DOI 10.1007/s10567-012-0112-0
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Introduction
Although a diversity of programs have been developed for
supporting parents, couples and/or children; the great
majority of these programs are not subject to rigorous or
cogent evaluation [e.g., randomized control design (RCT);
observational measures; and multivariate outcomes]. In
addition, the empirical and theoretical bases for many
programs are not clearly delineated or tested. Thus, many
questions remain as to which programs work and why. The
present paper describes a translational research approach
toward creating and evaluating theoretically based conflict
prevention program for community families with children.
Translational prevention science emphasizes the value of
explicitly translating research findings and theory into
applied program contents. Supported by the promise of
brief psycho-educational programs (e.g., Halford et al.
2008; Sanders 2008), this program is based on a psychoeducational approach to making research findings on conflict and emotional security for the sake of the children
available to community families. Drawing from the
extensive body of research on how inter-adult conflicts
affect children, and the importance of childrens emotional
security about family relationships to their well-being and
adjustment, program curricula is grounded in empirical
findings and pertinent theory.
The foundation of the program is grounded in an
empirically supported theoretical model, that is, Emotional
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others as decreasing, the security of parentchild relationships, with corresponding recommendations for parents in
the context of the psycho-educational presentations made
in our prevention program. Moreover, another theme in our
program based on EST is that behaviors and outcomes of
conflict that foster childrens emotional security are
advanced as of higher-order importance to family members
than winning conflicts, or other short-term outcomes.
Fostering childrens emotional security about family relationships is held as the organizing theme for program
contents. Relatedly, emotional insecurity is reflected in
regulatory processes that relate to childrens well-being,
and over the long-term, adjustment. Thus, an underlying
theoretical proposition of our prevention program is that
improvements in childrens emotional security about family conflict and relationships are important goals for the
program, posited to mediate more positive child development outcomes over time. Thus, a demonstration of
improved emotional security constitutes what is expected
to be an initial indicator of program efficacy from the
perspective of childrens well-being.
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point. An innovative element was the inclusion in the fourvisit parent program of content on parentadolescent conflict and communication. Responding to lack of success of
a program for childrens coping with conflict (Cummings
et al. 2008), a new direction was the development of a fourvisit program for adolescents, focusing on improving
adolescents conflict resolution skills, including in relationships with both the mother and father. Innovative
curriculum, drawn from the latest body of research on
family conflict and emotional security, was developed to
foster teens engagement and also to further engage fathers
and mothers, with an important goal to substantively
reduce attrition in comparison with the Cummings et al.
(2008) study. This goal was decisively achieved, that is, a
95% retention rate through the post-test was attained.
Evaluation was again based on a RCT design, with data
collection completed for the pre- and post-intervention
assessments, and continuing for 6- and 12-month, and
3-year follow-up assessments.
Beyond simply improving inter-parental relationship
satisfaction, this program was designed to strengthen
multiple family relationships; improve childrens emotional security about their family relationships; and support
childrens social and emotional development all through
the provision of a broader direction in research-based
psycho-educational programs for community families with
adolescents. For example, the program was also designed
to ameliorate motheradolescent and fatheradolescent
conflict and communication, which are also linked with
both inter-parental conflict and adolescent adjustment and
well-being (e.g., Allen et al. 1990, 1996, 1998, 2003;
Holmbeck 1996; Smetana 1996; Stattin and Klackenberg
1992).
The manualized treatment curriculum utilizes interactive techniques to increase the effectiveness and engagement with program content while promoting high
consumer satisfaction. Program participation is limited to 4
visits in a community center in order to increase practicality and appeal for community families with adolescents.
Assessments include questionnaires designed to evaluate
child and family functioning; observational measures of
family conflicts; and daily diary assessments of interparental and family conflict and relationships, and are
completed independently by mothers, fathers and adolescents. Key issues are comparing parent-only versus parent
and adolescent programs, and evaluating efficacy in relation to no treatment and self-study controls. Project goals
include advancing the constructiveness and reducing the
destructiveness, of family conflict, including both interparental and parentadolescent conflict; fostering more
effective parenting, supporting parentadolescent relationships, and family communication; advancing the emotional
security of the couple and parentchild relationships from
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their conflicts with each other and their adolescent. Adolescents in the treatment group also showed greater overall
constructiveness and autonomy and made less negative
contributions to the discussion. Moreover, all family
members in the parentadolescent treatment group reached
greater degrees of resolution than in the parent-only condition and in the control groups.
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Future Directions
Several new directions are essential to investigate in future
research, toward further understanding the effects of this
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theoretical model also merits study, the Cognitive Contextual Framework, which has also gained support (Grych
et al. 2000; Grych et al. 2003). Data from later follow-ups
(e.g., 6-month, 1-year) will be needed for longitudinal tests
of change models predicted by theory. As noted, findings
from our ongoing translational intervention program at
post-test have yielded some support for EST. Thus, fathers
in both treatment groups reported greater emotional security in their adolescents by the end of the intervention, that
is, in post-test assessments, than fathers in the control
groups, even after controlling for pre-test security levels.
These findings indicate that our program contributes to
adolescents emotional security, thereby supporting the
hypothesized theoretical underpinnings for treatment
impact and related positive outcomes.
Conclusion
Given the well-established relations between inter-adult
conflict and childrens well-being and adjustment, there are
compelling supports for developing programs for intervening for the sake of children and families. Moreover, the
strong evidence for (a) interrelations between inter-adult
conflict and parenting and parentchild relations and
(b) the impact of parentadolescent conflict on adolescent
and family functioning supports the move to programs that
have a more comprehensive goal of improving family-wide
communication and conflict processes. This model for
program directions is further supported by emerging evidence for bi-directional and transactional influence processes in families, including the impact of adolescent
functioning on parental functioning.
Substantial evidence for relations between inter-parental
conflict and the adjustment of multiple family members
(adults and children) and relationships (motherchild and
fatherchild) supports the urgency for more comprehensive
outcome assessments than couple relationship satisfaction
or related constructs (Cummings and Davies 2010;
Whisman and Baucom 2011). Relatedly, for families with
children, there is strong evidence for including child and
adolescent assessments as well as evaluations of the parents. Given the overwhelming evidence of impact, the
neglect of study of child outcomes in couple intervention
studies is a significant gap that needs to be addressed.
Family conflicts are potential problems for all families, not
only families meeting criteria for clinical diagnoses.
Interestingly, given the relative intractability of highly
escalated relationship conflict, universal prevention programs for community families may possibly hold more
promise for long-term as well as cost-effective success than
more intensive interventions for seriously and chronically
distressed couple relationships.
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