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Children's immediate reactions to interparental conflict

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Children's immediate reactions to interparental conflict

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Content CHILDREN'S IMMEDIATE REACTIONS TO
INTERPARENTAL CONFLICT
by
Holly G arcia
A T hesis P resented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY O F SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirem ents for the D egree
M aster of Arts
(Psychology)
May 1995
Copyright 1995 Holly G arcia
UNIVERSITY O F SO U TH ER N CALIFORNIA
T H E GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY PARK
LOS ANGELES. CA LIFO RN IA 9 0 0 0 7
This thesis, 'written by
Holly Garcia
under the direction of hox......Thesis Committee,
and approved by all its members, has been pre
sented to and accepted by the Dean of The
Graduate School, in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts
C . ,
Dtan
Date J^ ££k Jl.,J995....
THESIS COMMITTEE
ii
This work is dedicated with love and appreciation to
My parents, Al and Ruth G arcia
iii
TABLE O F CONTENTS
PAGE
DEDICATION.......................................................................................................................... ii
LIST OF TABLES.................................................................................................................. iv
ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................. v
SPECIFIC AIMS..................................................................................................................... 1
BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE............................................................................3
METHOD................................................................................................................................12
Subjects............................................................................................................................12
Conflict Level...................................................................................................................14
PROCEDURES.................................................................................................................... 17
Home Data Questionnaire........................................................................................... 19
RESULTS..............................................................................................................................19
Interspousal Reliability.................................................................................................. 19
Descriptive Data.............................................................................................................20
Predicting children's reactions
according to conflict group and gender................................................................... 21
DISCUSSION.......................................................................................................................24
FOOTNOTES.......................................................................................................................33
REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................34
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE PAGE
1. M eans for dem ographic variables in each conflict group............................ 15
2. P ercen tag es of children in each group who exhibited
reactions to conflict................................................................................................... 22
3. Logistic regression an aly ses reflecting differences
betw een conflict groups in the likelihood of exhibiting
certain reactions to conflict..................................................................................... 23
4. Intercorrelations am ong reactions to interparental conflict...........................25
V
ABSTRACT
S tu d ie s h av e d e m o n stra te d th at m arital conflict is a s so c ia te d with
childhood p ro b lem s, a n d th a t th e relationship b etw en m arital conflict a n d child
o u tco m e m ay differ d ep en d in g on th e n atu re or intensity of th e conflict. This
stu d y e x a m in e s ch ild ren 's (a g e s 8 to 11) im m ediate reactio n s to w itn essin g
conflict b e tw e e n th eir p a re n ts in th eir hom e environm ent. M others a n d fa th e rs
from 110 tw o -p aren t fam ilies in d ep en d en tly reco rd ed th eir child's daily
reactio n s o v er a period of six w eek s. Logistic reg ressio n w a s u s e d to c o m p a re
th e likelihood of exhibiting certain reactio n s to conflict am o n g children from low
conflict (LC), verbally a g g re ssiv e (VA), a n d physically a g g re ssiv e (PA) h o m es.
R esp o n d in g to in terp aren tal a n g e r, children from PA h o m e s w ere m ore likely
th an children from LC a n d VA h o m es to leav e th e room , cry, e x p re ss a n g e r,
a p p e a r d istre ss e d , s a d or frightened, an d m isb eh av e o r h av e a tantrum . T h ere
w a s so m e ev id en ce th a t children from VA h o m es m ay b e m ore likely th an
children from LC h o m es to try to m ak e p e a c e b etw een th eir p a re n ts, a n d th at PA
children m ay b e th e m ost likely to try to m ak e p e a c e . T h e re w ere no significant
m ain effects o r interactions for g en d er. T h e se resu lts s u g g e s t th a t m ore in te n se
conflict involving physical a g g re ssio n m ay lead to g re a te r sen sitizatio n th an
le ss e x tre m e form s of conflict, a n d leav e children m ore v u ln erab le to feelings of
a n g e r, fear, an d d istre ss.
1
S pecific Aims
It is reco g n ized th at s o m e children w ho h av e b e e n e x p o s e d to
in terp aren tal conflict grow up u n sc a th e d , but o th e r children d e v elo p enduring
em otional a n d beh av io ral p ro b lem s (G rych & F incham , 1993; Jo u riles, M urphy,
& O 'L eary, 1989), a n d s o m e b e co m e involved in conflictual relatio n sh ip s of
th eir ow n (B rockopp, & C hew , 1986; M arshall & R o se, 1988; O 'K eeffe, Riggs,
O 'Leary, & Breslin, 1990). W hat is th e m ech an ism by w hich conflict negatively
affects certain ch ild ren ? A child's im m ediate reaction to a situation m ay b e an
indicator of how th a t child will b e affected by th a t situation on a long term b asis.
A child's reaction m ay a lso provide a clue to th e type of coping m ech an ism
u s e d in a given situation, lending inform ation to w hy certain children a re m ore
ad v ersely affected by su ch e v e n ts th a n a re o th ers.
M ost previous re se a rc h h a s tried to a s s e s s global a n d long term effects
of p a re n ts' interaction sty le s on ch ild ren 's b eh av io r a n d d ev elo p m en t.
H ow ever, only limited co n clu sio n s h av e b e e n d raw n ab o u t th e w ay in which
m arital conflict le ad s to child a d ju stm en t p ro b lem s (G rych & F incham , 1990). In
addition, few s tu d ie s h av e ex am in ed th e p ro c e s s e s th at tra n sp ire w hen
children w itn ess in terp aren tal conflict. W hile it is useful to stu d y th e global
relationship b etw een m arital conflict an d child o u tco m e, th e m e c h a n ism s by
w hich m arital interaction affects children c a n b e b e tte r u n d e rsto o d by
exam ining th e s e relatio n sh ip s a t a m icroanalytic level. T his stu d y th u s
ex p lo re s ch ild ren 's im m ediate rea ctio n s to w itnessing conflict b e tw e e n th eir
own p a re n ts.
2
It m ay b e th at children's reactions to interparental conflict differ
d ep en d in g on th e nature of th e conflict exhibited. Clearly th e re a re different
ty p e s of m arital conflict, ranging from n o n ag g ressiv e problem -soiving to conflict
ch arac te rize d by verbal ag g ressio n an d physical ag g ressio n . Fincham , G rych,
& O sb o rn e (1994) explain th at conflict betw een ad u lts ch aracterized by verbal
a g g re ssio n (C um m ings, V ogel, C um m ings, & El-Sheikh, 1989; G rych &
F incham , 1993) an d incom plete resolution (C um m ings et al., 1989; C um m ings,
Ballard, El-Sheikh, & Lake, 1991) is em otionally upsetting to children, w h e re as
n o n ag g ressiv e conflicts that reach resolution d o not a p p e a r to b o th er children
