studiu 2019

Abstract
Parental separation is a major adverse childhood experience. Parental separation is
generally preceded by conflict, which is itself a risk factor for child problem behavior.
Whether parental separation independent of conflict has negative effects on child
problem behavior is unclear. This study was embedded in Generation R, a population-
based cohort followed from fetal life until age 9 years. Information on family conflict
was obtained from 5,808 mothers and fathers. The 4-way decomposition method was
used to apportion the effects of prenatal family conflict and parental separation on child
problem behavior into 4 nonoverlapping components. Structural equation modeling was
used to test bidirectional effects of child problem behavior and family conflict over time.
Family conflict from pregnancy onward and parental separation each strongly predicted
child problem behavior up to preadolescence according to maternal and paternal ratings.
Using the 4-way decomposition method, we found evidence for a strong direct effect of
prenatal family conflict on child problem behavior, for reference interaction, and for
mediated interaction. The evidence for interaction implies that prenatal family conflict
increased the children’s vulnerability to the harmful effect of parental separation. There
was no evidence of a pure indirect effect of parental separation on child problem
behavior. Overall, results indicated that if parental separation occurs in families with low
levels of conflict, parental separation does not predict more child problem behavior.
Moreover, the bidirectional pattern suggested that child problem behavior influences the
persistence of family conflict.
Parental separation affects approximately one third of all marriages in many societies.
Parental separation has been related to diverse negative outcomes of the child, including
mental and physical health problems (Felitti & Anda, 2010Felitti, V. J., & Anda, R. F.
(2010). The relationship of adverse childhood experiences to adult health, well-being,
social function, and health care. In R. Lanius, E. Vermetten, & C. Pain (Eds.), The effects
of early life trauma on health and disease: The hidden epidemic. Cambridge, USA:
Cambridge University Press.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Many children from
separated families show difficulties in functioning, including frequent emotional and
behavioral problems (Amato, 2001Amato, P. R. (2001). Children of divorce in the 1990s:
An update of the Amato and Keith (1991) meta-analysis. Journal of Family Psychology :
JFP : Journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological
Association (Division 43), 15(3), 355–370.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science
®] , [Google Scholar]; Lansford et al., 2006Lansford, J. E., Malone, P. S., Dodge, K. A.,
Crozier, J. C., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E. (2006). A 12-year prospective study of patterns
of social information processing problems and externalizing behaviors. Journal of
Abnormal Child Psychology, 34(5), 715–724. doi:10.1007/s10802-006-9057-4[Crossref],
[PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Spruijt & Kormos, 2014Spruijt, E., &
Kormos, H. (2014). Handboek scheiden en de kinderen [Handbook divorce and children].
Houten Bohn Stafleu van Loghum, The Netherlands.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]).
However, family conflict often long precedes the actual physical separation, thus making
it difficult to determine whether the negative effects on children are caused by the
parental separation or by the family conflict (Goldthorpe, 2001Goldthorpe, J. H. (2001).
Causation, statistics, and sociology. European Sociological Review, 17(1), 1–20.
doi:10.1093/esr/17.1.1[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), which
increases the risk of separation as well as causing child maladjustment (Bhrolch,
2001Bhrolch, M. N. (2001). ‘Divorce Effects’ and causality in the social sciences.
European Sociological Review, 17(1), 33–57. doi:10.1093/esr/17.1.33[Crossref], [Web of
Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; McLanahan, Tach, & Schneider, 2013McLanahan, S.,
Tach, L., & Schneider, D. (2013). The causal effects of father absence. Annual Review of
Sociology, 399, 399–427. doi:10.1146/annurev-soc-071312-145704[Crossref], [Web of
Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Furthermore, child maladjustment can often trigger or
exacerbate family conflict (Schermerhorn, Cummings, DeCarlo, & Davies,
2007Schermerhorn, A. C., Cummings, E. M., DeCarlo, C. A., & Davies, P. T. (2007).
