ERIC Number: EJ812838
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Aug
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0961-205X
EISSN: N/A
Marital Conflict and Children's Adjustment: The Mediating and Moderating Role of Children's Coping Strategies
Shelton, Katherine H.; Harold, Gordon T.
Social Development, v16 n3 p497-512 Aug 2007
This prospective, longitudinal study examined the role of children's coping strategies in the link between interparental conflict and children's psychological adjustment. Using a sample of 100 parents and children aged 11-14 years, this study investigated children's venting of negative emotion, social support seeking, and problem solving strategies as mediators and moderators of the relationship between marital conflict and child adjustment. Venting negative emotion mediated the long-term effects of marital conflict on children's psychological adjustment. This coping response also moderated the relationship between marital conflict and children's anxiety-depression. The role of non-constructive coping strategies as a mechanism through which marital conflict affects children's psychological well-being is discussed, together with the need for research to identify intervention strategies aimed at improving children's coping efficacy in the context of interparental conflict.
Descriptors: Intervention, Conflict, Parent Child Relationship, Coping, Psychology, Depression (Psychology), Marital Instability, Family Environment, Family Relationship, Preadolescents, Early Adolescents, Social Support Groups, Emotional Response, Help Seeking, Problem Solving, Adjustment (to Environment), Anxiety, Well Being
Blackwell Publishing. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8599; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: customerservices@blackwellpublishing.com; Web site: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/jnl_default.asp
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A