an y m ore th an nonconflictual d iscu ssio n s (C um m ings e t al., 1991; C um m ings,
Sim pson, & W ilson, 1993). D avies an d C um m ings (1994) explain th at children
a re put at th e g re a te st risk for negative reactio n s an d ad ju stm en t problem s
w hen conflict is ch aracterized by physical ag g ressio n . In o rd e r to further
ex am in e how specific dim ensions of conflict are related to child outcom e, this
study ex am in es th e d ifferen ces in children’ s re sp o n se to interparental conflict
b etw een children from physically ag g ressiv e, verbally a g g re ssiv e an d low
conflict hom es.
Day to day reactio n s of 110, 8 to 11 y e ar olds from intact fam ilies w ere
exam in ed o v er a period of 42 d ay s. Information w as g a th e re d from
q u estio n n aires filled out independently by e a c h p aren t on a daily b asis for 6
w eek s. This ap p ro ach em ploys participant observ atio n for gathering
co n tin u o u s prospective interactional d a ta (Margolin, 1987; Atkinson & H uston,
1984) which involves having a family m em ber o b se rv e a n d record ongoing
family interaction. T h e se p ro ced u res, although th ey involve self-report, m ay be
m ore a c c u ra te th an traditional self-report m eth o d s b e c a u s e they repeatedly
3
a s s e s s family m em b ers regarding recent specific ev en ts. T h e se p ro ced u res
also d o not require th e longer term recall of ev en ts and d o not ask the
re sp o n d e n t to a g g re g a te multiple ev en ts into a single rating, a s is th e c a s e with
m ore traditional m ethods (Atkinson & H uston, 1984; H uston, M cHale, &
C router, 1985). D ata from th e s e q u estio n n aires w ere u se d to a d d re ss th e
following q u estio n s a n d h y p o th eses:
1. W hat are th e im m ediate reactions of p re-ad o lescen t children to
w itnessing interparental conflict? Are th ere differences b etw een boys'
a n d girls' im m ediate reactions to conflict? It is hypothesized th at both
boys a n d girls will resp o n d to interparental conflict with reactions that
indicate they a re em otionally u pset.
2. Are th ere differences in reactions to interparental conflict b etw een
children in physically ag g ressiv e h o m es, verbally ag g ressiv e h o m es,
an d low conflict h o m e s? W e hypothesize th at th e re will b e differences
am ong th e th re e g ro u p s. Children from verbally ag g re ssiv e h o m es m ay
exhibit m ore d istre sse d re sp o n se s th an do children from low conflict
h o m es, an d children from physically ag g ressiv e h o m es m ay exhibit
m ore d istre sse d re sp o n s e s than do children from both low conflict and
verbally a g g re ssiv e hom es.
B ackground an d Significance
S tu d ies su g g e st th at observing a n g e r b etw een o th ers m ay have a
negative effect on children's dev elo p m en t (C um m m ings, Z ahn-W axler &
Radke-Y arrow , 1981, G rych & Fincham , 1993; P orter & O 'Leary, 1980). P orter
an d O 'Leary (1980) found th at conflict th at o ccurred in front of children, but not
overall m arital satisfaction predicted various child ad ju stm en t problem s in boys
4
a g e s five to 16. It h as also b een dem onstrated th at marital conflict not
sep aratio n , is a critical factor in th e connection betw een divorce an d child
problem s (Emery, 1982; H ow es & M arkm an, 1989; Grych & Fincham , 1990;
Jaycox & Repetti, 1993; Rutter, 1985). Clearly th e se stu d ies dem o n strate that
marital conflict is asso c ia te d with childhood problem s. H ow ever, little is known
ab o u t th e p ro c e sse s that m ay account for this relationship.
R esearch h a s show n that children react to conflict in a variety of w ays
ranging from becom ing d istressed , anxious, or withdrawn (Em ery, 1982) to
m ediating, scolding, comforting, and, in a few c a s e s, laughing (Cum m ings et
al., 1984). C um m ings et al. (1981) found in their study involving very young
children, that the m ost com m on re sp o n se s to observing naturally occurring
a n g e r betw een o th ers w ere a n g er and d istress, with crying a s th e m ost
frequent behavioral resp o n se.
It h a s b een su g g ested that frequent conflict sen sitizes children to conflict
an d is linked to negative em otional reactions an d a higher incidence of
adjustm ent problem s (Cum m ings, Zahn-W axler & Radke-Y arrow, 1 9 8 1 ,1 9 8 4 ;
Fincham & O sborne, 1993). Cum m ings et al. (1981) found that th e m ore
frequently children w itn essed interparental anger, the m ore th e se children
reacted to th e se conflicts in an in secu re an d disturbed m anner. Cum m ings,
lannotti, & Zahn-W axler (1985) found th at children who had b een ex p o sed to
two laboratory sim ulations of a n g er betw een ad u lts exhibited m ore d istress
an d ag g ressio n the seco n d time com pared to th e first tim e they w ere ex p o sed
to an a n g e r interaction. An alternative to th e sensitization hypothesis is that
children will becom e d esen sitized to interparental anger. Children who a re
repeatedly ex p o sed to marital conflict may find th at over tim e the interactions
5
b eco m e less novel and interesting. However, in term s of children's behavioral
an d em otional reactions, research h as favored th e sensitization hypothesis
(D avies & C um m ings, 1994).
Fincham (1994) su g g e sts that, to further our understanding of th e
connection betw een marital conflict and child outcom e, w e should look at how
specific dim ensions of conflict are related to child adjustm ent. O ne dim ension
of interest is th e intensity of conflict. The relation betw een marital conflict and
child outcom e may differ depending on th e intensity of the conflict. Exposure to
low intensity conflict m ay not be a s upsetting to children a s exposure to conflict
ch aracterized by verbal or physical aggression. Grych and Fincham (1993)
found th at w hether or not children b ecam e involved in interparental conflict
d e p e n d e d on th e am ount of a n g er e x p re ssed during th e conflict, an d th at
children m ay be m ore likely to intervene w hen interparental conflict is of low
intensity and less likely to intervene w hen th e conflict is of high intensity. They
also reported th at children w ere m ore likely to respond to conflict ch aracterized
by verbal ag g ressio n an d hostility with negative affect, self blam e, and the
expectation that the conflict will esca la te (Grych & Fincham , 1993). R esearch
also h a s show n that children react in a m ore d istre sse d m anner w hen
observing naturally occurring conflicts betw een their p aren ts th at are
ch aracterized by physical aggression (Cum m ings et al., 1981), an d that
children w atching vid eo tap es of adults engaging in conflict display m ore
d istress w hen th e se conflicts contained physical aggression th an w hen the
conflict contains only verbal ag g ressio n (Cum m ings et al., 1989).
In their review of th e literature, Fincham , Grych & O sborne (1994)
d iscu ss m echanism s that m ay account for th e association betw een marital
6
conflict and child problem s. T here generally have been two routes considered
to connect marital conflict with child outcom es: an indirect path via the parent-
child relationship, and a direct path which includes m echanism s such a s
modeling, em otional regulation, and stre ss exposure.
It h as been well docum ented that children have a tendency to imitate
their parents, and this type of modeling behavior is considered one viable
m echanism to account for the association betw een marital conflict and child
outcom e. B andura (1969) arg u es that vicarious learning is a very important
way in which people experience their world and that a g reat deal of what
children learn is through observation rather than direct experience. Children
learn about interpersonal relationships by observing adults, especially their
parents. Cum m ings et al. (1985) found that in their study children becam e
aggressive tow ard playm ates after exposure to angry interactions betw een
adults. Grych and Fincham (1990) su g g est that children who already tend to
be aggressive may be especially likely to becom e disorderly when exposed to
aggressive m odels. Johnson and O'Leary (1987) found that m others of
