Exposure to Inter-Parental Conflict Across 10 Years of Childhood: Data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children

Abstract

Rates of child exposure to inter-parental conflict are high and appear to be increasing, with at least one million Australian children affected annually. To-date, there is no established prevalence for inter-parental conflict that includes the more common but less severe forms for young families in the wider Australian community. The current study aims were to examine the prevalence, persistence, and the individual, family and socio-economic context of inter-parental conflict. Data were from four waves of the Baby (n = 4,898) and Kindergarten (n = 4,182) cohorts of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Verbal and physical inter-parental conflict was measured using the Argumentative Relationship Scale. More than 1 in 3 mothers (35-36%) reported any verbal and/or physical conflict. Prevalence of verbal conflict at each wave (10-13%) was higher than physical conflict (4-10%), with low co-occurrence (1-3%). Report of inter-parental conflict at one wave only was most common (19%); although 13% of mothers reported conflict at two waves; and 5-6% reported persistent conflict across three or more waves. Social disadvantage was consistently associated with report at one-wave only and persistent inter-parental conflict. Extrapolated to the Australian population, an estimated 1.9 million children are likely to be affected by inter-parental conflict within any 6 years of the early-to-middle childhood period. Establishing accurate prevalence and understanding the social context of the less severe but most common forms of inter-parental conflict will allow family and child support services to allocate finite resources more effectively and develop targeted interventions to promote children's positive development.

Psychology – Child Emotions The Link between Inter-Parental Conflict and Health Emotional Development of Children

“…These statistics likely represent a gross underestimation, given that family conflict statistics are obtained from the police, child welfare and family court data, which only captures the most severe forms of psychological, physical and emotional abuse. Researchers like Westrupp [3] have concluded that community prevalence of inter-parental conflict is likely much higher than these statistics indicate.…”

“…For instance, in Australia, researchers have found that inter-parental conflict affects millions of children annually [3]. The number of reported family violence cases in Australia has increased in the last six years.…”

“…The number of reported family violence cases in Australia has increased in the last six years. Statistics indicate that nearly 25 per cent of women experience abuse that is perpetuated by a partner at some point in their lives, and that this affects a minimum of one million children yearly [3]. These statistics likely represent a gross underestimation, given that family conflict statistics are obtained from the police, child welfare and family court data, which only captures the most severe forms of psychological, physical and emotional abuse.…”

“…Increasingly there has also been far more international recognition of the enormous health burdens and economic consequences that both high and low-lying levels of inter-parental conflict can create [3]. For instance, women who are regularly exposed to violence within their family are identified as being at a higher risk of experiencing significant and long-term negatively mental and physical health outcomes.…”

“…Research also indicates that reports of domestic violence tend to occur for parents that are younger, less educated, come from single or divorced families and have higher levels of stress and alcohol related problems. For children, the health effects associated with inter-parental conflict are numerous, and include (but are not limited to) increased prevalence of mental health problems such as mood and anxiety disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct or oppositional defiant disorder, as well as a number of physical health problems such as obesity, asthma and accidental injury [3].…”