Congruence of parental perception, marital satisfaction, and child adjustment.

Fathers and mothers of 95 children 5–7 yrs old completed the Short Marital Adjustment Test, Interpersonal Checklist, and the Children's Behavior Checklist to assess marital satisfaction, congruence of self- and mate-perceptions, and agreement in parents' perceptions of their child and child adjustment, respectively. All variables were significantly, positively intercorrelated. Strongest association was between congruence in parents' perceptions of the child and child adjustment. Similarity in partners' self-concepts and psychological empathy were significantly associated with marital satisfaction and child adjustment. A general dimension of family harmony (vs conflict) is seen as contributing to children's social adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conflict in families and the psychological adjustment of preadolescent children.

Examined the cross-sectional association between conflict in families and child psychological adjustment in 72 4th–5th graders. Multiple informants (parents, children, and teachers) assessed conflict and anger in the social climate of the home, marital discord, negative emotional tone in the parent–child relationship, and child adjustment. As predicted, child adjustment was more strongly related to family conflict and maladjustment in girls. Moreover, the association between a general climate of conflict at home and child maladjustment was independent of anger and discord in the marital or parent–child relationships. During the study of the effects of interpersonal conflict at home, it appears to be important to identify the locus of anger and aggression. Findings suggest that researchers should distinguish between a general climate of conflict in the family and interparental discord. (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)     

Marital conflict and child adjustment: An emotional security hypothesis.

An emotional security hypothesis that builds on attachment theory is proposed to account for recent empirical findings on the impact of marital conflict on children and to provide directions for future research. Children's concerns about emotional security play a role in their regulation of emotional arousal and organization and in their motivation to respond in the face of marital conflict. Over time these response processes and internalized representations of parental relations that develop have implications for children's long-term adjustment. Emotional security is seen as a product of past experiences with marital conflict and as a primary influence on future responding. The impact and interaction of other experiential histories within the family that affect children's emotional security are also examined, with a focus on parent–child relations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal relations between marital conflict and child adjustment: Vagal regulation as a protective factor.

Although associations between marital conflict and children's adjustment problems are established, less is known about child individual differences that can have an impact on these relations. The authors examined longitudinal relations between marital conflict and children's adjustment using a community sample of elementary school-age children and young adolescents and assessed the role of children's vagal regulation in moderating the conflict-child problems link. Elevated marital conflict was predictive of negative child outcomes, and greater vagal suppression to a simulated argument was protective against internalizing problems associated with marital conflict. Findings are supportive of the value of a biopsychosocial perspective and illustrate that child vagal regulation can contribute to the aggregation or amelioration of risk for maladjustment in the context of exposure to marital conflict. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relation of parental marital status and perceived family conflict to adjustment in White adolescents.

Examined 2 contrasting views of how divorce relates to the long-term adjustment of children. The physical-wholeness position views divorce as the salient explanatory variable to adversely affect children's later adjustment through the physical dissolution of the 2-parent family; the psychological-wholeness position views perceived current family conflict as the critical variable that influences adjustment, regardless of parental marital status. Results from 823 White adolescents (age 13–18 yrs) fail to support the physical-wholeness position; parental marital status was not significantly related to psychological adjustment or satisfaction with social life. However, results provide strong support for the psychological-wholeness position: Ss' psychological adjustment and satisfaction with social life were significantly related to level of perceived conflict in the family. It is suggested that divorce be conceptualized as a crisis situation rather than as a universally negative event. Use of conflict identification and resolution interventions to reduce family conflict may prevent future problems in child development. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What about the kids? Parenting and child adjustment in the context of couple therapy.

Little research examines parenting and children's adjustment when couples engage in therapy. We examined how couples with and without children improve with couple therapy and whether they also report improvements in parenting and child adjustment. With up to twenty six sessions of couple therapy, 134 couples, 68 of whom had children, showed improved marital satisfaction during treatment, which was ultimately maintained over the 2-year follow-up, regardless of whether they had children. Couples married relatively longer, both with and without children, evidenced greater improvement. Couples with children reported less conflict over child rearing and better child adjustment during treatment, but only improvements in the former were maintained. Conflict over child rearing mediated the relationship between marital distress and child adjustment over therapy and the 2-year follow-up. These preliminary results suggest that couples in therapy may decrease their conflict over child rearing during treatment and they may be able to maintain these gains for at least two years following treatment; moreover, over the course of treatment, this decreased conflict is tied to improved child adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family relationships and children's adjustment in clinical and nonclinical stepfather families.

