The impact of parents' marital conflict and parent-child conflict on the adjustment of children is well documented. Given the theoretical and empirical data to support a relationship between experiencing interparental and parent-child conflict during childhood and later conflict in romantic relationships, it is important to investigate the potential mechanisms that operate in this relationship. Thus, the present study sought to investigate the extent to which attributions of conflict mediate the relationship between experiencing interparental and parent-child conflict and later conflict in a romantic relationship. Results were based on the responses of emerging adults (190 males and 473 females) enrolled in psychology courses at a large southeastern university. Compared to males, females reported experiencing lower levels of permissive parenting, as well as higher levels of interparental psychological aggression, maternal emotional availability, attachment with mothers and peers, and overt violence in their current romantic relationships. Consistent with extant research, significant correlations were found among interparental conflict, parent-child conflict, attributions of conflict, parenting style, emotional availability of parents, attachment, and conflict with current romantic partners. Regression analyses (for males and females separately) suggested that different types of interparental and parent-child conflict predict greater hostile attributions and greater levels of conflict with current romantic partners. Although attributions of conflict predicted conflict with current romantic partners, conflict attributions did not mediate the relationship between family conflict and conflict with current romantic partners. These findings emphasized the importance of research investigating the long-term cognitive and emotional effects of family conflict and violence in order to provide a context for understanding the development of risk and resilience factors for relationship violence.

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xv, 238 p. : ill. / This dissertation study is an examination of childhood contextual factors that contributed to adolescent resilient outcomes among children who experienced interparental violence (IPV). More specifically, the study examined the degree to which verbal ability, temperament, behavior problems, parenting quality, parent-child conflict, IPV, and parent's perceived support in childhood account for variance in behavioral problems, self-efficacy, and parenting received in adolescence. The present study addresses gaps in IPV and resilience literature in the following ways: (a) Few studies have focused on adaptive outcomes of children who experienced IPV; (b) little is known about which contextual factors are most important in facilitating resilient outcomes for this population; (c) factors beyond the microsystem were included as predictors; and (d) little is known about the early predictors of general self-efficacy (a defining attribute of resilience) and parenting (a protective factor that facilitates resilience) for the present population. The sample was derived from an existing data set from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods. This is a longitudinal data set using a nonclinical, randomly selected sample. Using regression models to test whether childhood ecological factors could predict adolescent outcomes, the study had four primary findings. First, childhood (Wave 1) emotionality temperament predicted childhood internalizing problems, which predicted adolescent (Wave 3) internalizing problems. Second, childhood emotionality and parenting quality predicted childhood externalizing problems, which predicted adolescent externalizing problems. Third, none of the childhood variables were strong predictors of adolescent general self-efficacy. Lastly, parenting quality in childhood predicted parental monitoring in adolescence; however, none of the study variables were strong predictors of parenting quality in childhood. Results are discussed in the context of varying adolescent outcomes and the larger literature on IPV. The study highlights directions for future research, including the need to further examine protective processes among children survivors of IPV. / Committee in charge: Dr. Krista M. Chronister, Chair; Dr. Ellen H. McWhirter, Member; Dr. Jeffrey L. Todahl, Member; Dr. Philip A. Fisher, Outside Member