Interparental Conflict, Parenting and Child Adjustment in Divorced Families: A Meta-Analysis

• In Event: 3-116 - The interparental Relationship, Parenting, and Child Adjustment: New Insights from State-of-the-Art Methods

Integrative Statement

Numerous children are confronted with the divorce or separation of their parents. Compared to those from intact families, children from divorced families are prone to develop adjustment problems within several domains (Lansford et al., 2006). Yet, large individual variability in children’s adjustment to parental divorce is acknowledged. It has been argued that the divorce itself does not necessarily put them at risk, but stressful circumstances surrounding this major life event are key in understanding children’s post-divorce adjustment (Amato, 2010). Especially high and more intense levels of interparental conflict before, during, and after divorce are found to have a detrimental impact on child adjustment (Kelly, 2000; Lansford, 2009). Similarly, post-divorce parenting quality has been identified as an important predictor for child adjustment (e.g., Hetherington & Stanley-Hagan, 1999). Consistent with family systems theory, the main aim of the current meta-analysis was to identify whether post-divorce parenting mediates the link between interparental conflict and child adjustment.
According to the family systems theory, a family should be viewed as a hierarchically organized system with interdependent members. That is, the different subsystems (parental, mother-child, father-child) within the family system are assumed to continuously influence one another (Minuchin, 1974). The parental subsystem is considered as most salient in determining the quality of family life (Erel & Burman, 1995). According to the spillover hypothesis, the emotions and behaviors within the parental system transfer or “spillover” into the parent-child system (Repetti, 1987). Although previous studies provide support for the spillover hypothesis, conclusions are often based on intact families rather than divorced families. Different patterns of results could emerge when examining families that form two households, rather than one. Moreover, previous meta-analytic research was limited to examining direct links between interparental conflict, parenting, and child adjustment. In the current meta-analysis, we were able to test whether parenting behaviors indirectly explain the association between interparental conflict and child adjustment.
Our database search resulted in 2,339 unique hits of which titles and abstracts were scanned. A number of 574 studies were then assessed for eligibility based on their sample (did they include divorced families), concepts that were measured (did they include at least two concepts of interest: i.e., interparental conflict, parenting, and child adjustment), and the provided statistics (did they report a correlation between the two concepts of interest). This led to 307 eligible studies. We are currently in de midst of coding the studies and contacting authors of whom we need additional information. Multilevel meta-analyses will be performed for each of the paths separately regarding five domains of child adjustment (i.e., internalizing, externalizing, social functioning, academic achievement, and self-esteem), and multiple parenting dimensions. Second, we will test the indirect effects by using meta-analytical structural equation modeling (MASEM; Jak, 2015).
Information from this meta-analysis could provide important directions for developing and improving interventions aimed at preventing or reducing children’s adjustment problems following divorce. By clarifying why interparental conflicts might be associated with children’s adverse outcomes, and who are most vulnerable to such family processes, interventions could benefit from this information.

Authors

• Rianne van Dijk, Utrecht University
  Presenting Author

• Inge E van der Valk, Utrecht University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Susan Branje, Utrecht University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Maja Dekovic, Utrecht University
  Non-Presenting Author