Can Family-Strengthening Programs Improve Low-Income Parents' Dynamic Functioning? Evidence from a Daily Diary Study

Evidence suggests that parents and children tend to fare better on a range of outcomes when they live in low-conflict, two-parent families (Neff & Karney, 2004; Schultz et al., 2006). Yet, children raised in low-income families are at higher risk for experiencing more conflictual home environments (Engle & Black, 2002). In response, family-strengthening interventions targeting low-income couples have been developed to support families in creating healthy environments for their children, where conflicts are constructive, rather than destructive (Hawkins et al., 2013). One such intervention – tested with 6,300 families in eight sites across the country – was shown to improve the quality of low-income parents’ relationships (Hsueh et al., 2012). However, because this study only assessed two points in time, findings may mask more nuanced understanding of how the intervention influenced families’ dynamic functioning.

In the current study, we address this limitation by using diary data to estimate impacts of the family strengthening intervention on low-income couples’ daily experiences of severe conflict. We then test whether participation in the intervention buffered the detrimental effects of negative moods and stressors on inter-parental conflict. Families randomly assigned to the intervention (N = 43) participated in 10 weeks of group-based relationship education, met regularly with a support worker, and completed booster activities. Control group families (N = 54) received no services. Thirty months post random assignment, mothers and fathers used a palm pilot to report on their daily conflicts with their partner over a fifteen-day period, as well as their daily moods (anger, stress, sadness, anxiety) and stressors (work, money, childrearing).

To conduct the diary impact analysis, we used multi-level models where days were nested in families, and mothers and fathers were modeled separately (Bolger & Laurenceau, 2013). We controlled for the same set of covariates included in the original intervention impact analysis. Preliminary findings reveal that the intervention decreased the severity of couple-reported daily conflicts. Program participation also buffered the negative daily associations of stress and anger on the severity of disagreements reported by mothers. Finally, the intervention attenuated the negative average daily associations of stress related to money and work on the severity of disagreements reported by fathers.

The initial results suggest that a family-strengthening program aimed at low-income couples may reduce the negativity of couples’ conflict, and help families address challenges posed by moods and stressors in their daily functioning. Implications for dissemination and prevention science will be discussed.