Transactional associations between family conflict and child behavior problems in families at risk for maltreatment

• In Event: Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Topic - Family Context & Processes

Abstract

Introduction: Family conflict—marked by arguing, competition, and discord—is a potent day-to-day stressor for developing youth, increasing risk for both internalizing problems (Anyan & Hjemdal, 2018; Rapp, Lau, & Chavira, 2017) and externalizing problems (Coe, Davies, & Sturge-Apple, 2018). Family conflict is prevalent among families at risk for child maltreatment and violence, severe events with well-documented adverse developmental impacts. However, among maltreated and/or violence-exposed youth, the pernicious effects of lower-level—but more frequent—daily patterns of conflictual and stressful interactions are often overlooked. Further, transactional models of development emphasize the need to study symbiotic, bidirectional relationships through which family members reciprocally shape each other’s behavior over time (Sameroff & Mackenzie, 2003). This study prospectively examined the transactional associations between family conflict and children’s behavior problems from ages 6-10, after accounting for the effects of their victimization by violence.

Methods: Participants (N = 1,111) were caregiver-child dyads identified as being at-risk for family violence prior to the age of 4 years who participated in the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect. Caregivers reported their perceptions of family conflict at child ages 6 and 8 using the Self-Report Family Inventory (Beavers, Hampson, & Hulgus, 1990), as well as their children’s (1) anxious-depressed, (2) withdrawn-depressed, (3) aggressive, and (4) delinquent behaviors at child ages 6, 8 and 10 using the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1991). Structural equation modeling was used to test autoregressive, cross-lagged models between family conflict and child behavior across child ages 6 and 8, with a distal outcome of child behavior at age 10. In all models, we controlled for cumulative victimization (an index variable including child experiences of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and witnessing family and non-family violence) between each timepoint, as well as gender, poverty, caregiver education, and race/ethnicity. Four separate models were specified for each domain of child behavior.

Results: All four models fit the data adequately, CFIs = .98-.99; TLIs = .96-.98; RMSEAs = .02-.03. The chi-square value for the model involving withdrawn-depressed behaviors was non-significant, χ2s(dfs = 21), p = .08. Chi-square values for the remaining three models were significant, χ2s(dfs = 21) = 36.24- 40.31, ps = .02-.01. In the models predicting withdrawn-depressed, aggressive, and delinquent behaviors, bidirectional associations between family conflict and child behavior were observed at ages 6 and 8, such that age 6 family conflict was associated with increases in each of these three child behavior domains at age 8 (βs = .05-.08, ps = .04-.01); likewise, each of these three child behavior domains at age 6 were associated with increases in family conflict at age 8 (βs = .07-.09, ps = .03-.003). Family conflict at age 8 did not significantly predict any child behavior domain at age 10.

Discussion: Findings provide the first crucial insight into the transactional nature of family conflict and children’s behavior after accounting for the influence of maltreatment and violence exposure. Prevention efforts for families at-risk for maltreatment and violence should address day-to-day family conflict and provide interventions for depressive and disruptive child behaviors.

Authors

• Nick Morelli, San Diego State University
  Presenting Author

• Andrew Alvarez, University of California, San Diego
  Non-Presenting Author

• Miguel Villodas, San Diego State University
  Non-Presenting Author