Children’s influence in the marital relationship. Journal of Family Psychology : JFP :
Journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association
(Division 43), 21(2), 259–269. 2007-09250-013 [pii]. doi:10.1037/0893-
3200.21.2.259[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Sturge-
Apple, Davies, & Cummings, 2010Sturge-Apple, M. L., Davies, P. T., & Cummings, E.
M. (2010). Typologies of family functioning and children’s adjustment during the early
school years. Child Development, 81(4), 1320–1335. doi:CDEV1471 [pii].
doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01471.x[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science
®] , [Google Scholar]). In some families, family conflict may start before the child is
born and escalate over time. However, in other families, family conflict begins sometime
after the child is born and increases over time, particularly if the child has physical,
developmental, regulatory, emotional, or behavioral problems (Cummings,
Schermerhorn, Davies, Goeke-Morey, & Cummings, 2006Cummings, E. M.,
Schermerhorn, A. C., Davies, P. T., Goeke-Morey, M. C., & Cummings, J. S. (2006).
Interparental discord and child adjustment: prospective investigations of emotional
security as an explanatory mechanism. Child Development, 77(1), 132–152.
doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00861.x[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science
®] , [Google Scholar]; Goeke-Morey, Cummings, & Papp, 2007Goeke-Morey, M. C.,
Cummings, E. M., & Papp, L. M. (2007). Children and marital conflict resolution:
Implications for emotional security and adjustment. Journal of Family Psychology : JFP :
Journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association
(Division 43), 21(4), 744–753. doi:2007-18728-020 [pii]. doi:10.1037/0893-
3200.21.4.744[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Rhoades,
2008Rhoades, K. A. (2008). Children’s responses to interparental conflict: A meta-
analysis of their associations with child adjustment. Child Development, 79(6), 1942–
1956. CDEV1235 [pii]. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01235.x[Crossref], [PubMed],
[Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Given this complex set of factors, it is important
to consider the effects of prenatal family conflict on later family conflict, on separation,
and on child maladjustment. In addition, it is important to test mediation and interaction
effects linking prenatal conflict and separation with child maladjustment. Finally,
bidirectional effects between child maladjustment and family conflict are important to
test. Before detailing our specific hypotheses, we summarize previous research relevant
to associations between family conflict, separation, and child maladjustment.

Family Conflict
Many studies show that family conflict plays a central role in child maladjustment
(Camisasca, Miragoli, & Di Blasio, 2016Camisasca, E., Miragoli, S., & Di Blasio, P.
(2016). Families with distinct levels of marital conflict and child adjustment: Which role
for maternal and paternal stress?Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25(3), 733–745.
doi:10.1007/s10826-015-0261-0[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar];
Fosco & Grych, 2008Fosco, G. M., & Grych, J. H. (2008). Emotional, cognitive, and
family systems mediators of children’s adjustment to interparental conflict. Journal of
Family Psychology : JFP : Journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American
Psychological Association (Division 43), 22(6), 843–854. doi:2008-17958-005 [pii].
doi:10.1037/a0013809[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar];
Pendry & Adam, 2013Pendry, P., & Adam, E. K. (2013). Child-related interparental
conflict in infancy predicts child cognitive functioning in a nationally representative
sample. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 22(4), 502–515. doi:10.1007/s10826-012-
9603-3[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Parents in high-conflict
marriages are less warm toward their children, more rejecting, harsher in their discipline,
and more withdrawn and depressed than parents in low-conflict marriages (Amato &
DeBoer, 2001Amato, P. D., & DeBoer, D. D. (2001). The transmission of marital
instability across generations: Relationship skills or commitment to marriage?Journal of
Marriage and Family, 63(4), 1038–1051. doi:10.1111/j.1741-
3737.2001.01038.x[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Booth & Amato,
2001Booth, A., & Amato, P. R. (2001). Parental predivorce relations and offspring
postdivorce well-being. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63(1), 197–212.
doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2001.00197.x[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google
Scholar]; Davies et al., 2016Davies, P. T., Hentges, R. F., Coe, J. L., Martin, M. J.,
Sturge-Apple, M. L., & Cummings, E. M. (2016). The multiple faces of interparental
conflict: Implications for cascades of children’s insecurity and externalizing problems.
Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 125(5), 664–678. doi:2016-23425-001 [pii].
doi:10.1037/abn0000170[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]).
When family conflict increases parental harshness, rejection, and inconsistency, it may
lead to child maladjustment, such as internalizing and externalizing problems
(Gryczkowski, Jordan, & Mercer, 2010Gryczkowski, M. R., Jordan, S. S., & Mercer, S.
H. (2010). Differential relations between mothers’ and fathers’ parenting practices and
child externalizing behavior. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19(5), 539–546.
doi:10.1007/s10826-009-9326-2[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar];
Laurin, Joussemet, Tremblay, & Boivin, 2015Laurin, J. C., Joussemet, M., Tremblay, R.
E., & Boivin, M. (2015). Early forms of controlling parenting and the development of
childhood anxiety. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(11), 3279–3292.
doi:10.1007/s10826-015-0131-9[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). In
addition, the effects of family conflict may vary depending on the age of the child, with
toddlers showing developmental, self-regulatory, and attachment issues but preschoolers
showing self-blame, fear, confusion, guilt and sadness (Kelly & Lamb, 2000Kelly, J. B.,
& Lamb, M. E. (2000). Using child development research to make appropriate custody
and access decisions for young children. Family Court Review, 38(3), 297–311.
doi:10.1111/j.174-1617.2000.tb00577.x[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; McIntosh,
2003McIntosh, J. (2003). Enduring conflict in parental separation: Pathways of impact on
child development. Journal of Family Studies, 9(1), 63–80. doi:10.5172/jfs.9.1.63[Taylor
& Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). As children age, they develop a more
sophisticated understanding of interactions between people, but they are still troubled by
loyalty conflicts when their divorced parents remain locked in conflict (McIntosh,
2003McIntosh, J. (2003). Enduring conflict in parental separation: Pathways of impact on
child development. Journal of Family Studies, 9(1), 63–80. doi:10.5172/jfs.9.1.63[Taylor
& Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]).
Few studies have examined the stability of family conflict over time, and even fewer
have tested this stability starting prenatally. However, Kluwer and Johnson (2007Kluwer,
E. S., & Johnson, M. D. (2007). Conflict frequency and relationship quality across the
transition to parenthood. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69(5), 1089–1106.
doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2007.00434.x[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google
Scholar]) reported that a high level of conflict during pregnancy predicted worse marital
relationships after the child was born. This may be because the stresses of parenting are
added to an already conflictual relationship (Howard & Brooks-Gunn, 2009Howard, K.
S., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2009). Relationship supportiveness during the transition to
parenting among married and unmarried parents. Parenting, 9(1–2), 123–142.
doi:10.1080/15295190802656828[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science
®] , [Google Scholar]).
Separation/Divorce
Separation and divorce represent a cascade of potentially stressful changes in the social
and physical environment of families. Separation is often associated with increased
parental distress, reduced attention paid to the child by one or both parents, disruption of
the home environment, conflict over money and custody/visitation, and reduced
economic circumstances, all of which are stressors for children (Amato, 2001Amato, P.
R. (2001). Children of divorce in the 1990s: An update of the Amato and Keith (1991)
meta-analysis. Journal of Family Psychology : JFP : Journal of the Division of Family
Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43), 15(3), 355–370.
