MOM AND DAD ARE AT IT AGAIN - ADOLESCENT PERCEPTIONS OF MARITAL CONFLICT AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS

In these two studies, the authors used children's perceptions of famil y relationships to examine simultaneously direct and indirect links be tween marital conflict and child adjustment. With data pertaining to 1 46 sixth and seventh graders, Study 1 supported direct and indirect ef fects of perceptions of marital conflict on internalizing behaviors, a nd indirect effects for externalizing behaviors. In Study 2, data anal yzed from 451 families showed indirect effects of marital conflict and parent-to-child hostility through adolescent perceptions of such beha vior, on both current distress and distress 12 months later in 3 of 4 models estimated. Direct and indirect effects were found for boys' con current internalizing behavior. Implications and limitations of both s tudies are discussed to address the need for a more sophisticated theo retical approach to examine why an association exists between marital conflict and child adjustment.