conduct disordered girls were m ore hostile and fathers m ore aggressive than
parents of girls without conduct disorder. However one cannot rule out genetic
factors or the possibility of bi-directionality, a s it may be the children's actions
that influence parents' behaviors.
N evertheless, if parents are belligerent and aggressive, children may
learn that this is an appropriate way to deal with problem s. Children who
observe their parents resolve conflict with intimidation and dom ination may
resort to similar strategies when interacting with p eers (Fincham et al., 1994).
But what if the parents' conflicts are not resolved? Learning theory would have
7
to predict th at the child would discover that th ese are not productive w ays to
resolve conflict. If this is the ca se, then why d o es unresolved conflict elicit
m aladaptive reactions in children? P erh ap s arousal is a key variable, rather
than simply modeling of inappropriate behavior.
O bserving marital conflict may have an im pact on children's ability to
regulate their em otions (Fincham et al., 1994). Observing interparental conflict
can be extrem ely arousing and children's abilities to self soothe may be
affected by how their parents' handle their own em otions. Emotional arousal
an d behavioral reactivity in resp o n se to angry interactions betw een adults
have b een asso ciated with aggression in children and may predict adjustm ent
problem s (D avies and Cum m ings, 1994). Fincham et al. (1994) explain that
em otional regulation difficulties may m anifest externally through im pulsiveness
and aggression or internally through anxiety and depression. T h ese problem s
in turn may inhibit the developm ent of adaptive p ee r relationships. Davies &
Cum m ings (1994) offer an emotional security hypothesis which accounts for
both em otional regulation and sensitization. They su g g est that children who
are repeatedly exposed to interparental conflict will develop an increased
s e n se of em otional insecurity. This reduces their capacity for regulating
em otions and behavior, making them more susceptible to feelings of fear,
d istress, and anger.
S tress exposure may help account for the connection betw een marital
conflict and child outcom e. Exposure to marital conflict is a stressful
experience for alm ost all children, affecting children as early a s 1 an d 2 years
of a g e (Cum m ings et al., 1981). Grych and Fincham (1990) explain that
children who experience extrem e stress may rely on well-learned yet
8
m aladaptive coping re sp o n se s such a s aggression or withdrawal. As th e se
children m ature they may continue to use th e se m aladaptive strategies w hen
threatened. Cum m ings et af. (1989) found that the sam e children who w ere
rated by their m others a s having clinical levels of behavior problem s also
reported m ore distress resp o n ses to observing an g er betw een others than
children with minimal behavior problems. O nce again it may be that the
children's problem s m ake them m ore vulnerable to exposure to anger. That is,
the directionality of this effect still n eed s to be tested. N onetheless their study
provides support for a connection betw een im m ediate response to conflict and
overall child outcom e.
This study is designed specifically to explore w hether children living in
hom es characterized by different styles of conflict exhibit different reactions to
interparental conflict. T he study plans to expand upon the existing literature by
exam ining a child's im m ediate reaction to w itnessing actual conflict betw een
his or her own parents in a natural environment. This m ethod is also designed
to provide insight into w hat specific child reactions w ere w itnessed during or
im m ediately following the parental conflict, lending explanation to how
interparental conflict exerts its influence on children.
A nother asp ect of the study focuses on g en d er differences in reactions
to conflict. Findings regarding gen d er differences have been inconsistent and
generally confusing. Several studies have su g g ested that marital discord has
a g reater effect on boys rather than girls, and that boys tend to exhibit more
acting out behavior while girls exhibit m ore internalizing behavior (Cummings
et al., 1985; Emery & O'Leary, 1981; Jouriles, Barling, & O'Leary, 1987; Porter
9
& O'Leary, 1980). In contrast, O'Keeffe (1994) found that marital violence
w itnessed by children is a better predictor of girls', rather than boys’,
behavior problems, especially externalizing behavior. Furtherm ore, other
studies have not found gender differences in children’s reactions to marital
discord (D adds & Powell, 1981; Grych & Fincham, 1990; Grych & Fincham,
1993, Grych, Seid, & Fincham, 1992; Jouriles, Bourg, & Farris, 1991). Bishop
and Ingersoll (1988) found that both sex es show ed a lower self- concept in
hom es of high marital conflict that those from low conflict hom es. However
w hen they divided the self-concept scales into subscales, girls scored lower
than boys on the anxiety, intellectual/ school status, and popularity
scales. As the above d ata suggest, the question may not be if marital discord
affects boys and girls differently, but how marital discord affects boys and girls
differently. In addition, this confusion regarding gender differences may be
partially attributed to the small num ber of studies that exam ine gender
differences on any one dependent variable, the differences in gender findings
across ag e levels, and the findings of gender differences a s main effects rather
than interactions with exposure variables (Margolin, 1995).
B ecause most research has been done on younger children, less is
Known about the way in which older children respond to conflict. However,
literature su g g ests that children may respond differently to marital conflict as
they age. It is possible that by the time children reach a g es eight to eleven,
their reactions may not be a s noticeable, for som e studies suggest that as
children reach pre-adolescence they becom e more emotionally distanced from
their parents (Steinberg, 1987). Alternatively, others suggest that older
10
children are likely to have g reater exposure to and be m ore aw are of
interpersonal conflict (Porter & O'Leary, 1979). P erhaps a s children mature
they becom e more aw are of the potential ramifications of family conflict, and
are therefore more likely to react emotionally or intervene. This notion is
supported in the literature regarding alcoholic families, w hereby children of
alcoholics are more likely to intervene in argum ents involving angry adults than
children who do not have alcoholic parents (Ballard & Cum m ings, 1990). In a
longitudinal study, Cum m ings et al. (1984) found evidence that school-age
children w ere less likely than toddlers to express overt em otions in an g er
situations, and m ore likely and able to act a s arbitrators, speaking in a
constructive way to help am eliorate the conflict.
Although there is substantial literature reporting the effects of marital
interaction on children on a global level, few investigators have exam ined
children’ s im m ediate reactions to marital conflict on a daily basis. In a series of
studies, Cummings and his colleagues set a precedent for examining
children's im m ediate reactions to conflict in a naturalistic home setting.
Cum m ings et al. (1981) exam ined over a period of nine months, the daily
reactions of children, one to two and a half years of age, to interparental
expressions of anger. Journal entries, com pleted by m others who were trained
to observe their children's reaction, indicated that a s early a s one year of age
children are likely to exhibit an emotional reaction to an g er (Cummings et al.,
1981). While Cum m ings et al. (1981) set a valuable precedent for examining
children's im m ediate reactions to conflict in a non-laboratory setting, the small
sam ple size of 24 white, middle-class children limits the generalizability of the
11
findings. In addition, all th e inform ation g a th e re d regarding th e ch ildren's
reactio n s w a s b a s e d solely on th e m o th ers' reports.
T his stu d y is d e sig n e d to im prove upon certain m ethodological
