Parental Conflict Research Articles

Exploring the triadic parent–child–sibling relationship: How do mothers’ view of their children impact sibling relationships?

The functioning of the sibling subsystem is often overlooked in research on attachment relationships, despite its both threatening and protective potential. Taking a multi-case approach, this study sought to build theory regarding how the mother–child relationship and the mother’s view of each of her children impact the sibling relationship. Three families were assessed using the Meaning of the Child Interview, a method of analysing parental discourse in a semi-structured interview to understand the parent–child relationship, and a sibling free-play procedure. The study illustrated how in more struggling relationships, the child represented a particular threat or challenge to the mother, and how the child’s accommodation to this influenced the dynamics of the sibling relationship. The sibling may be recruited to care for their sibling to ease demands on their mother, serve as an ally with their mother against their sibling, or siblings may support each other to compensate for what is lacking in the child–parent relationship. This was further influenced by wider systemic challenges to both children and mother, such as parental conflict or settling in a new country.

Relational communication as a moderator for links between family of origin adversity and marital satisfaction

AbstractObjectiveThis study evaluated family of origin adversity and later marital satisfaction, and the possible moderating role of relational communication ability of husbands and wives.BackgroundFamily of origin adversity, including parental marital conflict, has a significant negative relationship with offspring's marital decisions, dynamics, and outcomes. Because people with family of origin adversity cannot change their past experiences, studying moderating factors could be helpful for couples' marital satisfaction.MethodThis study examined dyadic data from the Couple Relationships and Transition Experience (CREATE) study, a nationally representative sample of 1,471 newlywed couples in the United States. The study employed an actor–partner interdependence model to evaluate communication as a moderator for links between family of origin adversity and relationship satisfaction.ResultsThe study confirmed the negative relationship between family of origin adversity and subsequent marital satisfaction for actors and partners for both husbands and wives. Further, the study found that relational communication ability by either partner offset negative links between wives' family of origin adversity and husbands' martial satisfaction, but not wives' martial satisfaction.ConclusionThis study confirmed the salience of family of origin adversity as couples establish new marriages. It also highlighted the value of communication as a possible path toward intervention regarding negative experiences from a family of origin, particularly when considering connections between wives' family of origin adversity and husbands' relationship satisfaction.ImplicationsThis research suggests couple communication may be a valuable tool with application for couples, family life educators, and couple therapists as they help couples successfully navigate difficulties from their families of origin.

Why does children's temperamental exuberance increase their vulnerability to externalizing symptoms? A process-oriented approach.

This study examined children's exposure to family adversity, hostile reactivity to parental conflict, and negative family representations as mediators of the prospective relation between their temperamental exuberance and externalizing symptoms. Participants included 243 preschool children (Mage = 4.60 years; 56% girls) and parents (48% Black; 16% Latinx) in a multi-method and multi-informant study with three annual measurement occasions. Structural equation model results specifically supported children's hostile reactivity to parental conflict and negative family representations as mediators. Exuberance predicted residualized increases in children's hostile reactivity and negative family representations over a 1-year period. In turn, children's hostile reactivity and negative family representations predicted their greater externalizing symptoms 1 year later after controlling for prior externalizing symptoms. Results are discussed in the context of their relation and refinement of temperamental models of developmental psychopathology.

The Occurrence and Co-Occurrence of Harsh Parenting and Family Conflict in Hong Kong

The violation of children's right to a safe home environment is a major public health problem in need of serious attention. Evidence has been limited about the family characteristics that go with the co-occurrence of harsh parenting and family conflict. By using a representative community sample of Hong Kong families, this study aims to examine the prevalence and risk factors of harsh parenting and family conflict. This study was conducted using a secondary analysis obtained from the 2017 Hong Kong Family Survey with a sample size of 1926 respondents who have children. Results showed that participants' ages are negatively related to the occurrence and co-occurrence of harsh parenting and/or family conflict. Married mothers reported less family conflict. Fathers with lower education levels reported more experiences of family violence. Mothers reporting a higher level of family satisfaction were less associated with harsh parenting. This study provides insights into the unique and shared familial elements that prevent harsh parenting and family conflict and help facilitate the development of effective intervention strategies for family violence co-occurrence. Family-based prevention for family violence may screen for the presence of harsh parenting and family conflict and take into consideration these signals to better support families in need.

