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The Benefits of Parent Intervention in Children's Disputes: An Examination of Concurrent Changes in Children's Fighting Styles
Author(s) -
Perlman Michal,
Ross Hildy S.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1997.tb04230.x
Subject(s) - intervention (counseling) , psychology , sibling , developmental psychology , psychological intervention , socialization , observational study , parenting styles , observational methods in psychology , medicine , psychiatry , pathology
The impact of parental intervention on the quality of children's conflict behavior was examined using observational data from 40 English‐speaking Canadian families with 2‐and 4‐year‐old children. Children's behavior in the portions of fights that preceded their parents, interventions was compared to their behavior in fights in which there was no intervention. Also, children's behavior before parental intervention was contrasted with their behavior after intervention. It was found that parents intervened in the most intense fights between their children, fights in which the children displayed few de‐escalating strategies. Parental intervention was associated with their children using fewer power strategies coupled with an increase in the use of more sophisticated negotiation moves. It was concluded that parental intervention in sibling conflict has beneficial effects in terms of the immediate quality of the children's fighting. Results were interpreted in light of contemporary models of socialization.