The Relationship of Marital Support, Conflict and Divorce to Parent Perceptions, Behaviors and Childhood Conduct Problems

Webster-Stratton, C. (1989). The relationship of marital support, conflict, and divorce to parent perceptions, behaviors, and childhood conduct problems. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51(2), 417–430. https://doi.org/10.2307/352504

42 maritally supported, 43 maritally distressed, 32 single parents and their clinic children (aged 3–7 yrs) participated in the study. Parents completed measures of child adjustment, parenting stress, and marital adjustment, among others. Results reveal significant correlations between mothers' reports of low marital satisfaction and more negative perceptions of child adjustment, increased mother stress levels, increased mother commands, and increased child noncompliance. However, single mothers reported significantly more child behavior problems and perceived themselves as more stressed than the other 2 groups of mothers. The observational data indicated that single mothers exhibited more critical statements, questions, and commands when interacting with their children and in turn their children exhibited more deviant and noncompliant behaviors than the other 2 groups of mothers and children. The meanings of these findings and gender differences are discussed.

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