Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Repeated early-life exposure to inter-parental conflict increases risk of preadolescent mental health problems

  • Original Article
  • Published:
European Journal of Pediatrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study investigated the association between inter-parental conflict at a single occasion, or repeated over early childhood, and children’s internalizing and externalizing problems at 10–11 years; and examined potential mechanisms via social risk, maternal mental health, and parenting. Data were five time points from the Baby cohort of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (N = 3696, recruited in 2004). Verbal or physical inter-parental conflict was measured at 0–1, 2–3, 4–5, and 6–7 years. Internalizing and externalizing problems (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) were measured via mother-, father-, teacher-, and child-report at 10–11 years. A series of regression models accounted for social risk at 0–1 years, parenting, and maternal psychological distress at 8–9 years. Physical and verbal inter-parental conflict (reported by 16 and 33% of mothers, respectively) consistently predicted mother-, father-, and child-reported externalizing and internalizing problems, and teacher-reported externalizing (but not internalizing) problems (adjusted regression coefficients [β] = 0.4–1.1). Repeated compared to single report of verbal conflict was associated with more behavior problems (adjusted mean = 0.8–1.1 compared to 0.4–0.6).

Conclusion: Children are sensitive to inter-parental conflict, with long-term negative effects for child mental health even when reported at one time point within the first 6 years of life.

What is Known:

• Studies of children born prior to 1990 show that children exposed to verbal conflict or severe forms of family violence are at greater risk of mental health problems.

What is New:

• Physical and verbal inter-parental conflict reported once or at multiple time points over the first 6 years of life was associated with externalizing and internalizing problems reported by mothers, fathers, children, and teachers.

• Associations between inter-parental conflict and child problems were not explained by family social risk, maternal mental health, or parenting.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Acock AC, Demo DH (1999) Dimensions of family conflict and their influence on child and adolescent adjustment. Sociol Inq 69(4):641–658. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-682X.1999.tb00890.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2007) Australian social trends 2007: women’s experience of partner violence. Canberra, Australia

  3. Australian Institute of Family Studies (2005) Growing up in Australia: the longitudinal study of Australian children: 2004 annual report. In: Department of Family and Community Services (ed). Melbourne, Australia

  4. Blakemore T, Strazdins L (2009) Measuring family socioeconomic position. Aust Soc Pol 8:121–168

    Google Scholar 

  5. Buehler C, Gerard JM (2002) Marital conflict, ineffective parenting, and children’s and adolescents’ maladjustment. J Marriage Fam 64(1):78–92. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2002.00078.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Buehler C, Anthony C, Krishnakumar A, Stone G, Gerard J, Pemberton S (1997) Interparental conflict and youth problem behaviors: a meta-analysis. J Child Fam Stud 6(2):233–247. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025006909538

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Buehler C, Krishnakumar A, Stone G, Anthony C, Pemberton S, Gerard J, Barber BK (1998) Interparental conflict styles and youth problem behaviors: a two-sample replication study. J Marriage Fam 60(1):119–132. https://doi.org/10.2307/353446

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Campbell JC (2002) Health consequences of intimate partner violence. Lancet 359(9314):1331–1336. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(02)08336-8

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Cooklin AR, Giallo R, Rose N (2012) Parental fatigue and parenting practices during early childhood: an Australian community survey. Child Care Health Dev 38(5):654–664. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2214.2011.01333.x

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Cussen A, Sciberras E, Ukoumunne OC, Efron D (2012) Relationship between symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and family functioning: a community-based study. Eur J Pediatr 171(2):271–280. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-011-1524-4

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. De Los Reyes A, Thomas SA, Goodman KL, Kundey SM (2013) Principles underlying the use of multiple informants’ reports. Annu Rev Clin Psychol 9(1):123–149. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-050212-185617

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Department of Health and Aged Care (DoHAC) (2001) Measuring remoteness: accessibility/remoteness index of Australia (ARIA), revised edition. Canberra

  13. Dubowitz H, Prescott L, Feigelman S, Lane W, Kim J (2008) Screening for intimate partner violence in a pediatric primary care clinic. Pediatrics 121(1):e85–e91. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2007-0904

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Ellsberg M, Jansen HA, Heise L, Watts CH, Garcia-Moreno C (2008) Intimate partner violence and women’s physical and mental health in the WHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence: an observational study. Lancet 371(9619):1165–1172. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60522-X

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Frazier PA, Tix AP, Barron KE (2004) Testing moderator and mediator effects in counseling psychology research. J Couns Psychol 51(1):115–134. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.51.1.115

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Furukawa TA, Kessler RC, Slade T, Andrews G (2003) The performance of the K6 and K10 screening scales for psychological distress in the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being. Psychol Med 33(02):357–362. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291702006700

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Gerard JM, Krishnakumar A, Buehler C (2006) Marital conflict, parent-child relations, and youth maladjustment. J Fam Issues 27(7):951–975. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X05286020

