Marjorie Lindner Gunnoe - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Marjorie Lindner Gunnoe

Adoption Quarterly, 2020

The purpose of this study was to examine religious motivation to adopt and how this relates to de... more The purpose of this study was to examine religious motivation to adopt and how this relates to decisions families made while adopting, firm discipline, attachment, parent stress and affect, and child externalizing and internalizing. Within the United States, 44 internationally adopted children and their parents participated in this six-year, longitudinal study. Families endorsing greater religious motivation adopted older children and had larger family sizes. Controlling for these factors, greater religious motivation also predicted firmer discipline practices. Religious motivation did not predict parenting stress or parent negative affect. Additionally, positive longitudinal child outcomes were best predicted by larger family size, fewer baseline attachment disturbances, and less baseline externalizing and internalizingrather than religious motivation, firm discipline, or the interaction between the two.

Marriage & Family Review, 2020

In our initial article we raised concerns about a paradigm we called "Exclusively Positive Parent... more In our initial article we raised concerns about a paradigm we called "Exclusively Positive Parenting" (EPP). This paradigm opposes all negative disciplinary consequences, including timeout and privilege removal. We argued that the empirical support for EPP was insufficient. Researchers should not rely on insufficient causal evidence to replace well-established parenting perspectives that combine positive parenting with appropriate firm control. In reply, Holden et al. defended EPP. In this rejoinder to them we do two things. First, we use their citations to evaluate the limited causal evidence (four randomized studies) for what EPP supports. Second, we summarize the evidence for timeout, which EPP opposes. To do that, we offer the first known meta-analysis of the overall effectiveness of timeout, based on 24 studies with strong causal evidence for its effectiveness with young oppositional defiant children (6 randomized clinical studies; 18 small-N experimental designs). We call for parenting researchers to synthesize positive parenting techniques and disciplinary consequences based on adequate causal evidence.

The hypotheses that parental religiosity would predict authoritative parenting and ado-lescent so... more The hypotheses that parental religiosity would predict authoritative parenting and ado-lescent social responsibility were tested using data from fathers, mothers, and adoles-cents 10 through 18 years of age from 486 mostly Caucasian middle-class families par-ticipating in the Nonshared Environment (NSE) Study. Ratings of authoritative and authoritarian parenting were provided by trained observers using the Family Interaction Global Coding System. Survey instruments included measures of adolescent adjustment used previously by Hetherington and colleagues and a new index of religiosity that assesses the degree to which religious beliefs are manifested in parents’daily lives. Hier-archical regression analyses indicated that religiosity was associated positively with authoritative parenting for both parents. Mothers’religiosity was associated negatively with authoritarian parenting; religiosity was unrelated to fathers’authoritarian parent-ing. Structural equation modeling indicated bot...

The reputation of psychological science depends on the adequacy of the science underlying its pol... more The reputation of psychological science depends on the adequacy of the science underlying its policy recommendations. This commentary raises concerns about the science used by Heilman et al. (2021) in their recent narrative (not meta-analytic) review that encourages spanking bans worldwide. By reviewing controlled longitudinal studies, Heilmann et al. provided stronger causal evidence than the two meta-analyses of unadjusted correlations most frequently cited to support spanking bans. However, the two previously published meta-analyses of controlled longitudinal studies of spanking do not support spanking bans, due to the trivial size of the average adverse-looking effect of customary spanking in those studies. Moreover, several lines of evidence indicate that this trivial average effect is likely due to inadequate statistical controls rather than an actual adverse causal effect of typical spanking. We need stronger causal evidence for policy recommendations for both the welfare of ...

Child development, Jan 24, 2018

To evaluate and improve the validity of causal inferences from meta-analyses of longitudinal stud... more To evaluate and improve the validity of causal inferences from meta-analyses of longitudinal studies, two adjustments for Time-1 outcome scores and a temporally backwards test are demonstrated. Causal inferences would be supported by robust results across both adjustment methods, distinct from results run backwards. A systematic strategy for evaluating potential confounds is also introduced. The methods are illustrated by assessing the impact of spanking on subsequent externalizing problems (child age: 18 months to 11 years). Significant results indicated a small risk or a small benefit of spanking, depending on the adjustment method. These meta-analytic methods are applicable for research on alternatives to spanking and other developmental science topics. The underlying principles can also improve causal inferences in individual studies.

