Abstract
Power dynamics in the marital dyad and systemic elements of
whole-family functioning (cohesion, subsystem boundary formations) were
examined in relation to each other and also in relation to child
adjustment in a multiethnic sample of families. Support was found for a
mediational model, such that family functioning was found to mediate
the relationship between marital power dynamics and children's
internalizing and externalizing behavior. Some support also was found
for ethnicity as a moderator of the association between systemic family
processes and children's adjustment. Disturbances in family
cohesion and subsystem boundaries were more strongly related to
internalizing symptomatology for children in European American families
compared to children in Hispanic American families.This research was funded by National Institute of Mental
Health Grant R03 MH54631. We thank Jean–Philippe Laurenceau for
his feedback on drafts of this manuscript and for statistical
consultation. We also are very grateful to the participating families
for the generous donation of their time and effort.
