Effects Of Interparental Conflict Research Articles

Disentangling the Long-term Effects of Divorce Circumstances on Father–Child Closeness in Adulthood: A Mediation Analysis

Many studies have shown that the relationship between nonresidential fathers and their children in youth has a lasting influence on their relationship in adulthood. Comparatively less is known about the process through which divorce affects father–child relationships. We assess if and how the divorce circumstances of interparental conflict, the presence of new partners, and geographical distance between parents affect nonresidential father–child closeness in adulthood. Using a path model, we test whether father–adult child closeness is mediated by fathers’ involvement after divorce. The results of this study demonstrate that the level of interparental conflict and the presence of a fathers’ new partner after the divorce negatively affect the closeness between fathers and children in adulthood. Our mediation analysis demonstrates that both the effects of interparental conflict and new partnerships on closeness are partially mediated by father involvement and contact frequency during childhood. In other words, it is partly through the negative effect that interparental conflict and new partners have on fathers’ involvement that fathers and children become less close later in life. Our study highlights the importance of disentangling the effects of different factors associated with divorce when examining nonresidential father–child relationships.

Effect of Inter-Parental Conflict on Psychological Well - being and Academic Achievement among Secondary School Students at Benha City

Effect of Inter-Parental Conflict on Psychological Well - being and Academic Achievement among Secondary School Students at Benha City

Effects of Inter-Parental Conflict on Children’s Social Well-Being and the Mediation Role of Parenting Behavior

Inter-parental conflicts can have devastating effects on children’s well-being and social behavior. This study explores the association between an increased frequency of inter-parental conflict and peer problems and prosocial behavior in children, and whether parents’ emotional warmth and negative communication with their children mediates this association. Data for a total of 1,157 children between the ages of 7 and 16 (4,016 observations) was drawn from the eighth to the twelfth waves of the German Family Panel so as to perform fixed-effects regressions and mediation analyses. The analyses reveal that increased inter-parental conflict is strongly related to decreased emotional warmth and increased negative communication in parents, and to increased peer problems and decreased prosocial behavior in children. The results also suggest that the association between inter-parental conflict and children’s social well-being is mediated by the parenting behavior of mothers and fathers, indicating that increased inter-parental conflict leads to less warm parenting and more negative communication in parents, which ultimately reduces children’s social well-being.

Intraindividual differences in adolescent threat appraisals and anxiety associated with Interparental conflict

AbstractObjectiveThis study examined within‐ and between‐person associations among interparental conflict (IPC), threat appraisals, temperament, and anxiety to evaluate how these risk processes unfold at the daily level in adolescence.BackgroundAdolescence is a developmental period of increased risk for anxiety, and exposure to IPC in the home elevates this risk. Specifically, adolescents who perceive IPC as threatening are at particularly high risk for anxiety, yet less is known about how characteristics of the adolescent (temperamental effortful control and dispositional levels of anxiety), as well as characteristics of the family (usual IPC), may temper this risk pathway.MethodThe sample included 151 adolescents and their caregivers who completed baseline surveys and 21 daily surveys. Longitudinal mixed models were used to test within‐ and between‐person associations between IPC and threat appraisals, and threat appraisals and anxious mood, including moderators of effortful control, dispositional anxiety, and usual IPC.ResultsOn days when IPC was higher than usual adolescents perceived more threat, and on days when adolescents perceived more threat they had higher levels of anxious mood. Within‐person links between IPC and threat appraisals were moderated by usual IPC and adolescent dispositional anxiety levels. The within‐person link between situational threat and anxious mood was moderated by dispositional anxiety levels.ConclusionThe results underscore the importance of considering individual differences in within‐person effects of IPC and threat appraisals on adolescent daily anxiety.

Fractured families, fractured systems: overcoming the silo mentality in family justice work

This article comments on the detrimental effects of inter-parental conflict, hostile parenting, and acrimonious divorce proceedings in terms of child outcomes, adult mental health, and quantifiable costs to the taxpayer. It refers to the growing concern that fragmentation within the family justice system works against supporting families through change. It draws upon the research conducted over many years by Tavistock Relationships in understanding the connection between family structures and professional systems, and suggests inter-agency collaboration as one way of mitigating obstacles. It puts forward the idea of developing cross-discipline consultative groups as a way of integrating services within the family justice system, and presents an example where this model has been informally trialled with some success.