lim itations of p rev io u s literature. First, a su b stan tial am o u n t of re se a rc h on th e
relationship b e tw e e n m arital interaction a n d child o u tco m e h a s involved only
clinic s a m p le s (Em ery & O 'L eary, 1982, 1988; Jo u riles, Barling, & O 'Leary,
1987; Jo u riles et al., 1989; P o rter & O 'Leary, 1980), w hich m ay not g en eralize
to th e re st of th e population. T his study u s e s a non-clinic sa m p le to b ro ad en
ou r u n d erstan d in g of family functioning to th e g e n e ra l com m unity. S e c o n d ,
prev io u s w ork co n cern in g ch ild ren 's reactio n s to conflict h a s u s e d sim u lated
in teractio n s b etw een a c to rs (C um m ings et al., 1985) often in laboratory se ttin g s
(G rych & F incham , 1993). Artificial situ atio n s m ay be le s s en g ag in g and
aro u sin g th an actu al m arital conflict in a n atural settin g (O 'B rien, M argolin, &
Jo h n , 1993). A lso, reactio n s o b tain ed from w itn essin g in teractio n s b e tw een
non-fam ily m e m b e rs m ay not b e directly ap p licab le to ch ild ren 's e x p e rie n c e s
within th e family. W e a d d re s s e d th e s e c o n c e rn s by ask in g m o th ers a n d fath ers
to o b se rv e a n d reco rd ongoing family interactions in th e ir hom e environm ent.
Third, often stu d ie s rely solely on m o th ers' rep o rts regarding th e link b etw een
m arital conflict a n d child ad ju stm en t (C um m ings e t al., 1989; C um m ings et al.,
1981; E m ery & O ’Leary, 1982; Je n k in s & Sm ith, 1989; Jo u rile s et al., 1987;
P o rter & O 'L eary, 1981). It is p o ssib le th a t o n e p e rso n 's report m ay b e b ia se d
a n d th u s sh o u ld not b e th e sole so u rc e of inform ation (O 'B rien et al., 1993). To
red u c e th e im pact of o b se rv e r bias, this study in clu d es rep o rts from both
p a re n ts regarding th eir ch ild ren 's reactio n s to conflict. In addition, ch ild ren 's
rep o rts w ere co m b in ed with p a re n ts' rep o rts to a s s e s s global m arital conflict.
12
W e h av e also included a sam p le size of 110, which is substantially larger than
m any of th e previous stu d ies th at d em o n strate findings b a s e d on sam p le siz e s
of le ss than 50 ( Bishop & Ingersoll, 1989; C um m ings et al., 1989; C um m ings et
al., 1985; Em ery & O 'Leary, 1982; H ow es & M arkm an, 1989; Jouriles, Barling,
& O 'Leary, 1987; O 'Brien, Margolin, Jo h n , & K rueger, 1991).
As it h a s b een explained, it is essen tial to exam ine th e sh o rt term an d
im m ediate effects of p aren t's interaction sty les on children. By ad d re ssin g the
previously d efined q u estio n s an d m ethodological co n sid eratio n s, th e study is
d e sig n e d to further explain th e connection b etw een children's reactio n s to
conflict and factors that m ay influence th o se reactions. In addition, by
differentiating am ong low conflict, verbally ag g re ssiv e, a n d physically
a g g re ssiv e fam ilies, p erh a p s w e can further our u n d erstan d in g of how specific
form s of conflict lead to different reactions in children.
M ethod
Subjesis
Direct m ailings an d public an n o u n ce m e n ts w ere u se d to recruit 180 two-
p aren t fam ilies with a child b etw een eight an d eleven y e a rs of a g e , inclusive.
Eligibility requirem ents for th e fam ilies w ere a s follows: (1) Both p a re n ts had to
b e ab le to read an d sp e a k English; (2) th e child had to be either biologically
related to both p a re n ts or living with th e p aren ts sin ce a g e two; (3) th e family
h ad to h av e a telep h o n e; (4) both th e p a re n ts an d th e child had to b e willing to
participate in at least o n e laboratory se ssio n . Fam ilies received a paym ent of
$60 for taking part in a 4-hour laboratory se ssio n and com pleting daily
q u estio n n aires for one w eek. Fam ilies received th e option to com plete daily
q u estio n n aires for five m ore w eek s for an additional $50. To b e included in th e
13
p re se n t study, su b jec ts n ee d e d to com plete th e daily q u estio n n aires for six
w eek s, an d report at least o n e in stan ce of conflict in front of th e child.
O n e hundred an d thirty-three fam ilies fiiied out q u estio n n aires for 6 w eek s and
110 of th e s e fam ilies e n d o rse d at least o n e d ay of conflict in front of th e child.
T h e 110 children includes 58 boys an d 52 girls. C hildren's a g e s range
from 8 to 11 y e a rs (M - 9.65, S B = 1.09) for boys an d 8 to 11 y e a rs (M - 9-39,
SD = .99) for girls. G rad e level of children ra n g e s from 2 to 7 (M = 4.0, S B =
1.12) for boys an d 2 to 8 (M = 4.0, S D = 1.27) for girls. N um ber of siblings in
e a c h family ran g e from 0 to 3 (M = 1 -36, S B = -85) for boys an d 0 to 3 {M = 1.5,
SD = 1.04) for giris. W ISC-R inform ation su b sc a le sc o re s ran g e from 6 to 19
(M = 11.90, S B = 2.76) for boys an d 7 to 18 (M = 12.06, S B = 2.71) for girls.
W ISC-R block d esig n su b sc a le sco res ran g ed from 4 to 19 (M = 12.16, S B =
3.57) for b oys an d 1 to 19 (M = 11.79, S B = 3.30) for girls. A ges of th e w ives
a n d h u sb a n d s ran g e from 26 to 51 y e a rs (M = 37.88 y e ars, S B = 5.13) an d 27
to 5 5 y e a rs (M= 40.46, S B - 5.76) respectively. Y ears to g e th e r ran g e from 4 to
2 8 y ea rs (M = 14.29, S B = 4.08). Y ears of education ran g e from 11 to 20 y ears
for w ives (M - 14.73, S B = 2.16) and from 10 to 20 y ea rs for h u sb a n d s (M =
15.17, S B = 2.53). G ro ss m onthly family incom e ra n g e s from no incom e to
$ 16,800 (M = $4,500 S B = $2,800). T h e ethnic com position of th e fam ilies is
65% C a u c asian , 18% A frican-A m erican, 3% H ispanic, 1% A sian a n d 14% are
biracial or from an o th er ethnic group.
Fam ilies w ere divided into th ree g ro u p s (verbally a g g re ssiv e , physically
a g g re ssiv e , an d low conflict) a n d a n a ly se s w ere run to d eterm in e w h eth er the
th re e g ro u p s w ere dem ographically co m p arab le. C h i-sq u are a n a ly se s
rev ealed no significant d ifferences b etw een g ro u p s on fam ilies' ethnicity,
14
children's g rad e level, children's ag e, num ber of siblings, an d children's WISC-
R sc o re s for th e block design and information su b scales. O ne way ANOVAs
revealed no significant differences betw een groups on w ives' a g e , h u sb a n d s’
a g e , w ives' education, an d h u sb an d s' education. The only significant
differences am ong the th ree conflict groups w ere th e am ount of y ears p aren ts
h ad b e e n together, E (2,107) =3.10, p c.05, and g ro ss monthly incom e, E
(2,107) = 3.10, p<.05. H ow ever th e se variables w ere not correlated with any of
th e d ep en d en t variables. M eans for the LC, VA, and PA groups for y ears
to g eth er w ere 14.56 (£0. = 3.98), 15.34 (£Q = 3.64), and 13.05 (£ Q = 4.34)
respectively and m ean s for each groups' g ro ss monthly incom e w ere $4,226
(SD = 1,697), $5,411 (£Q = 3,382), and $3,899 (£Q = 2,816) respectively. A
list of group m ean s for all of th e dem ographic variables is found in T able 1.
Conflict Level
Fam ilies w ere divided into physically ag g ressiv e (PA), verbally
ag g ressiv e (VA) low conflict (LC) groups according to their sc o re s on the
D om estic Conflict Index (DCI; Margolin, Burm an, John, & O'Brien, 1990) and 8
item s of the child's version of the Conflict Tactics S cale (CTS; S traus, 1979).
The D om estic Conflict Index is a 51-item questionnaire that includes
item s representing physical ag g ression, verbal ag g ressio n , an d various form s
of anger. Eighteen item s from th e S traus' Conflict Tactics Scale-Form N
(S traus, 1979) are included in th e DCI. S p o u se s reported w hether or not ("yes"
or "no") either sp o u se had e n g ag ed in a variety of behaviors ranging from
"scream ed or yelled at sp ouse" to "beat up spouse". If they en d o rsed "yes" to
any of th e se item s they w ere ask ed if they had en g ag e d in any of th e se
behaviors in front of th e target child ("yes", "maybe", "no"). For the p u rp o ses of
15
Table 1
Means for demographic_variables in each conflict group
demographic variable
Conflict Group
LCa VAb PA ®
Mean SD
Mean SD Mean SD
boys' age 9.47 .94 9.85 1.14 9.62 1.16
