Variability in adjustment of children of battered women: The role of childappraisals of interparent conflict

The present study evaluates relations between children's appraisals of inte rparent conflict and child adjustment problems in families characterized by extreme interparent violence. Participants were 154 children (age 8-12) an d their mothers. Children completed measures of their appraisals of interpa rent conflict (self-blame, threat, fear of abandonment) and mothers and chi ldren completed indices of child adjustment. Our results indicate that chil d self-blaming for interparent conflict correlates positively with mothers' reports of externalizing child problems. Self-blame, threat, and fear of a bandonment appraisals each correlate positively with child self-reports of anxiety/depression. In addition child age moderates relations between each of the measured child appraisals and mothers' reports of child adjustment p roblems, with the appraisals being more positively related to problems of o lder children.