Longitudinal associations between parents' hostility and siblings' externalizing behavior in the context of marital discord.

This study examined longitudinal associations between parents' hostility and siblings' externalizing behavior in the context of interparental discord. The sample included 116 families (mothers, fathers, 2 siblings) assessed in middle childhood, when siblings were, on average, 8 and 10 years old, and in adolescence, at average ages of 14 and 16 years. Parents reported on their hostility toward each child and on each child's externalizing problems. Raters observed interparental hostility, and parents rated their marital quality. Results indicated both within-family and between-families effects. Specifically, the child who received more parental hostility than his or her sibling showed greater increases in externalizing problems than his or her sibling; this association was moderated by marital discord. In addition, the child who exhibited more behavioral problems than his or her sibling received greater increases in hostile mothering than did his or her sibling. Between-families effects were evident, in that children's externalizing problems were associated with increases in mothers' hostility toward both children in the family. Results support transactional models of development and family systems theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sibling conflict in middle childhood predicts children's adjustment in early adolescence.

Associations between sibling conflict in middle childhood and psychological adjustment in early adolescence were studied in a sample of 80 boys and 56 girls. Parents and children provided self-report data about family relationships and children's adjustment. Parents' hostility to children was assessed from videotaped interactions. Results showed that sibling conflict at Time 1 predicted increases in children's anxiety, depressed mood, and delinquent behavior 2 years later. Moreover, earlier sibling conflict at Time 1 accounted for unique variance in young adolescents' Time 2 anxiety, depressed mood, and delinquent behavior above and beyond the variance explained by earlier maternal hostility and marital conflict. Children's adjustment at Time 1 did not predict sibling conflict at Time 2. Results highlight the unique significance of the earlier sibling relationship for young adolescents' psychological adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Marital conflict typology and children's appraisals: The moderating role of family cohesion.

Intense and frequent marital conflict is associated with greater appraisals of threat and self-blame in children, but little else is known about contextual factors that might affect appraisals. Systemic family theories propose that to understand child adaptation, it is necessary to understand the interconnected nature of family subsystem relationships. In a sample of 257 families with 8- to 12-year-old children, this study examined whether a four-level typology of marital conflict management was related to children's perceptions of marital conflict and their appraisals of perceived threat and self-blame. In addition, family cohesion was tested as a moderator of the relationship between marital conflict style and children's appraisals. Observational coding was used to group couples into Harmonious, Disengaged, Conflictual-Expressive, and Conflictual-Hostile groups. Children's report of the intensity, frequency, and degree of resolution of interparental discord corresponded well with observers' ratings. The relationship between marital conflict style and appraisals of threat and self-blame was moderated by family cohesiveness. At high levels of family cohesiveness, no group differences were found for either perceived threat or self-blame, whereas when family cohesiveness was low, threat was higher for the Harmonious and Conflictual-Hostile groups, as compared to the Conflictual-Expressive group, and self-blame was higher for both conflict groups (expressive and hostile), as compared to the Disengaged group. The results provide further evidence of interconnected nature of family subsystem relationships and the importance of distinguishing among different approaches to marital conflict management for understanding the complex and perhaps subtle but meaningful effects different family system factors have on child adaptation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in children's appraisals of marital discord from childhood through adolescence.

The study examined how children's appraisals of marital conflict (threat and self-blame) changed across development, whether changes in exposure to marital conflict were associated with corresponding changes in appraisals, and whether the appraisal process was different for boys and girls. Data were collected on 112 families (224 children) at 4 time points. At each wave, children (mean ages ranged from 8 to 19) provided information on their appraisals of marital conflict, and parents provided information on children's exposure to marital conflict. Results indicated that appraisals of threat declined rapidly from childhood to adolescence and then declined less rapidly across adolescence; appraisals of self-blame showed little change over time. Second, changes in exposure to marital discord covaried with changes in threat over time, but not with changes in self-blame. Finally, boys experienced more self-blame than girls on average, and gender moderated the association between exposure to marital discord and threat. Results suggest that development, exposure to marital conflict, and gender are important in determining why some children appraise their parents' disputes negatively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Appraisals of marital conflict and children's adjustment, health, and physiological reactivity.

Children's appraisals of marital conflict were examined as moderators and mediators of conflict and children's adjustment, physical health, and physiological reactivity. Mothers completed measures of marital conflict and children's adjustment and physical health, and elementary school children provided information on their parents' marital conflict, appraisals of perceived threat and self-blame in relation to parents' conflicts, and their internalizing symptomatology. Children's heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and skin conductance response and level were examined during both a baseline and an interadult argument. Higher levels of both self-blame and perceived threat functioned as robust vulnerability factors for children exposed to higher levels of marital conflict in relation to internalizing behaviors, health problems, and higher levels of cardiovascular reactivity to the argument. Further, a higher level of perceived threat was a vulnerability factor for externalizing problems associated with exposure to marital conflict. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family Functioning and Children's Adjustment: Associations Among Parents' Depressed Mood, Marital Hostility, Parent-Child Hostility, and Children's Adjustment.

Relations between parents' depressed mood, marital conflict, parent-child hostility, and children's adjustment were examined in a community sample of 136 ten-year-olds and their parents. Videotaped observational and self-report data were used to examine these relations in path analyses. A proposed model was tested in which mothers' and fathers' depressed mood and marital hostility were associated with children's adjustment problems through disruptions in parent-child relationships. Results showed that both mothers' and fathers' marital hostility were linked to parent-child hostility, which in turn was linked to children's internalizing problems. Fathers' depressed mood was linked to children's internalizing problems indirectly through father-child hostility. Fathers' depressed mood was directly linked to children's externalizing problems and indirectly linked through father-child hostility. For mothers, marital hostility was directly linked to children's externalizing problems, and marital hostility in fathers was indirectly linked to children's externalizing problems through father-child hostility. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Marital conflict and boys' peer relationships: The mediating role of mother-son emotional reciprocity.

This study examined the role of mother-son emotional reciprocity in connections between marital conflict and the quality of boys' peer relationships. Parents from 84 intact families with preadolescent boys reported on the level of conflict in their marital relationship. Observations of mother-son interaction were coded for emotional reciprocity, and assessments of boys' peer relationships were obtained from both teachers and classmates. No direct connection between marital conflict and boys' peer relationships was observed. Rather, marital conflict affected boys' social competence indirectly, through its effect on the emotions expressed between mother and son. The findings support the proposal that emotional processes play an important role in connections between marital conflict and children's peer relationships and suggest that family emotional expressiveness deserves greater attention in both research and intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Marital conflict and the quality of young children's peer play behavior: The mediating and moderating role of parent–child emotional reciprocity and attachment security.

Parent–child attachment security and dyadic measures of parent–child positive and negative emotional reciprocity were examined as possible mediators and moderators of the connection between marital conflict and children's peer play behavior. Eighty parents were observed in a laboratory play session with their 15- to 18-month-old child. Subsequently, at 36 months children were observed interacting with peers at their child care setting. Connections between marital conflict and children's positive peer interaction were mediated by mother–child attachment security, mother–child positive emotional reciprocity, and father–child negative emotional reciprocity. Connections between marital conflict and children's negative peer interaction were mediated by mother–child positive emotional reciprocity and father–child attachment security. Parent–child attachment security and negative emotional reciprocity emerged as important moderators of the connection between marital conflict and children's peer play behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prospective associations from family-of-origin interactions to adult marital interactions and relationship adjustment.

To test the social learning-based hypothesis that marital conflict resolution patterns are learned in the family of origin, longitudinal, observational data were used to assess prospective associations between family conflict interaction patterns during adolescence and offspring's later marital conflict interaction patterns. At age 14 years, 47 participants completed an observed family conflict resolution task with their parents. In a subsequent assessment 17 years later, the participants completed measures of marital adjustment and an observed marital conflict interaction task with their spouse. As predicted, levels of hostility and positive engagement expressed by parents and adolescents during family interactions were prospectively linked with levels of hostility and positive engagement expressed by offspring and their spouses during marital interactions. Family-of-origin hostility was a particularly robust predictor of marital interaction behaviors; it predicted later marital hostility and negatively predicted positive engagement, controlling for psychopathology and family-of-origin positive engagement. For men, family-of-origin hostility also predicted poorer marital adjustment, an effect that was mediated through hostility in marital interactions. These findings suggest a long-lasting influence of family communication patterns, particularly hostility, on offspring's intimate communication and relationship functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Siblings' differential experiences of marital conflict and differences in psychological adjustment.

