John H. Grych

Marital conflict and children's adjustment: a cognitive-contextual framework.

Marital problems have been related to numerous indexes of maladjustment in children. Although several parameters of this association have been identified, the process by which exposure to interparental conflict gives rise to adjustment problems in children is largely unexplored. Research on the link between marital conflict and child maladjustment therefore is critically evaluated, and a framework is presented that organizes existing studies and suggests directions for future research on processes that may account for the association. According to the framework, the impact of marital conflict is mediated by childrens understanding of the conflict, which is shaped by contextual, cognitive, and developmental factors. The implications of the framework for childrens adjustment are discussed.

Patterns of adjustment among children of battered women

Children exposed to interparental violence have been characterized by an array of psychological problems, but findings regarding the precise nature of these problems have been inconsistent. This study used cluster analysis to determine whether distinct patterns of adjustment could be identified in 228 8- to 14-year-old children residing in battered womens shelters. Five such patterns emerged: multiproblem-externalizing, multiproblem-internalizing, externalizing, mild distress, and no problems reported. This solution was cross-validated in independent halves of the sample and was similar for boys and girls. Differences among the clusters on relevant family and demographic variables were examined, and it was found that the clusters could be distinguished on the basis of the frequency of childrens exposure to interparental violence, parent-child aggression, and childrens appraisals of interparental conflict.

Interparental Conflict and Child Adjustment: Testing the Mediational Role of Appraisals in the Cognitive‐Contextual Framework

Childrens appraisals of interparental conflict consistently have been associated with adjustment problems, but the processes that give rise to this association are not well understood. This paper proposes that appraisals of threat and self-blame mediate the association between childrens reports of interparental conflict and internalizing problems, and tests this mediational hypothesis in two samples of children, one drawn from the community (317 ten- to fourteen-year-olds) and the other from battered womens shelters (145 ten- to twelve-year-olds). Results indicate that perceived threat mediates the association between interparental conflict and internalizing problems for boys and girls in both samples, and self-blame mediates this association for boys in both samples and girls in the shelter sample. Perceived threat and self-blame do not mediate links with externalizing problems, and there is no evidence of a moderating effect of appraisals on the association between conflict and child adjustment. Implications for understanding the mechanism by which exposure to interparental conflict could lead to child maladjustment are discussed.

A Prospective Investigation of Appraisals as Mediators of the Link Between Interparental Conflict and Child Adjustment

This longitudinal study tested the role of childrens appraisals of threat and self-blame as mediators of the association between interparental conflict and child adjustment in a sample of 298 Welsh children ages 11 to 12 years. Exposure to higher levels of interparental conflict at Time 1 predicted greater perceived threat and self-blame at Time 2, after accounting for the effects of Time 1 adjustment and appraisals on later appraisals. Perceived threat in turn was associated with increased internalizing problems at Tune 2, and self-blame was associated with higher externalizing problems. The pattern of results was largely consistent for child and parent reports of conflict and for boys and girls, though some gender differences were found in associations between appraisals and adjustment.

Interparental Conflict and Child Development: Theory, Research, and Applications

List of contributors Preface Interparental conflict and child adjustment: an overview John H. Grych and Frank D. Fincham Part I. Foundations: 1. Conceptual issues in understanding the relation between interparental conflict and child adjustment Gayla Margolin, Pamella H. Oliver, and Anna Marie Medina 2. The study of relations between marital conflict and child adjustment: challenges and new directions for methodology E. Mark Cummings, Marcie C. Goeke-Morey, and Tammy L. Dukewich 3. Does gender moderate the effects of marital conflict on children? Patrick T. Davies and Lisa L. Lindsay 4. Ethnic minority status, interparental conflict, and child adjustment Vonnie C. McLoyd, Camille I. Harper, and Nikeea Lynell Copeland Part II. Basic Processes: 5. The role of emotion and emotional regulation in childrens responses to interparental conflict Susan Crockenberg and Adela Langrock 6. Understanding the impact of interparental conflict on children: the role of social cognitive processes John H. Grych and Shalini Cardoza-Fernandes 7. Psychological processes as mediators of the impact of marital conflict on children Lynne Fainsilber Katz 8. Childrens coping with interparental conflict Patricia K. Kerig Part III. Family and Peer Contexts: 9. Interparental conflict and parent-child relationships Martha J. Cox, Blair Paley, and Kristina Harter 10. Sibling relationships and interparental conflict Judy Dunn and Lisa Davies 11. Managing marital conflict: links with childrens peer relationships Ross D. Parke, Mina Kim, Mary Flyr, David J. McDowell, Sandra D. Simpkins, Colleen M. Killian, and Margaret Wild 12. Domestic violence and child adjustment Ernest N. Jouriles, William D. Norwood, Renee McDonald, and Beth Peters 13. When conflict continues after the marriage ends: effects on postdivorce conflict on children Christy M. Buchanan and Kelly L. Heiges 14. Marital conflict in stepfamilies Mark A. Fine Part IV. Applications: 15. Clinical prevention and remediation of child adjustment problems Cynthia M. Turner and Mark R. Dadds 16. Interparental conflict and social policy Robert E. Emery Part V. Future Directions: 17. Advancing understanding of the association between interparental conflict and child development Frank D. Fincham and John H. Grych Author index Subject index.