Child well‐being in the context of family harmony: Parental marital relationship as mediator and parent–child attachment style as moderator

AbstractExtant research in Western countries have indicated that children's well‐being may be influenced by children's own resilience, parent–child attachment, and parental marital relationship. Yet, there is very little research in Malaysia on how these factors may influence well‐being among children in middle childhood. The aim of this study, therefore, was to explore the relationships among children's self‐efficacy—a resilience factor—and well‐being, parental marital relationship, and parent–child attachment style. The study used a quantitative, cross‐sectional survey method. Participants were 955 Malay‐Malaysian children aged 11 years from intact families. They responded to a questionnaire on demographic background, self‐efficacy, well‐being, parental harmony and conflict, and parent–child attachment style. Moderated mediation analysis indicated that (i) parental harmony was a significant mediator for the relationship between children's self‐efficacy and well‐being; (ii) parental conflict was not a significant mediator for the relationship between children's self‐efficacy and well‐being; and (iii) parent–child attachment style was a significant moderator for the relationship between children's self‐efficacy and well‐being. These findings are discussed within the frameworks of optimal child development and family relationship. These findings may also inform policies such as Malaysia's Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3) and National Family Policy.

The spillover effects of parental verbal conflict on classmates' cognitive and noncognitive outcomes

AbstractThis study shows that children exposed to Interparental Verbal Conflict (IPVC) exert negative spillovers on their peers. Our first identification strategy uses within‐school, across‐classroom variation in peer's IPVC in schools that randomly assign students into classrooms. Our second strategy uses within‐student, year‐to‐year changes in peer's IPVC to control for peer's pre‐existing characteristics. Both results suggest that being randomly assigned to classes where more classmates experience IPVC reduces mental wellbeing, lowers social engagement, diminishes self‐confidence, and increases the likelihood of problem behaviors. Effects operate by damaging relationships between classmates. There is no evidence of impacts on test scores or teacher behavior.

The spillover effects of parental verbal conflict on classmates' cognitive and noncognitive outcomes

The spillover effects of parental verbal conflict on classmates' cognitive and noncognitive outcomes

Latent transitions across perceived parental marital conflict and family cohesion profiles in high school students.

This study aimed to explore the latent profiles across perceived parental marital conflict and family cohesion, as well as the transition patterns within-person and within-sample profiles over time. We conducted a 1-year follow-up study with a sample of first-year high school students from China. A total of 453 participants were included in the present analysis. We identified the following three latent profiles: high parental conflict and poor family cohesion profile, moderate parental conflict and family cohesion profile, and low parental conflict and good family cohesion profile. Female students and those who not lived with parents together were more likely to perceive more parental marital conflict and less cohesion in the family. The majority of students with high transition probability remained in the same profiles over time. The counts of latent transition pattern also demonstrated that students remaining in the primary profile over time accounted for the large proportion. The present study advances empirical bases for confirming the family system theory's notion that the family is not static, but dynamic. Findings provide the optimal timing of interventions toward healthy transition.

Indirect Effects of Parental Conflict on Conspecific Offspring Development.

AbstractHybrid seed inviability is a common reproductive barrier in angiosperms. Recent work suggests that the rapid evolution of hybrid seed inviability may, in part, be due to conflict between maternal and paternal optima for resource allocation to developing offspring (i.e., parental conflict). However, parental conflict requires that paternally derived resource-acquiring alleles impose a maternal cost. I test this requirement using three closely related species in the Mimulus guttatus species complex that exhibit significant hybrid seed inviability and differ in their inferred histories of parental conflict. I show that the presence of hybrid seeds significantly affects conspecific seed size for almost all crosses, such that conspecific seeds are smaller after developing with hybrids sired by fathers with a stronger history of conflict and are larger after developing with hybrids sired by fathers with a weaker history of conflict. This work demonstrates a potential maternal cost of paternally derived alleles and also has implications for species fitness in secondary contact.

