Couple power dynamics, systemic family functioning, and child adjustment: A test of a mediational model in a multiethnic sample

Abstract

Power dynamics in the marital dyad and systemic elements of whole-family functioning (cohesion, subsystem boundary formations) were examined in relation to each other and also in relation to child adjustment in a multiethnic sample of families. Support was found for a mediational model, such that family functioning was found to mediate the relationship between marital power dynamics and children's internalizing and externalizing behavior. Some support also was found for ethnicity as a moderator of the association between systemic family processes and children's adjustment. Disturbances in family cohesion and subsystem boundaries were more strongly related to internalizing symptomatology for children in European American families compared to children in Hispanic American families.This research was funded by National Institute of Mental Health Grant R03 MH54631. We thank Jean–Philippe Laurenceau for his feedback on drafts of this manuscript and for statistical consultation. We also are very grateful to the participating families for the generous donation of their time and effort.