[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Kelly & Emery,
2003Kelly, J. B., & Emery, R. E. (2003). Children’s adjustment following divorce: Risk
and resilience perspectives. Family Relations, 52(4), 352–362. doi:10.1111/j.1741-
3729.2003.00352.x[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Stadelmann,
Perren, Groeben, & von Klitzing, 2010Stadelmann, S., Perren, S., Groeben, M., & von
Klitzing, K. (2010). Parental separation and children’s behavioral/emotional problems:
The impact of parental representations and family conflict. Family Process, 49(1), 92–
108. doi:FAMP1310 [pii]. doi:10.1111/j.1545-5300.2010.01310.x[Crossref], [PubMed],
[Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Parental preoccupation with issues pertaining to
separation/divorce and adjustment to the new domestic arrangements can also interfere
with effective parenting, which can lead to problems in their children (Gryczkowski et
al., 2010Gryczkowski, M. R., Jordan, S. S., & Mercer, S. H. (2010). Differential relations
between mothers’ and fathers’ parenting practices and child externalizing behavior.
Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19(5), 539–546. doi:10.1007/s10826-009-9326-
2[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Laurin et al., 2015Laurin, J. C.,
Joussemet, M., Tremblay, R. E., & Boivin, M. (2015). Early forms of controlling
parenting and the development of childhood anxiety. Journal of Child and Family
Studies, 24(11), 3279–3292. doi:10.1007/s10826-015-0131-9[Crossref], [Web of Science
®] , [Google Scholar]).
Most prospective studies have found that both family conflict and parental separation
stress children and can lead to maladjustment (Amato & Afifi, 2006Amato, P. R., &
Afifi, T. D. (2006). Feeling caught between parents: Adult children’s relations with
parents and subjective well-being. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68(1), 222–235.
doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2006.00243.x[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google
Scholar]). Furthermore, the level of conflict preceding the separation influences child
emotional and behavioral problems (Booth & Amato, 2001Booth, A., & Amato, P. R.
(2001). Parental predivorce relations and offspring postdivorce well-being. Journal of
Marriage and Family, 63(1), 197–212. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2001.00197.x[Crossref],
[Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Strohschein, 2005Strohschein, L. (2005).
Parental divorce and child mental health trajectories. Journal of Marriage and Family,
67(5), 1286–1300. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2005.00217.x[Crossref], [Web of Science
®] , [Google Scholar]). Some research indicates that family conflict is a more important
predictor child maladjustment than parental separation (Schoppe-Sullivan, Schermerhorn,
& Cummings, 2007Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J., Schermerhorn, A. C., & Cummings, E. M.
(2007). Marital conflict and children’s adjustment: evaluation of the parenting process
model. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69(5), 1118–1134. doi:10.1111/j.1741-
3737.2007.00436.x[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Interaction effects between conflict
and separation are likely, though they have not been widely studied. For example,
separation may have fewer negative effects on children when conflict is low and parents
can collaborate for their children’s welfare before, during, and after the separation
process (Amato, Kane, & James, 2011Amato, P. R., Kane, J. B., & James, S. (2011).
Reconsidering the “Good Divorce”. Family Relations, 60(5), 511–524.
doi:10.1111/j.1741-3729.2011.00666.x[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science
®] , [Google Scholar]). On the other hand, when conflict is high before, during, and after
the separation, then the compound effects of conflict and separation may result in many
negative consequences for the children. However, a few longitudinal studies have found
that children in high-conflict families showed improved well-being after parental
separation. (Amato & DeBoer, 2001Amato, P. D., & DeBoer, D. D. (2001). The
transmission of marital instability across generations: Relationship skills or commitment
to marriage?Journal of Marriage and Family, 63(4), 1038–1051. doi:10.1111/j.1741-
3737.2001.01038.x[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Booth & Amato,
2001Booth, A., & Amato, P. R. (2001). Parental predivorce relations and offspring
postdivorce well-being. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63(1), 197–212.
doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2001.00197.x[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google
Scholar]). This outcome may be contingent on the discrepancy between pre- and
postseparation level of contact and conflict.