Applied Neuropsychology: Child, 2016

Children adopted internationally following deprived early care have an elevated risk for difficul... more Children adopted internationally following deprived early care have an elevated risk for difficulties with inattention=overactivity (Kreppner et al., 2001). The current study sought to identify predictors of inattention=overactivity and child and adoptive family challenges that co-occur with inattention=overactivity difficulties in a sample of internationally adopted children. Forty-eight children (mean age at adoption ¼ 57.98 months, SD ¼ 47.7 months) were examined at 3 yearly assessments, which included semistructured interviews, parent ratings, and neuropsychological assessment with children. Results revealed that older age at adoption, longer time in the adoptive home, and smaller family size were associated with greater parent-rated difficulties with inattention=overactivity. Additionally, greater inattention=overactivity difficulties were associated with poorer expressive language and reading performance, poorer child emotional-behavioral outcomes, and poorer adoptive family functioning. Given the increase in difficulties over time in the adoptive home, longer-term follow-up may be helpful to ensure appropriate intervention. Additionally, interventions may need to be more comprehensive given the connection between inattentive=overactive behaviors and other areas of functioning.

Marriage & Family Review, 2016

This article critiques the scientific evidence for the emerging view in nonclinical parenting res... more This article critiques the scientific evidence for the emerging view in nonclinical parenting research and in popular books that parents should use only positive methods of parenting and rarely resort to any disciplinary consequences. Four methodological fallacies pervade research used to support this viewpoint: the correlational fallacy (inferring causation from correlations), the trumping fallacy (permitting correlational conclusions to trump stronger causal evidence), the extrapolation fallacy (extrapolating favorable comparisons of under-usage versus over-usage to zero usage), and the lumping fallacy (lumping inappropriate and appropriate usages together). Conclusions based on any of these methodological fallacies are premature at best and counterproductive at worst. These fallacies would incorrectly make many medical procedures appear to be harmful, such as radiation treatment. Premature conclusions supporting exclusively positive parenting may partially explain the immigrant paradox in the United States and escalating criminal assaults against minors according to Swedish criminal records (where positive parenting is most prominently advocated). Exclusively positive parenting needs to be supported by stronger research, including randomized trials with oppositional defiant children, before being accepted as definitive. We also need research to understand how the parental management skills featured in effective clinical treatments for young oppositional defiant children generalize to parenting in nonclinical families.

American Psychologist, 2019

Psychological Reports, 2013

Recollections of physical discipline as absent, age-delimited (ages 2–11), or present into adoles... more Recollections of physical discipline as absent, age-delimited (ages 2–11), or present into adolescence were associated with youths' evaluations of their mothers' and fathers' parenting styles and their own adjustment. Data were from the Portraits of American Life Study–Youth (PALS–Y) a diverse, national sample of 13- to 18-year-olds ( N = 158). The modal experience of youth with authoritative parents was age-delimited spanking; the modal experience of youth with permissive parents was no spanking; the modal experience of youth with authoritarian or disengaged parents was physical discipline into adolescence. The age-delimited group reported the best adjustment (less maladjustment than the adolescent group; greater competence than both other groups). The positive association between fathers' age-delimited spanking and youths' academic rank persisted even after accounting for parenting styles. The eschewing of spanking should not be listed as a distinguishing chara...

