Keywords
Marital conflict, Parent–child connectedness, Internalizing disorders, Externalizing disorders, Mediation
Abstract
A number of studies of marital conflict have examined both parent- and child–reports of marital conflict and child outcomes, but additional research is needed to provide evidence for potential mechanisms of action explaining the association between marital conflict and child internalizing and externalizing outcomes. In the present study (N = 330 2-parent/child triads), we show that the connectedness of the parent–child relationship (as reported by parents, but not children) significantly mediated the effect of marital conflict on children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Our findings suggest that children’s perceptions are important when trying to understand the impact of marital conflict, but our results suggest that parent reports provide important, incremental insight and should not be overlooked.
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Braithwaite, Scott; Steele, Emily; Spjut, Kersti A.; Dowdle, Krista Joy; and Harper, James, "Parent–Child Connectedness Mediates the Association Between Marital Conflict and Children’s Internalizing/Externalizing Outcomes" (2015). Faculty Publications. 6010.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/6010
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
2015
Permanent URL
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/8739
Publisher
Springer Science+Business Media New York
Language
English
College
Family, Home, and Social Sciences
Department
Psychology