Children’s Expectations Of Parent–Child Communication Following Interparental Conflict: Do Parents Talk to Children About Conflict?

The present study offered an initial investigation into parent–child communication about interparental conflict and its relation to children’s psychological functioning. Seventy-five predominantly African-American children ages 6–12 and their mothers were interviewed. Children listened to an unresolved interparental conflict and answered questions regarding the frequency and content of mother–child communication as if the conflict had occurred in their home. Descriptives of mother-and child-initiated discussions were provided in detail. Children who expected mothers to initiate discussions about interparental conflict with them were in turn more likely to initiate discussions with their mothers. Surprisingly, less than half of mothers were reported by children to communicate in a validating manner, and an equal number of children expected their mothers to communicate in an invalidating manner. Findings demonstrated significant relations between the content of mother–child communication (i.e., validation, invalidation) and children’s adjustment (e.g., externalizing problems, depression). Future directions are discussed with an emphasis on the importance of further “process-oriented” research.