Inter Parental Conflict and Its Effect on Adolescent's Behavior in Selected Schools at Minia City

Background: Inter- parental conflict is emphasized in early and middle childhood, continues to play an important role in adolescence behavior Aim of the study: to assess Inter- Parental Conflict and Its Effect on Adolescent's Behavior in selected Schools at Minia City. Research design: A cross-sectional descriptive research design. Sample: Randomly sample by using cluster sample from adolescents (N=500) in Selected Schools at Minia City. Tools of data collection: first toolPersonal and Socio- demographic data, second tool Children's Perception of Inter parental Conflict (CPIC) Scale and third tool Youth Self-Report (YSR) Scale. Results: the majority of the adolescents (95.8%) reported high perception of inter parental conflict, with perceived threat. Also, normal youth self-report, with more internalizing than externalizing behaviors. The Childrens Perception of Inter parental Conflict and Youth Self-Report scores were significant positively moderate correlated reflecting a negative impact of parental conflict Perception on normal behavior. As well Perception of Inter parental Conflict is lower among urban adolescents (boys), The Youth Self-Report tend to be more normal among rural adolescents (girls). Conclusion: Inter-parental conflict has a detrimental effect on the psychological state and well-being of adolescents. Recommendation: Improve community awareness through modern mass media and communication about the effects of Inter-parental conflict on adolescents.

Exploring the relationship between interparental conflict and emotional security: What happens with adolescents in residential care compared to those living with their families?

The effect of interparental conflict (IPC) on adolescents has captured the attention of researchers for the last decades, but the study of the effect of IPC on the emotional security of adolescents in residential care (RC) based on Emotional Security Theory (EST) is limited. In this study, we examined adolescents' emotional security and insecurity (preoccupation and disengagement) determined by dimensions of IPC. Participants were 917 Spanish adolescents (Mean age = 15.07 years, SD = 1.75), 51% girls and 49% boys, divided in two subsamples: 171 adolescents living in RC and 746 adolescents living with their families (F). We used the Children's Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale (CPIC) to explore interparental conflict dimensions, and the Security in the Family System Scale (SIFS) to analyze adolescents' emotional security in the family. Results showed that females perceived higher conflict and threat, and were more disengaged than males. Males self-blamed more and were more emotionally secure than females. Adolescents in RC perceived higher IPC, threat, and self-blame and were more insecure than adolescents F. Multigroup structural equation modeling comparing RC and F adolescents, and females and males showed similar causal negative relationships between conflict properties and security, and positive relationships between threat, disengagement and preoccupation. These results have implications for researchers and for practitioners when addressing family reunification for adolescents in RC or risks in community samples.

Teacher support as a buffer between interparental conflict and child social skills

This study, conducted in 2004, investigated the direct effect of interparental conflict (IPC) about child‐raising issues on the social skills of middle‐class US children who attended a suburban preschool and the buffering effect of teacher support (n = 170). Findings indicated that greater IPC was associated with poorer child social skills. The prediction that teacher support buffers the association between such conflict and social skills was not supported. However, using a 3 × 3 two‐way between subject ANOVA, the results showed that children with low‐conflict versus high‐conflict parents had significantly higher social skills scores, as predicted by the emotional security theory. Exploratory analyses found that conflict and teacher support significantly affected children’s social skills when controlling for child gender. Girls’ social skills scores exceeded boys’ scores at every level of conflict and teacher support.

Interparental Conflict in Context: Exploring Relations Between Parenting Processes and Children's Conflict Appraisals

Children's appraisals of conflict are a mechanism by which parental discord can lead to child maladjustment. The cognitive-contextual framework proposes that parent–child relationships may affect how children perceive conflict, but this idea has rarely been examined empirically. This study investigated relations between conflict appraisals, parenting, and child adjustment in a sample of 150 8- to 12-year-old children, using a multi-informant, multimethod design. Mothers' coercive/controlling and emotionally unsupportive parenting magnified the relation between conflict and children's self-blame; emotionally supportive parenting diminished this association. Children's secure attachment with fathers was linked with less threat and self-blame; more security reduced self-blame for conflict. Data suggest that supportive, responsive parenting can buffer the effects of interparental conflict on children by reducing self-blaming attributions for parental discord.

Interparental Conflict, Parenting, and Childhood Depression in a Diverse Urban Population: The Role of General Cognitive Style

Research on the mechanisms by which interparental conflict (IPC) affects child depression suggests that both parenting and children's conflict appraisals play important roles, but few studies have explored the role of general cognitive style or included both parenting and cognitions in the same design. Moreover, the effects of IPC on minority children are not well understood. In this longitudinal study, parenting was examined as a mediator of the relation between increasing IPC and change in depression. General cognitive style was included as a moderator. The combined influence of parenting and cognitions was also explored. A racially and ethnically diverse sample of 88 fifth and sixth graders from two urban schools reported their cognitive style, depressive symptoms, and perceptions of conflict and parenting at two time points separated by one year. Parental warmth/rejection mediated the relation between IPC and depression, and general cognitive style acted as a moderator. Parenting, cognitive style, and IPC did not significantly interact to predict change in depression over time. Findings indicate that both parenting and children's general cognitive style play a role in understanding the impact of increasing IPC on children's well-being.

