The chronically ill aged, family conflict, and family medicine.
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Effects of sibling support on the relationship between family conflict and individual psychological adjustment was explored in a sample of university students. Those from high-conflict homes with high sibling support reported more positive adjustment than did only-children and individuals with low sibling support. Sibling support was not associated with greater adjustment in low-conflict homes, thus reinforcing its potential benefits as a buffer to stress.
A study was conducted to examine the social, economic, and family process factors which may be associated with families' use of violent tactics in conflict within an homogeneous population in the Appalachian region of southwestern Virginia. The primary hypothesis stated that economic conditions as set by the employment status of parents would be a significant factor in predicting use of violence in the resolution of family conflict. The study employed a questionnaire modeled after that used in a national study of family violence conducted by Straus, Gelles, and Steinmetz in 1980 with additional items developed to assess regional family processes and economic conditions. 114 boys and 161 girls ranging in age from 15 to 17 yr. participated. Statistical analysis confirmed the major hypothesis: in families where the father was unemployed, there was greater than expected frequency of reported violent interactions. Additional findings included associations between previous generation's abuse and use of violent interactions as well as sex of subject and use of violent interactions.
The author considered both the direct effect and the moderator effect of role salience in the stress-strain relationship. In contrast to previous studies that have examined the effects of salience on well-being within specific social roles, the present study focused on the work-family interface. From a sample of 147 employed English women with children, the present results of the regression analyses showed that both effects are possible, depending on the outcome measures used. The author observed a direct effect of role salience in the prediction of job satisfaction; work salience was positively related to job satisfaction, over and above the main-effect terms of work-interfering-with-family (WIF) conflict and family-interfering-with-work (FIW) conflict. In contrast, the author found a moderator effect of role salience and conflict for symptoms of psychological distress. However, contrary to predictions, the author found that work salience exacerbated the negative impact of WIF conflict, rather than FIW conflict, on well-being. The author discussed these results in relation to the literature on work-family conflict, role salience, and the issue of stress-strain specificity.
Individuals in dual-career situations have become increasingly common all over the world. For couples dealing with multiple demands, this lifestyle often generates stresses and strains at home and at work, which can have negative consequences for organizations. Most empirical research into this lifestyle has been conducted in the United States and Britain, and very little in Australia. This particular study, based on data from an Australian sample of 65 dual-career couples, analyzed the relation between overload and work-family conflict and the moderating effects of support (supervisor, coworkers, and friends). Results confirm that overload was significantly related to work-family conflict but no moderating effects were found for support. Limitations of the study and an organizational role in managing the work-family interface dual-career couples are discussed.
This study examined the extent that perceived amount of conflict in the family moderates the relation between proximal aspects of the home environment and adolescent well-being. Regression models consisting of Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) subscale scores (Responsivity, Learning Materials, Variety of Experiences), family conflict, and the interaction between HOME scores and family conflict were tested for each of 6 dependent measures: academic achievement, task orientation, being considerate, self-efficacy as it pertains to school, self-efficacy as it pertains to family, and school grades. Results indicated moderation in all 3 ethnic groups examined (European Americans, African Americans, and Chinese Americans). For all 3 groups, relations were stronger in families with high conflict, suggesting a heightened sensitivity to social exchanges and events within the family.
Work-family conflict is challenging for nurses and the nursing profession. Still unclear is how frequently nurses experience work-family conflict and which nurses experience it most frequently. We document the prevalence and frequency of work-family conflict and describe the demographic predictors of frequent work-family conflict. Nurses reported greater work interference with family than family interference with work. Fifty percent of nurses reported chronic work interference with family (occurring at least once a week); another 41% reported episodic work interference with family (occurring less than 1-3 days per month). In contrast, 52% of nurses reported episodic family interference with work, and 11% reported chronic family interference with work. Few demographic characteristics predicted either work interference with family or family interference with work.
Family conflict is an overlooked yet potentially critical component of the caregiving experience. In a study of 100 adult child caregivers, 40% were experiencing relatively serious conflict with another family member, usually a sibling. Most conflict arose because the relative failed to provide sufficient help. Path analysis revealed that caregivers experiencing family conflict had significantly higher perceived burden and poorer mental health than did caregivers without conflict, even when quality of the caregiver's relationship with the parent, extent of caregiver tasks, income, gender, and age were taken into account.
This study examines the impact of family conflict and socioemotional support among caregivers who institutionize their relatives. Fifty-two wives, forty-three husbands, and sixty-seven daughters were interviewed before and after the placement of a cognitively impaired relative. A repeated measures ANOVA was performed to examine differences in reports of family conflict and socioemotional support among caregivers. Husbands reported greater increases in family conflict than wives or daughters during the institutionization process. Conversely, wives and daughters indicated higher levels of socioemotional support than husbands. Hierarchical regression equations were then calculated to assess the independent contributions of family conflict and socioemotional support to postplacement adaptation. Decreases in socioemotional support during institutionalization significantly predicted postplacement anger among husbands and increases in family conflict significantly predicted postplacement depression among wives. Overall, family conflict and socioemotional support have important implications among caregivers who institutionalize their relatives.
This study examined the relationships among gender, coping, and anticipated work-family conflict for career-bound men and women. 256 university students enrolled in a university in northern Louisiana participated. Multivariate and univariate analyses were used to examine (a) potential gender differences with respect to anticipated work-family conflict and work-family coping mechanisms and (b) the role coping processes may play in mediating the relationship between gender and anticipated work-family conflict. The results indicated significant differences between the sexes with respect to anticipated work-family conflict as well as to expected use of various coping strategies to manage anticipated work-family conflict. Contrary to expectations, coping strategies did not mediate the relationship between gender and work-family conflict. The issue of coping as a mediator variable as well as the study's primary implications for students and professional educators are addressed.
Perceptions of work interfering with family life and family issues interfering with work are examined as 2 distinct constructs representing work-family conflict. Experienced work-family conflict is argued to reduce one's value attainment which, in turn, lowers both job and life satisfaction. This study examines value attainment as a mediating variable in the work-family conflict and satisfaction relationship. Responses from 270 hotel managers indicate that value attainment either partially or fully mediates the relationship between work interference with family and family interference with work and both job and life satisfaction. Value attainment is argued to be a meaningful explanatory variable for the negative relationship between work-family conflict and job-life satisfaction.
This study examined two contrasting views of how parental marital status relates to the long-term adjustment of children. The physical wholeness position views divorce and subsequent remarriage and the blending of families as salient explanatory variables that adversely affect children's later adjustment through the physical dissolution of the nuclear family; the psychological wholeness position views perceived current family conflict as the critical variable that influences adjustment, regardless of parental marital status. Results of analyses on White adolescents (N = 917) fail to support the physical wholeness position; rather, results support the psychological wholeness position. Adolescents' adjustment was related to level of perceived family conflict.
OBJECTIVE: To test for gene-environment interaction with depressive symptoms and family conflict. Specifically, to first examine whether the influence of family conflict in predicting depressive symptoms is increased in individuals at genetic risk of depression. Second, to test whether the genetic component of variance in depressive symptoms increases as levels of family conflict increase. METHOD: A longitudinal twin design was used. Children ages 5 to 16 were reassessed approximately 3 years later to test whether the influence of family conflict in predicting depressive symptoms varied according to genetic liability. The conflict subscale of the Family Environment Scale was used to assess family conflict and the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire was used to assess depressive symptoms. The response rate to the questionnaire at time 1 was 73% and 65% at time 2. Controlling for initial symptoms levels (i.e., internalizing at time 1), primary analyses were conducted using ordinary least-squares multiple regression. Structural equation models, using raw score maximum likelihood estimation, were also fit to the data for the purpose of model fit comparison. RESULTS: Results suggested significant gene-environment interaction specifically with depressive symptoms and family conflict. Genetic factors were of greater importance in the etiology of depressive symptoms where levels of family conflict were high. The effects of family conflict on depressive symptoms were greater in children and adolescents at genetic risk of depression. CONCLUSIONS: The present results suggest that children with a family history of depression may be at an increased risk of developing depressive symptoms in response to family conflict. Intervention programs that incorporate one or more family systems may be of benefit in alleviating the adverse effect of negative family factors on children.
