College of Behavioral & Social Sciences
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/8
The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations..
Browse
2 results
Search Results
Item MOTHERS OF CHILDREN WITH ADHD: DOES EMPLOYMENT HELP?(2012) Merson, Erica Shawn; O'Brien, Karen M; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The current study examined the experiences of a sample of mothers of children with ADHD. Differences between the single and partnered, employed, and unemployed women on the variables of interest were investigated. The contributions of maternal psychological health, employment characteristics, and the marital relationship to the prediction of parenting behaviors were explored. Moreover, the moderating role of employment characteristics on the relationship between maternal psychological health and parenting behaviors was examined. Results showed differences between the single and partnered women on employment characteristics. Maternal psychological health was found to be predictive of poor monitoring and supervision and inconsistent discipline behaviors. Last, flexibility-benefits used was found to moderate the relationship between maternal psychological health and poor monitoring and supervision behaviors. Implications for clinical work and future research directions are discussed.Item Adoptive Parents: At Risk or Resilient(2009) Merson, Erica Shawn; O'Brien, Karen M.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study advanced knowledge regarding the demographics of a nationally representative sample of adoptive parents and their use and level of satisfaction with adoption agency services, specifically that they are functioning well both psychologically and in their marital relationships and are satisfied with the adoption agency services that are being offered and used. It also examined the contributions of (a) psychological functioning at nine months postpartum, (b) infertility experiences, (c) tangible resources, and (d) the marital relationship in predicting the psychological health of adoptive parents at 27 months postpartum. Findings revealed that the psychological health of adoptive parents at nine months was the strongest predictor of depressive and anxiety symptoms at 27 months for both adoptive mothers and fathers, with tangible resources also contributing unique variance to the prediction of fathers' depressive symptoms. Moreover, marital hostility was found to partially mediate the relationship between mothers' depressive symptoms at nine months and 27 months postpartum.