How Inter-Parental Conflict
Affects Children’s
Psychological development:
Theory, Research and
Practice Implications
Gordon Harold, PhD
Alexander McMillan Chair in Childhood Studies
Professor of Psychology
Social Service Providers Aotearoa Annual
Conference 2010
Presentation Overview

Family factors and children’s psychological
development

A review of family theory and research
• Role of the inter-parental relationship

A process-oriented vs. outcome-oriented approach
• Highlighting mechanisms underlying stress-distress links
• Implications for intervention

Examining the effects of inter-parental conflict on
children’s development

Evidence from research studies
• Study 1: Does inter-parental conflict affect children’s psychological well
being or vice versa?
• Study 2: What mechanisms explain the effects of inter-parental conflict
on children psychological well being?

Summary and Conclusions

Implications for practice and policy
Family Factors and Children’s
Development

How are children affected
by families






Internalising symptoms
Externalising problems
Social competence
Academic attainment
Physical health
What family factors affect
children (a focus on
environment)





Family type (transition)
Economic strain
Parent psychopathology
Negative parenting
Inter-parental conflict and
violence
Going Beyond Outcomes to
Highlighting Processes
Father
Psychological
Distress
Economic
or Work
pressure
Interparental
Conflict
ParentChild
Problems
Child
Problems
Mother
Psychological
Distress
Conger and colleagues 1989-2007
See (Our World)…..
Through Children’s Eyes…
Conflict as Context

Domestic violence



275 million children worldwide (matter of definition)
40%-60% of children show clinically significant emotional and
behavioural problems
Parental separation and divorce

30%-50% of new marriages end in divorce (UK, USA, NZ)
• 50 – 60% of children born in 1990’s will live in single-parent family
• In 2008, 43% of all marriages dissolved in NZ involved children under
17 years

‘Normal’ households


10%-20% of children living in households not marked as
domestically violent or where parental separation has occurred
show clinically significant emotional and behavioural problems
What types of problems do we see and why?
How Children are Affected by InterParental Conflict

Children of all ages are affected by exposure to conflict
between parents

6 months to 16 years
• Physiological arousal, anxiety, depression, aggression, hostility, IQ
deficits, low academic attainment, poor peer relations, AB problems

Conflict across the continuum
• Low warmth (silence) – High hostility (violence)

Direct versus Indirect effects of inter-parental conflict on
children



IP Conflict
IP Conflict
Parenting
Child Problems
Child Problems
Passive victim or active agent?

What are the effects of witnessing inter-parental conflict on
children?
Effects of Witnessing Conflict on Children

Brain development
Neurobiological deficits (HPA axis)

Emotional development
Anger, fear, shame, guilt, worry

Cognitive development
Attributions of self and others,
expectations of conflict

Social and Behavioural
development
Aggressiveness, interpretation of intent,
expectations of others, peer/romantic
relations
Evidence from Research Studies
Does inter-parental conflict affect children’s
psychological development?
Mannering, A., Harold, G.T., Leve, L et al., Longitudinal Associations Between Marital
Instability and Child Sleep Problems across Infancy and Toddlerhood. Child Development,
(in press).
Conflict as ‘Cause’??
 Two

fundamental questions
Direction of effects??
• Does inter-parental conflict affect children’s
psychological well being or does children’s
psychological well being affect levels of interparental conflict?

The role of genes??
• Is it the case that any association between interparental conflict and child outcomes is explained by
common genetic factors?

Gene-environment correlation
• Couple hostility = child hostility??
Early Growth and Development Study
(2003- present)
Sample

361 sets of adoptive children, adoptive parents, and birth parents



Sample retention: Adoptive family = 95% Birth parent = 92%
Families assessed at child age 9-, 18-months of age; ongoing
assessments at age 27-months, 4.5 years, 6 years and 7 years
Nationally-representative sample of families who made domestic
adoption placements in the United States between 2003-2006
Method

Videotaped Observation – adoptive families


Questionnaire – adoptive parents


Child temperament, parent-child interactions, marital interactions
video recorded in the home during 3-hour home visits at each wave.
Coding for these tasks is ongoing
Couple relationship, parent-child relationship, symptoms of depression
and anxiety, family economic conditions, styles of family interaction,
parenting style, children’s emotional and behavioural well-being, child
sleep problems
Questionnaire – birth parents

Couple relationship, diagnosis and symptoms of psychopathology,
drug use, economic conditions, life stress, temperament
Examining Change Longitudinally
Time 1 (2003)
Couple
Relationship
Instability
Children’s
Sleep
Problems
Time 2 (2004)
Couple
Relationship
Instability
Children’s
Sleep
Problems
Summary and Implications

Directions of effects??


Family influences predict child symptoms, not the other way around
The role of genes??

Sample is an adoption sample
• Children and parents are not genetically related
• Association cannot be explained by underlying common genetic factors



Effects cannot be explained by passive gene-environment correlation
Does not rule out evocative gene-environment correlation
Inter-parental conflict is a salient environmental factor for
children’s development

What factors explain inter-parental conflict effects on development?
• Role of negative parenting as underlying explanatory mechanism?

Moving towards environmental specificity in the study of
intergenerational transmission of psychopathology (mental health)
What Mechanisms Explain the Effects
of Inter-Parental Conflict on Children?
Conflict Between Couples and Children’s
Academic Attainment
Harold, G.T., Aitken, J., Shelton, K.H. (2007). Inter-parental conflict and children’s
academic attainment: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
South Wales Family Study (1999-2004)
Sample


542 children, parents and teachers (78% = two-parent;
9% = stepparent; 11% + 2% = single-parent)
Three year panel study 1999, 2000, 2001 (+ 2004 GCSE)


Sample retention: Parent = 71% (N = 387); Child and Teacher = 90%
(N = 488)
Representative of families living in England and Wales - family
composition, ethnic representation, economic diversity (2000).
Method

Interview


Family communication, problem solving, family relations etc.,
Questionnaire



Parents: Couple relationship, parent-child relationship, symptoms of
depression and anxiety, family economic conditions, styles of family
interaction, parenting style, children’s emotional and behavioural wellbeing
Children: Parent relationship, parent-child relationship, family
economic conditions, styles of family interaction, emotional and
behavioural well-being, family and school support, substance use,
Teachers: Child emotional and behavioural well being, academics
Measures

Inter-parental Conflict (1999)



Negative Parenting Behaviour (2000)

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Child report: Self-Blame subscale of the CPIC (Grych et al., 1992; =.89). This
subscale measures the extent to which children blame themselves or feel
responsible for conflict between parents.
Teacher Reports of Children’s Aggression (1999, 2000)


Child report: Rejection-Withdrawal subscale (CRPBI; Margolies & Weintraub,
1977; =.91).
Children’s Perceptions of Self-Blame for Inter-parental Conflict (2000)


Parent report: Spouse Hostility, Iowa Youth and Families Project Ratings Scales
(Melby et al., 1993; =.88) and the O’Leary-Porter scale (Porter & O’Leary,
1980; =.86).
Child report: Conflict Properties subscale of the CPIC (frequency, intensity and
resolution of conflict between parents; Grych, Seid & Fincham, 1992; =.79).
Teachers completed the aggression subscale (=.94) of the Teacher Report
Form of the Child Behavior Checklist (TRF CBCL; Achenbach, 1991).
Children’s Academic Attainment (2001)

Standardised examination grades (Key Stage Three) in three core subject areas
in the UK (English, Math, Science). Key Stage Three exams are tests in core
subjects that British school students sit at the end of their third year of secondary
school (age 13 or 14 years). Grades were recoded (7=Lo, 1=Hi), representing an
ordinal index of low academic attainment.
Age 11 years
Age 12 years
Age 13 years
Harsh / Rejecting
Parenting
Child
Interparental
Conflict
Aggressive
Problems
Parent
Aggressive
Problems
Low Academic
Attainment
English
Perceptions of
Self-Blame and
Responsibility
Math
Science
Summary

Children are affected by conflict across the spectrum



Low warmth (silence) to high hostility (violence)
Depression, aggression, anxiety, hostility, low self-esteem, low social
competence, delinquency, low academic attainment
Not ‘if’ conflict occurs, but ‘how’ conflict is expressed and
managed by parents (couples)

Conflict between parents matters for children
• Conflict is a salient environmental influence on children’s psychological development

Importance of the child’s perspective
• Attributions engendered in children in the context of inter-parental conflict
have long-term implications for their psychological development

Implications for intervention
• Efficacy of parenting support programmes in the context of inter-parental
conflict??
• Where do we invest policy $$$ to promote positive outcomes for children?
 Parenting focused programmes; family-wide programmes?

Application within a New Zealand Context

Implications for family focused – child outcome policy and practice?