Marital Conflict, Ineffective Parenting, and Children's and Adolescents' Maladjustment

Abstract

Data from the 1988 National Survey on Families and Households were analyzed to examine the associations among marital conflict, ineffective parenting, and children's and adolescents' maladjustment. Parents' use of harsh discipline and low parental involvement helped explain the connection between marital conflict and children's maladjustment in children aged 2 through 11. Parent‐child conflict was measured only in families with a target teenager and also was a significant mediator. Although ineffective parenting explained part of the association between marital conflict and children's maladjustment, independent effects of marital conflict remained in families with target children aged 2 through 11 (but not for families with a teenager). With a few exceptions, this pattern of findings was consistent for mothers' and fathers' reports, for daughters and sons, for families with various ethnic backgrounds, and for families living in and out of poverty.

Aggressive marital conflict, maternal harsh punishment, and child aggressive-disruptive behavior: Evidence for direct and mediated relations.

“…In contrast, Mann and MacKenzie (1996) found only an indirect effect of overt marital conflict on child oppositional behavior during middle childhood, which was mediated by parent-reported rejection and inept discipline. Finally, Buehler and Gerard (2002) found both direct and mediated paths of influence, with parental reports of involvement and harsh discipline partially mediating the relationship between marital conflict and their preschoolers' global maladjustment. …”

“…In addition, parents who have learned to react to interpersonal conflict with aggressive tactics may use similar harsh and coercive strategies when confronting child misbehaviors, thereby unwittingly modeling and reinforcing aggressive exchanges with their children (Patterson, 2002). In fact, aggressive marital conflict has been linked to inconsistent and harsh discipline (Buehler & Gerard, 2002;Frosch & Mangelsdorf, 2001;Gonzales, Pitts, Hill, and Roosa, 2000;Mann & MacKenzie, 1996), which, in turn, is implicated in developmental models of child aggressive behavior problems (Patterson, 2002).The damaging effects of exposure to aggressive marital conflict stand in some contrast to studies examining the impact of general marital disagreements on child adjustment. For example, Cookston, Harrist, and Ainslie (2003) found no relation between levels of "instrumental discord" (e.g., disagreements in areas of marital decision making such as finances, time management, and goal setting) and children's negative affectivity in peer relations.…”

The longitudinal association between marital disruption and child BMI and obesity

“…The higher risk of obesity following the divorce could be from more TV watching among children from divorced families (22), lower family income (23), different parenting styles (7-9), or continued stressful events having an effect on children (26). But, the finding that children are more likely to become obese in the few years leading up to the disruption suggests that the series of stressful events associated with the disruption process (26) could be leading to weight gain or that parental stress could be causing children's weight gain independently (18) or through less authoritative parenting (7)(8)(9). Already being heavier, these children may then have relatively larger weight increases over time, as heavier youth tend to gain more than average weight over time (43,44).…”

“…Researchers have identified several family-related risk factors for children's weight problems, including low income (3,4), stress for parents (5,6), and nonauthoritative parenting styles (7)(8)(9). A better understanding of more distal determinants of childhood obesity, particularly the social determinant of divorces and separations (family disruptions), could lead to the earlier detection of children most at risk of becoming obese.…”

A Case Study on Family Therapy for a Child with Anger Controling Problem

“…가족 내에서 기본적 욕구를 충족하며 적응능력을 배 우는 아동은 부모간의 갈등에 매우 민감해지게 되며, 자신의 의도와는 상관없이 피해를 입거나 실질적인 어려움을 겪을 수 있다 (Grych et al, 1993). 또한 부부갈등은 아동의 발달에 부정적인 영향을 미쳤으며, 아동의 부적응에 정적인 관련성 이 있었고 (Park, 2000;Jung, 2000;, 부부갈등에서 발생한 부정적인 감정은 부모-자녀관계에 전 이되고 부모-자녀 상호작용에도 부정적인 영향을 미쳤다 (Buehler & Gerard, 2002). 그러므로 자녀가 사회구성원으 로써 건전하게 성장하기 위해서는 가족과 사회의 유기적인 상호관계를 이해하고 건강한 가족관계가 선행되어야 한다 (Kim & Yoo, 2001).…”