Journal of Family Psychology, 2006

The purpose of the study was to determine whether well-established associations between authorita... more The purpose of the study was to determine whether well-established associations between authoritarian parenting and adolescent adjustment pertain to conservative Protestant (CP) families. Structural equation modeling was used to test paths from biological fathers' authoritarian parenting to adolescent adjustment in 65 CP versus 170 comparison families in the Nonshared Environment and Adolescent Development Study (NEAD; D. Reiss et al., 1994). The hypothesis that adolescents in CP families would be less harmed by authoritarian parenting than would adolescents in control families was partially supported: Authoritarian parenting directly predicted greater externalizing and internalizing for adolescents in control families but not for adolescents in CP families. In contrast, parents' religious affiliation failed to moderate the negative associations between authoritarian parenting and positive adjustment. Understanding family processes specific to the CP subculture is important for helping these families raise competent children.

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1300 J087v31n01_10, Oct 17, 2008

ABSTRACT

Journal For the Scientific Study of Religion, Nov 30, 2002

Predictors of youth religiosity were developed from eight domains: childhood training, religious ... more Predictors of youth religiosity were developed from eight domains: childhood training, religious schooling, cognitive ability, psychodynamic need, parenting style, role models, family life cycle, and background demographics. Data are from the National Survey of Children (NSC). Predictors were assessed when participants were 7-11 and 11-16 years of age. Religiosity was assessed when participants were 17-22 years (N = 1,046). After identifying the best predictors within a domain, an across-domain regression analysis was conducted to determine the predictors' relative contributions. The best predictors of youth religiosity were ethnicity and peers' church attendance during high school. Other predictors were, in order of decreasing magnitude: residence in the south, gender, religious schooling during childhood, maternal religiosity, church attendance during childhood, the importance mothers placed on childhood religious training, and an interaction variable identifying religious mothers who were very supportive. These analyses attest to the primacy of religious role models in the development of youth religiosity.

Child Neuropsychology, 2014

Most existing research on children adopted internationally has focused on those adopted as infant... more Most existing research on children adopted internationally has focused on those adopted as infants and toddlers. The current study longitudinally tracked several outcomes, including cognitive, behavioral, emotional, attachment, and family functioning, in 25 children who had been internationally adopted at school age (M = 7.7 years old at adoption, SD = 3.4, range = 4-15 years). We examined the incidence of clinically significant impairments, significant change in outcomes over the three study points, and variables that predicted outcomes over time. Clinically significant impairments in sustained attention, full-scale intelligence, reading, language, executive functioning, externalizing problems, and parenting stress were common, with language and executive functioning impairments present at higher levels in the current study compared with past research focusing on children adopted as infants and toddlers. Over the three study points, significant improvements across most cognitive areas and attachment functioning were observed, though significant worsening in executive functioning and internalizing problems was present. Adoptive family-specific variables, such as greater maternal education, smaller family size, a parenting approach that encouraged age-expected behaviors, home schooling, and being the sole adopted child in the family were associated with greater improvement across several cognitive outcomes. In contrast, decreased parenting stress was predicted by having multiple adopted children and smaller family sizes were associated with greater difficulties with executive functioning. Child-specific variables were also linked to outcomes, with girls displaying worse attachment and poorer cognitive performance and with less time in orphanage care resulting in greater adoption success. Implications for future research and clinical applications are discussed.

Law and Human Behavior, 2001

Findings from comparisons of joint and sole custody families that do not control for predivorce d... more Findings from comparisons of joint and sole custody families that do not control for predivorce differences in demographic and family process variables (factors that may predispose families to choose or be awarded joint custody) are of limited generalizability, since obtained group differences may be attributable to predisposing (self-selection) factors, custody, or both. This study compared a random sample of 254 recently separated, not-yet-divorced families on 71 predivorce variables that might plausibly differentiate between families awarded joint legal versus sole maternal custody. Twenty such factors were identified and controlled for in subsequent comparisons of 52 sole maternal and 26 joint legal custody families 2 years postdivorce. Families with joint custody had more frequent father-child visitation, lower maternal satisfaction with custody arrangements, more rapid maternal repartnering, and fewer child adjustment problems (net of predivorce selection factors). Moreover, these effects did not appear to be moderated by level of predecree parental conflict. No association between custody and fathers' compliance with child support orders was obtained.

