Preface
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 May 2010
Summary
The past decade has witnessed tremendous growth in efforts to understand how interparental conflict may affect children's functioning. Nearly two-thirds of the studies included in a recent meta-analysis of this literature were published in the 1990s (Buehler et al., 1997), and significant progress has been made in describing the nature of the links between conflict and child adjustment. This is a particularly opportune time to examine the current status of the field and to contemplate its future directions. As the focus of research moves from documenting the parameters of the association between conflict and child adjustment to investigating the processes that explain how, why, and under what conditions interparental conflict may affect children, it is important to take stock of what we do and do not know about the impact of conflict on children and to identify both problems and prospects for research in the next decade.
This book is designed to facilitate exploration of the links between marital and child problems by providing an in-depth analysis of research on interparental conflict and children's development. The chapters that follow provide diverse perspectives on this literature, examine a wide range of critical issues, and discuss the conceptual and methodological questions that are most central for advancing research in this area. Two themes are given particular emphasis in the book. Although it often has been noted that children's age and the context in which conflict occurs are important for understanding its effects, our knowledge of the roles that these factors play is limited. Consequently, contributors were asked to consider how developmental and systemic processes may influence children's responses to conflict and shape its impact on them.
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- Chapter
- Information
- Interparental Conflict and Child DevelopmentTheory, Research and Applications, pp. xiii - xivPublisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2001