"No, It's You:" Dyadic perceived need for change predicts relationship education outcomes.

Relationship education (RE) efforts have been shown to help couples and individuals with a variety of family relationships. However, much still needs to be identified in terms of what factors are salient to outcomes. Drawing on therapeutic models of change, we have identified perceived need for change as one such potential factor.

Economic distress and perceptions of sexual intimacy in remarriage.

Introduction: Economic distress and the relationship stability of remarried couples has been subject to some exploration, but less emphasis has been placed on how economic distress among remarried couples impacts other relationship domains, particularly sexual intimacy.

Methods: Through the lens of multidimensional family development theory (MFDT), this study utilizes longitudinal data over a three-year period to examine the links between economic distress, couple engagement, relationship satisfaction, and perceptions of sexual intimacy among remarried couples ( = 1,161 couples; 97% White).

Results: Through a dyadic structural equation model, results showed that wives' report of economic distress was directly related to their self-rejection of a partner's sexual advances.

Finances, depressive symptoms, destructive conflict, and coparenting among lower-income, unmarried couples: A two-wave, cross-lagged analysis.

Following from an adapted family stress model (FSM), we used two-wave, secondary data from the Building Strong Families project, focusing on 4,424 primarily lower-income, unmarried couples expecting their first child together. We used cross-lagged analyses to test the directionality of the associations among financial difficulties, depressive symptoms, destructive interparental conflict, and coparenting alliance for both fathers and mothers when children were 15 and 36 months old. Two of the three hypotheses provided support for the FSM.

Constructive and destructive interparental conflict, parenting, and coparenting alliance.

Guided by the of family systems theory, we used data from the Building Strong Families project to examine intrafamily relations between destructive and constructive interparental conflict, harsh and supportive parenting behaviors, and coparenting alliance across different family configurations: married, cohabiting, and noncohabiting (never married) parents. Our sample ( = 2,784 couples/parents) was racially diverse, low-income couples/parents who were unmarried at the conception of their child. All variables were measured when children were approximately 36 months of age.

Pregnancy intentions and family functioning among low-income, unmarried couples: Person-centered analyses.

Guided by family systems theory and using 2-wave data from 4,843 low-income, unmarried couples in the Building Strong Families study, we examined paths from paternal and maternal pregnancy intentions to family functioning in personal, relationship, and coparenting domains. Using 3-step Latent Class Analysis, we first identified 3 subgroups of couples based on both parents' pregnancy intentions: Both Wanted/Both On-time (33.8%), Both Wanted/Both Mistimed (56.

Patterns of interparental conflict, parenting, and children's emotional insecurity: A person-centered approach.

We examined the relations between interparental conflict (destructive and constructive), parenting behaviors (harshness and supportiveness) and children's emotional insecurity in early childhood when children were approximately 36 months of age. The sample consisted of low-income unmarried couples who were expectant/new parents who participated in the national Building Strong Families project. Interparental conflict was assessed through parents' reported perception of the other parent's conflict behavior.

The interplay of maternal sensitivity and gentle control when predicting children's subsequent academic functioning: Evidence of mediation by effortful control.

The goal of this work was to examine the complex interrelation of mothers' early gentle control and sensitivity in predicting children's effortful control (EC) and academic functioning. Maternal gentle control, maternal sensitivity, and children's EC were measured when children were 18, 30, and 42 months of age (T1, T2, and T3, respectively), and measures of children's academic functioning were combined across 72 and 84 months (T5/T6; Ns = 255, 222, 200, 162, and 143). Using structural equation modeling, results demonstrated that T1 maternal sensitivity moderated the relation between T1 maternal gentle control and T2 EC, and T3 EC predicted children's later academic functioning.