Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-5xszh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-29T15:13:51.870Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

1 - Conflict in context

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2022

Gordon Harold
Affiliation:
University of Sussex
Get access

Summary

There is growing interest and recognition regarding the importance of couple relationships and how they can influence child wellbeing. A large body of evidence exists which documents the significance of parental relationships on children's social, emotional, cognitive, behavioural and physical development. Inter-parental conflict (conflict between a child's parents) is one area which appears to have considerable impact on child outcomes.

It is not simply the presence of conflict per se which affects outcomes for children, but rather the characteristics of this conflict and how parents deal with it that seems to matter most. Conflict is particularly destructive to children when it is frequent, unresolved, intense, or about the child (Cummings and Davies, 2010). This book reviews the latest evidence showing how children who experience high levels of destructive conflict between their parents are at serious risk not only in terms of their own wellbeing, but also in relation to the perpetuation of these behaviours later in life.

This book focuses on recent research, over the last 10 years and provides an insight into the outcomes for children of exposure to destructive conflict as well as how children are affected, and why some children appear more vulnerable than others. In other words, there is more of an understanding of ‘why, when, and how’ parental conflict affects some but not all children. Specifically, reviewed research into the physiological and neurobiological impacts, in addition to the intergenerational transmission of conflict, are particularly innovative additions.

Another key area of emerging evidence is in relation to conflict interventions delivered to couples and parents. Evidence suggests that involving couples in intervention activities and focusing on elements of the couple relationship is more effective than those which deal solely on improving parenting (Cowan et al., 2011). A variety of programmes, with different approaches in terms of content and goals, are outlined. What unites the interventions covered in this publication is a shared emphasis on the importance of working with couples, whether they are together or separated, with a focus placed on early intervention. The evidence is assessed to identify what aspects of these interventions appear to be most effective, and areas for future research are highlighted.

Type
Chapter
Information
Parental Conflict
Outcomes and Interventions for Children and Families
, pp. 1 - 12
Publisher: Bristol University Press
Print publication year: 2014

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×