girls' age 9.40 1.05 9.67 .90 9.12 .99
boys' grade level 4.53 .87 4.47 1.17 4.33 1.28
girls' grade level 4.20 1.12 4.73 1.10 4.00 1.46
boys' # siblings 1.71 .85 1.15 .88 1.29 .79
girls' # siblings 1.56 1.00 1.20 1.01 1.71 1.11
boys' WISC-R information 12.24 2.66 12.00 3.08 11.52 2.62
girls' WISC-R information 11.85 2.91 12.93 2.89 11.53 2.24
boys' WISC-R block design 12.47 3.56 12.20 3.46 11.86 3.83
girls' WISC-R block design 11.90 3.18 11.07 3.62 12.30 3.24
husbands’ age 40.62 5.72 41.86 5.25 39.03 6.04
wives' age 38.19 5.33 38.49 4.16 37.03 5.75
husbands' yrs of education 15.23 2.44 15.63 2.34 14.63 2.75
wives' yrs of education 15.00 2.27 15.14 1.91 14.08 2.16
parents years togetherd 14.56 3.98 15.34 3.64 13.05 4.34
gross monthly income de 4.23 1.70 5.41 3.38 3.90 2.82
Note. LC = low conflict families; VA = verbally aggressive families; PA = physically
aggressive families.
aH=37. bn=35. cn=38. dSignificant differences at j*<.05 were found for these two variables.
eThis variable is expressed in thousands of dollars.
16
th is study, w e only c o u n ted b eh av io rs th at h ad o ccu rred in front of th e child, a s
w e w e re in tere ste d in conflict w itn esse d by th e child ra th e r th a n a g e n e ra l level
of m arital conflict. D ue to p a re n ts' te n d e n c ie s to u n d errep o rt ch ild ren 's
e x p o su re to conflict, a n sw e rs of "m aybe" a n d "yes" w ere co u n te d a s affirm ative
re s p o n s e s (G rych, S eid & F incham , 1992; O 'B rien, Jo h n , M argolin, & Erel,
1994). E ach s p o u s e co m p leted th e q u estio n n aire tw ice, o n c e regarding his or
h e r ow n b eh av io rs ("H ave you e v e r s c re a m e d o r yelled at y o u r s p o u s e ? ”), and
o n c e regarding th e b eh av io rs of his o r h e r s p o u s e ("H as y o u r s p o u s e e v e r
s c re a m e d o r yelled at you?"). T h e m axim um for e a c h item a c ro s s all four
q u e stio n n a ire s (two q u e stio n n a ire s for e a c h sp o u se ) w a s u s e d to co m p u te th e
su m of verbal-sym bolic a g g re ssio n item s1 a n d th e su m of e x tre m e physical
a g g re ss io n ite m s2 for e a c h couple.
T h e child versio n of th e Conflict T a ctic s S c a le (S trau s, 1979) w a s u se d
to obtain children’s ratings of in terp aren tal conflict. In this study, children
rep o rted w h eth e r th eir m o th er a n d fath e r exhibit various conflict ta c tics with o n e
a n o th e r ranging from "d iscu sse d th e issu e calm ly" to " kicked, bit, or hit with a
fist". T h e th re e m ost ex trem e item s ("beat up th e o th e r one", "th re a te n e d with a
knife o r gun", "u sed a knife o r a gun") w ere not ad m in istered b e c a u s e w e u se d
a non-clinic population an d did not w ant to alarm children by introducing th e
id e a th a t so m e p a re n ts e n g a g e in s e v e re vio len ce with e a c h other. To acco u n t
for d ifferen ces in reading abilities, q u e stio n s w ere rea d alo u d to th e children.
S c o re s w ere tak e n from th e su m of th e verbal-sym bolic a g g re ssio n item s
("insulted o r sw o re at th e o th er o n e ”, "sulked o r refu sed to talk a b o u t a n issue",
"sto m p ed o u t of th e room h o u se o r yard", "did so m ething to sp ite th e o th e r
one") a n d th e su m of th e physical a g g re ssio n item s ("threw so m eth in g a t th e
17
o th er one", "slapped the other one"," kicked, bit, o r hit with a fist", "hit or tried to
hit with so m e th in g "). In order to obtain a sc o re for e ach family, sc o re s from the
verbal-sym bolic an d physically a g g re ssiv e item s on th e DCI w ere m axim ized
a c ro ss s p o u s e s and sc o re s from th e 8 item s on th e CTS th a t co rresp o n d ed to
th e verbal-sym bolic an d physically a g g re ssiv e item s on th e DCI w ere
m axim ized a c ro ss p aren ts an d child.
A hierarchical p ro ced u re w as u se d to assig n fam ilies to th e th re e
groups. If any o n e of th e th ree family m em b ers en d o rse d o n e or m ore of the
ex trem e physically ag g ressiv e item s, then th e family w as a ssig n e d to the
physically a g g re ssiv e group. To qualify for th e verbally a g g re ssiv e group,
none of th e family m em b ers could have en d o rse d any of th e item s u sed a s
criteria for the PA group; how ever, th e family did n e ed a sc o re higher th an 9 on
th e verbal-sym bolic ag g ressio n index. Fam ilies in th e low conflict group had a
verbal-sym bolic ag g ressio n sco re le ss th an or equal to 9 an d did not e n d o rse
any ex trem e physical ag g ressio n item s. Both VA g roups an d LC g ro u p s w ere
allow ed to e n d o rse "push, sh o v e, o r grab" a s long a s they did not e n d o rse any
of th e extrem e physical item s.3 M ean num ber of verbal-sym bolic item s
e n d o rse d by th e LC, VA, an d PA g roups w ere 6.5 (SB = 1.66), 11.49 (SD =
1.48), an d 12.00 (SD = 2.67) respectively. T h e m ean nu m b er of extrem e
physically a g g re ssiv e item s en d o rsed by th e PA group w as 4.82 (SD = 2.40).
P ro c e d u re s
H om e d a ta p ro ced u res w ere p resen ted to su b jec ts tow ard th e en d of a
4-hour laboratory se ssio n involving q u estionnaire an d interview d ata. P aren ts
w ere trained in th e hom e d a ta collection p ro ced u res and filled out one
q u estio n n aire a s practice. P aren ts w ere given th e opportunity to com plete
18
an o th er 6 w eek s of daily d a ta collection at hom e. T he exam iner explained that
in addition to receiving $60 for participating in th e laboratory sessio n , fam ilies
would receive $50 for filling out th e 6 w eeks of hom e data. The exam iner then
an sw ered any qu estio n s about the proceedings an d , if th e p aren ts ag reed to
participate, th e exam iner explained exactly how th e q u estio n n aires should be
com pleted. P aren ts w ere instructed to fill out th e q u estio n n aires individually,
each evening, approxim ately one half hour before going to bed. A list of the six
m ost com m on m istakes w as included in the questionnaire packet to insure that
th e q u estio n n aires w ere filled out appropriately. S ince sp o u se s w ere ask ed to
not sh a re an sw ers with each other, self-adhesive stickers w ere provided to
se a l th e q u estio n n aires to p reserv e each sp o u se 's confidentiality. The
exam iner g av e e a ch couple self-ad d ressed stam p ed en v elo p es and req u ested
th at th e q uestionnaires be m ailed back to th e laboratory on a daily basis. O ne
sp o u se a ssu m e d responsibility for assem bling th e se a le d form s in an envelope
and mailing th e com plete packet within 24 hours. If a participant left any
q u estio n s blank or circled m ore than one answ er, a laboratory representative
called that person to clarify his or her resp o n se. Fam ilies received $20, in
addition to th e $50, if there w ere no m ore than three in stan ces in which th e
d a ta did not have a next day postm ark (except Fridays and S undays) an d there
w ere no m ore than six in stan ces of missing data. On the b asis of available
postm ark d ata, th e d ate of postm ark m et our 24 hour criterion in 65% of the
c a s e s. In an additional 22% of th e c a se s, th e postm ark w as within 48 hours
(this includes all Sunday reports which alw ays have a 48 hour delay since
th ere is no mail pick-up on Sunday). T hus 87% of the records w ere com pleted
19
within 48 hours. This is a conservative estim ate of the tim eliness of th ese d ata
since postm ark is su b seq u en t to time of actual reporting and Saturday reports
w ere alw ays delayed one day.
Home D ata Q uestionnaire
The Home D ata Q uestionnaire-adult version em ploys participant
observation to g ath er prospective interactional data. It contains 40 questions
that a d d re ss various thoughts, behaviors, activities, and interactions which may
tak e place on a typical day. T he following two questions w ere included in this
study.
1) Did you and your spouse have any conflictual interaction today in
the presence of your child?
Yes No_____
2) I f yes, please indicate your child's reaction to the interaction. Circle ail that apply.
a) cried f) listened or watched
b ) showed no reaction g) took sides
c) became angry h) misbehaved or had a tantrum
