Interparental Aggression and Adolescent Adjustment: The Role of Emotional Insecurity and Adrenocortical Activity

Abstract

Adolescents exposed to interparental aggression are at increased risk for developing adjustment problems. The present study explored intervening variables in these pathways in a community sample that included 266 adolescents between 12 and 16 years old (M = 13.82; 52.5% boys, 47.5% girls). A moderated mediation model examined the moderating role of adrenocortical reactivity on the meditational capacity of their emotional insecurity in this context. Information from multiple reporters and adolescents’ adrenocortical response to conflict were obtained during laboratory sessions attended by mothers, fathers and their adolescent child. A direct relationship was found between marital aggression and adolescents’ internalizing behavior problems. Adolescents’ emotional insecurity mediated the relationship between marital aggression and adolescents’ depression and anxiety. Adrenocortical reactivity moderated the pathway between emotional insecurity and adolescent adjustment. The implications for further understanding the psychological and physiological effects of adolescents’ exposure to interparental aggression and violence are discussed.

Youth Emotional Reactivity, Interparental Conflict, Parent Hostility, and Worrying Among Children with Substance-Abusing Parents

“…This finding supports research demonstrating that children's ability to regulate their emotions may serve to mediate the effects of parental hostility on children's anxiety in community (Bergman et al 2014;Koss et al 2013) and clinical (e.g., Graham-Bermann 1996) samples. Berman et al (2000) found parent hostility was one of the best predictors of youth who recovered from phobic and anxiety disorders after receiving exposure-based cognitive and behavioral treatment as compared to children who did not.…”

“…Our focus is particularly appropriate given that studies consistently find higher rates of internalizing problems among COSAs (e.g., Hussong et al 2008). In addition, COSAs are likely to be exposed to family influences that have been associated with anxiety among children in community samples (e.g., Bergman et al 2014;Harold et al 2012).…”

“…Both interparental violence (e.g., Bergman et al 2014) and to a lesser extent, chronic exposure to parental hostility (e.g., Berman et al 2000), are associated with children's tendencies to worry. Emotional reactivity, which involves habitual elevation of arousal and dysregulation of children's emotions (Davies and Cummings 1994) in response to interparental conflict and parent hostility are likely to contribute to children's anxiety; however, these processes have received little attention among youth living with substance-abusing parents.…”

“…Constant threats from interparental conflict may deplete children's coping resources and result in disrupted physiological responses (Cummings et al 2006;Davies et al 2006). Over time, children exposed to interparental violence decrease their ability to regulate feelings of fear, worry, and increase vulnerability to internalizing problems (Bergman et al 2014). In contrast, children who are better able to maintain emotional regulation in the midst of family violence and other hostile and threatening behaviors should be less likely to experience symptoms of emotional anxiety (Cummings and Davies 2010).…”

“…In contrast, children who are better able to maintain emotional regulation in the midst of family violence and other hostile and threatening behaviors should be less likely to experience symptoms of emotional anxiety (Cummings and Davies 2010). Considerable research, primarily with community samples, has found emotional insecurity accounts for the relationship between interparental conflict and children's and adolescents' (Bergman et al 2014) internalizing symptoms.…”