Clinical and psychosocial characteristics related to self-harm in adolescent admitted to psychiatric wards in Korea: a retrospective chart review

Background: Self-harm is an important public health problem with increasing incidences among adolescents for over a decade. This study aimed to identify factors associated with self-harm in adolescent psychiatric inpatients in Korea. We also investigated clinical characteristics associated with nonsuicidal self-injury disorder (NSSI-D) and suicidal behavior disorder (SBD) according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 criteria.Methods: This retrospective study included 215 adolescents aged between 12 to 18 years, who were admitted to the psychiatric ward of Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea, from January 2014 to February 2021. Participants were divided into three groups according to NSSI-D and SBD diagnostic criteria. Collected data were analyzed using chi-square test and analysis of variance test.Results: Overall, 57.7% of the participants (n=124) reported self-harm at least once in their lives. Patients with self-harm were more likely to have experienced parental conflict, parent-child relational problems, and verbal, physical, or sexual abuse. Among the three groups divided according to NSSI-D and SBD diagnostic criteria, patients with both NSSI-D and SBD were more likely to have experienced parent-child relational problems than those with either NSSI-D only or SBD only.Conclusion: This study shows that parent-child relational problem is associated with high incidences of selfharm. Especially, the parent-child relational problem seemed to be a risk factor for SBD among patients with NSSI-D. These are important findings that provide an understanding of the self-harm characteristics and therefore improve prevention and treatment strategies in psychiatric adolescent patients.

The Mediating role of Loneliness in the Relationship between Parent-Adolescent Conflict and Emotional Dysregulation in Adolescents

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the fit of the model of structural relationship between parent-adolescent conflict with emotional dysregulation, with the mediating role of loneliness in adolescents in Tehran.
 Methods: The statistical population of the study included adolescents aged 13 to 18 years in Tehran. Using available sampling method, 400 people (200 female adolescents and 200 male adolescents) were selected as the sample and used the Asadi and Younesi adolescent parent conflict questionnaire (1390), Russell (1996) revised feelings of loneliness, and Graz and Romer (2004) responded to emotional dysregulation. Structural equation model was used to analyze the data.
 Findings:The results showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between parent-adolescent conflict and emotion dysregulation (p<0.05). Also, there is a positive and significant relationship between parent-adolescent conflict with emotional dysregulation with the mediating role of loneliness (p<0.05).
 Conclusion: Based on research findings, it can be concluded that feeling lonely with the occurrence of emotions such as depression, anxiety, and fatigue can play a mediating role between parent-adolescent conflict and emotion disorder.

Associations Between Adolescent Problematic Internet Use and Relationship Problems in Chinese Families: Findings from a Large-scale Survey.

Problematic internet use (PIU) is prevalent among Chinese adolescents. There is a need to better understand how the quality of parent-adolescent relationship is associated with adolescent PIU to guide the development of effective prevention and early intervention programs. This study aims to evaluate parent-adolescent conflict and parenting styles as potential risk factors associated with adolescent PIU. A sample of 6552 students (aged 10-19 years) from 22 schools in Guangdong, China, was recruited. The participants completed self-report questionnaires measuring their perceptions of conflict with their parents (involving verbal conflict, emotional abuse, and physical abuse) as well as their perceptions of their parents' parenting styles (including parental care and parental control as measured by the Parental Bonding Inventory), and PIU using the Adolescent Pathological Internet Use Scale. Grade level and gender were examined as moderators of these associations. Using multiple regression analyses, we found that greater mother-adolescent conflict, father-adolescent conflict, and parental control, and lower levels of parental care, were associated with higher levels of adolescent PIU (P<.001). The association between mother-adolescent conflict and PIU was stronger in older students than in younger students (P=.04), whereas the association between father-adolescent conflict and PIU was stronger in male students than in female students (P=.02). Compared with those who reported no mother-adolescent conflict, participants who experienced verbal conflict and emotional abuse, but not physical abuse from their mothers, reported higher levels of PIU (P<.001). Compared with those who reported no father-adolescent conflict, participants who experienced verbal conflict, emotional abuse, and physical abuse from their fathers had significantly higher levels of PIU (P<.001, P<.001, and P=.02, respectively). These findings point to the value of interventions to reduce parental verbal conflict, emotional abuse, and physical abuse, and to increase positive parenting styles, to lower the risk of PIU in Chinese adolescents.