The present study examined whether siblings experience marital conflict differently and whether such differences, if present, were associated with differences in their adjustment. Self-report data about marital conflict, children's depressed mood, behavioral conduct, and externalizing problems were obtained from 122 sibling pairs (mean ages = 10 and 12 years) and their parents. Results indicated that siblings were significantly different in exposure to and appraisals of marital conflict. Differences in siblings' exposure to marital conflict were significantly correlated with differences in their depressed mood, behavioral conduct, and externalizing problems. Differences in siblings' feelings of self-blame for marital conflict were significantly correlated with differences in their depressed mood and behavioral conduct. Children who experienced more marital conflict than their siblings had more adjustment problems than their siblings. These results highlight the importance of studying siblings' unique experiences of marital conflict to better understand its impact on children's adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal associations between hostility in adolescents' family relationships and friendships and hostility in their romantic relationships.

This study examined longitudinal predictors of hostility in adolescents' romantic relationships. The sample included 110 adolescents and their parents from 72 families. Observational measures of parents' marital hostility and parent-child hostility and self-reports of hostility in close friendships were collected when adolescents ranged from 14 to 16 years old. Three years later, when they were 17 to 19 years old, adolescents reported on the hostility in their romantic relationships. Results indicated that hostility in parents' marital relationships and in adolescents' friendships accounted for independent variance in hostility in adolescents' later romantic relationships. Results highlight the importance of both family relationships and friendships for predicting hostility in adolescents' romantic relationships over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental family processes and interparental conflict: Patterns of microlevel influences.

Although there are frequent calls for the study of effects of children on families and mutual influence processes within families, little empirical progress has been made. We address these questions at the level of microprocesses during marital conflict, including children's influence on marital conflict and parents' influence on each other. Participants were 111 cohabiting couples with a child (55 male, 56 female) age 8–16 years. Data were drawn from parents' diary reports of interparental conflict over 15 days and were analyzed with dynamic systems modeling tools. Child emotions and behavior during conflicts were associated with interparental positivity, negativity, and resolution at the end of the same conflicts. For example, children's agentic behavior was associated with more marital conflict resolution, whereas child negativity was linked with more marital negativity. Regarding parents' influence on each other, among the findings, husbands' and wives' influence on themselves from one conflict to the next was indicated, and total number of conflicts predicted greater influence of wives' positivity on husbands' positivity. Contributions of these findings to the understanding of developmental family processes are discussed, including implications for advanced understanding of interrelations between child and adult functioning and development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional expression in the family as a context for children's appraisals of interparental conflict.

The cognitive contextual framework proposes that the emotional climate in the family plays a role in shaping how children perceive and evaluate interparental conflict. This hypothesis was tested in a sample of 144 8- to 12-year-old children and their parents. Children in families that expressed high levels of negative affect and low levels of positive affect reported greater self-blame for conflict, but parents' expressiveness did not predict children's threat appraisals. Positive and negative expressiveness moderated the association between exposure to parental conflict and children's internalizing and externalizing problems. These data suggest that the broader family context can shape the meaning of conflict to children and increase understanding of the conditions under which parental discord leads to child maladjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Marital quality and gender differences in parent-child interaction.

This microanalytic study of family interaction establishes links among marital quality, gender, and parent–child relationships. Dyadic conversational exchanges between 38 mothers and fathers and their 3.5-yr-old 1st-born son or daughter were analyzed. Marital quality was related to gender differences in both parent and child behavior, with less maritally adjusted fathers of daughters showing the most negativity toward their children. Sequential analyses showed that gender differences in parents' and children's responses to one another were also mediated by marital quality. Mothers in less satisfied marriages were the least accepting of daughters' assertiveness and were more likely to reciprocate the negative affect of sons. Daughters of parents lower in marital satisfaction were less compliant with their fathers. Implications of these findings for understanding gender differences in the effects of marital conflict on parenting and child development are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's responses to mothers' and fathers' emotionality and tactics in marital conflict in the home.