Inter‐parental conflict and children's academic attainment: a longitudinal analysis

Previous research suggests a link between inter-parental conflict and children's psychological development. Most studies, however, have tended to focus on two broad indices of children's psychological adaptation (internalizing symptoms and externalizing problems) in considering the effects of inter-parental conflict on children's development. The present longitudinal study extends this body of research by considering the impact of inter-parental conflict on children's low academic attainment among a sample of 230 schoolchildren (age 11-13 years) living in the United Kingdom. Controlling for teacher reports of children's initial levels of aggression (Time 1), the proposed theoretical model linked parent and child reports of inter-parental conflict at Time 1 (1999) to children's perceptions of negative parent-child relations, appraisals of self-blame for marital conflict and teacher reports of children's aggressive behavior at Time 2 (2000), which in turn were linked to children's performance on standardized academic tests (English, Math, Science) at Time 3 (2001). Structural equation modeling was used to test all hypothesized relations in the proposed theoretical model. Support was found for the role of children's self-blaming attributions for parents' marital arguments, not negative parenting behavior, as a mechanism through which variation in their academic attainment is explained. Contrary to the focus emphasized in most current family and school-based intervention programs, findings suggest that the attributional processes engendered in children who live in households marked by high levels of inter-parental conflict and hostility have important implications for their long-term academic success.

INTERPARENTAL CONFLICT AS A RISK FACTOR FOR CHILD MALADJUSTMENT: Implications for the Development of Prevention Programs

This article reviews research on the effects of interparental conflict on children and examines its implications for divorce education programs designed to reduce conflict after divorce. Basic research indicates that prevention programs for parents will be most effective in fostering children's adaptation to divorce if they can reduce the level of destructive conflict that children are exposed to, foster good parent–child relationships, and keep children from being caught in the middle of parental tensions and disagreements. Programs for children are likely to be most helpful if they help children learn ways to cope with situations in which they feel pressured to side with one parent against the other and avoid feeling responsible for parental problems. Although psycho‐educational programs are widely available and often court‐mandated, evaluation studies are rare and support for their efficacy is mixed.

Interparental Conflict and Youth Maladjustment: The Buffering Effects of Pets

Children who experience interparental conflict have more difficulty with internalizing and externalizing problems. Children's ability to manage their emotional and physiological arousal buffer them from the effects of interparental conflict. The child–pet bond is associated with emotional and physiological management, yet researchers have not explored the buffering effects of this relationship in the face of interparental conflict. This article reviews salient literature and presents implications for social work research and practice on this topic.

A mediational model of the impact of interparental conflict on child adjustment in a multiethnic, low-income sample.

Path analysis was used to determine whether the effects of interparental conflict on children's depression and conduct disorder are mediated by 3 dimensions of parenting: acceptance, inconsistent discipline, and hostile control. The study extends the literature by testing this mediational model with a low-income, predominantly ethnic minority sample of preadolescent children and by examining the effects of multiple dimensions of interparental conflict from the child's perspective. Results supported the mediational model when analyses were based on child's reports of all variables but not when mother's reports were used to assess child depression and conduct problems. Exploratory analyses revealed unique mediational paths associated with conflict frequency and resolution, which were examined along with intensity as distinct dimensions of interparental conflict.

A mediational model of the impact of interparental conflict on child adjustment in a multiethnic, low-income sample.

Path analysis was used to determine whether the effects of interparental conflict on children's depression and conduct disorder are mediated by 3 dimensions of parenting: acceptance, inconsistent discipline, and hostile control. The study extends the literature by testing this mediational model with a low-income, predominantly ethnic minority sample of preadolescent children and by examining the effects of multiple dimensions of interparental conflict from the child's perspective. Results supported the mediational model when analyses were based on child's reports of all variables but not when mother's reports were used to assess child depression and conduct problems. Exploratory analyses revealed unique mediational paths associated with conflict frequency and resolution, which were examined along with intensity as distinct dimensions of interparental conflict.

