New research reveals why some children are badly affected by negative family conflicts while other children survive without significant problems.
Researchers found that the way in which children understood the conflicts between their parents had different effects on their emotional and behavioral problems. Where children blamed themselves for the conflicts between their parents, they were more likely to have behavioral problems, such as anti-social behavior.
But if their parents’ fighting or arguing led to a child feeling threatened, or fearful that the family would split up, the child was more likely to experience emotional problems, such as depression.
The impact of everyday conflict between parents on their children’s behavior and mental health is driven by how the children understand the problems in the relationship as well as the nature of the conflict itself, the researchers found. These disagreements include; hostile relationships between parents, poor parenting practices, negative parent-child relationships and maternal depression.
Beedie Savage – President of Quantum Units Education