The Relation between Personality Traits, Family Functioning and Mothers' and Fathers' Psychological Symptoms

The aim of this study was to identify the predictors of mothers' & fathers' psychological adjustment. Ninety married couples with at least one child between 3 & 13 years of age participated in the study. The contribution of family functioning, marital quality, parental stress & child behavior problems on psychological symptoms of mothers & fathers was examined after controlling the effects of personality traits. Separate analyses of relations between different aspects of psychological symptoms & parental stress sources & child behavior problems were performed for mothers & fathers. Personality traits explained the psychological distress of mothers: mothers who were more neurotic had more psychological symptoms. Family functioning & marital quality contributed to the explanation of psychological symptoms too, as well as parental stress & child behavior problems, which were the only significant predictor. Neuroticism predicted psychological symptoms in fathers. Both family functioning & marital quality were also significant predictors. Fathers who estimated lower marital quality had more psychological symptoms. Parental variables did not contribute significantly to the explanation of psychological symptoms of fathers. Adapted from the source document.