Guided by emotional security theory, this study examined the family-level antecedents of children's reaction patterns to interparental conflict in a sample of 243 preschool children (M age = 4.60 years; 48% Black; 16% Latinx; 56% girls) and their parents in the Northeastern United States. Behavioral observations of children's responses to…

This study examined interparental conflict as a curvilinear predictor of children's reactivity to interparental conflict and, in turn, their school problems across three annual measurements. Participants included 243 preschool children (M[subscript age] = 4.60 years; 56% girls) and their parents from racially (e.g., 48% Black; 16% Latinx) diverse…

This study examined whether childhood interparental conflict moderated the mediational pathway involving adolescent exposure to interparental conflict, their negative emotional reactivity to family conflict, and their psychological problems in a sample of 235 children (M[subscript age] = 6 years). Significant moderated-mediation findings indicated…

Little is known about the role children's processing of emotions plays in altering children's vulnerability to interparental conflict. To address this gap, the present study examined whether the mediational cascade involving children's exposure to interparental conflict, their insecure responses to interparental conflict, and their psychological…

This study investigated whether adolescent vagal stress reactivity to parent--adolescent conflict moderates the effects of family instability on the development of adolescent behavioral problems. Participants were 192 adolescents (M age = 12.4) and their parents across 2 measurement occasions. Results indicated that the interaction between family…

This study examined interparental conflict as a linear and curvilinear predictor of subsequent changes in adolescents' negative emotional reactivity and cortisol functioning during family conflict and, in turn, their psychological difficulties. In addition, adolescents' negative emotional reactivity and cortisol functioning during family conflict…

Guided by models of family unpredictability, this study was designed to identify the distinctive sequelae of disorganized interparental conflict, a dimension of interparental conflict characterized by abrupt, inexplicable changes in parental emotional lability, conflict tactics, and verbalizations. Participants included 208 kindergarten children…

Prior work suggests that substance-dependent mothers insensitively respond to their child's emotional needs, which can increase children's risk for psychopathology. However, the mechanisms and processes underlying these associations remain unclarified. Mothers' insensitivity to children's distress is an especially unique predictor of child…

This study examined the consequences of negative change in mothers' implicit appraisals of their adolescents after engaging in a family disagreement. Participants included 194 mothers and their early adolescents (M[subscript age] = 12.4 at Wave 1; 50% female) followed over 1 year. Mothers' implicit appraisals of her child as "unlovable"…

Although social difficulties have been identified as sequelae of children's experiences with interparental conflict and insecurity, little is known about the specific mechanisms underlying their vulnerability to social problems. Guided by emotional security theory, this study tested the hypothesis that children's emotional insecurity mediates…

Building on empirical documentation of children's involvement in interparental conflicts as a weak predictor of psychopathology, we tested the hypothesis that involvement in conflict more consistently serves as a moderator of associations between children's emotional reactivity to interparental conflict and their psychological problems. In Study…

This study examined whether children’s difficulties with stage-salient tasks served as an explanatory mechanism in the pathway between their insecurity in the interparental relationship and their disruptive behavior problems. Using a multimethod, multi-informant design, 201 two-year-old children and their mothers participated in 3 annual…

Marital conflict is a distressing context in which children must regulate their emotion and behavior; however, the associations between the multidimensionality of conflict and children's regulatory processes need to be examined. The current study examined differences in children's (N=207, mean age=8.02 years) emotions (mad, sad, scared, and happy)…

Past research suggests that maternal and paternal parenting processes differentially contribute to children's adjustment. However, the contribution of paternal warmth and responsiveness, to childhood attachment security is less understood, especially beyond the preschool years. The current study examined relations between parenting and attachment…

This study examined specific forms of emotional reactivity to conflict and temperamental emotionality as explanatory mechanisms in pathways among interparental aggression and child psychological problems. Participants of the multimethod, longitudinal study included 201 two-year-old children and their mothers who had experienced elevated violence…