Adoption Quarterly, 2020

The purpose of this study was to examine religious motivation to adopt and how this relates to de... more The purpose of this study was to examine religious motivation to adopt and how this relates to decisions families made while adopting, firm discipline, attachment, parent stress and affect, and child externalizing and internalizing. Within the United States, 44 internationally adopted children and their parents participated in this six-year, longitudinal study. Families endorsing greater religious motivation adopted older children and had larger family sizes. Controlling for these factors, greater religious motivation also predicted firmer discipline practices. Religious motivation did not predict parenting stress or parent negative affect. Additionally, positive longitudinal child outcomes were best predicted by larger family size, fewer baseline attachment disturbances, and less baseline externalizing and internalizingrather than religious motivation, firm discipline, or the interaction between the two.

Marriage & Family Review, 2020

In our initial article we raised concerns about a paradigm we called "Exclusively Positive Parent... more In our initial article we raised concerns about a paradigm we called "Exclusively Positive Parenting" (EPP). This paradigm opposes all negative disciplinary consequences, including timeout and privilege removal. We argued that the empirical support for EPP was insufficient. Researchers should not rely on insufficient causal evidence to replace well-established parenting perspectives that combine positive parenting with appropriate firm control. In reply, Holden et al. defended EPP. In this rejoinder to them we do two things. First, we use their citations to evaluate the limited causal evidence (four randomized studies) for what EPP supports. Second, we summarize the evidence for timeout, which EPP opposes. To do that, we offer the first known meta-analysis of the overall effectiveness of timeout, based on 24 studies with strong causal evidence for its effectiveness with young oppositional defiant children (6 randomized clinical studies; 18 small-N experimental designs). We call for parenting researchers to synthesize positive parenting techniques and disciplinary consequences based on adequate causal evidence.

The hypotheses that parental religiosity would predict authoritative parenting and ado-lescent so... more The hypotheses that parental religiosity would predict authoritative parenting and ado-lescent social responsibility were tested using data from fathers, mothers, and adoles-cents 10 through 18 years of age from 486 mostly Caucasian middle-class families par-ticipating in the Nonshared Environment (NSE) Study. Ratings of authoritative and authoritarian parenting were provided by trained observers using the Family Interaction Global Coding System. Survey instruments included measures of adolescent adjustment used previously by Hetherington and colleagues and a new index of religiosity that assesses the degree to which religious beliefs are manifested in parents’daily lives. Hier-archical regression analyses indicated that religiosity was associated positively with authoritative parenting for both parents. Mothers’religiosity was associated negatively with authoritarian parenting; religiosity was unrelated to fathers’authoritarian parent-ing. Structural equation modeling indicated bot...

The reputation of psychological science depends on the adequacy of the science underlying its pol... more The reputation of psychological science depends on the adequacy of the science underlying its policy recommendations. This commentary raises concerns about the science used by Heilman et al. (2021) in their recent narrative (not meta-analytic) review that encourages spanking bans worldwide. By reviewing controlled longitudinal studies, Heilmann et al. provided stronger causal evidence than the two meta-analyses of unadjusted correlations most frequently cited to support spanking bans. However, the two previously published meta-analyses of controlled longitudinal studies of spanking do not support spanking bans, due to the trivial size of the average adverse-looking effect of customary spanking in those studies. Moreover, several lines of evidence indicate that this trivial average effect is likely due to inadequate statistical controls rather than an actual adverse causal effect of typical spanking. We need stronger causal evidence for policy recommendations for both the welfare of ...

Child development, Jan 24, 2018

To evaluate and improve the validity of causal inferences from meta-analyses of longitudinal stud... more To evaluate and improve the validity of causal inferences from meta-analyses of longitudinal studies, two adjustments for Time-1 outcome scores and a temporally backwards test are demonstrated. Causal inferences would be supported by robust results across both adjustment methods, distinct from results run backwards. A systematic strategy for evaluating potential confounds is also introduced. The methods are illustrated by assessing the impact of spanking on subsequent externalizing problems (child age: 18 months to 11 years). Significant results indicated a small risk or a small benefit of spanking, depending on the adjustment method. These meta-analytic methods are applicable for research on alternatives to spanking and other developmental science topics. The underlying principles can also improve causal inferences in individual studies.

