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Marital Conflict and Children's Adjustment: Parental Hostility and Children's Interpretations as Mediators
Author(s) -
Stocker Clare M.,
Richmond Melissa K.,
Low Sabina M.,
Alexander Elise K.,
Elias Nadine M.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
social development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.078
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1467-9507
pISSN - 0961-205X
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9507.00226
Subject(s) - hostility , psychology , developmental psychology , feeling , blame , association (psychology) , family conflict , clinical psychology , social psychology , psychotherapist
The associations between marital conflict, maternal and paternal hostility, children's interpretations of marital conflict, and children's adjustment were examined in a sample of 136 school‐aged children and their parents. Observational measures were collected from videotapes of marital interaction and family interaction. Self‐report data were collected from parents and children. Results showed that mothers’ and fathers’ hostility mediated the association between martial conflict and children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Children's feelings of being to blame for marital conflict and being threatened by it mediated between marital conflict and children's internalizing problems but not their externalizing problems.