Addressing a gap in methodological approaches to the study of links between marital conflict and children, 51 couples were trained to complete home diary reports on everyday marital conflicts and children's responses. Parental negative emotionality and destructive conflict tactics related to children's insecure emotional and behavioral responses. Parental positive emotionality and constructive conflict tactics were linked with children's secure emotional responding. When parents' emotions and tactics were considered in the same model, negative emotionality was more consistently related to children's negative reactions than were destructive conflict tactics, whereas constructive conflict tactics were more consistently related to children's positive reactions than parents' positive emotionality. Differences in children's responding as a function of specific parental negative emotions (anger, sadness, fear) and parent gender were identified. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A genetically informed study of associations between family functioning and child psychosocial adjustment.

Research has documented associations between family functioning and offspring psychosocial adjustment, but questions remain regarding whether these associations are partly due to confounding genetic factors and other environmental factors. The current study used a genetically informed approach, the Children of Twins design, to explore the associations between family functioning (family conflict, marital quality, and agreement about parenting) and offspring psychopathology. Participants were 867 twin pairs (388 monozygotic; 479 dizygotic) from the Twin and Offspring Study in Sweden, their spouses, and children (51.7% female; M = 15.75 years). The results suggested associations between exposure to family conflict (assessed by the mother, father, and child) and child adjustment were independent of genetic factors and other environmental factors. However, when family conflict was assessed using only children's reports, the results indicated that genetic factors also influenced these associations. In addition, the analyses indicated that exposure to low marital quality and agreement about parenting was associated with children's internalizing and externalizing problems and that genetic factors also contributed to the associations of marital quality and agreement about parenting with offspring externalizing problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of marital conflict and children's social problem-solving skills.

Marital conflict has been shown to be negatively associated with child functioning. This study examined the relationships of negative and positive aspects of marital conflict and frequency of conflict with children's social problem-solving skills, as measured by effectiveness of alternative solutions. Mothers, fathers, and children reported on marital conflict. Mothers' higher negative conflict characteristics, in the context of greater frequency of conflict, and less frequent positive conflict characteristics, in the context of lower frequency of conflict, were significantly associated with their children's less effective social problem-solving solutions. For fathers, none of the negative but one of the positive conflict characteristics was significantly associated with their children's more effective social problem-solving solutions, regardless of the frequency of marital conflict. Children's perceptions of their parents' conflict were not significant predictors of their social problem-solving skills. Findings are interpreted in the framework of children's modeling aggressive conflict. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Becoming a sibling: "With a little help from my friends."

The qualities of children's friendships that may promote the development of positive sibling relationships were examined. 30 3- to 5-yr-old 1st-born children whose families were expecting a 2nd child participated in longitudinal assessments of parent–child, sibling, and best-friend peer relationships. Families were studied from the last trimester of pregnancy to 14 mo following the new child's birth. Peer relationship variables, particularly, the overall quality of peer play, engagement in fantasy play, and conflict management were found to be significant predictors of the quality of children's interactions with their 6- and 14-mo-old siblings. Results are discussed in terms of the functions friendships may hold for helping children make the transition to the sibling role. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of interparental aggression on children's adjustment: The moderating role of cognitive appraisal and coping.

This research examined the relationship between interparental aggression and children's adjustment through an analysis of the moderating effects of children's cognitive appraisal and coping strategies. Participants were 80 children in Grades 6, 7, and 8 who completed measures of level of interparental aggression and of cognitive appraisal and coping strategies reported in response to parents' conflicts. Children's adjustment was based on self-report measures of self-worth, externalizing behavior, and depression. Results showed that more frequent and intense conflict was associated with greater adjustment problems for children. Problematic beliefs about interparental conflict and ineffective coping strategies were also related to greater maladjustment. Significant interaction effects suggest that perceived peer availability and the use of social supports may buffer the negative effects of marital conflict. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parents' hostility in dyadic marital and triadic family settings and children's behavior problems.

The authors examined the relation between parents' hostility during conflict-focused discussions and child behavior problems. Parents engaged in 3 discussions: a dyadic marital discussion of marital disagreements, a dyadic marital discussion of child-related disagreements, and a triadic family discussion with the child about the child-related disagreements. Eighty-nine 2-parent community families with a child aged 9–13 years participated. A significant 3-way interaction between interparental hostility, parent-to-child hostility, and child sex accounted for variance in children's behavior problems. Among boys, higher levels of parent-to-child hostility during family discussions exacerbated the effects of interparental hostility on boys' adjustment. Thus, exposure to higher levels of both interparental and parent-to-child hostility may put boys at risk for developing internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)