‘Can we predict aggression?’—Determining the predictors of aggression among individuals with substance use disorder in China undergoing enforced detoxification through machine learning

BackgroundThe general aggression model has shown that both individual and situational factors can predict aggression. However, past research has tended to discuss these two factors separately, which might lead to inconsistency. This study addresses this gap by examining the importance of each predictor of aggression in a Chinese compulsory drug treatment population and further explores the predictors of aggression in various substance use disorder populations. MethodAnalyses were conducted using a sample of 894 male participants (mean = 38.30, SD = 8.38) in Chinese compulsory drug rehab. A machine learning model named LightGBM was employed to make predictions. We then used a game-theoretic explanatory technique, SHAP, to estimate the effect of predictors. ResultsIn the full-sample model, psychological security, parental conflict, and impulsivity were the top 3 predictors. Depression, childhood abuse, and alexithymia positively predicted aggression, whereas psychological security, family cohesion, and gratitude negatively predicted aggression. There were significant differences in the predictive effects of depressants and stimulants. Although the importance of predictors varied between drug-use groups, several individual and situational factors were consistently the most important predictors. LimitationsAll participants in this study were male, and the data were acquired through self-reports from the participants. Domestic and nondomestic aggression are not distinguished. Additionally, our findings cannot support causal conclusions. ConclusionThis study tested a series of classical theories of the predictors of aggression in China's compulsory drug treatment context and extended the ideas of the GAM to various substance use disorder groups. The findings have important implications for aggression treatment.

The moderating role of adrenocortical reactivity in the associations between interparental conflict, emotional reactivity, and school adjustment.

This study tested whether the associations between interparental conflict, children's emotional reactivity, and school adjustment were moderated by children's cortisol reactivity in a sample of young children (N = 243; mean age = 4.6 years at Wave 1; 56% female, 44% male) and their parents. Using a longitudinal, autoregressive design, observational assessments of children's emotional reactivity at Wave 2 mediated the relationship between an observational measure of Wave 1 conflict between parents and teacher's report of children's school adjustment at Wave 3. However, children's cortisol reactivity to parent conflict at Wave 1 moderated the first link, such that emotional reactivity operated as a mediator for children with heightened cortisol reactivity but not children with low cortisol reactivity. Moderation was expressed in a "for better" or "for worse" form hypothesized by biological sensitivity to context theory. Thus, children with high cortisol reactivity experienced greater emotional reactivity than their peers when faced with more destructive conflict but also lower emotional reactivity when exposed to more constructive interparental conflict. Results are discussed as to how they advance emotional security and biological sensitivity to context theories.

An investigation of associations between parenting and binge eating across pubertal development in pre-adolescent and adolescent female participants.

Puberty is a period of increased risk for the development of binge eating in female adolescents. Although developmental changes in autonomy-seeking behaviors and body weight and shape may influence both parenting styles and binge eating during puberty, studies have yet to examine how parenting practices may be differentially associated with youth outcomes depending on developmental stage. The current study examines whether interactions between puberty and parenting are associated with higher levels of binge-eating symptoms during/after puberty in female youth. Analyses used cross-sectional data from a previous study of disordered eating and puberty in 999 female youth (ages 8-16) and their parents from the Michigan State University Twin Registry. Youth self-reported binge eating, pubertal development, and perceived parental care and overprotection. Both parents and youth reported on parent-child conflict. Mixed linear models were used to examine whether pubertal development moderates the strength of associations between parenting (parent-child conflict, parental care, and parental overprotection) and offspring binge eating. Although higher levels of parental overprotection and conflict, and lower levels of parental care were all significantly associated with binge eating, none of the associations were significantly moderated by pubertal development or age. The quality of the parent-child relationship is significantly associated with binge eating in female youth regardless of developmental stage, highlighting the need for targeting harmful parenting strategies during adolescent eating disorder intervention. This is the first study to examine whether parenting/binge-eating associations in female participants differ across pubertal development. In a large population-based sample, we found lower parental care, higher parent-child conflict, and higher parental overprotection were all associated with higher levels of binge eating. Notably, associations did not differ across pubertal stage or age, suggesting that parenting is significantly associated with binge eating, regardless of developmental stage.

