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Marital Conflict & Child Maladjustment
 Christina Maria Aguilera, 18 December 1980, Staten
Island, New York, USA.
 Aguilera was one of several US teen pop stars to rise to
huge popular acclaim in the late 90s.
 Of Irish and Ecuadorian descent, her mother played
violin and piano professionally while her father's position
in the military resulted in the family travelling extensively
around the world.
 Finally settling in Wexford, Pittsburgh, Aguilera began
performing at school talent shows, before making her
first professional appearance at the age of eight on the
nationally syndicated Star Search show.
Christina has ghosts of domestic violence
and child abuse — Aguilera and her
mother were victimized by her father when
she was young — she transforms the
ghosts into talismans of strength and
courage.
Frameworks - Trauma Theory
I’m OK
Once upon a time there was a girl
In her early years she had to learn
How to grow up living in a war that she called
home
Never know just where to turn for shelter from
the storm
Hurt me to see the pain across my mother's face
Everytime my father's fist would put her in her
place
Hearing all the yelling I would cry up in my room
Hoping it would be over soon
Bruises fade father, but the pain remains the
same
And I still remember how you kept me so afraid
Strength is my mother for all the love she gave
Every morning that I wake I look back to
yesterday
And I'm OK I often wonder why I carry all this
guilt
When it's you that helped me put up all these
walls I've built
Shadows stir at night through a crack in the door
The echo of a broken child screaming "please no
more"
Daddy, don't you understand the damage you
have done
To you it's just a memory, but for me it still lives
on
Bruises fade father, but the pain remains the same
And I still remember how you kept me so, so afraid
Strength is my mother for all the love she gave
Every morning that I wake I look back to
yesterday
It's not so easy to forget
All the lines you left along her neck
When I was thrown against cold stairs
And every day I'm afraid to come home
In fear of what I might see there
Bruises fade father but the pain remains the same
And I still remember how you kept me so afraid
Strength is my mother for all the love she gave
Every morning that I wake I look back to yesterday
And I'm OK
I'm OK
The Aguilera Continuum
- Exploring the Differing Effects of
Marital Conflict on Children -
Overview
 Introduction
 Explanatory Frameworks
 Impact of Conflict on Children
Developmental Psychopathology Perspective
Children’s relationships
 With parents, siblings, extended family & peers
 Extreme Impacts
 Predicting Outcomes
 Prevention & Intervention
Outcomes of Interparental Conflict
Negative child outcomes are more strongly
associated with family variables,
particularly marital conflict, than divorce
Children of divorced families appear to have
higher levels of well-being than children from
intact, high conflict families (Amato & Keith,
1991)
Continued conflict between parents after
divorce exacerbates negative child adjustment
(Hetherington & Clingempeel, 1989)
Outcomes of Interparental Conflict
Maladjustment occurs on a continuum
 Associations noted between marital conflict and:
Internalizing behaviour problems
• Depression, withdrawal, anxiety
Externalizing behaviour problems
• Conduct disorder, aggressiveness,
delinquency/antisocial behaviour
Post-traumatic stress symptoms
Physiological & health symptoms
Problems with mood, academics, peer
relationships, and social problem solving
abilities
Outcomes of Interparental Conflict
Associations are modest less than
0.30
Meta-analysis of over 80 studies found
mean effect size of 0.46
Review of 26 studies, vast majority of
studies were associated with effect
sizes of less than 0.30
Zimet & Jacob (2001)
Why the difference?
Children differ…
Families differ…
Social support structures differ…
Effect of marital conflict on child
adjustment is a broad construct
Frameworks for understanding
Frameworks
Family Systems Theory
Transmission of Affect
Contingency of Cognitive Style
Genetic Transmission Theory
Trauma Theory
Social Learning Theory
Frameworks
Family Systems Theory –
Psychopathology as a reflection of family
processes
Marital power struggles are accompanied by an
intensification of intimacy &/or rejection in the
parent-child relationship
Frameworks
Transmission of Affect –
Spillover
Disharmony in one family relationship effects
other family relationships and overall family
stability
Common-factor
Personality characteristics of one person
influences both marital and parental
relationships
Frameworks
Contingency of Cognitive Style
Like common-factor but cognitive
Individuals may apply cognitive perceptions
globally not specifically
Negative perceptions and interpretations of
marital relationship colours view of children
Frameworks
Genetic Transmission Theory
Effects of marital discord are either caused or
exacerbated by genetic similarities between
parent and child
Parental conflict and child conduct problems
are mediated by genes (e.g. antisocial
personality)
Frameworks
Social Learning Theory
Children learn from what they see from parents
Indirectly
Apply model of conflict (poor conflict resolution &
hostility) to other relationships
Directly
Interparental conflict disrupts normal family activities
& limits opportunities to correct aversive child
behaviours
Frameworks
Social Learning Theory (cont’d…)
Growing up in the presence of parental conflict
can have a disinhibitory effect, teaching children
that aggressive behaviour is appropriate and
permitted
A child may see aggression as an appropriate
form of conflict management and develop
maladaptive techniques for problem solving or
conflict resolution
Grych & Fincham, 1990
Frameworks
Trauma Theory
Most applicable to extreme or abusive marital
conflict
Maladjustment caused by repeated exposure to
traumatic stressor of interparental conflict
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Sensitization
Frameworks
Trauma Theory (cont’d)
Sensitization
More frequent open conflict is associated
with increased behaviour problems
Johnson et. al. (1987), Long et. al. (1987, 1988), Porter &
O’Leary (1980), Wierson et. al. (1988)
Is interparental conflict inherently traumatic?
Frameworks Discussion
Realism of frameworks?
 Family Systems
Theory
 Transmission of
Affect
 Contingency of
Cognitive Style
 Genetic
Transmission
Theory
 Trauma Theory
 Social Learning
Theory
In school Christina's teachers are
noticing that she has become overly
sensitive. When Christina (8 years old)
encounters small challenges she
responds with tears. The other day her
classmate Brian told her that she was
not welcome at his birthday party
because it was for boys only. Christina
became overwrought and refused to
participate in class activities for the
remainder of the day.
At home Christina's parents are in the
process of an acrimonious divorce.
When Christina's father comes to pick
her up, her parents argue loudly in
front of Christina, often about Christina
herself (e.g. discipline, custody, the
origin of her emotional instability, etc.)
Explain the scenario in terms of your framework
Impact of Conflict on Children
Impact on Children
Developmental psychopathology
perspective
Systems theory
Children’s relationships with
Parents
Siblings and extended family
Peers
Alcoholism and Drugs
Suicide
Developmental Psychopathology
Perspective
 Assumes child’s reactions to a stressor reflects an
interaction between the nature of the stressor and
the child's developmental capacities to respond to
that stressor
 Need to look at 3 things:
how consequences of marital conflict vary in intensity
and form at different developmental stages
how outcomes are multiply determined rather than
uniquely the result of marital conflict
whether and under what circumstances the risk of
exposure at one age affects later development
Margolin et. al. (2001)
 The meaning children place on marital conflict
determines how it impacts them and how they
develop
 This perspective helps us understand why
marital conflict does not affect everyone in the
same way
 No one age group is more vulnerable to marital
conflict than another
Children’s relationships –
Systems Theory
 Good theory to explain the influence of marital conflict on
children
 Developed from psychiatry and psychotherapy
 Circular not linear – e.g. parental behaviour reinforces
child’s behaviour which reinforces parental behaviour
 The material structure is not what defines an object it is
its organization as defined by the patterns of interaction
among its parts
 Looks at not just the individual but the family too
 Negative feedback process
 Positive feedback process
Children’s Relationships
With Parents
With Siblings & Extended Family
With Peers
With Parents
First need to distinguish between quality
and quantity of parenting
Quality suffers because parents may be
less sensitive and responsive to needs of
child
Spillover Hypothesis
Negative affect in the marital relationship is
thought to spread to and contaminate or disrupt
the interactions between the parents and the
child
With Parents
Emotional Security Hypothesis
There is a link between marital discord and
less sensitive and responsive parenting
Children do not just react to the occurrence of
marital conflict, but also to the meaning of
conflict
Can impede child’s development of emotional
regulation skills
Parents may become a source of fear rather
than a source of comfort
With Parents
Parental Withdrawal
Parents may withdraw from children due to
preoccupation with the marital conflict
Children may see this as parental rejection or
disinterest
With Parents
Scapegoating / detouring
Child takes on symptoms of family pathology
and becomes identified as the problematic
member of the family system
Triangulation
One or both parents try to recruit child into a
coalition against the other parent
Child’s relationship with both parents may suffer
With Parents
Learning Perspective
Children who respond by involving
themselves in the conflict exhibit higher levels
of maladjustment
Adolescents model the parents behaviour and
act more aggressively towards parents,
especially toward their mother
When child acts out parents stop fighting to
deal with the child therefore causing negative
reinforcement of the acting out
With Parents
Parental Discipline
Parents may exhibit harsh, permissive or
inconsistent discipline
Why?
Displaced anger, compensation
No energy to deal with child
Disorganized, behaving differently depending
on who’s around
Difficulty communicating
With Parents
Overt & covert co-parenting
The Compensatory Hypothesis
“It is questionable whether a close relationship
fueled by a parent’s negative relationship with
his/her spouse is truly positive”
 Do you agree or disagree?
With Siblings & Extended Family
 Depends on
Children’s adjustment
Social understanding (i.e. individual differences in
reading others)
 Triangulation
May create differential treatment of children
Leads to sibling conflict because children model parents
behaviour
 In all families, step and half siblings are not as
close as real siblings
In marital conflict families this may be more pronounced
With Peers
Modeling Hypothesis
Conflict impacts peer relationships because it
exposes them to frequent bouts of conflict that
the child may imitate when with peers
Cognitive contextual framework
Need to understand the properties of conflict,
child’s processing of conflict and overall context
of conflict
With Peers
Emotional security hypothesis
Children work to maintain a sense of emotional
well-being that guides their reaction to parental
conflict
Children from high conflict families were
rated by their teachers as less socially
competent, having more conduct problems
poor problem solving skills
Extreme Adverse Impacts
Alcoholism & drugs
Drinking and drugs plays important adaptive
and functional role
Diverts attention from other areas of conflict
Provides elements of stability and predictability
Parents of alcoholics usually emotionally
immature and unstable
Extreme Adverse Impacts
Suicide
Family systems theory sees suicide as a
symptom of family dysfunction
Adolescence who commit suicide may be
helping their families avoid painful issues like
acceptance of a family member leaving home or
diverting from other family conflicts
Outcomes
Factors that impact child
adjustment to marital conflict
Categories of Moderating Variables
Three categories of influences on
children’s adjustment Child Variables
Parent Variables
Non-family Variables
Child Variables
Cognitive
Causal Attribution
 Children who assume stable, continuous, global & externally
controlled are more prone to low self esteem, poorer
communication with parents & negative affect
Attribution of Blame
 When parents provide an explanation absolving children of
fault for the conflict, children’s perception of self-blame &
desire to intervene in future is reduced
Efficacy Expectations
 When efficacy high, a child expects to be able to cope with
emotions and use effective behaviours in managing their
response to conflict
Child Variables
Behavioural
Emotion Focused - focus on positive,
ascribing blame, altering interpretation
Problem Focused - intervene or distract
parents from conflict
Successful interventions increases the
likelihood that the child will be involved in
future conflicts
Child Variables
Contextual
Distal factors Conflict history as a primer for
increased sensitization
anticipated outcomes
Proximal factors Children who are depressed or in a negative mood
are more likely to recall negative events and make
negative judgements
Child Variables
Individual / Demographic differences
Temperament
“difficult” children react more strongly to marital
problem-solving task
• reactivity to stress
• influences on behavioural responses
• parent-child relationship
Age / Development
Children of all ages evidence maladjustment
No single age more or less likely to be affected
Gender
Boys - externalizing problems, girls - internalizing
Parent Variables
Parenting strategies
With partner
With child
Gender
Father-child relationship more vulnerable to
effects of marital conflict than mother-child
relationship
Non-family variables
Peer influences
Social influences
social support
social norms & mores
Both child and parent are influenced by
external factors
Study 4
Family characteristics as potentiating and
protective factors in the association
between parental conflict and child
functioning
Aim To identify the family processes that moderate
the link between interparental conflict and child
functioning
Study 4 - Hypotheses
 Family cohesion, interparental relationship
satisfaction and interparental emotional
expressiveness will act as protective factors in
associations between parental conflict and child
maladjustment
 The relationship between interpersonal conflict
and child emotional insecurity will be weaker for
children who experience warm, cohesive, and
expressive family relationship
Study 4 - Method
173 parent-child dyads completed survey packets to assess
11 variables:






Parental Conflict
Child Emotional Insecurity
Child Internalizing Symptoms
Child External Symptoms
Child Behaviour Dysregulation
Family Cohesion





Family Instability
Interparental Expressiveness
Interparental Satisfaction
Parent-Child Insecurity
Parenting Difficulties
Study 4 - Results
Statistical regression analysis supports a link between
family characteristics and child adjustment
 Specifically:
Interparental conflict correlated with child insecurity in
the parental relationship
Child insecurity correlated with child’s psychological
symptoms
No effect of adversity in the parent-child relationship
(i.e. parenting difficulties & parent-child insecurity)
Link between child insecurity and child maladjustment
weak when high levels of family cohesiveness,
parental satisfaction & interpersonal expressiveness
Study 4 - Conclusion
Family cohesiveness, parental satisfaction
& interpersonal expressiveness can
protect insecure children from suffering
maladjustment as a result of interparental
conflict
Easy for them to say...
Prevention & Intervention
Prevention
Prenuptial
The transition to parenthood
Infancy
Childhood
Adolescence
Marital/couples
Divorce
Intervention
Some forms of conflict can be good
because it teaches the child how to deal
with and solve their own conflicts
Intervention
I CAN DO program
Resourceful Adolescent Program
Prevention and Relationship Enhancement
Program
Children of Divorce Intervention Program
Divorce Education for Parents
Children in the Middle
Penn Prevention Program
Positive Adolescent Choices Training
A final thought…
Marital conflict does not cause
maladjustment in all children
Dispositional, cognitive and other factors
all play a significant role
Children’s and parent’s coping strategies
influence the end result of conflict
Successfully handled marital conflict can
help foster successful children
As Christina would say…
 "One track in particular that I wrote with Linda, it sounds
like a twisted lullaby," she continues. "It's about my
childhood and past. Not to get too specific, but I've
spoken openly about trying to get the word out about
domestic violence and child abuse, so one of the songs
is really personal. I'm not afraid to do that, because I feel
like so many other young people in certain situations like
this [can see that] someone coming from that
background could grow up and do something so great
and use a bad experience and turn it into a good one.
 I turned to music originally because of my past and
needing a release or an outlet to get out anger or
frustration or hurt."
As Christina would say…