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Objective: To study coping socialization longitudinally by examining reported and observed family environment and parenting variables in relation to children's problem-focused coping in a sample of 68 families of preadolescents with spina bifida and 68 matched able-bodied comparison families., Methods: Family environment and parenting variables were assessed with mother and father reports and observational measures. Children's problem-focused coping was self-reported., Results: Prospective analyses revealed that maternal responsiveness, paternal responsiveness, and family cohesion predicted an increase in children's use of problem-focused coping strategies, while change in paternal responsiveness and maternal responsiveness and demandingness was related concurrently to change in coping. Few group (spina bifida vs. able-bodied) or gender differences with respect to parenting and family influences on children's coping behaviors were found., Conclusions: Multimethod findings suggest that the quality of parenting and family environment is associated with children's problem-focused coping behaviors. We discuss clinical implications.

Objective: To examine relations between condition severity and psychosocial functioning in 70 8- and 9-year-old pre-adolescents with spina bifida by testing several direct, indirect, and mediated effects models for proximal functional status and distal adjustment outcomes., Methods: Proximal functional status outcomes (e.g., degree of involvement in activities, scholastic competence, athletic competence, attentional problems) and distal adjustment outcomes (e.g., behavior problems, social competence) were assessed with mother, father, and teacher report. Severity variables included spinal lesion level, spina bifida classification, shunt status, ambulation status, number of shunt surgeries, and two severity composites., Results: Condition severity was associated with the proximal functional status outcomes across parent and teacher report. In contrast, no significant relationships were found between the severity parameters and distal adjustment outcomes. Findings supported a proximal effects model of condition severity as well as an indirect effects model (e.g., presence of a shunt-->less scholastic competence-->less social competence) and were consistent with recent theoretical formulations (e.g., Wallander & Varni, 1995)., Conclusions: Disentangling proximal functional status outcomes and distal adjustment outcomes is critical in studies of condition severity and psychosocial functioning. We discuss clinical implications.

Based on a family systems/social-ecological perspective, mothers and fathers of 8- and 9-year-old children with spina bifida (n = 55; 28 male, 27 female) were examined in comparison to a matched group of parents with 8- and 9-year-old able-bodied children (n = 55; 29 male, 26 female) across several areas of functioning (individual, parental, and marital). Findings suggested that mothers and fathers in the spina bifida sample tended to report more psychosocial stress than their counterparts in the able-bodied sample. Specifically, mothers and fathers in the spina bifida group reported less parental satisfaction than parents in the able-bodied group. Mothers in the spina bifida group reported less perceived parental competence, more social isolation, and less adaptability to change; fathers in the spina bifida group reported more psychological symptoms. No differences between the spina bifida and able-bodied groups were found with respect to marital satisfaction. Coping predictors of adjustment tended to vary as a function of parent gender rather than group status.

Inappropriate applications and interpretations of multiple regression analyses by Zeldow and his associated (Zeldow, Clark, & Daugherty, 1985; Zeldow, Daugherty, & Clark, 1987) are discussed as are several general interpretive and statistical issues. To perform and interpret multiple regressions, several characteristics of this statistical approach must be taken into account. Of critical importance is the order in which variables are entered, the choice of regression approaches, the direction of an effect upon entering the model, and the manner in which the interpretation of interaction effects varies as a function of the presence or absence of main effects. Because Zeldow et al. (1985, 1987) did not consider these factors, their regression analyses were not run as stated and are difficult to interpret. Five hypothetical outcomes in androgyny research and an example involving actual data are presented.