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Coparental discord and children's behavior problems: Children's negative family representations as an explanatory

Lucia Q Parry1, Patrick T Davies1, Melissa L Sturge-Apple1

  • 1Department of Psychology.

Journal of Family Psychology : JFP : Journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43)
|February 7, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Parental conflict is linked to children's behavioral issues. Insecure family views mediate this link, showing how marital discord impacts child externalizing behaviors over time.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Family Studies
  • Child Psychopathology

Background:

  • Coparental discord is a significant stressor within families.
  • Children's externalizing behaviors are a common concern in developmental psychology.
  • Understanding the mechanisms linking parental conflict to child behavior is crucial for intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if insecure family representations mediate the relationship between coparental discord and children's externalizing problems.
  • To examine the longitudinal association between coparental discord, family representations, and child behavior.
  • To explore these associations in a diverse sample of preschool-aged children.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a multimethod, multi-informant, prospective research design.
  • Sample included 243 preschool children (mean age 4.60 years).
  • Assessed coparental discord, family representations, and externalizing behaviors over time.

Main Results:

  • Coparental discord was indirectly associated with children's externalizing behaviors.
  • Insecure family representations significantly mediated the link between coparental discord and later externalizing behaviors.
  • These findings remained robust after controlling for family adversity, child gender, and income.

Conclusions:

  • Insecure family representations serve as a key mechanism linking parental conflict to child externalizing problems.
  • Interventions targeting parental conflict and promoting secure family representations may mitigate child behavioral issues.
  • The findings highlight the importance of family dynamics in child development and psychopathology.

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