ romantic relationship conflict. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 20, 188–209. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2009.00635.x.
Simons, L. G., Wickrama, K. A. S., Lee, T. K., Landers‐Potts, M., Cutrona, C., & Conger, R. D. (2016). Testing family stress and family investment explanations for conduct problems among African American adolescents. Journal of Marriage and Family, 78, 498–515. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12278.
Spanier, G. B. (1976). Measuring dyadic adjustment: new scales for assessing the quality of marriage and similar dyads. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 38, 15–28. https://doi.org/10.2307/350547.
Spanier, G. B. (1989). Dyadic Adjustment Scale manual. North Towanda, NY: Multi-Health Systems.
Stroud, C. B., Meyers, K. M., Wilson, S., & Durbin, C. E. (2015). Marital quality spillover and young children’s adjustment: evidence for dyadic and triadic parenting as mechanisms. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 44(5), 800–813. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2014.900720.
Twenge, J. M., Campbell, W. K., & Foster, C. A. (2003). Parenthood and marital satisfaction: a meta-analytic review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 65, 574–583. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2003.00574.x.
Wright, A. W., Parent, J., Forehand, R., Edwards, M. C., Conners-Burrow, N. A., & Long, N. (2013). The relation of parent and child gender to parental tolerance of child disruptive behaviors. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 22, 779–785. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-012-9632-y.
Wu, M. Y., & Yi, C. C. (2003). A marriage is more than a marriage: the impact of familial factors on marital satisfaction (In Chinese). Journal of Population Studies, 26, 71–95. https://doi.org/10.17248/knulaw.39.201206.175.
Wymbs, B. T., & Pelham, W. E. (2012). Child effects on communication between parents of youth with and without ADHD. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 119, 366–375. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019034.
Wymbs, B. T., Wymbs, F. A., & Dawson, A. E. (2015). Child ADHD and ODD behavior interacts with parent ADHD symptoms to worsen parenting and interparental communication. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 43, 107–119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-014-9887-4.
Zimet, D. M., & Jacob, T. (2002). Influences of marital conflict on child adjustment: review of theory and research. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 4, 319–335. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013595304718.
Acknowledgements
The study described in this report was Funded by Beijing Natural Science Foundation (7162115), and Supported by Open Research Fund of the State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning in 2015 (CNLZD1503). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of Beijing Organization Committee and State Key Laboratory Foundation. We are appreciative of the parents, children, and teachers who participated in our study and the people who assisted in data collection.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
Prior to conducting the study, the Institutional Review Board of Beijing Normal University in China approved the research protocol, including the consent procedure.
Informed Consent
In the current study, children aged from 6–13 years old and their fathers or mothers participated. Before the study began, parents signed informed consent forms for themselves and their children.
Additional information
Publisher’s note: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ding, W., Lin, X., Su, J. et al. The Mutual Influence Between Marital Quality and Child Oppositional Defiant Disorder Symptoms in Chinese Families: Do Child and Parent’s Gender Matter?. J Child Fam Stud 28, 2086–2097 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01408-6
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01408-6