Applied Neuropsychology: Child, 2016

Children adopted internationally following deprived early care have an elevated risk for difficul... more Children adopted internationally following deprived early care have an elevated risk for difficulties with inattention=overactivity (Kreppner et al., 2001). The current study sought to identify predictors of inattention=overactivity and child and adoptive family challenges that co-occur with inattention=overactivity difficulties in a sample of internationally adopted children. Forty-eight children (mean age at adoption ¼ 57.98 months, SD ¼ 47.7 months) were examined at 3 yearly assessments, which included semistructured interviews, parent ratings, and neuropsychological assessment with children. Results revealed that older age at adoption, longer time in the adoptive home, and smaller family size were associated with greater parent-rated difficulties with inattention=overactivity. Additionally, greater inattention=overactivity difficulties were associated with poorer expressive language and reading performance, poorer child emotional-behavioral outcomes, and poorer adoptive family functioning. Given the increase in difficulties over time in the adoptive home, longer-term follow-up may be helpful to ensure appropriate intervention. Additionally, interventions may need to be more comprehensive given the connection between inattentive=overactive behaviors and other areas of functioning.

Marriage & Family Review, 2016

This article critiques the scientific evidence for the emerging view in nonclinical parenting res... more This article critiques the scientific evidence for the emerging view in nonclinical parenting research and in popular books that parents should use only positive methods of parenting and rarely resort to any disciplinary consequences. Four methodological fallacies pervade research used to support this viewpoint: the correlational fallacy (inferring causation from correlations), the trumping fallacy (permitting correlational conclusions to trump stronger causal evidence), the extrapolation fallacy (extrapolating favorable comparisons of under-usage versus over-usage to zero usage), and the lumping fallacy (lumping inappropriate and appropriate usages together). Conclusions based on any of these methodological fallacies are premature at best and counterproductive at worst. These fallacies would incorrectly make many medical procedures appear to be harmful, such as radiation treatment. Premature conclusions supporting exclusively positive parenting may partially explain the immigrant paradox in the United States and escalating criminal assaults against minors according to Swedish criminal records (where positive parenting is most prominently advocated). Exclusively positive parenting needs to be supported by stronger research, including randomized trials with oppositional defiant children, before being accepted as definitive. We also need research to understand how the parental management skills featured in effective clinical treatments for young oppositional defiant children generalize to parenting in nonclinical families.

American Psychologist, 2019

Psychological Reports, 2013

Recollections of physical discipline as absent, age-delimited (ages 2–11), or present into adoles... more Recollections of physical discipline as absent, age-delimited (ages 2–11), or present into adolescence were associated with youths' evaluations of their mothers' and fathers' parenting styles and their own adjustment. Data were from the Portraits of American Life Study–Youth (PALS–Y) a diverse, national sample of 13- to 18-year-olds ( N = 158). The modal experience of youth with authoritative parents was age-delimited spanking; the modal experience of youth with permissive parents was no spanking; the modal experience of youth with authoritarian or disengaged parents was physical discipline into adolescence. The age-delimited group reported the best adjustment (less maladjustment than the adolescent group; greater competence than both other groups). The positive association between fathers' age-delimited spanking and youths' academic rank persisted even after accounting for parenting styles. The eschewing of spanking should not be listed as a distinguishing chara...

