CHILD RESPONSES TO PARENTAL CONFLICT AND THEIR EFFECT ON ADJUSTMENT -A STUDY OF TRIADIC RELATIONS

The purpose of this study was to examine child response patterns to pa rental conflict and assess their contribution to child functioning. Th e focus was on 3 potential child responses and their relation to later depressive and aggressive behavior. Direct observations and questionn aire data were collected on 156 2-parent families. Aggressive behavior showed the strongest sequential relation to interparental conflict an d the strongest predictive relation to increased aggressive functionin g. Gender differences were found in the use of child aggressive respon se patterns. Results for the relation between child responses and incr eases in depressive functioning were weaker than those found for aggre ssive functioning. The results provide support for the examination of child response patterns as a potentially rich area of exploration for understanding the family mechanisms affecting both aggressive and depr essive functioning in children.