Double Jeopardy: Parental Conflict and Stepfamily Outcomes for Children

Abstract

This article uses data from the 1987-88 National Survey of Families and Households to examine whether conflict between parents can explain why children in stepfather households are doing worse than children in original, two-parent households and no better than children in single-mother households. Two types of conflict are examined: intrahousehold conflict (conflict between parents who reside in the same household) and interhousehold conflict (conflict between biological parents who reside in separate households). Children in stepfather households risk being exposed to both forms of conflict and, therefore, may be exposed to higher overall levels of conflict than other children. Because of their past experiences, they also may be more sensitive to parental conflict than other children. Our results indicate that this is not the case. Regardless of the source of conflict and how it is measured, our results suggest that parental conflict does not account for the lower levels of well-being among children in stepfather households relative to other children. One puzzling finding in the literature on disrupted families is the absence of a remarriage benefit for children in stepfamily households. Although the remarriage of parents increases a family's economic security and brings an additional parental figure into the household, children in stepfamilies exhibit about the same number of adjustment problems as children in single-parent families and more problems than children in original, two-parent families (Allison & Furstenberg, 1989; Dawson, 1991; Furstenberg & Cherlin, 1991; McLanahan & Sandefur, 1994; Zill, 1988). Because the lack of economic and social resources is responsible for much of the disadvantage associated with growing up with a single parent (McLanahan & Sandefur, 1994), we might expect remarriage to dramatically increase children's well-being. Yet the empirical research does not support this argument. One possible explanation for the absence of a remarriage benefit is that children in stepfamily households are exposed to more conflict between parents than children in other types of households. Numerous studies have shown that interparental conflict, before and after divorce, is negatively related to children's well-being (for reviews, see Amato, Loomis, & Booth, 1995; Emery, 1982, 1988; Grych & Fincham, 1990). These results hold for both boys and girls and, apparently, for children of different ages (Cummings Davies, 1994; Grych & Fincham, 1990). Openly expressed parental conflict that is frequent, long lasting, and characterized by high levels of verbal and physical aggression is particularly harmful to children (Emery, 1982; Grych & Fincham, 1990). Conflict between parents might account for the absence of a remarriage benefit for children in stepfamilies either because (a) children are exposed to higher levels of conflict, including interhousehold conflict between biological parents who live apart and intrahousehold conflict between a parent and stepparent who live together, or (b) because they are more negatively affected by conflict than children in other types of households. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Why is conflict between parents negatively related to child well-being? Several explanations have been advanced. One explanation emphasizes how social modeling produces the parental conflict/child adjustment relationship, in which children acquire the same behavioral strategies used by their parents during conflict episodes by imitating parental conduct. A second explanation proposes that conflict between parents acts as a stressor for children, taking a cumulative toll on the children's adjustment (Cummings L Cummings, 1988; Cummings & Davies 1994). A third explanation proposes that parental conflict has an indirect effect on children through its effect on parent-child relationships. Conflict between parents may preoccupy parents, decrease their emotional availability, and reduce the consistency and effectiveness of parental disciplinary practices (Fauber, Forehand, Thomas, Wierson, 1990; Wallerstein & Kelly, 1980). …