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Cited by 129Attachment and Relationship DynamicsChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentFamily Dynamics and Relationships

Children's Patterns of Preserving Emotional Security in the Interparental Subsystem

Davies, Patrick T, Forman, Evan M·2002·Child Development
DOI 10.1111/1467-8624.t01-1-00512
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Abstract

Guided by the emotional security hypothesis, this research identified (1) individual differences in children's strategies for preserving their emotional security in the interparental relationship, and (2) the psychosocial and family correlates of these individual differences. Study 1 assessed reactivity to parental conflict simulations among 56 school–age children, whereas Study 2 solicited child and mother reports of 170 young adolescents’ reactions to actual marital conflict. Cluster analyses in both studies indicated that children fit three profiles: (1) secure children, who showed well–regulated concern and positive representations of interparental relationships; (2) insecure–preoccupied children, who evidenced heightened distress, involvement or avoidance, and negative representations of interparental relationships; and (3) insecure–dismissing children, who displayed overt signs of elevated distress, avoidance, and involvement and low levels of subjective distress, avoidance and intervention impulses, and negative internal representations. Results in both studies indicated that preoccupied and dismissing children experienced more interparental conflict than did secure children, and preoccupied children evidenced the highest levels of internalizing symptoms. Study 2 results indicated that dismissing children had the highest levels of externalizing symptoms and preoccupied and dismissing children reported more coping, family, and personality difficulties than did secure children.

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  • Maintaining emotional security during family conflict consumes psychological and physical resources, which limits pursuit of developmental goals and raises maladjustment risk.

    “Also, the process of preserving emotional security in the face of family conflict requires considerable expenditures of psychological and physical resources, limiting capacities to pursue developmental goals and increasing risk for exhibiting psychological maladjustment (Davies et al., 2002).”

    From Prospective Relations between Family Conflict and Adolescent Maladjustment: Security in the Family System as a Mediating Process (2015) · cites this paper as Davies et al., 2002

  • According to EST and attachment theory, threats to emotional security trigger fear and anxiety aimed at regaining security, which if persistent may raise risk for internalizing problems including anxiety.

    “According to EST (Davies et al, 2002) and attachment theory (Bowlby, 1973), threats to emotional insecurity activate emotional reactions of fear and anxiety in the service of the goal of acting to regain security, which, if persisting over time, may contribute to the risk for internalizing problems, including symptoms of anxiety.”

    From Prospective Relations between Family Conflict and Adolescent Maladjustment: Security in the Family System as a Mediating Process (2015) · cites this paper as Davies et al, 2002

  • Emotional and behavioral dysregulation has been linked to insecure attachment and to insecurity about interparental conflict, with prospective associations to externalizing and internalizing symptoms.

    “Problems in emotional and behavioral dyregulation have been linked both with insecure attachment (Esbjorn, Bender, Reinholdt-Dunne, Munck, & Ollendick, 2012) and insecurity about interparental conflict, including demonstrations of effects on emotional and behavioral responses linked prospectively to externalizing and internalizing symptoms (e.g., Davies et al., 2002; Harold, Shelton, Goeke-Morey &”

    From Prospective Relations between Family Conflict and Adolescent Maladjustment: Security in the Family System as a Mediating Process (2015) · cites this paper as Davies et al., 2002

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Authors
Davies, P. T., & Forman, E. M.
Affiliations
  • University of Rochester (US)
  • Drexel University (US)
ORCID
Venue
Child Development
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2002-11-01
Volume
73
Issue
6
Pages
1880-1903
ISSN
  • 0009-3920 (ISSN-L)
  • 1467-8624
DOI
10.1111/1467-8624.t01-1-00512
OpenAlex
W1999102335
Cited by
129
References
62
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 4
FWCI
6.51
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
Locations
  • Child Development (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
Keywords
parental conflict, children's coping strategies, individual differences, internalizing problems, externalizing problems, family functioning, personality difficulties
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Affect, Child, Child Behavior, Conflict, Psychological, Depression, Family, Family Relations, Female, Humans, Male, Marriage, Personality Disorders, Surveys and Questionnaires, Cluster Analysis

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