Top

Gepubliceerd in:

26-04-2023 | Original Paper

Emerging Adults’ Perceptions of and Responses to Interparental Conflict

Auteurs: Kelly A. Warmuth, Angelina M. DeCapua, Abigail M. Fielding

Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Child and Family Studies | Uitgave 4/2024

Abstract

Negative and intense interparental conflict threatens emotional security, and children may respond to restore security, but emerging adults’ responses remain underexplored. We explored the relationship between perceived valence (positivity/negativity), intensity, and their interaction on 161 emerging adults’ (28% males) responses to interparental conflict. Participants listened to six audio conflict vignettes and rated their perceived negativity and intensity for each, as well as how they would respond if that conflict were between their parents. Using generalized estimating equations and linear mixed effects modeling, main effects showed that as perceived negativity or intensity increased, emerging adults were less likely to continue like normal, indicating their emotionally security was faltering, and they were more likely to attend to the conflict. Interaction effects showed that when emerging adults perceived conflict negativity and intensity as increasing across vignettes, they were even more likely to respond to the conflict with negative emotional reactivity, behavioral dysregulation, and mediation, but were less likely to respond with avoidance. Discussion addresses age-related differences in coping efficacy and emerging adults’ attempts to restore emotional security even when no longer living at home.

volgende artikel Indirect Effects of Parental Psychological Control on Emerging Adult Psychological Problems

Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood. A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469.CrossRefPubMed

Arnett, J. J. (2014). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Ballinger, G. A. (2004). Using generalized estimating equations for longitudinal data analysis. Organizational Research Methods, 7(2), 127–150. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428104263672.CrossRef

Bergman, K. N., Cummings, E. M., & Warmuth, K. A. (2016). The benefits of marital conflict: Constructiveness and resolution as predictors of positive child outcomes. In D. Narvaez, J. M. Braungart-Rieker, L. E. Miller-Graff, L. T. Gettler, & P. D. Hastings (Eds.), Contexts for young child flourishing: Evolution, family, and society (pp. 233–245). Oxford University Press.

Black, D. S., Sussman, S., & Unger, J. B. (2010). A further look at the intergenerational transmission of violence: Witnessing interparental violence in emerging adulthood. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 25(6), 1022–1042. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260509340539.CrossRefPubMed

Bradford, K., Barber, B. K., Olsen, J. A., Maughan, S. L., Erickson, L. D., Ward, D., & Stolz, H. E. (2004). A multi-national study of interparental conflict, parenting, and adolescent functioning: South Africa, Bangladesh, China, India, Bosnia, Germany, Palestine, Colombia, and the United States. Marriage & Family Review, 35(3–4), 1–7–137. https://doi.org/10.1300/J002v35n03_07.CrossRef

Brauer, M., & Curtin, J. J. (2018). Linear mixed-effects models and the analysis of nonindependent data: A unified framework to analyze categorical and continuous independent variables that vary within-subjects and/or within-Items. Psychological Methods, 23(3), 389–411. https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000159.CrossRefPubMed

Britt, S. L., & Huston, S. J. (2012). The role of money arguments in marriage. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 33(4), 464–476. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-012-9304-5.CrossRef

Buehler, C., Lange, G., & Franck, K. L. (2007). Adolescents’ cognitive and emotional responses to marital hostility. Child Development, 78(3), 775–789. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01032.x.CrossRefPubMed

Camisasca, E., Miragoli, S., Di Blasio, P., & Grych, J. (2017). Children’s coping strategies to inter-parental conflict: The moderating role of attachment. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(4), 1099–1111. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0645-9.CrossRef

Clark, T. R., & Phares, V. (2004). Feelings in the family: Interparental conflict, anger, and expressiveness in families with older adolescents. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 12(2), 129–138. https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480703261961.CrossRef

Cui, M., Fincham, F. D., & Pasley, B. K. (2008). Young adult romantic relationships: The role of parents’ marital problems and relationship efficacy. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(9), 1226–1235. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167208319693.CrossRefPubMed

Cummings, E. M., Ballard, M., El-Sheikh, M., & Lake, M. (1991). Resolution and children’s responses to interadult anger. Developmental Psychology, 27(3), 462–470. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.27.3.462.CrossRef

Cummings, E. M., Cheung, R. Y., Koss, K., & Davies, P. T. (2014). Parental depressive symptoms and adolescent adjustment: A prospective test of an explanatory model for the role of marital conflict. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 42(7), 1153–1166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-014-9860-2.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Cummings, E. M., & Davies, P. T. (1996). Emotional security as a regulatory process in normal development and the development of psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 8(1), 123–139. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579400007008.CrossRef

