Effects of a preventive parenting intervention for divorced families on the intergenerational transmission of parenting attitudes in young adult offspring

Abstract

This study evaluates whether the New Beginnings Program (NBP), a parenting intervention for divorced mothers, led to positive parenting attitudes in young adult offspring. Data were collected from 240 mothers (G1) and offspring (G2) at ages 9-12 and again in adolescence and young adulthood. Alternative theoretical models were tested to examine mediators of NBP effects on G2 parenting attitudes. Significant interactions between condition and baseline G1 parenting indicated that NBP improved G2's parenting attitudes for those exposed to poorer G1 parenting at program entry. Effects on G2 warm attitudes were partially mediated through program effects on G1 warm parenting. The implications of improving parenting attitudes in offspring who experience parental divorce on well-being in the next generation are discussed.

Figure 1.

NBP × TI Warmth interaction effect on warm parenting attitudes in young adult offspring. The vertical line indicates the point beyond which the NBP and LC group differ significantly. The arrow and % indicate the percentage of the population that falls beyond the point of significant group differences. NBP = New Beginnings Program; LC = Literature Control; T1 = Time 1 (baseline); n.s. = nonsignificant. p < .05.

Figure 2.

NBP × TI Harsh Discipline interaction effect on harsh discipline parenting attitudes in young adult offspring. NBP = New Beginnings Program; LC = Literature Control; n.s. = nonsignificant. p < .05.

Figure 3.

Full model of the pathway from parent participation in the NBP to offspring parenting attitudes in young adulthood. Standardized regression coefficients are presented. Offspring were between 9 and 12 years old at T1 and T2, 15 and 19 years at T3, and 24 and 28 years at T4. χ² = 85.87, df = 51, comparative fit index = .94, standardize root mean square residual < .06, root mean square error of approximation = .053. Effects of covariates (gender, having children, and baseline mediators and outcomes) are not included in the figure. Also not presented in the figure are the correlations between residual variance of the variables at the same time points. G1 = first generation (mothers); G2 = second generation (offspring); NBP = New Beginnings Program; LC = Literature Control; T1 = Time 1 (baseline); T2 = Time 2 (post); T3 = Time 3 (6-year follow-up); T4 = Time 4 (15-year follow-up). †p < .10. *p < .05. **p < .01.