d ) seemed to feel distressed i) tried to make peace
sad, or frightened j) became unusually well behaved
e) left the room k ) picked a fight
D ue to th e potential for discrepancies betw een sp o u ses, th e child w as
considered to have w itnessed conflict for a given day if one parent or both
p aren ts report such an occurrence. Items ’b’ and 'f' w ere intended a s neutral
resp o n ses and w ere not included in any of the analyses.
Results
Inlerspousal Reliability
Interspousal agreem ent regarding the occurrence of conflict on a given
day, m easured by K appa w as .68 indicating substantial ag reem ent (Landis &
20
K och, 1977). This level of a g re e m e n t is substantially larg er th a n o th e r stu d ies
involving self-rep o rt in stru m en ts, which h av e d e m o n stra te d a v e ra g e
c o rrelatio n s in th e .4 0 's (O 'Brien, Jo h n , M argolin, Erel, 1994), a n d substantially
larg er th an th e low to m o d erate a g re e m e n t found w h en com paring h u sb a n d s'
a n d w ives' rep o rts of m arital violence (Jouriles & O 'L eary, 1985). In tersp o u sal
a g re e m e n t regarding th e o cc u rre n c e of conflict in th e p re s e n c e of th eir child on
a given d ay , m e a su re d by K appa w a s .39, indicating fair a g re e m e n t (Landis &
K och, 1977). T his fair a g re e m e n t b etw een s p o u s e s is co m p arab le to previous
findings w hich report k a p p a statistics of .37 a n d .26 (O 'Brien, Jo h n , M argolin,
Erel, 1994).
De s criptive. P ata
D ay s in w hich p a re n ts rep o rted conflict w itn e sse d by th e child during th e six
w e e k recording period ran g ed from 1 d ay to 19 d a y s (M.= 5.61, S Q = 4.45).
M ean n u m b er of d a y s of conflict reported for LC, VA, a n d PA g ro u p s w ere 3.71
d a y s (£D = 3.30), 6.26 d a y s (£D = 4.80), an d 6.8 7 d a y s ( £ P = 4.58)
respectively. R esu lts from a o n e w ay ANOVA rev ealed significant d ifferen ces
am o n g th e th re e conflict g ro u p s regarding th e nu m b er of conflict d a y s reported,
E (2,107) = 5.74, £<-0 1 . P o st hoc co m p ariso n s sh o w ed th a t p a re n ts in th e VA
g ro u p rep o rted m ore d a y s of conflict th an p a re n ts in th e LC group, £ ( 1 ,1 0 7 )
= 6.98, £< -01, a n d p a re n ts in th e PA group rep o rted m ore d a y s of conflict th an
p a re n ts in th e LC group, F (1,107) = 5.7 4 £< .01. T h ere w ere no significant
d ifferen ces in th e n u m b er of d a y s of conflict rep o rted b etw een VA p a re n ts an d
PA p a re n ts. T h e re w ere no significant d ifferen ces in th e nu m b er of d a y s of
conflict rep o rted b etw een boys' (M_= 5.4 3 d a y s, &D = 4.16) an d girls’
(M_= 5.81 d ay s, £ D = 4.79) p aren ts.
21
T he reactions to conflict w ere tre ated a s dichotom ous v ariab les reflecting
w h eth er or not a child had e v e r exhibited the reactions during th e six w eek
period. T he p e rc en ta g e of children who exhibited e a c h reaction to conflict is
p re se n te d for all th re e conflict g ro u p s an d for th e entire sam p le in T able 2.
T he nu m b er of different reactions reported for e a c h child during th e six w eek
period ra n g ed from 0 to 9 (M = 2.17, S Q = 1 -9), with 2 a s th e m edian num ber of
reactio n s.
Predicting children's reactio n s according to conflict group an d g e n d e r
In o rd er to exam ine th e relationship b etw een ex p o su re to different ty p es
of conflict a n d children's reactions, logistic reg ressio n a n a ly s e s 4 w ere
perform ed using th e S P S S A dvanced S tatistics p a ck ag e. Conflict group
m em bership (LC, VA, an d PA) an d g e n d e r w ere u se d to predict th e p re se n c e
or a b s e n c e of th e following reactions: left th e room , b e c a m e d istre sse d , s a d or
frightened, tried to m ake p e a c e , took sid es, b e c a m e unusually well b eh av ed ,
cried, b e c a m e angry, m isb eh av ed or had a tantrum , an d picked a fight.
Logistic reg ressio n allow s for the com putation of o d d s th at e x p re ss th e
likelihood th at children will exhibit th e s e reactions. O d d s ratios c a n th en be
co m p u ted to te st if o n e group is m ore likely than an o th e r group to exhibit a
certain reaction. In o u r study, th e likelihood th at th e children will exhibit each
reaction w as co m p ared a c ro ss g ro u p s using two orthogonal planned
co m p ariso n s: (a) VA fam ilies v e rs e s LC fam ilies, an d (b) PA fam ilies v e rs e s VA
an d LC fam ilies. T h e results of th e logistic reg ressio n a n a ly se s using conflict
group a s th e in d ep en d en t variable a re p re se n te d in T able 3.
C o m p ariso n s betw een th e VA group an d th e LC group did not reveal
an y significant differences in th e likelihood of exhibiting certain reactio n s to
22
T able 2
P e rc e n ta g e s of children in e ach g ro up w ho ex h ibited reactio n s to conflict
reaction LCa VAb
PAC en tire sam p le
left room ............................................. 2 9 .7 2 8 .6 6 5 .8 41 .8
d istresse d , sad , frightened......... 27 .0 2 5 .7 4 7 .4 3 3.6
tried to m ake p e a c e ....................... 18.9 4 0 .0 4 7 .4 35 .5
took sid es........................................... 24 .3 3 1 .4 3 6 .8 30.9
unusually well b e h a v e d ............... 13.5 2 2 .9 21.1 19.1
cried..................................................... 13.5 8.6 3 1 .6 18.2
angry.................................................... 10.8 8.6 3 9 .5 20.0
m isb eh av ed or had tan tru m ....... 10.8 2.9 21.1 11.8
picked a fight........................ 5.4 8.6 5.3 6.4
Note. LC = low conflict fam ilies; VA = verbally ag g ressiv e fam ilies; PA =
physically a g g re ssiv e fam ilies. D ue to multiple re sp o n se s, p e rc e n ta g e s sum
to g re a te r than 100% .
a n=37. b n=35. c n=38.
23
Table 3
Logistic regression an a ly se s reflecting differences betw een conflict groups
in th e likelihood of exhibiting certain reaction to conflict
LC vs. VA LC & VA vs. PA
reaction b (SE) W ald b (SE) W ald
left room
-.06 (.52) .01 1.54 (.43) 12.91****
d istressed , sa d or frightened
-.07 (.54) .02 .92 (.42) 4.79**
tried to m ake p e a c e
1.05 (.54) 3.73* .83 (.42) 3.79*
took sides.
.35 (.53) .45 .42 (.43) .96
unusually well b eh av ed
.64 (.63) 1.04 .21 (.51) .18
cried
-.51 (.77) .44 1.34 (.52) 6.62***
angry
-.26 (.80) .10 1.81 (.52) 12.09****
m isbehaved or had tantrum
-1.42 (1.14) 1.53 1.50 (.70) 4.61**
picked a fight
.50 (.95) .27 -.28 (.87) .10
N ote. LC = low conflict families; VA = verbally ag g ressiv e families;
PA = physically ag g ressiv e families.
*£<.06. ** £<.05. *** £<.01. **** £<.001.
24
conflict. T here w as however, one marginally significant difference betw een the
two groups. Children from VA families w ere 2.85 tim es (odds ratio =1-M98)
m ore likely than children from LC families to try to m ake p eace. C om parisons
betw een th e PA group and the VA and LC groups show ed that children in PA
families w ere 3.82 tim es (odds ratio =e 1339) a s likely to cry, 6.12 tim es (odds
ratio = e .1-B 11) a s likely to becom e angry, 2.51 tim es (odds ratio = e * 9217) a s
likely to becom e distressed, sad or frightened, 4.66 tim es (odds ratio = e 1- 542)
a s iikeiy to leave the room, and 4.47 tim es (odds ratio = e 1- 497) a s likely to
m isbehave or have a tantrum . They were also 2.28 tim es more likely to try to
m ake p eace, but this finding w as only marginally significant. Children in PA
families w ere not significantly more likely than children in VA and LC families to
tak e sides, pick a fight, or becom e unusually well behaved. There also w ere
no significant main effects or interactions for gender.
Intercorrelations am ong reactions to conflict are p resented in Table 4.
Children who ap p eared distressed, sad , or frightened also ten d ed to leave the
room, showing a correlation of .53. ’Picked a fight' had a correlation of .63 with
'had a tantrum ' and a correlation of .41 with 'tried to m ake peace*. Although a
num ber of significant correlations w ere found, m ost w ere m odest, and only five
of them w ere above .30.
D iscussion
U nderstanding the effects of marital conflict on children requires
exam ination of som e of the conditions that may account for this relationship.
By looking at the im m ediate reactions of children from LC, VA, and PA hom es,
w e w ere able to explore w hether pre-adolescent children raised in hom es
25
Table 4
Intercorrelations among r eactions to interparental conflict
cried angry
distressed
sad or
frightened
left
room
took
sides
had
tantrum
tried to
make
peace
unusually
well
behaved
picked
fioht
cried -
angry .16
distressed
sad or
frightened .30** .24*
_
left
room .03 .24* .53**
-
took sides .14 .13 -.07 -.08 -
had tantrum .02 .33** -.03 -.02 .02 -
tried to make
peace .05 .30** .15 -.01 -.03 .36** -
unusually
well behaved -.07 -.06 .19* .11 -.05 -.07 -.08
-
picked fight -.04 .12 -.06 -.07 -.05 .63** .41** -.04 -
* p < .05.
**p<.01.
26
characterized by different forms of marital aggression exhibit different reactions
to interparentai conflict.
Before exam ining the differences in reactions betw een children in LC,
VA, an d PA hom es, attention should be given to the types of reactions that
w ere reported in the sam ple in its entirety. R eactions reported in over 30% of
the sam ple w ere: leave the room, try to m ake p eace, take sides, and to ap p ear
d istressed sad or frightened. Additional reactions reported in at least 20% of
the sam ple w ere: cry, becom e angry, and becom e unusually well behaved.
The least com m on reactions w ere: m isbehave or have a tantrum , and pick a
fight. Eighty percent of the children reported at least one of th e se responses.
Fifty-five percent of the children reported 2 or more of th e se reactions. T hese
results su g g est that pre-adolescent children do exhibit d istressed resp o n ses to
interparentai conflict, and that they m ost often react by intervening or removing
th em selv es from the stressful situation. School-age children are said to be
m ore aw are of the negative implications of th ese conflicts (Cummings &
D avies, 1994), which may account for the large percentage of children who left
the room in resp o n se to their parent's conflict.
Children raised in PA hom es w ere much m ore likely than children from
LC and VA hom es to exhibit resp o n ses indicating that they w ere emotionally
u pset by the interaction. Children in PA hom es w ere alm ost six tim es as likely
to leave the room, alm ost four tim es a s likely to cry, and over six tim es a s likely
to becom e angry. T h ese results are consistent with other research that has
found physical aggression to be particularly disturbing to children. Cum m ings
et al. (1981) found that w itnessing physical aggression betw een parents
27
elicited m ore d istre ss trom children th an w itnessing verbal a g g ressio n .
A nother study found th at boys from h o m es ch aracterize d by physical
a g g ressio n ex p erien ced g re a te r aro u sal an d m ore ex trem e reactio n s than
b o y s from h o m e s ch aracterize d by verbal ag g re ssio n (O'Brien, M argolin, Jo hn,
& K rueger, 1991).
W e are not su g g estin g th at every conflict m ust be ch aracterize d by
physical ag g ressio n in o rd er to elicit extrem e reactions, but rath er th at growing
up in a hom e ch aracterized by physical a g g ressio n m ay m ake w itnessing any
type of interparentai conflict m ore threatening.
Em ery (1989) a rg u e s th at children in dish arm o n io u s h o m es have
g re a te r incentive for becom ing involved in their p aren ts' arg u m en ts. O 'Brien et
al. (1991) found th at boys from PA fam ilies ad v o cated m ore self-interference
th an boys from LC an d VA hom es. W e also found that children in PA fam ilies
w ere m ore likely than children in LC or VA fam ilies to try to m ake p e a c e
b etw een their p aren ts. This result, how ever, w as m arginally significant an d
should be interpreted with caution.
In th e p resen t study it a p p e a rs that the a n g e r an d d istre ss induced by
w itnessing physical violence m ay be m otivating children to intervene a s Em ery
(1981) su g g e sts, or motivating children to e s c a p e from th e situation. P e rh a p s
by th e tim e children have reach ed p re -ad o lesc e n ce they h av e learn ed th at
involving th e m se lv e s in a physical altercation b etw een p a re n ts m ay not b e in
their b e st interest. H ow ever, alm ost half of th e children in th e PA g ro u p did
attem p t to m ake p e a c e b etw een their p aren ts at so m e tim e. This finding
s u g g e sts that m any p re-ad o lescen t children from PA h o m es will intervene in
th eir p a re n ts' conflict even though they m ay put th e m selv e s at risk for physical
28
harm . An explanation that m ay account for both of th e se behaviors is that
children from PA fam ilies have learned to react in an extrem e fashion, either by
jum ping in to m ake p e a c e or by leaving the situation entirely. This m ay be an
extension of the argum ent put forth by Davies an d C um m ings (1994), who
su g g est that th e th reat to em otional security is g reater in hostile families, which
gives children m ore motivation to intervene. It se e m s reaso n ab le that th e
th reat to em otional and physical security m ay also m otivate children to leave
th e room. Leaving th e room m ay provide negative reinforcem ent for th e child
by d ecreasin g their s e n s e of em otional insecurity, decreasin g the ch an ce of
becom ing a target of hostility, and d ecreasin g their general level of arousal.
T h e se id eas of co u rse still n eed to be te ste d empirically.
D avies and C um m ings (1994) extend their em otional security
hypothesis to help account for children's sensitization, or lack of
desensitization, to marital conflict. They propose th at rep eated ex p o su re to
conflict m ay inhibit children's capacity to regulate their em otions which m ake
them m ore vulnerable to feelings of anger, fear, an d d istress (D avies and
C um m ings). However, they also su g g est that it m ay not be th e frequency of
conflict that accounts for sensitization, but rather how the conflict is ex p ressed
(D avies and Cum m ings). Therefore more intense conflict involving physical
ag g ressio n m ay lead to g reater sensitization than less extrem e form s of
conflict. In the p resen t study, children from PA families w ere m ore likely to
exhibit re sp o n se s indicative of em otional reactivity and d istress which provides
support for this notion.
T here may be other factors contributing to why certain children may be
m ore inclined to exhibit various reactions to marital conflict. Following th e
29
cognitive-contextual a p p ro ach , children's internal re p resen ta tio n s b a s e d on
p a st e x p erien ces contribute greatly to how they a s s e s s th e negativity, th reat,
an d self-relevance of conflict (D avies & C um m ings, 1995). T herefore a child
m ay react differently d ep en d in g on his or h er cognitive a s s e s s m e n t of the
interaction. In addition, o th er variables su ch a s th em atic co n ten t (Em ery, 1982;
G rych & Fincham , 1990) d e g re e of conflict resolution (C um m ings, Ballard, & El-
S heikh, & Lake, 1991; C um m ings, Sim pson, & W ilson, 1993), tem p e ra m en t of
th e child (C um m ings & D avies, 1994), an d th e parent-child relationship
(C um m ings & D avies, 1994) have all b ee n found to contribute to how children
react to interparentai conflict. F urtherm ore, it is highly unlikely th at every
conflict th at ta k e s p lace in PA fam ilies lead s to physical ag g ressio n . Therefore,
although a child m ay develop a specific reaction pattern o v e rtim e , w h eth er or
not a child in terv en es on any o n e occasion m ay partly d e p e n d on th e nature of
th e conflict on th at particular day.
Children from VA fam ilies did not exhibit significantly different
reactio n s th an children from LC h o m es, although th e re w a s o n e m arginally
significant finding. C hildren from VA h o m es w ere m ore likely than children
from LC to try to m ake p e a c e betw een their p aren ts. D espite th e m arginal
significance of our findings, o th er research h a s found th at children from
conflictual h o m es are m ore likely to intervene in interparentai conflict
(C um m ings & D avies, 1994).
T he g en eral lack of significant differences b etw een children in LC and
VA fam ilies in th e p re se n t study is som ew hat surprising. H ow ever, although
LC fam ilies e n d o rse d substantially few er verbally ag g ressiv e item s th an VA
fam ilies, nonverbal a n g e r w as not a s s e s s e d . T herefore, it is possible that
30
so m e of the low conflict fam ilies had a history of nonverbal anger. S everal
stu d ies have found that children's reactions to nonverbal d isp u tes are similar
to their reactions to verbal disp u tes (D avies & C um m ings, 1994; Cum m ings et
al., 1989), which m ay help account for the lack of differences betw een th e se
groups. It is possible th at the p resen ce or a b se n c e of various types of verbal
ag g ressio n in our study did not provide a c lear enough distinction betw een
groups, and a m ore sensitive m easu re may be n e ed ed to differentiate betw een
LC and VA families. In addition, th e inclusion of a m easu re of nonverbal an g er
m ay help to differentiate th o se families who e n g a g e in conflict tactics such as
"the cold shoulder" and "the silent treatm ent", from fam ilies who e n g a g e in less
subtle form s of conflictual interaction.
Boys and girls did not differ in th e likelihood of exhibiting certain
reactions to conflict. O ther studies have found th at am ong younger children,
girls are m ore likely to exhibit d istressed re sp o n ses, a n d boys are m ore likely
to exhibit ag g ressiv e or hostile re sp o n ses (Cum m ings et al., 1985). However,
a s children n e ar ad o lescen ce, girls report m ore a n g er th an boys, and boys
report m ore s a d n e s s than girls, indicating that th e pattern h a s shifted
(Cum m ings et al., 1991). It se e m s unlikely that this shift occurs overnight, so
p erh ap s a s children n ear p re-ad o lescen ce, they p a ss through a sta g e w here
their reactions are not noticeably different. This m ay acco u n t for the lack of
differences found in our sam ple of 8 to 11 y ear olds. A nother explanation may
be th at boys' an d girls' im m ediate reactions are similar, with differences not
becom ing ap p aren t until children are confronted with a conflictual or
threatening situation of their own, such a s with p eers or siblings.
This study contributes to our understanding of how children react to
w itnessing conflict betw een their own parents. Although self-report is not
without limitations, this type of daily hom e d ata collection has several
ad v an tag es over global reports of how a child may respond. First, this
approach allows for prospective rather than retrospective reports. A major
draw back of retrospective d ata is that a high d eg ree of selectivity g o es into the
d a ta (Margolin, 1987). U nbeknownst to the experim enter, the reporter's
re sp o n ses m ay be influenced by a recent experience, such a s an argum ent, or
a distant experience, such a s a sp o u se 's affair that occurred years earlier
(Margolin). Unlike m ost self-report m easu res that require the reporter to think
back and sum m arize events that may have occurred y ears ago, this m ethod
required that reporters think back over a specific and brief time period. In
addition, the participants w ere informed of the reporting procedures in
advance, and given the opportunity to practice the instructions. By employing
participant observation, we have enabled parents to record the ongoing
intimate interactions that take place within the privacy of their own hom e. This
m ethod is unique in that few other studies have asked both m others and
fathers to record daily thoughts and behaviors over an extended tim e period.
By implementing this method over a six w eek period, we may reduce the
ch an ces of capturing a family on an "off" day. This m ethod of self-report might
be further strengthened by including children's reports of their own reactions, in
addition to parent reports. As m entioned previously, there w as low reliability
betw een parents' reports of conflict w itnessed by children. However, it seem s
reasonable that one parent may be m ore sensitive to the child's p resen ce than
the other, or that a child may not alw ays be in both p arents' line of vision. One
parent could easily have his or her back turned to the child during an
32
arg u m en t. F ortunately, low reliabilities gen erally do not c a u s e spuriously
significant resu lts. D espite th e low reliability w e w ere ab le to find significant
d ifferen ces b etw e en conflict gro u p s.
T h e p re se n t study provides su p p o rt th a t different histories of e x p o su re to
m arital conflict m ay contribute to th e likelihood of children exhibiting certain
re a ctio n s to conflict. C hildren in fam ilies c h a ra c te riz e d by physical violence
a p p e a r to b e particularly b o th ered by in terp aren tai conflict a n d to exhibit
rea ctio n s indicative of em otional insecurity. F uture re se a rc h sh o u ld a lso focus
on exploring th e relationship b etw een th e s e im m ediate re ac tio n s a n d later
ad ju stm en t. P e rh a p s early re sp o n se p a tte rn s could se rv e a s p redictors of later
problem behavior, w hich m ay facilitate th e identification of at-risk children an d
lend inform ation regarding which re s p o n s e s m ay b e m ore ad a p tiv e th an
o th ers. A s D avies a n d C um m ings (1994) s u g g e st, future stu d ie s also should
explore if w itn essin g d estru ctiv e m arital interaction affects a child's internal
rep resen ta tio n of family functioning, a n d if th e s e re p re se n ta tio n s g en eralize to
a child's m ore e x ten siv e social environm ent.
33
F o otnotes
1 T he verbal-sym bolic ag g ressio n item s include sc re a m e d or yelled at
your sp o u se , insulted o r sw ore at your sp o u se , b ee n angry if your sp o u se told
you th at you w ere using too m uch alcohol or drugs, sulked or refu sed to talk
ab o u t an issu e, b e en very u p set if dinner, housew ork or h o m e repair work w ere
not d o n e w hen you thought it should be, d o n e or said som ething to sp ite your
sp o u se , insulted or sh a m e d your sp o u se in front of others, m ad e th re a ts to
leave th e relationship, blam ed your sp o u se for your problem s, o rd ered your
s p o u s e around, tre a ted your sp o u se like he or s h e w as stupid, criticized your
sp o u se , called your sp o u se n a m es, sto m p ed out of th e room , h o u se, or yard,
ridiculed your sp o u se .
2 T he ex trem e physical ag g ressio n item s include physically tw isted
s p o u s e 's arm , sla p p e d your sp o u se , burned your sp o u se , sh ak en your sp o u se ,
throw n or tried to throw your sp o u se bodily, throw n an object at your sp o u se,
ch o k ed or strangled your sp o u se , kicked, bit or hit your sp o u se with a fist, hit
your sp o u se o r tried to hit your sp o u se (multiple blows), th re a te n e d your
s p o u se with a knife or a gun, an d u sed a gun on your sp o u se . (Note: No o n e in
th e sam p le e n d o rse d burning or using a knife or a gun on his or her sp o u se .)
3 Endorsing th e single item "push, g rab or shove" did not exclude
fam ilies from th e VA or LC g ro u p s since often th e re is am biguity around this
item a s to w hether or not it is d o n e in an g er or jest.
4 This logistic reg ressio n ap p ro ach h a s b e e n u sed in previous resea rc h
exam ining v ariab les th at predict the likelihood of mild an d s e v e re husband-to-
wife a g g re ssio n (Pan, Neidig, & O 'Leary, 1994).
34
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Asset Metadata

Creator Garcia, Holly Joanna (author)

Core Title Children's immediate reactions to interparental conflict

School Graduate School

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Psychology

Degree Conferral Date 1995-05

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag OAI-PMH Harvest,psychology, social,sociology, individual and family studies

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Margolin, Gayla (committee chair), Davison, Gerald C. (committee member), Farver, JoAnn M. (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c18-1318

Unique identifier UC11357690

Identifier 1376454.pdf (filename),usctheses-c18-1318 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 1376454-0.pdf

Dmrecord 1318

Document Type Thesis

Rights Garcia, Holly Joanna

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA