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

“Using a nested modelling strategy and statistical criteria for testing mediational hypotheses outlined by Baron and Kenny (1986), these results collectively suggest that children’s emotional security about marital conflict mediates the relationship between marital conflict and their feelings of security with their par…”

“attention to the significance of broader social contexts to children’s emotional security and adjustment (Waters & Cummings, 2000), with marital relationships being among the most significant of such influences (Belsky, 1984; Cox & Paley, 1997).”

“Marital dissatisfaction was assessed using the Short Marital Adjustment Test (SMAT; Locke & Wallace, 1959).”

“As Berkowitz (1989) points out, anger expressed in one family relationship will provide a stimulus for anger and irritability to occur in other close relationships.”

“However, developmental theory has long called attention to the significance of broader social contexts to children’s emotional security and adjustment (Waters & Cummings, 2000), with marital relationships being among the most significant of such influences (Belsky, 1984; Cox & Paley, 1997).”

“A complementary theory, the emotional security hypothesis (Davies & Cummings, 1994), proposes that children’s emotional security about interparental conflict is reflected by three covarying yet conceptually distinct elements.”

“Grych and Fincham (1990) provide a cognitive-contextual framework which emphasizes that children’s responses to interparental conflict occur primarily through their cognitive evaluations of the conflict.”

“Several reviews have marshalled evidence that when parent–child problems are considered in the context of marital conflict, parent–child problems at least partially mediate the effects on children’s adjustment (Buchanan & Heiges, 2001; Erel & Burman, 1995; Krishnakumar & Buehler, 2000).”

“Keywords: marital conflict; emotional security; family relationships; child adjustment Relations between interparental conflict and children’s psychological adjustment are well established (e.g., Emery, 1982; Grych & Fincham, 1990; Porter & O’Leary, 1980).”

“…children’s distress and security, and considerable research has subsequently demonstrated links between marital conflict and children’s © Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2004 Social Development, 13, 3, 2004 security about parenting (Waters & Deane, 1985; Owen & Cox, 1997; Cox, Paley & Harter, 2001).”

“Using the Children’s Perceptions of Interparental Conflict scale (CPIC; Grych et al., 1992), children’s self-reports of the conflict properties (the extent to which conflict is frequent, intense and unresolved) and degree of threat (how threatened children feel and their perceived ability to cope with conflict) associ…”

“Centring data requires that the mean of a given variable is subtracted from that variable so as to reduce the potential for collinearity effects between product term elements (Kenny & Judd, 1984).”

“For example, highlighting the usefulness of experiments in family research (see Cummings, 1995; Cummings & Davies, 2002), the impact of children’s history of exposure to interparental conflict on their symptoms of psychological distress (e.g., J. S. Cummings, Pelligrini, Notarious & Cummings, 1989;…”

“Several reviews have marshalled evidence that when parent–child problems are considered in the context of marital conflict, parent–child problems at least partially mediate the effects on children’s adjustment (Buchanan & Heiges, 2001; Erel & Burman, 1995; Krishnakumar & Buehler, 2000).”

“Keywords: marital conflict; emotional security; family relationships; child adjustment Relations between interparental conflict and children’s psychological adjustment are well established (e.g., Emery, 1982; Grych & Fincham, 1990; Porter & O’Leary, 1980).”

“…and build on the empirical foundation for emotional security as a mediating mechanism for the impact of marital relations on children’s representations of relations with their parents and their symptoms of psychological distress (Davies & Cummings, 1998; Grych et al., 2000; Harold & Conger, 1997).”

“However, as Harold et al. (1997) point out, problems in the marital relationship and the parent–child relationship are unlikely to occur in isolation of each other (see also Cox et al., 2001).”

“…externalising problems (Grych, Fincham, Jouriles & McDonald, 2000; Harold et al., 1997; Johnson & O’Leary, 1987); social competence (Emery & O’Leary, 1984; Gottman & Katz, 1989; Paley, Conger & Harold, 2000); and academic achievement (Forehand & Wierson, 1993; Long, Forehand, Fauber & Brody, 1987).”

“…and build on the empirical foundation for emotional security as a mediating mechanism for the impact of marital relations on children’s representations of relations with their parents and their symptoms of psychological distress (Davies & Cummings, 1998; Grych et al., 2000; Harold & Conger, 1997).”

“…and build on the empirical foundation for emotional security as a mediating mechanism for the impact of marital relations on children’s representations of relations with their parents and their symptoms of psychological distress (Davies & Cummings, 1998; Grych et al., 2000; Harold & Conger, 1997).”

“Consistent with previous studies, these findings suggest that children’s appraisals of marital conflict and of parent–child relations both involve evaluations of relationships in the family that may simultaneously contribute to children’s ‘working models’ of relationships (e.g., Owen & Cox, 1997).”

“However, as Harold et al. (1997) point out, problems in the marital relationship and the parent–child relationship are unlikely to occur in isolation of each other (see also Cox et al., 2001).”

“As Grych (1998) points out, it is important to assess children’s history of exposure to interparental conflict in order to reliably ascertain their responses when exposed to conflict conditions.”

“Gender, however, has been shown to be an important factor in accounting for children’s responses to conflict (Davies & Lindsay, 2001; Laumakis, Margolin & John, 1998).”

“That is, marital conflict has been shown to adversely influence children’s internalising symptoms (Dadds et al., 1999; Harold, Fincham, Osborne & Conger, 1997); externalising problems (Grych, Fincham, Jouriles & McDonald, 2000; Harold et al.”

“…externalising problems (Grych, Fincham, Jouriles & McDonald, 2000; Harold et al., 1997; Johnson & O’Leary, 1987); social competence (Emery & O’Leary, 1984; Gottman & Katz, 1989; Paley, Conger & Harold, 2000); and academic achievement (Forehand & Wierson, 1993; Long, Forehand, Fauber & Brody, 1987).”

“Notably, Bowlby (1949) was among the first to call attention to the importance of considering the family in understanding children’s distress and security, and considerable research has subsequently demonstrated links between marital conflict and children’s © Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2004 Social…”

“…hypothesis, there is evidence for the possibility of a ‘spillover’ of negative affect from conflicted marital relations into other family relationships, especially children’s relationships with their parents (Cox et al., 2001; Erel & Burman, 1995; Harold & Conger, 1997; Jouriles & Farris, 1992).”

“Several reviews have marshalled evidence that when parent–child problems are considered in the context of marital conflict, parent–child problems at least partially mediate the effects on children’s adjustment (Buchanan & Heiges, 2001; Erel & Burman, 1995; Krishnakumar & Buehler, 2000).”

“reached a point of diminishing returns, with next steps in research to explore the emotional, cognitive and behavioural processes that underlie these relations (Cummings & Davies, 2002). Progress on process-oriented directions is indexed by the development of theoretical models to explain why some children exposed to…”

“One study employed the Security Scale and reported a negative relation between attachment security and self-reported depression (Harold et al., 2004). Kenny, Moilanen, Lomax, and Brabeck (1993) reported a negative relation between the three subscales of the Parental Attachment Questionnaire and depression.”

“In Study 2, an indirect ''chain of events'' involving emotional security was supported, that is, interparental conflict was longitudinally linked with child adjustment via emotional insecurity (see also Harold et al., 2004).”

“T hi s ar tic le is in te nd ed so le ly fo r th e pe rs on al us e of th e in di vi du al us er an d is no t to be di ss em in at ed br oa dl y. Table 1 (continued) Study N Agea Attachment measure Behavioural problem measure Study designType Parent Type Informant Leadbeater et al. (1999) Females 230 12.5 Q M Int; Ext…”