Poster #39 - The Impact of Constructive and Destructive Conflict on Children’s Social Behavior: A Longitudinal Examination

• In Event: Poster Session 15

Abstract

The detrimental impact of destructive family conflict on children’s peer relationships and adjustment is widely documented. However, the impact of constructive conflict on children’s peer interactions is less studied. McCoy et al. (2009) reported that constructive conflict between parents predicted heightened emotional security, which in turn predicted prosocial behaviors in children. Expanding upon these findings, the purpose of the present study is to further evaluate whether constructive conflict in the family system predicts peer interaction quality through the mechanisms of emotional security and cortisol reactivity. Given evidence that positive and negative social interactions with peers differ by gender, the role of gender is also considered. This study also aims to build upon earlier study of these relations by examining the effects of constructive conflict within the parent-child triad on early adolescents' peer relationships. During adolescence, children may be more likely to play an active role in family conflict and peer relationships become increasingly important to children’s wellbeing. As a result, this study explores how adaptive functioning in families may contribute to children’s later interactions with peers.

Data were drawn from a larger longitudinal study investigating family functioning and child adjustment. In the present study, participants included 165 children (Mage = 8.1, 87 girls) and their parents. Variables included constructive and destructive family conflict (Time 1) derived from observations of a triadic family problem-solving task, cortisol reactivity (Time 2), emotional security in the family system (Time 2), and gender. Measures of prosocial behavior, conduct problems, aggression, peer victimization, and self-reported peer network strength (Time 3) were also included. Mplus was used to conduct a set of moderated mediation models (see Figures 1 and 2). Constructive family conflict predicted lower levels of peer aggression and heightened levels of prosocial behavior, and gender moderated the link between constructive conflict, emotional security and both prosocial behavior and aggression. In comparison, destructive family conflict predicted lower levels of prosocial behavior and heightened levels of aggressive behavior. In the destructive conflict models, heightened cortisol reactivity predicted heightened levels of classroom conduct problems for boys, but not for girls. Additional analyses will be conducted to further examine these relations.

These findings help elucidate how constructive and destructive family conflict impact children’s peer interactions. It is beneficial to explore how adaptive family functioning can positively impact children’s social behaviors, contributing to a more robust understanding of factors relating to the development of children’s social behaviors with peers. This may help in the design of more effective interventions aimed to encourage healthy conflict behaviors in families; for example, studying the mechanisms linking constructive conflict and favorable social outcomes in children within diverse populations might challenge the status quo regarding what constitutes normal, adaptive family functioning. These findings may encourage future research into the constructive conflict behaviors in order to better promote more positive peer experiences for children.

Authors

• Emily Brigham, Auburn University
  Presenting Author

• E. Mark Cummings, University of Notre Dame