Cummings, E. M., Goeke-Morey, M. C., & Papp, L. M. (2003). Children’s responses to everyday marital conflict tactics in the home. Child Development, 74(6), 1918–1929. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1467-8624.2003.00646.x.CrossRefPubMed

Cummings, E. M., Kouros, C. D., & Papp, L. M. (2007). Marital aggression and children’s responses to everyday interparental conflict. European Psychologist, 12(1), 17–28. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040.12.1.17.CrossRef

Cusimano, A. M., & Riggs, S. A. (2013). Perceptions of interparental conflict, romantic attachment, and psychological distress in college students. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, 2(1), 45–59. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031657.CrossRef

Davies, P. T., Coe, J. L., Martin, M. J., Sturge-Apple, M. L., & Cummings, E. M. (2015). The developmental costs and benefits of children’s involvement in interparental conflict. Developmental Psychology, 51(8), 1026–1047. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000024.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Davies, P. T., & Cummings, E. M. (1994). Marital conflict and child adjustment: An emotional security hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 116(3), 387–411. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.116.3.387.CrossRefPubMed

Davies, P. T., Forman, E. M., Rasi, J. A., & Stevens, K. I. (2002). Assessing children’s emotional security in the interparental relationship: The Security in the Interparental Subsystem Scales. Child Development, 73(2), 544–562. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00423.CrossRefPubMed

Davies, P. T., & Martin, M. J. (2013). The reformulation of emotional security theory: The role of children’s social defense in developmental psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 25(4, Pt. 2), 1435–1454. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579413000709.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Davies, P. T., & Martin, M. J. (2014). Children’s coping and adjustment in high‐conflict homes: The reformulation of emotional security theory. Child Development Perspectives, 8(4), 242–249. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12094.CrossRef

Davies, P. T., Martin, M. J., Sturge-Apple, M. L., Ripple, M. T., & Cicchetti, D. (2016). The distinctive sequelae of children’s coping with interparental conflict: Testing the reformulated emotional security theory. Developmental Psychology, 52(10), 1646–1665. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000170.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Davies, P. T., Myers, R. L., Cummings, E. M., & Heindel, S. (1999). Adult conflict history and children’s subsequent responses to conflict: An experimental test. Journal of Family Psychology, 13(4), 610–628. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.13.4.610.CrossRef

Davies, P. T., Sturge-Apple, M. L., Winter, M. A., Cummings, E. M., & Farrell, D. (2006). Child adaptational development in contexts of interparental conflict over time. Child Development, 77(1), 218–233. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00866.x.CrossRefPubMed

Duggan, S., O’Brien, M., & Kennedy, J. K. (2001). Young adults’ immediate and delayed reactions to simulated marital conflicts: Implications for intergenerational patterns of violence in intimate relationships. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69(1), 13–24. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-006X.69.1.13.CrossRefPubMed

Emery, R. E. (1982). Interparental conflict and the children of discord and divorce. Psychological Bulletin, 92(2), 310–330. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.92.2.310.CrossRefPubMed

Fosco, G. M., & Grych, J. H. (2010). Adolescent triangulation into parental conflicts: Longitudinal implications for appraisals and adolescent-parent relations. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72(2), 254–266. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00697.x.CrossRef

Goeke-Morey, M. C., Cummings, E. M., Harold, G. T., & Shelton, K. H. (2003). Categories and continua of destructive and constructive marital conflict tactics from the perspective of US and Welsh children. Journal of Family Psychology, 17(3), 327–338. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.17.3.327.CrossRefPubMed

Goeke-Morey, M. C., Cummings, E. M., & Papp, L. M. (2007). Children and marital conflict resolution: Implications for emotional security and adjustment. Journal of Family Psychology, 21(4), 744–753. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.21.4.744.CrossRefPubMed

Grych, J. H., & Cardoza-Fernandes, S. (2001). Understanding the impact of interparental conflict on children: The role of social cognitive processes. In J. H. Grych & F. D. Fincham (Eds.), Interparental conflict and child development: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 157–187). Cambridge University Press.

