2021/01/11 by Mingjun Xie, Amy K. Nuttall, Deborah J. Johnson +2
Medicine · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Attachment and Relationship Dynamics #Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development #Child development #Closeness #Developmental psychology #Family Dynamics and Relationships #Longitudinal study #Medicine #Psychology
paper · doi:10.1111/fare.12531
crossref issued 2021/01/11 · crossref published 2021/01/11 · crossref published-online 2021/01/11 · openalex publication_date 2021/01/11 · crossref created 2021/01/15 · crossref published-print 2021/07/01 · crossref deposited 2023/08/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/08/04 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
Objective The present study aimed at examining the longitudinal associations between closeness and conflict in mother–child and father–child relationships from middle childhood to adolescence. Method Using six‐wave longitudinal data of mother–child and father–child relationships from Grades 1 to 9 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development study ( N = 1,105 families; 79% European White, 21% ethnic minorities), the present study used multivariate longitudinal modeling to address the research goal. Results For mother–child relationships, higher levels of conflict at Grade 1 were significantly associated with slower increases in conflict and greater declines in closeness over time, while controlling for the effects of demographic variables. Moreover, findings suggest coordination of change across mothers and fathers, such that sharper decreases in closeness (or increases in conflict) between mothers and children were associated with sharper decreases in closeness (or increases in conflict) between fathers and children. Conclusion The present study contributes to the literature by elucidating the complexities of the dynamic changes in parent–child relationships and highlighting the importance of including both mothers and fathers in the same model. Implications Our findings have important implications for family practitioners and education and intervention programs aimed at supporting families in coping with the challenges in tuning parent–child relationships during adolescence.