Effects of Anger on Families

Name

Institution

Effects of Anger on Families

Title: Longitudinal Pathways from Marital Hostility to Child Anger During Toddlerhood: Genetic Susceptibility and Indirect Effects via Harsh Parenting

Authors: Kimberly A. Rhoades, Leslie D. Leve, Gordon T. Harold, Jenae M. Neiderhiser, Daniel S. Shaw, and David Reiss

The problem statement/Hypothesis

This papers hypothesis was that marital hostility is both directly connected to anger/frustrations in toddlers and indirectly related through parental depression and harsh parenting.

The sample

The sample used in the study used 361 sets of adopted children and adoptive parents and birth mothers. The eligibility for the study included domestic adoption placement, placement must have taken place within the first three months of life, the children must have been adopted by non-relatives, the participants had no known major medical condition and the parents involved had the ability to read and understand English. Participants were both those who used closed adoption and those who preferred open adoption.

Data collection methods

Date was collected using three instruments. They were observations, use of questionnaires and use of interviews. A seven point scale was used in the questionnaires to collect information from the mothers. The scale ranged from never to always. A subscale of thirteen items was also used to the parents’ hostility. A score of thirty variables was used to record parenting harshness disciplining strategies. Child discipline was measured on a scale of seven. A score of 1 is an indication of discipline and a score of 7 is an indication of indiscipline.

Results

Marital hostility and the other variable of the study show positive association. It is evident that hostility and anger in parent lead to anger and frustration in children. Hostility and anger between marital partners both directly and indirectly contribute to frustration in children irrespective of whether the children are brought up by adoptive parents of birth parents.

Conclusion

This study focused on the influence of marital hostility and anger on frustrations and anger in toddler. Harsh parenting showed indirect influence. Anger in birth mothers also showed significant influence in

My analysis

This study contributes new insights on the influence of marital relationships in parenting. This article’s strength is that it clearly identifies and rates various factors related to anger and hostility in parents and how the influence children. The weakness is its focus on only young children. Another study should be conducted to examine the effect of marital hostility and anger on older children. Other than this shortcoming this research article has added to my understanding of the influence of parenting on children. I would like to know from the author if there is a way the influence of marital hostility and anger on children can be reduced.

Reference

Rhoades et al. (2011). Longitudinal Pathways from Marital Hostility to Child Anger During Toddlerhood: Genetic Susceptibility and Indirect Effects via Harsh Parenting. Journal of Family Psychology 25(2): 282–291.