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Me & My Family Project
The Me and My Family Project is a longitudinal, dual-site study (University of Notre Dame and University of Rochester) that is funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health. This prospective longitudinal study began in June 2000 and involves over 230 families with a 5-7 year old child. The primary goal of this study is to explicitly test a comprehensive model of emotional security as a mediator of the effects of family relations on child outcomes. A variety of innovative observational, interview, and questionnaire procedures are employed to assess children’s emotional security and reactions to interparental conflict.
Phase Two of data collection began in March 2007. I. Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to test specific hypotheses for the effects of interparental relations on children’s development and adjustment. While the quality of marital relations have long been known to affect family functioning and child development, there is little understanding of the specific processes by which marital relations impact families and children.
This proposal tests an emotional security hypothesis that children’s emotional security about marital relations, parent-child relations, and related aspects of family functioning mediates their development, including their risk for adjustment problems. This hypothesis has received support in a series of studies and theoretical papers (e.g., Cummings & Davies, 1996; Davies & Cummings, 1996), but has not been subject to a comprehensive test. This longitudinal study will test directions of effect and causal relations concerning hypotheses about mediating processes. The use of multiple measures of marital, parent-child, family functioning, and child outcomes will also result in substantial increases in knowledge about the effects of marital and family relations on children.
In summary, the aim of the study is to identify processes linking specific dimensions of marital relations and conflict with specific outcomes in children, including social competencies and psychological disturbances. The goal is to contribute to the scientific knowledge base on families and children, and to add to the scientific foundation for clinical work and parent education with regard to the socially significant issue of conflict and conflict resolution within families. II. Background of the Study High social importance is attached to precisely understanding the processes mediating positive as well as negative family factors that influence outcomes in children. The Emotional Security Hypothesis provides an explanatory model for the effects of family relations on children. |
Updated 8/08