Hostile Interparental Conflict and Youth Maladjustment

Key words: coparental relationship, marital conflict, marital hostility, youth maladjustment. Frequent and/or intense hostile conflict between parents often is associated with a range of indicators of youth maladjustment, including externalizing problems, internalizing problems, and poor academic performance (see Fauber, Forehand, Thomas, & Wierson, 1990; Grych, Seid, & Fincham, 1992; Guidubaldi, Cleminshaw, Perry, Nastasi, & Lightel, 1986; Katz & Gottman, 1993; Tschann, Johnston, Kline, & Wallerstein, 1989). To the contrary, interparental disagreement, controlling for a hostile conflict style, seems to be unrelated to or only weakly related to youth maladjustment (Buehler & Trotter, 1990). Accordingly, this article addresses the question How does a hostile interparental conflict style affect youth maladjustment? Relevant literature is organized into three different types of explanations: direct effects, mediating effects, and moderating effects. Practice implications for each explanation are discussed, and we conclude with general suggestions for future research. Youth maladjustment is defined as the relative inability of youth to engage successfully and appropriately in interpersonal relationships and in work, play, and academic activities over time with relative freedom from noxious social behaviors and burdensome emotions (Trotter, 1989). This definition is focused on the youth's ability to match emotional and behavioral responses to demands across time, people, and settings (Lorian, Cowen, & Caldwell, 1975). Maladjustment is a multidimensional construct, but we limit the discussion to three dimensions: externalizing behavior problems (e.g., aggression, hyperactivity, delinquency), internalizing behavior problems (e.g., depression, anxiety, withdrawal), and academic failure. These three dimensions of maladjustment were selected because they are important youth outcomes and generally seem to be influenced by hostile interparental conflict (Fauber et al., 1990; Guidubaldi et al., 1986). The concept of interparental conflict is broad and has been used in different ways by various researchers. Many researchers have not distinguished between conflict and conflict management strategies/styles. This distinction is important empirically and in practice (Cummings & Davies, 1994). Accordingly, we define interparental conflict as disagreements between parents about various issues in family life. In terms of conflict management, four styles of behaviors are overt hostile strategies (verbal and physical), covert hostile strategies, cooperative strategies, and avoidant strategies (Ahrons, 1981; Buehler & Trotter, 1990; Camara & Resnick, 1988). Each of these styles may have at least six subdimensions: frequency, intensity, mode of expression, chronicity, content, and degree of resolution (Cummings, Simpson, & Wilson, 1993; Fincham & Osborne, 1993; Grych & Fincham, 1990). A thorough review of the literature on the effects of interparental conflict and youth maladjustment should consider each of these subdimensions of conflict management strategies. We attempt to be sensitive to these distinctions by noting differential effects when possible. However, most researchers have not distinguished among these subdimensions--most focus on frequency--and therefore the data are limited or unavailable. Germane to this review, interparental disagreements about child-rearing issues seem to be only weakly related to youth maladjustment (Buehler & Trotter, 1990), and very few studies have examined the effects of either covert, cooperative, or avoidant styles of conflict management on youth maladjustment (for exceptions, see Camara & Resnick, 1988; Tschann et al., 1989). Thus, to examine explanations of how interparental conflict affects youth maladjustment, we focus on overt hostile conflict styles between parents. Overt hostile behaviors include yelling, screaming, threatening, slapping, and hitting. …

Role of Parent-Child Relationships in Mediating the Effects of Marital Disruption

This study sought to explore the long-term effects of and relationships between parental divorce, interparental conflict, and parent-child relationships on interpersonal and generalized trust, empathy, dependency, and depressive affect among late adolescents. Self-administered questionnaire data were collected from a sample of 288 college students (including 60 children of divorce). Participants were asked to rate current and past levels of interparental conflict, the current affective quality of their parent-child relationships, and present adjustment. Path analyses revealed that the effects of interparental conflict on psychological well-being were mediated by parent-child relationships. For women, however, parental divorce also was found to affect adjustment indirectly (via disrupted father-daughter relationships), although no such path emerged for men. The findings are part of a growing literature documenting the role of parent-child relationships in mediating the effects of marital disruption. In addition to efforts to resolve marital conflict, clinicians may want to focus on enhancing mother-child, father-child relationships as a way to modify the damaging effects of conflictual marital relations on children and adolescents.

Parents' childhood experience, marital relations and parent-child relationships

This study sought to explore the long-term effects of and relationships between parental divorce, interparental conflict, and parent-child relationships on interpersonal and generalized trust, empathy, dependency, and depressive affect among late adolescents.Self-administered questionnaire data were collected from a sample of 288 college students (including 60 children of divorce). Participants were asked to rate current and past levels of interparental conflict, the current affective quality of their parent-child relationships, and present adjustment.Path analyses revealed that the effects of interparental conflict on psychological well-being were mediated by parent-child relationships. For women, however, parental divorce also was found to affect adjustment indirectly (via disrupted father-daughter relationships), although no such path emerged for men.The findings are part of a growing literature documenting the role of parent-child relationships in mediating the effects of marital disruption. In addition to efforts to resolve marital conflict, clinicians may want to focus on enhancing mother-child, father-child relationships as a way to modify the damaging effects of conflictual marital relations on children and adolescents. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 1993, 32, 5:1019–1027.