Grych, J. H., & Fincham, F. D. (1990). Marital conflict and children’s adjustment: A cognitive-contextual framework. Psychological Bulletin, 108(2), 267–290. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.108.2.267.CrossRefPubMed

Grych, J. H., & Fincham, F. D. (1993). Children’s appraisals of marital conflict: Initial investigations of the cognitive-contextual framework. Child Development, 64(1), 215–230. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1993.tb02905.x.CrossRefPubMed

Hall, E. J., & Cummings, E. M. (1997). The effects of marital and parent-child conflicts on other family members: Grandmothers and grown children. Family Relations: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies, 46(2), 135–143. https://doi.org/10.2307/585037.CrossRef

Heck, R. H., Thomas, S. L., & Tabata, L. N. (2013). Multilevel and longitudinal modeling with IBM SPSS (2^nd ed.). Routledge.

Hoffman, J. A., & Weiss, B. (1987). Family dynamics and presenting problems in college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 34(2), 157–163. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.34.2.157.CrossRef

Hox, J. J. (2010). Multilevel analysis: Techniques and applications (2^nd ed.). Quantitative methodology series. Routledge.

Hunt, S. J., Krueger, L. E., & Limberg, D. (2017). The relationship between interparental conflict and self‐reported grade point average among college students. Journal of College Counseling, 20(3), 237–249. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocc.12072.CrossRef

Jenkins, J. M., Smith, M. A., & Graham, P. J. (1989). Coping with parental quarrels. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 28(2), 182–189. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-198903000-00006.CrossRef

Jobe-Shields, L., Williams, J., & Hardt, M. (2017). Predictors of emotional security in survivors of interpersonal violence. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26, 2834–2842. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0799-0.CrossRef

Johnson, H. D., LaVoie, J. C., Spenceri, M. C., & Mahoney-Wernli, M. A. (2001). Peer conflict avoidance: Associations with loneliness, social anxiety, and social avoidance. Psychological Reports, 88(1), 227–235. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.2001.88.1.227.CrossRefPubMed

Jouriles, E. N., Rosenfield, D., McDonald, R., & Mueller, V. (2014). Child involvement in interparental conflict and child adjustment problems: A longitudinal study of violent families. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 42(5), 693–704. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-013-9821-1.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Keeports, C. R., & Pittman, L. D. (2017). I wish my parents would stop arguing! The impact of interparental conflict on young adults. Journal of Family Issues, 38(6), 839–857. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X15613821.CrossRef

Kerig, P. K. (2001). Children’s coping with interparental conflict. In J. H. Grych & F. D. Fincham (Eds.), Interparental conflict and child development: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 213–245). Cambridge University Press.

Kolak, A. M., Van Wade, C. L., & Ross, L. T. (2018). Family unpredictability and psychological distress in early adulthood: The role of family closeness and coping mechanisms. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27, 3842–3852. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1211-4.CrossRef

Koss, K. J., George, M. R. W., Bergman, K. N., Cummings, E. M., Davies, P. T., & Cicchetti, D. (2011). Understanding children’s emotional processes and behavioral strategies in the context of marital conflict. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 109(3), 336–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2011.02.007.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Kumar, S. A., & Mattanah, J. F. (2018). Interparental conflict, parental intrusiveness, and interpersonal functioning in emerging adulthood. Personal Relationships, 25(1), 120–133. https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.12231.CrossRef

López-Larrosa, S., Sánchez-Souto, V., Ha, A. P., & Cummings, E. M. (2019). Emotional security and interparental conflict: Responses of adolescents from different living arrangements. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28, 1169–1181. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01364-1.CrossRef

Lucas-Thompson, R. G., & Hostinar, C. E. (2013). Family income and appraisals of parental conflict as predictors of psychological adjustment and diurnal cortisol in emerging adulthood. Journal of Family Psychology, 27(5), 784–794. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034373.CrossRefPubMed

McCoy, K., Cummings, E. M., & Davies, P. T. (2009). Constructive and destructive marital conflict, emotional security and children’s prosocial behavior. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50(3), 270–279. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.01945.x.CrossRefPubMed

O’Brien, M., Bahadur, M. A., Gee, C., Balto, K., & Erber, S. (1997). Child exposure to marital conflict and child coping responses as predictors of child adjustment. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 21(1), 39–59. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021816225846.CrossRef

Raudenbush, S. W., & Bryk, A. S. (2002). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods (2nd ed.). Sage Publications, Inc.

Rhoades, G. K., & Wood, L. F. (2014). Family conflict and college-student social adjustment: The mediating role of emotional distress about the family. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, 3(3), 156–164. https://doi.org/10.1037/cfp0000024.CrossRef

Richmond, M. K., & Stocker, C. M. (2007). Changes in children’s appraisals of marital discord from childhood through adolescence. Journal of Family Psychology, 21(3), 416–425. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.21.3.416.CrossRefPubMed

Roskos, P. T., Handal, P. J., & Ubinger, M. E. (2010). Family conflict resolution: Its measurement and relationship with family conflict and psychological adjustment. Psychology, 1(5), 370–376. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2010.15046.CrossRef

Roubinov, D. S., & Luecken, L. J. (2013). Family conflict in childhood and adolescence and depressive symptoms in emerging adulthood: Mediation by disengagement coping. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 54, 576–595. https://doi.org/10.1080/10502556.2013.828988.CrossRef

Schermerhorn, A. C., Cummings, E. M., & Davies, P. T. (2005). Children’s perceived agency in the context of marital conflict: Relations with marital conflict over time. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 51(2), 121–144. https://doi.org/10.1353/mpq.2005.0012.CrossRef

Shamir, H., Cummings, E. M., Davies, P. T., & Goeke-Morey, M. C. (2005). Children’s reactions to marital conflict in Israel and in the United States. Parenting: Science and Practice, 5(4), 71–86. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327922par0504_4.CrossRef

Shifflett-Simpson, K., & Cummings, E. M. (1996). Mixed message resolution and children’s responses to interadult conflict. Child Development, 67(2), 437–448. https://doi.org/10.2307/1131825.CrossRef

Tucker, C. J., Holt, M., & Wiesen-Martin, D. (2013). Inter-parental conflict and sibling warmth during adolescence: Associations with female depression in emerging adulthood. Psychological Reports, 112(1), 243–251. https://doi.org/10.2466/21.10.PR0.112.1.243-251.CrossRefPubMed

Turner, H. A., & Kopiec, K. (2006). Exposure to interparental conflict and psychological disorder among young adults. Journal of Family Issues, 27(2), 131–158. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X05280991.CrossRef

Ubinger, M. E., Handal, P. J., & Massura, C. E. (2013). Adolescent adjustment: The hazards of conflict avoidance and the benefits of conflict resolution. Psychology, 4(1), 50–58. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2013.41007.CrossRef

van Eldik, W. M., de Haan, A. D., Parry, L. Q., Davies, P. T., Luijk, M. P. C. M., Arends, L. R., & Prinzie, P. (2020). The interparental relationship: Meta-analytic associations with children’s maladjustment and responses to interparental conflict. Psychological Bulletin, 146(7), 553–594. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000233.CrossRefPubMed

Warmuth, K. A., Cummings, E. M., & Davies, P. T. (2018). Child behavioral dysregulation as a mediator between destructive marital conflict and children’s symptoms of psychopathology. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27, 2004–2013. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1038-z.CrossRef

Weldon, H. T., Schermerhorn, A. C., & Stickle, T. R. (2019). Children’s affective and arousal responses to live interparental conflict: Links with appraisals. Journal of Family Psychology, 33(5), 607–616. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000522.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Zhou, N., & Buehler, C. (2017). Adolescents’ responses to marital conflict: The role of cooperative marital conflict. Journal of Family Psychology, 31(7), 910–921. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000341.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Titel: Emerging Adults’ Perceptions of and Responses to Interparental Conflict
Auteurs: Kelly A. Warmuth
Angelina M. DeCapua
Abigail M. Fielding
Publicatiedatum: 26-04-2023
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Child and Family Studies / Uitgave 4/2024
Print ISSN: 1062-1024
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-2843
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-023-02582-4

Bohn Stafleu van Loghum

Deel dit onderdeel of sectie (kopieer de link)

Abstract

Log in om toegang te krijgen

Andere artikelen Uitgave 4/2024

Life Satisfaction of Early Adolescents: Roles of Child Abuse, Friend Communication, and Self-Esteem

Indirect Effects of Parental Psychological Control on Emerging Adult Psychological Problems

Longitudinal Family Functioning and Mental Health in Transgender and Nonbinary Youth and Their Families

The Association Between Marital Satisfaction and Parental Burnout: A Moderated Mediation Model of Parents’ and Grandparents’ Coparenting

The Role of Descriptive and Non-Specific Outcome-Oriented Praise in Child Self-Esteem: A Multiphase, Multimethod Investigation

Mother-Father Differences in Risk Factors for Postnatal Psychological Distress: Results from the German SKKIPPI Cohort Study