Children's appraisals of interparental conflict: Situational and contextual influences.

Childrens appraisals of interparental conflict have been linked with their adjustment and their strategies for coping with conflict, but the factors that influence the appraisal process are less clear. This study examined cognitive and emotional responses of 60 7-12-year-old children to audiotaped conflictual interactions. Properties of the conflict, family factors, and child characteristics were related to childrens appraisals; the most consistent predictors were the level of hostility expressed in the interaction, childrens prior experience with physically aggressive interparental conflict, and childrens age. These findings indicate that childrens perceptions and interpretations of interparental conflict are influenced by the larger context in which a conflict occurs as well as the way the conflict is expressed.

Emotional, Cognitive, and Family Systems Mediators of Children's Adjustment to Interparental Conflict

Emotional, cognitive, and family systems processes have been identified as mediators of the association between interparental conflict and childrens adjustment. However, little is known about how they function in relation to one another because they have not all been assessed in the same study. This investigation examined the relations among childrens exposure to parental conflict, their appraisals of threat and blame, their emotional reaction, and triangulation into parental disagreements. One hundred fifty ethnically diverse 8- to 12-year-old children and both of their parents participated in the study. Comparisons of 3 models proposing different relations among these processes indicated that they function as parallel and independent mediators of childrens adjustment. Specifically, childrens self-blaming attributions and emotional distress were uniquely associated with both internalizing and externalizing problems, whereas perceived threat uniquely predicted internalizing problems and triangulation uniquely predicted externalizing problems.

Interventions for children of divorce: toward greater integration of research and action.

A number of child-, family-, and system-focused interventions have been designed to prevent or reduce the negative effects of divorce on children. This article critically evaluates these intervention efforts by examining (a) their relation to basic research on the processes proposed to mediate childrens postdivorce adjustment and (b) evaluation studies assessing the effectiveness of various programs. Although interventions address some of the factors proposed to mediate childrens adaptation to divorce, the interplay between interventions and basic research on childrens postdivorce adaptation is limited. Moreover, some intervention efforts appear to be beneficial, but most lack empirical documentation of their efficacy. This analysis leads to several recommendations for basic and applied research and for improving the response of the mental health field to the problems experienced by many children from divorcing families.

Interparental aggression and young children's representations of family relationships.

Childrens maternal, self, and marital representations were examined in 46 children 3 1/2 to 7 years old using the MacArthur Story Stem Battery. Children drawn from agencies serving battered women expressed fewer positive representations of their mothers and themselves, were more likely to portray interparental conflict as escalating, and were more avoidant and less coherent in their narratives about family interactions than children from a nonviolent community sample. Interparental aggression uniquely predicted representations of conflict escalation and avoidance after accounting for parent-child aggression, and the two types of aggression had additive effects in predicting positive maternal representations. The results suggest that witnessing aggression in the family affects childrens developing beliefs about close relationships and may be a process by which these experiences give rise to later problems in social and emotional functioning.

Making Sense of Family Violence Implications of Children's Appraisals of Interparental Aggression for Their Short- and Long-Term Functioning

Children who are exposed to interparental violence are at risk for a host of adjustment problems, but little is known about the processes that explain why children from violent families develop different patterns of adjustment. In this paper, we examine the role that childrens perceptions and interpretations of aggression may play in shaping the impact of interparental violence on their short- and long-term functioning. Appraisals of interparental conflict have been linked to childrens emotional and behavioral responses to conflict as well as their adjustment more broadly and offer a mechanism for understanding diverse outcomes in children who witness violence in the home. We explore how the appraisal process may differ in violent versus conflictual but nonviolent interactions, consider contextual factors that may influence this process, and outline directions for research investigating how children perceive and make sense of violence in intimate relationships.