Studies on the effects of marital conflict and child adjustment have documented a consistent relationship between higher amounts of marital conflict and increased child adjustment problems. Recently, researchers have focused on viewing children's perceptions of marital conflict as an important variable that may influence the strength of the association between marital conflict and child adjustment. Recent research has indicated that children's perceptions of interparental conflict may influence overall child adjustment. The present study examined the relationship between marital conflict and child adjustment and the role of children's perceptions of marital conflict in a clinical sample.Forty-four 8- to 12-year-old children and one of their parents participated in this study. Adult participants completed four questionnaires: (1) The O'Leary- Porter Scale; (2) The Conflict Tactics Scale; (3) The Child Behavior Checklist; and (4) a demographic questionnaire. The child participants completed one scale, The Children's Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale. The following research questions were investigated: (1) Is parental assessment of marital conflict related to child adjustment in a clinical sample? (2) Are children's appraisals of marital conflict related to child adjustment in a clinical sample? (3) Are boys' appraisals of interparental conflict related to the parents' appraisals of interparental conflict in a clinical sample? (4) Are girls' appraisals of interparental conflict related to the parents' appraisals of interparental conflict in a clinical sample? And (5) Are children's perceptions of marital conflict better predictors of child adjustment than parents' perceptions of marital conflict in a clinical sample?A significant relationship was found between parents' perceptions of marital conflict and child adjustment. However, children's perceptions of marital conflict did not significantly predict their overall adjustment. In accordance with these findings, it was also found that parents' perceptions of marital conflict were better predictors of child adjustment than children's perceptions of marital conflict in a clinical sample. It was also found that boys' appraisals of marital conflict were significantly related to parents' appraisals of marital conflict. Whereas, girls' perceptions of marital conflict were not significantly related to parents' perceptions of marital conflict. Implications and limitations of these findings and recommendations for future research were discussed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/175354 |
| Date | January 1998 |
| Creators | Burton, Jennifer Payton |
| Contributors | Hutchinson, Roger L. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | vi, 72 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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