Gaps in Previous Research
Few studies thus far have explored the extent to which the association between parental
separation and child maladjustment depends on family conflict, and even fewer have
tested this in young children. Most previous research has considered the effects of family
conflict and divorce individually, but the two are likely to interact. The few studies
(Amato, 2000Amato, P. R. (2000). The Consequences of Divorce for Adults and
Children. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62(4), 1269–1287. doi:10.1111/j.1741-
3737.2000.01269.x[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Davies et al.,
2016Davies, P. T., Hentges, R. F., Coe, J. L., Martin, M. J., Sturge-Apple, M. L., &
Cummings, E. M. (2016). The multiple faces of interparental conflict: Implications for
cascades of children’s insecurity and externalizing problems. Journal of Abnormal
Psychology, 125(5), 664–678. doi:2016-23425-001 [pii].
doi:10.1037/abn0000170[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar])
that have considered both family conflict and parental separation did so by adjusting the
regression analyses of separation predicting child behavior for family conflict. However,
these studies have generally not tested the interaction effect between family conflict and
parental separation. Moreover, family conflict has typically been assessed after the child
was born. Because child behavior can influence family conflict and separation, reverse
causality can create a bidirectional feedback loop, but this has been largely unexplored in
previous studies (Pardini, 2008Pardini, D. A. (2008). Novel insights into longstanding
theories of bidirectional parent–Child influences: Introduction to the special section.
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36(5), 627–631. doi:10.1007/s10802-008-9231-
y[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Measuring family
conflict prenatally controls for such bidirectional effects. Furthermore, measuring both
family conflict and child maladjustment at successive time points in a longitudinal design
permits analysis of the bidirectional associations between parental and child behavior
over time (Sameroff & Mackenzie, 2003Sameroff, A. J., & Mackenzie, M. J. (2003).
Research strategies for capturing transactional models of development: The limits of the
possible. Development and Psychopathology, 15(3), 613–640.[Crossref], [PubMed],
[Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Shaw & Bell, 1993Shaw, D. S., & Bell, R. Q.
(1993). Developmental theories of parental contributors to antisocial behavior. Journal of
Abnormal Child Psychology, 21(5), 493–518.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science
®] , [Google Scholar]). In addition, many studies of divorce/separation do not obtain
ratings of child emotional and behavioral problems from both parents, although
discrepancies between maternal and paternal ratings are a well-documented finding
(Achenbach, McConaughy, & Howell, 1987Achenbach, T. M., McConaughy, S. H., &
Howell, C. T. (1987). Child/adolescent behavioral and emotional problems: Implications
of cross-informant correlations for situational specificity. Psychological Bulletin, 101(2),
213–232.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; De Los Reyes et
al., 2015De Los Reyes, A., Augenstein, T. M., Wang, M., Thomas, S. A., Drabick, D. A.,
Burgers, D. E., & Rabinowitz, J. (2015). The validity of the multi-informant approach to
assessing child and adolescent mental health. Psychological Bulletin, 141(4), 858–900.
doi:2015-18640-001 [pii]. doi:10.1037/a0038498[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science
®] , [Google Scholar]).
Goals of Our Research
To address these limitations in the literature, we examined effects of family conflict and
parental separation on child maladjustment using a large, multiethnic population-based
prospective cohort from The Generation R Study (Kooijman et al., 2016Kooijman, M. N.,
Kruithof, C. J., van Duijn, C. M., Duijts, L., Franco, O. H., van, I. M. H., … Jaddoe, V.
W. (2016). The Generation R Study: Design and cohort update 2017. European Journal of
Epidemiology, 31(12), 1243–1264. [pii]. doi:10.1007/s10654-016-0224-9[Crossref],
[PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Both parents provided reports of
family conflict prenatally and at age 9, and mothers reported on family conflict at age 5.
Information about marital status (i.e., married/living together vs. separated/divorced) was
obtained prenatally and at ages 3, 5, and 9. The parents each reported child behavioral
and emotional problems at age 3 and 9 and mothers also provided reports at age 5. We
used these data to test the following hypotheses: (a) prenatal family conflict is associated
with later family conflict, separation, and child maladjustment; (b) parental separation is
associated with child maladjustment; (c) parental separation might not affect child
maladjustment independent of prenatal family conflict; and (d) bidirectional associations
would be found between child maladjustment and family conflict.