Interparental Hostility Research Articles

Adolescents' behavior in the presence of interparental hostility: developmental and emotion regulatory influences.

Within-family covariation between interparental hostility and adolescent behavior across three interactions over a 2-year period was explored in a sample that included 37 typical adolescents and 35 adolescents recently hospitalized for psychiatric difficulties. More interparental hostility across the three interactions was associated with more adolescent hostility and more positive engagement (at a trend level) regardless of psychiatric background. Parent-to-child hostility in each interaction mediated the link for adolescent hostility but not for positive adolescent engagement. Emotion regulation capacities and age were linked to variability in adolescents' behavior in the presence of interparental conflict. In interactions with more interparental hostility, adolescents with greater capacity to tolerate negative affect were more likely to show increased positive engagement, and adolescents who were better able to modulate their emotional expression were less likely to show increased hostility. Covariation between interparental and adolescent hostility across the three family interactions decreased as the adolescent aged. These findings are consistent with the theory that exposure to interparental hostility is emotionally disequilibrating, and that adolescent responses may reflect differences in emotion regulation and other developmentally based capacities. Gender and variations across families in overall levels of hostile parenting were also linked with adolescent behavior in the presence of interparental hostility.

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.

Marital behavior and the security of preschooler-parent attachment relationships.

Longitudinal and concurrent relations among positive and negative marital behaviors in 2 contexts and preschoolers' security of attachment were examined for 53 families. At 6 months postpartum, couples were observed in their homes during couple discussion and family play. At 3 years, parents completed the Attachment Q-Set (E. Waters, 1987); marital and parenting behavior was also observed. Interparental hostility during family play at 6 months predicted less secure preschooler-mother attachment. Greater marital conflict at 3 years was associated with less security with mother and father, whereas positive marital engagement at 3 years was associated with more secure child-father attachment. Mothers' parenting partially explained the linkages between marital behavior and child-mother attachment. These results highlight the impact of positive and negative marital behaviors on children's abilities to use their parents as a secure base.

Access by Noncustodial Parents

This investigation examined the influence of visitation by noncustodial parents (i.e., frequency and duration of contacts) upon children's self-esteem and self-efficacy. The relationship between noncustodial visitation practices and interparental conflict witnessed by children was explored as well. Thirty-five elementary school children and their divorced parents participated in this investigation. All families were experiencing sole residential child-care arrangements with variations in the frequency and duration of noncustodial visitation. Regression analyses revealed a significant positive relationship between duration of visits and children's self-esteem. The frequency of visitation with noncustodial parents was found to be positively associated with the level of interparental hostility.

Children's emotional and physiological responses to interadult angry behavior: The role of history of interparental hostility

Relations between history of marital discord and responses to interadult angry behavior were examined in preschoolers. Children watched/listened to an angry interaction between two adults, while their heart rate (HR) and skin conductance response (SCR) and skin conductance level (SCL) were monitored; then they were interviewed about their emotional responses to the argument. Children were also videotaped during the session and their overt behavioral distress responses were coded. In comparison to children from low-conflict homes, children from high-conflict homes (a) exhibited more overt behavioral distress in response to the argument, and (b) perceived the angry interaction as less negative in affect. Children's HR reactivity to the angry interaction was influenced by both marital conflict and the gender of the subject. In comparison to girls from low-conflict homes, those from high-conflict homes exhibited more HR reactivity to the argument. For boys, physical violence in the home was negatively associated with HR reactivity.

Later Life Parental Divorce and Widowhood: Impact on Young Adults' Assessment of Parent-Child Relations

Most research on the long-term effects of parental marital dissolution has focused on divorce that occurs when children are under age 18. This article explores the intergenerational consequences of parental marital dissolution that occurs after children have reached adulthood. The focus is on young adult children who grew up in intact families, but who experienced parental separation, divorce, or the death of a parent after they left home to be on their own. Analyses assess the impact of later life family disruption on the child's global assessment of relationship quality with parents, frequency of parent-child contact, geographic proximity to parents, help exchange, financial transfers between parent and child, and perceived kinship obligations.RATIONALEThe parent-child relationship provides a unique source of support and to children over the life span (Umberson, 1992; White, 1993). Relationships with parents remain defining characteristics of identity (White, 1993, p.4) for adult children due to the distinctive history of the parent-child relationship, and because children have spent so much of their early existence dependent on parents (Rossi & Rossi, 1990; Umberson, 1992). Parents often remain a critical source of support to young adults as they make the transition to residential independence (DaVanzo & Goldscheider, 1990), or pursue postsecondary education (Steelman & Powell, 1991). They provide guidance, emotional support, and a safe haven for young adults in times of need (Aquilino, in press; Johnson, 1988). Strained relationships with parents result in greater psychological distress among adult children (Umberson, 1992). The loss of a close relationship with a parent after divorce has been linked to higher depression among college students (Drill, 1986). In short, the parent-child relationship is of central importance to the psychological and material well-being of young adults (Barnett, Marshall, & Pleck, 1992; Cooney, 1994). Thus, it is critical to understand, from the young adult's perspective, the factors that harm or enhance parent-child closeness and support. Recent research (Cooney, 1994; Pett, Lang, & Gander, 1992) suggests that parents' later life marital dissolution may play a major role in shaping adult intergenerational relations.CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKThis study flows from a life course perspective on parent-child relationships during young adulthood. The family life course approach emphasizes the interdependence of family members' life histories (Bengtson & Allen, 1993; Elder, 1984), and how the life course transitions of individual family members bring about change in the network of family relationships (Elder, Caspi, & Burton, 1988; Elder, Caspi, & Downey, 1986). Family relationships are changed by the behavior and developmental courses of individual family members. This framework can be extended to hypothesize that dyadic relationships in the family of origin remain linked over the life course of parent and child. Change in the marital dyad will impact parent-child dyads; change in the parent-child dyad will influence parents' marital relations. Parental divorce represents a cataclysmic change in the marital dyad. Divorce pits one parent against the other. The divorce process may bring to light many areas of marital conflict previously unknown to the children. It may be difficult for adult children to avoid taking sides in parental disputes and conflicts that occur during or after the divorce or separation. The emotional turmoil and interparental hostility involved in many divorces will be felt by all family members, including nonresident adult children. This perspective suggests that later life parental divorce will have negative effects on parent-adult relations.The death of a parent would likely have different (and less severe) effects on children's relations with the surviving parent than would parental divorce. The interpersonal hostility often evident in divorce would likely not be encountered after parental death. …

The Effects of Divorce on Perceived Self-Efficacy and Behavioral Control in Elementary School Children

The present study investigated the effects of divorce on children's perceived self-efficacy (child reports) and behavioral control (parental reports). Seventy-six middle class elementary school children from both intact and divorced (disrupted) families participated. A multivariate classification system was employed to obtain behavioral profiles of children. Cognitive, physical, and social aspects of children's perceived self-efficacy, overt interparental hostility and specitic family environment characteristics were assessed. Data were analyzed using a multiple regression model. Divorced families reported being significantly less supportive of one another, as the family environment characteristic of cohesion was found to be a significant predictor of marital/family status. Level of parental conflict and control illustrated a trend toward significance as predictors of marital status. As expected, children who experienced family disruption showed comparatively lower levels of cognitive self-efficacy than t...

Access Refusals by Children in Post-separated Families

This paper introduces perspectives alternative to ‘interparental hostility’ for the assessment of situations in which the child refuses access; these are the ‘child effects’ and the ‘age effects’ p...