The role of child optimism as a mediator and moderator in the relationship between interparental conflict and child adjustment was examined for 36 children between the ages of 9 and 12 years who resided in a two adult home. Child participants completed self-report measures of dispositional and attributional optimism, as well as a self-report measure of interparental conflict. Mothers of child participants completed measures of child internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Multiple regression analyses found that dispositional optimism mediated the relationship between interparental conflict and both child internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Attributional optimism was found to mediate the relationship between interparental conflict and child internalizing symptoms. No significant moderating effects of optimism were found. The relationships between optimism and child appraisals of threat and self-blame related to interparental conflict were examined using correlations. Both dispositional and attributional optimism were significantly negatively related to child appraisals of threat and self-blame regarding interparental conflict. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Dissertation
Interparental conflict and child adjustment: the role of child optimism
University of Iowa
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
Autumn 2009
DOI: 10.17077/etd.shb3ihp8
Free to read and download, Open Access
Abstract
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Interparental conflict and child adjustment: the role of child optimism
- Creators
- Julia Howe Robinson - University of Iowa
- Contributors
- John Westefeld (Advisor)Saba Ali (Committee Member)Elizabeth M. Altmaier (Committee Member)Timothy Ansley (Committee Member)Scott F. McNabb (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Psychological and Quantitative Foundations
- Date degree season
- Autumn 2009
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- DOI
- 10.17077/etd.shb3ihp8
- Number of pages
- viii, 122 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright 2009 Julia Howe Robinson
- Language
- English
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 113-122).
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Quantitative Foundations
- Record Identifier
- 9983777109002771
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