Family cohesion and children's behavior problems: A longitudinal investigation
Introduction
Family cohesion and conflict have been found to predict children's behavior problems (LeFlore, 1988, Blaske et al., 1989, Dubow and Luster, 1990, Dishion et al., 1991, Cashwell and Vacc, 1996, Slee, 1996, Clark and Shields, 1997, Kliewer and Kung, 1998, Matherne and Thomas, 2001). Compared with mothers of normal children, mothers of children with conduct disorders were found to report that their families were less cohesive and higher in conflict (Slee, 1996). Similar results were reported from comparisons of delinquent and non-delinquent children's own perceptions of their family. Family cohesion predicted frequency of delinquent acts for adolescents in nontraditional families (Matherne and Thomas, 2001), and delinquent children reported lower family cohesion than their non-delinquent counterparts (LeFlore, 1988). In a study of inner-city youth, family cohesion modified the relationship between daily hassles and internalizing problems: children from highly cohesive families were less likely to be adversely affected by daily hassles than children from less cohesive families (Kliewer and Kung, 1998).
The longitudinal course of the association between family cohesion or conflict and childhood behavior problems has not been investigated using multiple informant reports of children's behavior problems in non-clinical populations. The use of multiple informants has important implications in research studies investigating child behavior problems that rely on maternal reports. Previous research on multiple informants has shown low to moderate levels of agreement between parent and teacher ratings of children's behavior problems (Verhulst and Akkerhuis, 1989, Mitsis et al., 2000, Hudziak et al., 2003, Satake et al., 2003, Cai et al., 2004, Gross et al., 2004), with mothers rating children as having more behavior problems or symptoms than teachers (Verhulst and Akkerhuis, 1989, Hudziak et al., 2003). Disentangling problems with over-reporting versus actual behavior differences within the home and school setting can be difficult, as has been illustrated in the body of literature investigating reporter bias in depressed mothers (Richters, 1992). Relying on multiple informants gives a more comprehensive understanding of a child's behavior, especially when there is high inter-rater agreement.
This prospective study examines the potential influence of family cohesion and conflict on children's behavior problems, using data on low birthweight (LBW) (≤ 2500 g) and normal birth weight (NBW) (> 2500 g) school-age children. Low birth weight has been reported to be associated with increased attention problems and externalizing problems (Teplin et al., 1991, Hack et al., 1992, Breslau et al., 1994, Klebanov et al., 1994, Levy-Shiff et al., 1994, Breslau and Chilcoat, 2000, Elgen et al., 2002). Thus, the study offers an opportunity to compare the influence of family factors that predict behavior problems between children at high and low risk. The key research questions addressed are: 1. Do family cohesion and family conflict predict change in behavior problems over time? Alternatively, is there a stable association of family cohesion or family conflict with children's behavior problems, with no change over time? 2. Do the relationships of family cohesion and conflict and children's behavior problems vary between LBW and NBW children?
Section snippets
Sample and data
Data come from a longitudinal study of neuropsychiatric outcomes of LBW (Breslau et al., 1996, Breslau and Chilcoat, 2000). The sample was randomly selected in 1989–1990 from the 1983–1985 lists of LBW and NBW newborn discharges from two large hospitals serving socio-economically disparate communities (urban and suburban) in southeast Michigan. Children with severe neurological impairment, identified at birth and at age 6, were excluded. The initial assessment was in 1990–1992, as the children
Description of sample
Table 1 presents information on key socio-demographic characteristics of the sample. The urban and suburban groups differed widely in racial composition, maternal education, maternal age, and marital status. However, differences between LBW and NBW within each community were small. The LBW groups in both communities were similar with respect to their distribution across levels of LBW, with less than 5% of LBW children in each community weighing < 1000 g at birth. The composition of the sample at
Discussion
Family cohesion measured at age 6 was significantly associated with mothers' and teachers' ratings of children's internalizing and attention problems, and the relationship was stable from age 6 to 11; children in families with higher cohesion had fewer internalizing and attention problems, as reported by both sources. Other findings on the relationship of family cohesion and conflict with children's behavior problems varied according to type of informant and type of problems. According to
Acknowledgments
This work was supported in part by Grant No. MH44586 (NB) from the National Institute of Mental Health.
References (40)
- et al.
Psychiatric sequelae of low birth weight at 11 years of age
Biological Psychiatry
(2000) - et al.
Depressed mothers as informants in family history research—are they accurate?
Psychiatry Research
(1988) - et al.
Does psychiatric history bias mothers' reports? An application of a new analytic approach
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
(1997) - et al.
Increased risk of learning disabilities in low birth weight boys at age 11 years
Biological Psychiatry
(2000) - et al.
Parent–teacher concordance for DSM-IV attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in a clinic-referred sample
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
(2000) - et al.
Mothers' mental illness and child behavior problems: cause–effect association or observation bias?
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
(2000) - et al.
Neurodevelopmental, health, and growth status at age 6 years of children with birth weights less than 1001 grams
Journal of Pediatrics
(1991) Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist/4–18 and 1991 Profile
(1991)Manual for the Teacher's Report Form and 1991 Profile
(1991)- et al.
Individual, family, and peer characteristics of adolescent sex offenders and assaultive offenders
Developmental Psychology
(1989)