Interparental Conflict, Violence and Psychopathology

The chapter reviews the evidence for the impact of interparental conflict and violence on the psychological outcome of a child. The measurement of interparental conflict and violence is most frequently done using parent-report questionnaires. The physical aggression scale from the CTS is often used as a measure of interparental violence. The chapter recommends use of multiple methods of assessment to obtain the most comprehensive account of severity, frequency, tactics, and content. The use of multiple informants is also encouraged, as conflicts, particularly domestic violence, may be extremely difficult for victims to report. A number of contextual and demographic variables may impact on the relationship between interparental conflict or violence and child psychological functioning. A major limitation within this body of research is the absence of appropriate controls for potential confounds, such as genetics, parent personality, or psychopathology. The associations between parental conflict resolution styles and child psychopathology could simply reflect shared genes, that is, aggressive parents have aggressive children and withdrawn parents have withdrawn children.