OBJECTIVES: This study investigates relationships between retirement preferences and perceived levels of work-family conflict. METHODS: Using the large sample of 52-54-year-old respondents to the 1992 Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, we estimated multinomial logistic regression models of preferences for partial and full retirement within the next 10 years. We examined the association between retirement preferences and perceived work-family conflict, evaluated the extent to which work-family conflict was a mediating mechanism between stressful work and family circumstances and preferences to retire, and explored potential gender differences in the association between work-family conflict and preferring retirement. RESULTS: Work-family conflict was positively related to preferences for both full and partial retirement. Yet work-family conflict did not appear to mediate relationships between stressful work and family environments and retirement preferences, nor did significant gender differences emerge in this association. DISCUSSION: Our analyses provide the first direct evidence of the role played by work-family conflict in the early stages of the retirement process, although we were not able to identify the sources of conflict underlying this relationship. Identifying the sources of this conflict and the psychological mechanisms linking work-family conflict to retirement preferences is an important task for future researchers.
OBJECTIVE: To describe family conflict in cases of dementia referred to the Guardianship Tribunal of New South Wales, Australia. METHOD: The file notes of 50 cases of family and systems conflict in cases of dementia presented to the Guardianship Tribunal were examined. Demographics, MMSE score, and type and severity of dementia were recorded. The documents and evidence presented to the Tribunal were coded and subjected to thematic analysis to identify the themes of the conflict, the protagonists and the position of the person with dementia with respect to the conflict. RESULTS: Family conflict was most commonly seen in mild to moderate dementia. Conflict occurred most frequently between siblings (with a group of siblings allied against a 'black sheep' member) and involved other systems such as service providers in 25% of cases. The person with dementia was usually involved in the conflict or in alliance with one or other of the family members in conflict, especially when paranoid ideation was fuelled by family members. Common themes included accusations of neglect, exploitation, lack of communication or sequestration of the person with dementia. No family had received family therapy prior to the application; conciliation during the hearing was successful in 30% of cases. Legal transactions such as Powers of Attorney were frequently made and frequently revoked by persons with dementia involved in family conflict. CONCLUSION: Dementia may be a great family divider, particularly when there are cracks in family solidarity. The understanding of family conflict in dementia has ramifications for both clinical and medico-legal practice. These findings may encourage family-centered interventions which address family dynamics and interpersonal conflict. They may also assist in capacity assessments of persons with dementia who change legal documents because of family conflict.
This study examined work and family conflict, spouse support, and nursing staff well-being during a time of hospital restructuring and downsizing. Data were collected from 686 hospital-based nurses, the vast majority (97%) women. Nurses reported significantly greater work-family conflict than family-work conflict. Personal demographic but not downsizing and restructuring variables predicted family-work conflict; downsizing and restructuring variables but not personal demographics predicted work-family conflict. Spouse support had no effect on work-family conflict but reduced family-work conflict. Both work-family conflict and family-work conflict were associated with less work satisfaction and greater psychological distress.
Using work-family border theory, this article examines relationships between boundary-spanning demands and resources and work-to-family conflict and perceived stress. The analysis uses data from 2,109 respondents from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce. The demands that were positively related to work-to-family conflict and perceived stress were commuting time, bringing work home, job contacts at home, and work-family multitasking. Work-family multitasking partially explained the effects of bringing work home and job contacts at home on conflict and stress. For resources, time off for family responsibilities and a supportive work-family culture showed negative associations with conflict and stress. Work-to-family conflict partially mediated relationships between several demands and resources and perceived stress.
This study examined both risk factors for the onset of work-family conflict and consequences in terms of need for recovery and prolonged fatigue for men and women separately. Two-year follow-up data from the Maastricht Cohort Study on "Fatigue at Work" (n = 12,095) were used. At baseline, the prevalence of work-family conflict was 10.8% (9.0% in women; 11.1% in men), the cumulative incidence at 1 year follow-up was 5.1%. For men, several work-related demands, shift work, job insecurity, conflicts with coworkers or supervisor, having full responsibility for housekeeping, and having to care for a chronically ill child or other family member at home were risk factors for the onset of work-family conflict, whereas decision latitude and coworker and supervisor social support protected against work-family conflict. In women, physical demands, overtime work, commuting time to work, and having dependent children were risk factors for work-family conflict, whereas domestic help protected against work-family conflict at 1 year follow-up. Work-family conflict was further shown to be a strong risk factor for the onset of elevated need for recovery from work and fatigue.