Interparental conflict is a known risk factor for child adjustment
problems; yet few studies have examined its long-term effects. This
study tests the following hypotheses: Interparental conflict has both
longitudinal and concurrent influences on the functioning of young
adult children, and the relationship between young adults and their
parents mediates these influences. We assessed a community sample
(N = 243) of families when the target child was in early to
middle adolescence. We then reassessed them 6 years later during young
adulthood. The links of interparental conflict measured at the two
time points to young adults' general psychopathology and
antisocial behavior were examined using multiple regression
analyses. The quality of the relationship between young adults and
each parent was added to each equation as a potential mediating
variable. Results showed that concurrent, but not earlier,
interparental conflict predicted males' antisocial behavior. No
support was found for the mediational model, but support was found for
an alternate model positing direct effects for interparental conflict
and the parent-young adult relationship on young adult
functioning. For females and males, problematic relationships with
mothers and fathers predicted greater general psychopathology, while
problems in paternal relationships predicted higher levels of
antisocial behavior only for females.