Investigated differences in marital and family process, children's behavioral adjustment in clinical and nonclinical stepfather families, and the relationship of family process to children's psychosocial adjustment. Nonclinical stepfamilies had better parent–child relations, better marital adjustment, and more marital individuation than clinical stepfamilies. Children in clinical stepfamilies had more behavior problems rated with fewer prosocial behaviors, and had more shy and withdrawn behavior than children in nonclinical stepfamilies. More negative and less positive child-to-parent interactions and less spousal individuation correlated with more behavior problems and less prosocial behavior of children. Implications for clinical interventions and future research on stepfamilies are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Side effects of parent counseling on marital satisfaction.

In a study with 27 mothers and their clinic-referred children, mothers were divided into 3 groups based on their pretreatment level of marital satisfaction (Locke Marital Adjustment Test). Child compliance and deviant behavior as measured by independent observers, parent perceptions of child adjustment, and parent marital satisfaction were assessed before treatment, after treatment, and at a 2-mo follow-up. Parent counseling consisted of teaching mothers to reward appropriate behavior and use a time-out procedure for deviant behavior. All groups changed significantly from pre- to posttreatment on the child behavior measures and on parent perceptions of child adjustment. These changes were maintained at follow-up for child compliance and parent perceptions of child adjustment. The group of mothers with low marital satisfaction reported an increase in marital adjustment from pretreatment to posttreatment, but this effect was not maintained at the 2-mo follow-up. Groups with medium or high marital satisfaction reported no change in marital adjustment. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's influence in the marital relationship.

In a 3-wave longitudinal study, the authors tested hypotheses regarding children's influence on the marital relationship, examining relations between interparental discord and children's negative emotional reactivity, agentic behavior, dysregulated behavior, and psychosocial adjustment. Participants were 232 cohabiting mothers and fathers who completed questionnaires and a marital conflict resolution task. Consistent with theory, interparental discord related to children's negative emotional reactivity, which in turn related to children's agentic and dysregulated behavior. Agentic behavior related to decreases in interparental discord, whereas dysregulated behavior related to increases in discord and elevations in children's adjustment problems. Person-oriented analyses of agentic and dysregulated responses indicated distinct clusters of children linked with meaningful individual differences in marital and psychosocial functioning. Results are discussed in terms of possible mechanisms of child effects, such as increased parental awareness of children's distress potentially leading to reduced marital conflict. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's attributions in the family: The Children's Relationship Attribution Measure.

This study assessed children's attributions in parent–child relationships, examined their association with relationship positivity and behavior displayed toward the parent, determined whether depressive symptoms account for these associations, and investigated whether parent and child attributions are linked. Ten- to 12-year-old children (116 girls, 116 boys) completed several questionnaires and were observed during parent–child interactions. Children's attributions for parent behavior were related to positivity of the parent–child relationship and to self- and parent-reported conflict and observed behavior with the father. These associations were not due to children's depressive symptoms but potentially augment our understanding of the effect of depression on parent–child relationships. Finally, gender moderated the parent attribution–child attribution association. The results underscore the importance of children's perceptions of family processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interparental conflict, children's social cognitions, and child aggression: A test of a mediational model.

Although correlations between interparental conflict and child maladjustment are well-established, the processes connecting these 2 phenomena are less understood. The present study tested whether an aggressogenic cognitive style mediates the relationship between interparental conflict and child aggression. A multiethnic sample of 115 families with a child between the ages of 7 and 13 years participated. Questionnaires were used to assess parents' and children's perceptions of interparental conflict, children's social problem-solving strategies and beliefs about aggression, and parent and teacher reports of child aggression. Support was found for the mediating effect of aggressogenic cognitions on children's school aggression but not on children's aggression at home. Implications for understanding the associations among interparental conflict, children's social cognitions, and child aggression in different environmental contexts are discussed. (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)     

Mom and dad are at it again: Adolescent perceptions of marital conflict and adolescent psychological distress.

In these two studies. the authors used children's perceptions of family relationships to examine simultaneously direct and indirect links between marital conflict and child adjustment. With data pertaining to 146 sixth and seventh graders, Study 1 supported direct and indirect effects of perceptions of marital conflict on internalizing behaviors, and indirect effects for externalizing behaviors. In Study 2, data analyzed from 451 families showed indirect effects of marital conflict and parent-to-child hostility, through adolescent perceptions of such behavior, on both current distress and distress 12 months later in 3 of 4 models estimated. Direct and indirect effects were found for boys' concurrent internalizing behavior. Implications and limitations of both studies are discussed to address the need for a more sophisticated theoretical approach to examine why an association exists between marital conflict and child adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Marital conflict and children's adjustment: A cognitive-contextual framework.