Parental monitoring, family conflict, and adolescent alcohol use: A longitudinal latent class analysis.

This study examined relationships among parental monitoring, family conflict, and subgroups of adolescent alcohol use identified through longitudinal latent class analyses (LLCA). Differences in these subgroups across sex and race/ethnicity were also examined. The present study used data (N = 4,067; 51% male, 49% female) collected during a longitudinal study in which adolescents completed questionnaires each semester for seven semesters, beginning in spring of their freshman year of high school until spring of their senior year. LLCA demonstrated three classes of drinking over time (low, increasing, and moderate use). The majority of adolescents were increasing-use drinkers. Moderate drinkers were more likely to be male than female; nondrinkers were most likely to be African American; and increasing-use drinkers were more likely to be Mexican American. Adolescents who received less maternal monitoring and experienced more family conflict were more likely to be identified in the class of moderate alcohol use compared to nonuse. These results highlight the importance of encouraging parental monitoring and decreasing family conflict to reduce the likelihood of adolescent alcohol use throughout the high school years (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Perceived Parental Conflict and Psychological Needs among Children and Adolescents

Perceived Parental Conflict and Psychological Needs among Children and Adolescents

Parental Conflict and Depression: Family Cohesion as a Mechanism Perpetuates Schemas and Affects the Perception of Social Support

The aim of this study is to test the mediating role of family cohesion, early maladaptive schemas, and perceived social support in the relationship between the depression symptom level of individuals and their parents’ general conflict patterns-related perceptions. In the study conducted with 299 participants between the ages of 18 and 65, the analysis results indicate that unbalanced family cohesion plays a role in the relationship between parental conflict style and depression symptom levels as a mechanism that feeds the schemas and weakens the perception of social support. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

Developmental evidence for parental conflict in driving Mimulus species barriers.

The endosperm, a tissue that nourishes the embryo in the seeds of flowering plants, is often disrupted in inviable hybrid seeds of closely related species. A key question is whether parental conflict is a major driver of this common form of reproductive isolation. Here, we performed reciprocal crosses between pairs of three monkeyflower species (Mimulus caespitosa, Mimulus tilingii, and Mimulus guttatus). The severity of hybrid seed inviability varies among these crosses, which we inferred to be due to species divergence in effective ploidy. By performing a time series experiment of seed development, we discovered parent-of-origin phenotypes that provide strong evidence for parental conflict in shaping endosperm evolution. We found that the chalazal haustorium, a tissue within the endosperm that is found at the maternal-filial boundary, shows pronounced differences between reciprocal hybrid seeds formed from Mimulus species that differ in effective ploidy. These parent-of-origin effects suggest that the chalazal haustorium might act as a mediator of parental conflict, potentially by controlling sucrose movement from the maternal parent into the endosperm. Our study suggests that parental conflict in the endosperm may function as a driver of speciation by targeting regions and developmental stages critical for resource allocation and thus proper seed development.

Invited discussant comments during the UCL-Penn Global Covid Study webinar 'Family Life: Stress, Relationship Conflict and Child Adjustment'.

The main objective of this article is to comment on the findings presented during the UCL-Penn Global Covid Study webinar, 'Family Life: Stress, Relationship Conflict and Child Adjustment' by Portnoy and colleagues. The study examined the ways in which family stress conflict has been affected by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Informed by the transactional models of parent-child behaviour, the authors are specifically interested in exploring the effect of child adjustment on parental outcomes. The study, currently under consideration for publication, found that child emotional and conduct problems predicted changes in parental depression and stress during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. Child hyperactivity predicted parental stress, but not depression. None of the child behaviour problems (emotional problems, conduct problems and hyperactivity) predicted parental relational conflict. This article discusses reasons why the study under consideration did not find a significant effect on relational conflict and posts questions that can be addressed in future studies.