Does Resolution of Interadult Conflict Ameliorate Children's Anger and Distress Across Covert, Verbal, and Physical Disputes?

Abstract

Abstract Children's emotional responses to interadult arguments were examined in an effort to explicate the role of resolution of conflict in influencing children's responding across covert (i.e., silent treatment), verbal, and physical forms of disputes and aggression. Sixty 4-to 7-year-olds viewed videotaped segments of arguments between a male and a female and were then interviewed. Across covert, verbal, and physical disputes, children perceived the actors as more angry, and reported experiencing more negative affect and less happy emotions during unresolved versus resolved arguments. Further, resolution ameliorated children's reports of feeling: (a) sad during covert arguments, (b) angry and fearful during verbal conflict, and (c) angry and sad during physical disputes. Results extend findings regarding the ameliorative effects of resolution of verbal conflict on children's distress and anger to the contexts of covert and physical interadult disputes.