Cited by 220Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentAttachment and Relationship DynamicsFamily Dynamics and Relationships

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Marital Conflict, Child Emotional Security about Family Relationships and Child Adjustment

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Harold, Gordon T., Shelton, Katherine H., Goeke‐Morey, Marcie C., Cummings, E. Mark·2004·Social Development

DOI 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2004.00272.x

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Abstract

Addressing a gap in process‐oriented understanding of relations between marital conflict and children's adjustment, propositions of the emotional security hypothesis from a family‐wide perspective were tested in a longitudinal research design. Participants were 181 families and their 11–12 year‐old‐child (115 boys, 76 girls) living in Wales, in the United Kingdom. Relations between marital conflict, children's emotional security about marital conflict and parenting, respectively, and children's adjustment were assessed based on reports by mothers, fathers, and children and videotaped analogue procedures completed by children. Structural equation modelling indicated that children's emotional security about interparental conflict (emotional regulation, cognitive representations and behavioural regulation) mediated the relation between marital conflict and children's security about parenting. Processes pertaining to children's security in multiple family systems (i.e., interparental and parent–child) provided an indirect mechanism through which interparental conflict affected children's symptoms of psychological distress (internalising and externalising problems) assessed 12 months later. Future directions for further tests of comprehensive, theoretically based models for the effects of marital conflict on children are discussed.

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“Specifically, they propose an emotional security hypothesis (Davies and Cummings 1994) that purports that the child’s sense of emotional security within the family is undermined as a result of interparental discord, contributing to child maladjustment (e.g., Cummings et al. 2012; Cummings et al. 2006; GoekeMorey et al…”
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“…thought to be differentially related to children’s reactions and behaviors, such that conflicts about the child are linked to greater behavioral dysregulation in the child than are other sources of inter-parental conflict (e.g., financial concerns; Cummings et al. 2002, 2004; Harold et al. 2004).”
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“because of conflict in the intimate partner or parental dyad (Harold et al. 2004).”
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“Both types of strategies are associated with increased children’s psychological maladjustment (Davies and Cummings 1998; Harold et al. 2004).”
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“Emotional reactivity has been associated with both intrapersonal (e.g., internalizing behaviors; Harold et al., 2004 ) and interpersonal development (e.g., relationship behavior; Bartle-Haring & Sabatelli, 1997).”
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“…was not related to parent or child emotion regulation or to child ODD symptoms are not consistent with prior studies that indicated family members who are exposed to marital conflict display higher levels of emotional and behavioral problems (Bornovalova et al., 2014; Harold et al., 2004).”
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“Recent research has demonstrated relations between analogue responses and prior experience of interparental conflict (Grych, 1998) as well as longitudinal relations between marital conflict, children’s analogue responses, and their long-term adjustment (Harold et al., 2004).”
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“The findings of present study are consistent with previous studies (e.g., Cummings & Davies, 1994; El-Sheikh & Elmour-Staton, 2004; Harold et al., 2004).”
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“These include their emotional well-being (Feinberg & Kan, 2008 ), emotional security, resilience, and self-confidence (Harold et al., 2004).”
The longitudinal links between marital conflict and Chinese children’s internalizing problems in mainland China: Mediating role of maternal parenting styles
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“we detected in maternal reports was similar to those found in other longitudinal studies of maternal distress and child maladjustment (e.g., Cummings et al. 2006; Davies et al. 1999; Harold et al. 2004).”
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Interparental Conflict on Italian Adolescent Adjustment: The Role of Insecurity within the Family
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“Past studies using US samples and some non-US samples have suggested that all three types of emotional insecurity are an effect of interparental conflict and play a role in children’s and adolescents’ well-being (e.g., Harold et al., 2004; Cummings & Davies, 2010; Cummings et al., 2015).”
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Interparental conflict and Chinese emerging adults’ romantic relationship quality: Indirect pathways through attachment to parents and interpersonal security
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Authors: Harold, G. T., Shelton, K. H., Goeke‐Morey, M. C., & Cummings, E. M.
Affiliations: Cardiff University (GB)
University of Notre Dame (US)
Corresponding author: Harold, Gordon T.
ORCID: Shelton, Katherine H.
Goeke‐Morey, Marcie C.
Cummings, E. Mark
Venue: Social Development
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2004-07-20
Volume: 13
Issue: 3
Pages: 350-376
ISSN: 0961-205X (ISSN-L)
1467-9507
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2004.00272.x
OpenAlex: W2158564292
Cited by: 220
References: 65
Citations by year: 2026: 6 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 22 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 14
FWCI: 7.70
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: green
figshare.com
Licence: cc-by
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations: Social Development (publishedVersion)
Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Leicester Research Archive (University of Leicester) (submittedVersion)
Funders: British Academy
Economic and Social Research Council
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
Keywords: marital conflict, parental conflict, child adjustment, emotion regulation, mental representation, behavioral regulation, parenting, internalizing problems, externalizing problems, family relationships

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Marital Conflict, Child Emotional Security about Family Relationships and Child Adjustment

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