Marital problems have been related to numerous indexes of maladjustment in children. Although several parameters of this association have been identified, the process by which exposure to interparental conflict gives rise to adjustment problems in children is largely unexplored. Research on the link between marital conflict and child maladjustment therefore is critically evaluated, and a framework is presented that organizes existing studies and suggests directions for future research on processes that may account for the association. According to the framework, the impact of marital conflict is mediated by children's understanding of the conflict, which is shaped by contextual, cognitive, and developmental factors. The implications of the framework for children's adjustment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Marital conflict, gender, and children's appraisals and coping efficacy as mediators of child adjustment.

The role of children's perceptions and appraisals in the impact of marital conflict was examined for 51 9- to 12-yr-olds from intact families. Gender differences were found in the cognitions and coping processes related to marital conflict and child adjustment. Appraisals of coping efficacy and the threat posed by marital conflict predicted adjustment in boys, whereas self-blame was linked with internalizing problems for girls. The appraised destructiveness of conflict was significantly related to perceived threat in boys and self-blame in girls. Boys appeared more attuned or, alternatively, less shielded from marital conflict, as reflected by the higher correlations with mothers' reports of marital conflict for boys than for girls. The significance of boys' appraisals to adjustment was suggested by the fact that boys' perceptions were better predictors of adjustment outcomes than were mothers' reports. (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)     

Conflict resolution in the parent–child, marital, and peer contexts and children’s aggression in the peer group: A process-oriented cultural perspective.

Theories of socialization propose that children’s ability to handle conflicts is learned at home through mechanisms of participation and observation—participating in parent–child conflict and observing the conflicts between parents. We assessed modes of conflict resolution in the parent–child, marriage, and peer-group contexts among 141 Israeli and Palestinian families and their 1st-born toddler. We observed the ecology of parent–child conflict during home visits, the couple’s discussion of marital conflicts, and children’s conflicts with peers as well as aggressive behavior at child care. Israeli families used more open-ended tactics, including negotiation and disregard, and conflict was often resolved by compromise, whereas Palestinian families tended to consent or object. During marital discussions, Israeli couples showed more emotional empathy, whereas Palestinians displayed more instrumental solutions. Modes of conflict resolution across contexts were interrelated in culture-specific ways. Child aggression was predicted by higher marital hostility, more coparental undermining behavior, and ineffective discipline in both cultures. Greater family compromise and marital empathy predicted lower aggression among Israeli toddlers, whereas more resolution by consent predicted lower aggression among Palestinians. Considering the cultural basis of conflict resolution within close relationships may expand understanding on the roots of aggression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal examination of the parent–child distress relationship in children with juvenile rheumatic disease.

Objective: To examine the longitudinal relationships between parent and child distress in a sample of children with juvenile rheumatic diseases (JRDs). Design: Cross-lagged panel correlation analysis tested the temporal precedence of parent distress versus child distress over a 1-year period. Participants: Thirty-seven children (ages 9–17 years; 22 girls) diagnosed with JRD and their parents completed self-report measures on 2 occasions (assessment interval M = 12 months). Primary Outcome Measures: Child Depression Inventory and Brief Symptom Inventory. Results: Significant cross-sectional parent–child distress associations were observed at both time points. Moreover, Time 1 parent distress predicted child distress at Time 2 after child-reported functional ability was controlled; Time 1 child distress was unrelated to Time 2 parent distress. Cross-lagged panel correlations demonstrated the temporal precedence of parent distress relative to child distress in the parent–child distress relationship. Conclusions: These preliminary findings underscore the importance of parent distress in parent–child transactional adjustment, and suggest a predominant role for parent distress in children's adjustment to JRDs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coparenting: A link between marital conflict and parenting in two-parent families.

Coparenting is examined as an explanatory link between marital conflict and parent–child relations in 2-parent families. Data were collected from 3 samples (pilot sample, n?=?220 mothers; preadolescent sample, n?=?75 couples; preschool sample, n?=?172 couples) by using the Coparenting Questionnaire (G. Margolin, 1992b) to assess parents' perceptions of one another on 3 dimensions—cooperation, triangulation, and conflict. Main effects for child's age and for parents' gender were found for cooperation, and an interaction between parent and child gender was found for triangulation. Regression analyses were consistent with a model of coparenting mediating the relationship between marital conflict and parenting. Discussion addresses the theoretical and clinical importance of viewing coparenting as conceptually separate from other family processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)