Journal of Family Psychology, 2006

The purpose of the study was to determine whether well-established associations between authorita... more The purpose of the study was to determine whether well-established associations between authoritarian parenting and adolescent adjustment pertain to conservative Protestant (CP) families. Structural equation modeling was used to test paths from biological fathers' authoritarian parenting to adolescent adjustment in 65 CP versus 170 comparison families in the Nonshared Environment and Adolescent Development Study (NEAD; D. Reiss et al., 1994). The hypothesis that adolescents in CP families would be less harmed by authoritarian parenting than would adolescents in control families was partially supported: Authoritarian parenting directly predicted greater externalizing and internalizing for adolescents in control families but not for adolescents in CP families. In contrast, parents' religious affiliation failed to moderate the negative associations between authoritarian parenting and positive adjustment. Understanding family processes specific to the CP subculture is important for helping these families raise competent children.

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1300 J087v31n01_10, Oct 17, 2008

ABSTRACT

Journal For the Scientific Study of Religion, Nov 30, 2002

Predictors of youth religiosity were developed from eight domains: childhood training, religious ... more Predictors of youth religiosity were developed from eight domains: childhood training, religious schooling, cognitive ability, psychodynamic need, parenting style, role models, family life cycle, and background demographics. Data are from the National Survey of Children (NSC). Predictors were assessed when participants were 7-11 and 11-16 years of age. Religiosity was assessed when participants were 17-22 years (N = 1,046). After identifying the best predictors within a domain, an across-domain regression analysis was conducted to determine the predictors' relative contributions. The best predictors of youth religiosity were ethnicity and peers' church attendance during high school. Other predictors were, in order of decreasing magnitude: residence in the south, gender, religious schooling during childhood, maternal religiosity, church attendance during childhood, the importance mothers placed on childhood religious training, and an interaction variable identifying religious mothers who were very supportive. These analyses attest to the primacy of religious role models in the development of youth religiosity.

Child Neuropsychology, 2014

Most existing research on children adopted internationally has focused on those adopted as infant... more Most existing research on children adopted internationally has focused on those adopted as infants and toddlers. The current study longitudinally tracked several outcomes, including cognitive, behavioral, emotional, attachment, and family functioning, in 25 children who had been internationally adopted at school age (M = 7.7 years old at adoption, SD = 3.4, range = 4-15 years). We examined the incidence of clinically significant impairments, significant change in outcomes over the three study points, and variables that predicted outcomes over time. Clinically significant impairments in sustained attention, full-scale intelligence, reading, language, executive functioning, externalizing problems, and parenting stress were common, with language and executive functioning impairments present at higher levels in the current study compared with past research focusing on children adopted as infants and toddlers. Over the three study points, significant improvements across most cognitive areas and attachment functioning were observed, though significant worsening in executive functioning and internalizing problems was present. Adoptive family-specific variables, such as greater maternal education, smaller family size, a parenting approach that encouraged age-expected behaviors, home schooling, and being the sole adopted child in the family were associated with greater improvement across several cognitive outcomes. In contrast, decreased parenting stress was predicted by having multiple adopted children and smaller family sizes were associated with greater difficulties with executive functioning. Child-specific variables were also linked to outcomes, with girls displaying worse attachment and poorer cognitive performance and with less time in orphanage care resulting in greater adoption success. Implications for future research and clinical applications are discussed.

Law and Human Behavior, 2001

Findings from comparisons of joint and sole custody families that do not control for predivorce d... more Findings from comparisons of joint and sole custody families that do not control for predivorce differences in demographic and family process variables (factors that may predispose families to choose or be awarded joint custody) are of limited generalizability, since obtained group differences may be attributable to predisposing (self-selection) factors, custody, or both. This study compared a random sample of 254 recently separated, not-yet-divorced families on 71 predivorce variables that might plausibly differentiate between families awarded joint legal versus sole maternal custody. Twenty such factors were identified and controlled for in subsequent comparisons of 52 sole maternal and 26 joint legal custody families 2 years postdivorce. Families with joint custody had more frequent father-child visitation, lower maternal satisfaction with custody arrangements, more rapid maternal repartnering, and fewer child adjustment problems (net of predivorce selection factors). Moreover, these effects did not appear to be moderated by level of predecree parental conflict. No association between custody and fathers' compliance with child support orders was obtained.