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Glascoe FP, Leew S (2010) Parenting behaviors, perceptions, and psychosocial risk: impacts on young children’s development. Pediatrics 125(2):313–319. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2008-3129

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Goodman R (1997) The strengths and difficulties questionnaire: a research note. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 38(5):581–586. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1997.tb01545.x

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Gray M, Sanson A (2005) Growing up in Australia: the longitudinal study of Australian children. Fam Matters 72:4–9

    Google Scholar 

  21. Halford W, Markman HJ (1997) Clinical handbook of marriage and couples interventions: John Wiley & Sons Inc, New York

  22. Jouriles E, Rosenfield D, McDonald R, Mueller V (2014) Child involvement in interparental conflict and child adjustment problems: a longitudinal study of violent families. J Abnorm Child Psychol 42(5):693–704. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-013-9821-1

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  23. Kelly JB, Johnson MP (2008) Differentiation among types of intimate partner violence: research update and implications for interventions. Fam Court Rev 46(3):476–499. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-1617.2008.00215.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Misson S, Sipthorp M (2007) Wave 2 weighting and non-response (LSAC technical paper, no 5). Australian Institute of Family Studies, Melbourne

    Google Scholar 

  25. Soloff C, Lawrence D, Johnstone R (2005) Sample design (LSAC technical paper, no. 1). Australian Institute of Family Studies, Melbourne

    Google Scholar 

  26. Soloff C, Lawrence D, Johnstone R (2005) Sample design (LSAC technical paper no.1). In: Studies AIoF (ed). Melbourne

  27. StataCorp (2011) Stata statistical software. Release, 12th edn. StataCorp LP, College Station

    Google Scholar 

  28. Tanner JL (2002) Parental separation and divorce: can we provide an ounce of prevention? Pediatrics 110(5):1007–1009. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.110.5.1007

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Vandewater EA, Lansford JE (1998) Influences of family structure and parental conflict on children's well-being. Fam Relat 47(4):323–330. https://doi.org/10.2307/585263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Wade C, Giallo R, Cooklin A (2012) Maternal fatigue and depression: identifying vulnerability and relationship to early parenting practices. Adv Ment Health 10(3):277–291. https://doi.org/10.5172/jamh.2012.10.3.277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Westrupp EM, Rose N, Nicholson JM, Brown SJ (2015) Exposure to inter-parental conflict across 10 years of childhood: data from the longitudinal study of Australian children. Matern Child Health J 19(9):1966–1973. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-015-1704-3

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Woolhouse H, Gartland D, Mensah F, Brown S (2015) Maternal depression from early pregnancy to 4 years postpartum in a prospective pregnancy cohort study: implications for primary health care. BJOG Int J Obstet Gynaecol 122(3):312–321. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.12837

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Zubrick S, Lucas N, Westrupp E, Nicholson J (2014) Parenting measures in the longitudinal study of Australian children: construct validity and measurement quality, waves 1 to 4. Australian Government, Canberra

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This paper uses unit record data from Growing Up in Australia, the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). The study is conducted in partnership between the Australian Government Department of Social Services (DSS), the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS), and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). We thank all parents and children who took part in the study.

Funding

Dr. Westrupp was supported by the Centre of Research Excellence in Child Language (Australian National Health and Medical Research Council [NHMRC] grant 1023493). Dr. Westrupp, Professor Nicholson, and the research were supported by Australian Communities Foundation through the Roberta Holmes Transition to Contemporary Parenthood Program (Coronella sub-fund). Professor Brown was supported by a Senior Research Fellowship from the NHMRC. The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute is supported by a Victorian Government Operational Intrastructure Support Scheme. LSAC study design and data collection were funded by DSS.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia

    Elizabeth M. Westrupp

  2. La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia

    Elizabeth M. Westrupp & Jan M. Nicholson

  3. Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Elizabeth M. Westrupp, Stephanie Brown, Hannah Woolhouse, Deirdre Gartland & Jan M. Nicholson

  4. The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Elizabeth M. Westrupp, Stephanie Brown & Deirdre Gartland

Authors
  1. Elizabeth M. Westrupp
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Stephanie Brown
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hannah Woolhouse
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Deirdre Gartland
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jan M. Nicholson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Dr Westrupp and Professor Nicholson conceptualised the study; Dr Westrupp completed the data anlaysis and drafted the manuscript. Professors Brown, Nicholson and Drs Gartland and Woolhouse were involved in study planning, interpretation of the findings and contributed to drafting the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elizabeth M. Westrupp.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The findings and views reported are those of the authors and should not be attributed to DSS, AIFS, or the ABS. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee (Australian Institute of Family Studies Ethics Committee) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants (parents and children) included in the study.

Additional information

Communicated by Peter de Winter

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Westrupp, E.M., Brown, S., Woolhouse, H. et al. Repeated early-life exposure to inter-parental conflict increases risk of preadolescent mental health problems. Eur J Pediatr 177, 419–427 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-017-3071-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-017-3071-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation