Children's Conflict Appraisals, Temperamental Negative Affectivity, Affect and Arousal in the Context of Interparental Conflict

• In Event: Poster Session 05
  In Poster Session: PS 05 Topic - Family Context & Processes

Abstract

Children’s emotional and physiological arousal in the context of interparental conflict have been identified as one mechanism connecting exposure to marital discord and adjustment outcomes (Buehler et al., 2007; Davies et al., 2007). However, these factors (i.e., emotions and physiological arousal) can look different across children depending on their intrapersonal attributes, such as temperamental negative affectivity or perceptions of the conflict (Hentges et al., 2015; Weldon et al., 2019). For example, children who have negative perceptions of their parents’ conflict tend to have higher levels of negative emotions and physiological arousal when being exposed to marital discord (Crockenberg & Forgays, 1996; Koss et al., 2013; Weldon et al., 2019). Relatedly, youth with a temperamental disposition toward anger, fearfulness, or irritability (negative affectivity) are prone to negative feelings and somatic arousal during stressful events, such as an interparental dispute (Hentges et al., 2015; Davies et al., 2016; Davies et al., 2011). Moreover, conflict perceptions and temperament can work together to influence children’s affect and physiology when observing marital conflict (Grych & Fincham, 1990). In this study, we examined the interaction between children’s conflict appraisals and temperamental negative affectivity predicting their emotions and physiological arousal after exposure to an interparental dispute between their parents. One hundred and fifteen married couples discussed an area of difficulty in their relationship while their child (aged 9-11) was present. Right after the conversation, children reported their current emotional (Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule for Children; Laurent et al., 1999) and perceived physiological (Physiological Hyperarousal Scale for Children; Laurent et al., 2004) state. In addition, in an earlier lab visit, mothers completed the Temperament in Middle Childhood Questionnaire (TMCQ; Simonds & Rothbart, 2004) and children completed the Children’s Perception of Conflict Scale (CPIC; Grych et al., 1992), including perceptions of threat regarding, and thoughts of being to blame for, or triangulated into, their parents’ conflict. There were several significant interactions between conflict appraisals and temperament. Specifically, threat perception predicted more negative affect among highly fearful children, but not among low-fear children. Similarly, high levels of self-blame were associated with more negative affect among fearful children, but not among low-fear children (see Figure 1). In addition, while triangulation significantly predicted heightened arousal among children low in temperamental sadness, this relationship was non-significant among those with high levels of sadness (see Figure 2). The results suggested that temperament can act as a filter through which children’s appraisals of their parents’ conflict are enacted when being exposed to an interparental dispute. Fearful children, because of their hypersensitivity to threat, may be particularly affected by marital discord. Compared to other children, those who are prone to sadness may be less impacted by the arousing effect of triangulation. These findings offer valuable information regarding the interplay between various factors that link children’s exposure to interparental conflict and their subsequent emotional and physiological state.

Authors

• Phuong Nguyen, University of Vermont
  Presenting Author

• Alice C Schermerhorn, University of Vermont
  Non-Presenting Author