Emotional Processes Involved in Children's Emotional Processes Involved in Children's Adjustment to InterparentalAdjustment to Interparental

Conflict: An Attachment Perspective Conflict: An Attachment Perspective

Sarah Raynor, Stacy Braun, and John Grych

Marquette University

IntroductionIntroduction

Research has consistently found that marital discord is associated with children’s emotional and behavioral problems (Buehler et al., 1997). As parents become increasingly involved in marital difficulties, there may be an array of consequences to the parent-child relationship.

Conflict in the marriage has been associated with decreased involvement with children, less effective and consistent discipline, and more hostile or rejecting behavior. However, little of this work has been guided by a cohesive theoretical framework that provides a conceptual basis for the links between marital discord, parent-child relationships, and socioemotional development.

Attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969, 1973; Ainsworth et al., 1978) provides a rich and compelling theoretical framework that focuses on both behavioral and emotional dimensions of the parent-child relationship. Attachment theory proposes that infants who receive sensitive and responsive care will develop a more secure attachment relationships whereas those who receive inconsistent or insensitive care will develop insecure attachment relationships.

Attachment security developed during infancy is internalized to form working models, which are proposed to guide ones expectations of the availability and probable responsiveness of others. These internal models guide behaviors, thoughts, and emotions within the context of interpersonal relationships.

Although there has been little work done bringing together the areas of interparental conflict and attachment research explicitly, Davies & Cummings emotional security hypothesis draws on attachment theory and has produced data that support its value for understanding the effects of conflict on children (Davies et al., 2002). The emotional security hypothesis suggests that higher levels of conflict in the home will threaten a child’s emotional security regarding the family unit, which is suggested to be a primary factor in the development of adjustment problems.

A strength of the emotional security hypothesis is the heavy emphasis placed on emotional reactivity that may result from exposure to frequent conflict. This is a refreshing change from much of the attachment research, which has underscored the role of emotion.

Present StudyPresent Study

The goal of the present study is to investigate the role of parent-child attachment in understanding the relation between interparental conflict and child adjustment by examining 3 questions:

1) Does att sec moderate xxxx; ie, serve as a buffer

2) Alternatively, ipc could undermine the security in the pc rel – mediator

3) Is the effect of att sec explained by emotion regulation

MethodsMethods

148 children (77 males) age 9-1127.3% African American, 54% Caucasian,

6% Hispanic, 6.7% Biracial, 1.3% Asian, 2.7% other

92% lived with their biological mothers, 82% with biological fathers

Mean household income 50-60,000

MethodsMethods Participants completed questionnaires and an

interview about interparental conflict as part of a larger study.

Questionnaires– Children’s Perceptions of Interparental Conflict (CPIC;

Grych, Seid, & Fincham, 1992)– Security Scale (Kerns, Klepach, & Cole, 1996)– Emotion Regulation Checklist (Shields & Cicchetti,

19xx)– Youth Self Report

Internalizing: Anxious/Depressed and Withdrawn scales Externalizing: Rule Breaking and Aggressive Behavior scales

Results 

Correlations between conflict, attachment, emotion, and outcome variables.

Measures 1 2 3 4 5 61. CPIC Conflict Properties ---

2. Security Scale, Mother -.23** --- 3. Security Scale, Father -.34** .59** --- 4. Emotion Regulation (poor) .22* -.05 -.19* --- 5. Internalizing Symptoms.31** -.47** -.46** .27** --- 6. Externalizing Symptoms .32** -.29* -.31** .38** .64** ---

M 12.76 49.87 48.05 77.68 6.20 8.50SD 6.64 6.07 8.01 14.67 4.72 4.72

Note. CPIC = Children’s Perception of Interparental Conflict* p < .05** p < .01

Attachment security as a partial Attachment security as a partial mediatormediator

Mediating analyses for interparental conflict, attachment to mother, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

YSR Internalizing YSR Externalizing

Step 1. Predict DV from Conflict:β for Interparental Conflict .32** .35**R2 .10 .12

 Step 2. Predict DV from Conflict controlling for Attachment:

β for Interparental Conflict .24** .31**β for Mother Attachment -.36** -.16*R2 .22 .15

 * p < .05, ** p < .01

 

Mediating analyses for interparental conflict, attachment to father, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

YSR Internalizing YSR Externalizing

Step 1. Predict DV from Conflict:

β for Interparental Conflict .31** .31**

R2 .10 .09

Step 2. Predict DV from Conflict

controlling for Attachment:

β for Interparental Conflict .17* .23**

β for Father Attachment -.40** -.22*

R2 .23 .14

• p < .05, ** p < .01

Emotion Regulation as a mediated mediatorEmotion Regulation as a mediated mediatorMediating analyses for interparental conflict, attachment to father, emotion regulation, and internalizing and

externalizing symptoms.YSR Internalizing YSR Externalizing

Step 1. Predict DV from Conflict:β for Interparental Conflict .32** .31**R2 .10 .10

Step 2. Predict DV from Conflict controlling for Attachment:

β for Interparental Conflict .18* .24**β for Father Attachment -.37** -.21*R2 .22 .13

 Step 3. Predict DV from Conflict controlling for Attachment and Emotion Regulation:

β for Interparental Conflict .15 .18*β for Father Attachment -.35** -.17*β for Emotion Regulation .17* .30**R2 .25 .22

• p < .05, ** p < .01

DiscussionDiscussion The goal of the current study was to investigate the role of attachment in

understanding children’s adjustment in the face of increased interparental conflict. As expected, interparental conflict was associated with less secure attachment to both mother and father, as well as to more internalizing and externalizing problems. In addition, emotion regulation was correlated with conflict, adjustment, and security to father. Contrary to predictions, emotion regulation was not associated with security to mother. This is a curious finding and worthy of future study.

When examining the possible models, attachment was best understood as a partial mediator between interparental conflict and adjustment. In other words, the link between conflict and adjustment can be explained, partially, by the impact that conflict has on the parent-child attachment relationship.

For fathers, there was evidence suggesting that emotional regulation provided further mediation between conflict, attachment, and adjustment. The role of attachment as a mediator can be explained, partially, by the impact that secure attachment relationships have on the child’s ability to regulate their emotions.

Moderator models were examined but they did not suggest a good fit with the data.

Limitations and future directionsLimitations and future directions

Limitation: Cross-sectional data Future directions: Examine change over time with

longitudinal data. Limitation: Reliance on self report questionnaires. Future directions: Use both observational and

questionnaire methods.

ReferencesReferences

Ainsworth, M.D., Blehar, M., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. New York: Basic Books.

Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss: Vol. 2. Separation. New York: Basic Books.

Bueler, C., Anthony, C., Krishnakumar, A., Stone, G., Gerard, J., & Pemberton, S. (1997). Interparental conflict and youth problem behaviors: A meta-analysis. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 6, 233-247.

Davies, P.T., Harold, G.T., Goeke-Morey, M.C., Cummings, E.M. (2002). Child Emotional Security and Interparental Conflict. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, Serial 270, 67 (3).