See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/16053310

Interparental Conflict and Children of Discord and Divorce

Article  in  Psychological Bulletin · October 1982

DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.92.2.310 · Source: PubMed

CITATIONS READS
976 10,280

1 author:

Robert Emery
University of Virginia
168 PUBLICATIONS   8,947 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Child effects View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Robert Emery on 14 September 2015.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Psychological Bulletin Copyright 1982 by the American Psychological Association, Inc.
1982, Vol. 92, No. 2, 310-330 0033-2909/82/9202-0310S00.75

Interparental Conflict
and the Children of Discord and Divorce
Robert E. Emery
University of Virginia

Data on the relation between marital turmoil (i.e., discord and divorce) and
behavior problems in children are reviewed. It is concluded that a relation be-
tween the two domains docs exist. Several parameters of this relation are outlined,
including type of marital turmoil, form of the child's behavioral response, sex
differences, age effects, parental buffering, and effects of parental psychopa-
thology. Conclusions drawn from this review are used to evaluate several broad
etiological hypotheses about the effect of marital turmoil on children, and im-
plications for the treatment of behavior problems in children from these families
are discussed. Finally, interpretative and methodological refinements are sug-
gested for future research.

The idea that marital turmoil 1 is the cause
of a variety of behavior problems in children
is widely held both in the public and in the
professional domain. During the first 6
months of 1980, such prominent media as
Newsweek and the New York Times Mag-
azine ran cover stories on children of divorce,
and the National Institute of Mental Health
solicited research proposals on the topic.
Recent interest has been spurred by popular
movies and books, which themselves reflect
the turmoil found in an increasing number
of American families. In fact, the Academy
Award winner for best motion picture in
1980 depicted the problems of marital sep-
aration and child custody (Kramer vs. Kra-
mer), and the 1981 winner portrayed family
conflict in a two-parent household (Ordinary
People).
It has been estimated that 38% of the first
marriages of women in their late twenties
will end in divorce (Glick & Norton, 1978).
Although divorce is slightly less frequent
among couples who have children under 5
years of age, an estimated 45% of the chil-
dren born in 1977 will live in a one-parent
family for at least several months, primarily
as a result of divorce (Cherlin, 1977; Glick
& Norton, 1978). The census bureau has
reported a 79% increase in the number of
single-parent families between 1970 and
1980, so the current prevalence is one in five
(U.S. Census Bureau, 1980). Because not
every discordant marriage is dissolved, these
astronomical figures on the number of chil-
dren of divorce omit a significant and largely
unknown number of children who are ex-
posed to serious marital conflict.
Psychologists have been called on to pro-
vide both explanations and treatments for
families who are affected by marital turmoil.
The response has encompassed almost the
entire range of possibilities. Some psychol-
ogists have suggested that whenever there
is a problem child, there is a problem mar-
riage (Framo, 1975); others have concluded
that a relation between divorce and child
problems has yet to be demonstrated (Her-
zog & Sudia, 1973). The relative lack of
sophisticated research regarding the relation
between marital turmoil and child problems
encourages such a diversity of opinion. Nev-

I would like to thank K. Daniel O'Leary, Alan O.
Ross, and Everett Waters, as well as John Darley, as-
sociate editor, and several anonymous reviewers for their
comments on earlier versions of this article.
Requests for reprints should be sent to Robert Emery,
Department of Psychology, Gilmer Hall, University of
Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22901.
1
The term turmoil refers to families characterized
by discord in marriage, separation, or divorce as a group.
The term marital problems is occasionally used as a
synonym. Interparental conflict is used to denote open
hostility between married, separated, or divorced par-
ents. Marital discord refers to problems in intact mar-
riages only.

310
 CHILDREN OF DISCORD AND DIVORCE
ertheless, careful examination of the litera-
ture reveals that a considerable body of in-
formation is available.
Covariation Between Marital
and Child Problems
A number of investigators have found a
relation between discord in intact marriages
and the severity or frequency of behavior
problems in children. This rinding remains
consistent across such countries as the United
States (Emery & O'Leary, in press; Olt-
manns, Broderick, & O'Leary, 1977; Porter
& O'Leary, 1980), England (Rutter, 1971,
1979), and India (Chawla & Gupt, 1979).
Similarly, divorce and child problems have
often been found to be related (Anthony,
1974; Hetherington, 1979; McDermott,
1968, 1970; Wallerstein & Kelly, 1980;
Westman, Cline, Swift, & Kramer, 1970).
Many studies of marital and child problems,
however, suffer from one or more of a variety
of methodological flaws. The three most
common problems are (a) biased sampling—
usually from a clinic population; (b) non-
independent data—that is, the same judges
rate both the marriage and the child, or, in
the case of divorce, the judges of child be-
havior are aware of the marital status; and
(c) the use of measures lacking in reliability
and validity. Each of these problems may
affect estimates of the magnitude of the as-
sociation between marital and child prob-
lems.
Stronger associations between marital dis-
cord and child adjustment seem to be found
in clinic rather than in nonclinic samples
(O'Leary & Emery, in press). In a series of
studies by the Stony Brook group, all of
which used parents' ratings on well-estab-
lished measures of child behavior (Behavior
Problem Checklist, Quay & Peterson, Note
1) and marital adjustment (Short Marital
Adjustment Test, Locke & Wallace, 1959),
stronger associations were found in clinic
(Emery & O'Leary, in press; Oltmanns et
al, 1977; Porter & O'Leary, 1980) than in
nonclinic samples (Oltmanns et al., 1977;
Emery, Note 2). Significant relations were
found in both sets of samples; the clinic sam-
ples, however, may have differed from the
311
nonclinic ones on some third variable that
increased estimates of the association be-
tween marital and child problems (O'Leary
& Emery, in press).
Some data suggest that the expectation
bias2 (Rosenthal, 1966) of raters of child
behavior who are not blind to the marital
relationship can also lead to higher estimates
of the relation between marital and child
problems. Robinson and Anderson (Note 3)
found that a significant correlation between
mothers' checklist ratings of their marriage
and their children's adjustment was reduced
to a chance level when social desirability was
partialed out. Emery (Note 2) found stron-
ger correlations between mothers' marital
ratings and their own judgments of distur-
bance in their children than between moth-
ers' marital ratings and teachers' child ad-
justment scores. Because mothers and teach-
ers rate behavior in different settings,
however, situation-specific behavior could
explain this result. In fact, one might expect
child behavior to be most affected in the set-
ting where the marital turmoil is present.
Thus, independent measures of marital dis-
cord and child problems in the home setting
may be exceedingly difficult, but important,
to obtain.
Unlike the effects of using clinic samples
and nonindependent ratings, the use of un-
reliable measures would tend to attenuate
rather than increase estimates of the mag-
nitude of the association between marital
and child problems. Researchers are not
fully satisfied with the reliability and validity
of the available measures of either childhood
adjustment (Achenbach, 1978) or marital
relations (O'Leary & Turkewitz, 1978). It
is not surprising, then, that many of the re-
ports reviewed below used measures of ques-
2
The expectation—held by parents, teachers, and
mental health professionals—that marital turmoil causes
behavior problems in children not only may create
biased rating data but also may be problematic in that
a self-fulfilling prophecy may result. For example, par-
ents who attribute a child's (normal) misbehavior to an
emotional reaction to marital turmoil may not respond
to that child with their usual discipline. Thus, in their
attempt to understand the child, some parents may set
limits that are inconsistent and confusing and thereby
accidentally create the problems that they are trying to
avoid.
312 ROBERT E. EMERY
tionable adequacy. Unreliability is especially
important to consider when comparing cor-
relations between a given measure and sev-
eral other measures of different reliabilities.
In this case, differences between the correla-
tions that appear to be substantive may, in
fact, only reflect error variance.
Given the above concerns, one could choose
to attend to only the very small number of
reports that contain none of these problems.
This option was rejected in the present re-
view for four reasons. First, the topic poses
important questions that must be answered
by clinicians on the basis of existing data.
It seems worthwhile, therefore, to attend to
whatever evidence is available, albeit with
appropriate caution toward methodological
limitations. Second, close inspection of the
data across studies often reveals a conver-
gence of results from studies containing dif-
ferent flaws. It is unlikely, though possible,
that different flaws would consistently lead
to similar erroneous conclusions. Third, some
of the results that may be attributable to
methodological differences are of interest in
their own right. For example, the difference
between clinic and nonclinic samples is an
intriguing one. Finally, in those few studies
that contain none of the three problems,
marital and child problems are related. That
is, researchers who used well-established
measures while studying intact, nonclinic
families have found that teachers' ratings of
children's behavioral adjustment were re-
lated to independently obtained parental re-
ports of discord (Block, Block, & Morrison,
1981; Emery, Weintraub, & Neale, in press;
Rutter, 1971; Emery, Note 2). Similarly,
divorce and child adjustment problems have
been found to be related in nonclinic samples
where child behavior was indexed by such
independent measures as behavioral obser-
vation, teacher ratings, and peer nomina-
tions (Hetherington, 1972; Hetherington,
Cox, & Cox, 1978). Thus, although meth-
odology can affect estimates of the magni-
tude of the relation between marital and
child problems, the relation is nevertheless
a real and important one. One can be con-
fident that the results of investigations that
used weaker methods are not wholly attrib-
utable to methodological third variables.
Pathogenic Dimensions of Marital Turmoil
A necessary step in further specifying the
covariation between marital and child prob-
lems is to define marital turmoil and child
behavior problems more precisely. This task,
however, is extremely difficult. Neither the
field of abnormal child psychology (Achen-
bach, 1978) nor the study of marital rela-
tions (Gurman & Kniskern, 1978; O'Leary
& Turkewitz, 1978) has produced a widely
accepted classification system. The present
review takes a cautious approach to child
adjustment by limiting discussions primarily
to two broad and well-accepted dimensions
of child disturbance: problems of overcontrol
(e.g., anxiety, withdrawal) and problems of
undercontrol (e.g., aggression, conduct dis-
orders; Achenbach & Edelbroch, 1978).
More specific problems, as identified by var-
ious investigators, are occasionally men-
tioned. It also should be made clear that this
review is concerned only with children's so-
cial behavior that is considered by parents,
teachers, or mental health professionals to
be maladaptive. Important factors such as
cognitive development and adjustment dur-
ing adult life are not reviewed here.
A definition of marital turmoil is more
difficult to construct. A movement toward
specificity has occurred among divorce re-
searchers who originally studied single-par-
ent families (grouping the divorced, wid-
owed, and unmarried together), then focused
on divorce in particular, and now increas-
ingly recognize the importance of studying
the conflict between divorced or divorcing
parents (Levitin, 1979). Unfortunately, how
one best defines and measures conflict, in
intact or in broken families, is a matter of
controversy. Three theoretically relevant as-
pects of the definition are the process of con-
flict (e.g., hitting, arguing, avoidance), its
content (e.g., sex, child rearing, money), and
the length of time it lasts.
The ideal system, therefore, would eval-
uate families in terms of two discrete cate-
gories: family structure (divorced, separated,
intact) and content of conflict. It would also
provide magnitude estimates along two con-
tinuua representing the length and the pro-
cess (from openly hostile to calm) of conflict
 CHILDREN OF DISCORD AND DIVORCE
within each content category. Except, how-
ever, for the structural divorced/intact dis-
tinction, which is preserved throughout the
present review, researchers have neither pre-
cisely nor uniformly measured marital tur-
moil. This is unfortunate. Particular content,
process, and temporal aspects of conflict ap-
pear to have more detrimental effects on
children than do other aspects.
Separation From a Parent Versus
Interparental Conflict
A critical question is whether separation
from a parent per se or the interparental
conflict that is concomitant with divorce is
more strongly related to child behavior prob-
lems. This distinction is particularly relevant
because it bears on such issues as whether
parents should stay together for the chil-
dren's sake. The association between divorce
and behavior problems in children has been
interpreted as evidence that separation per
se has a direct and substantial negative effect
on the child, regardless of the circumstances
surrounding the separation (Bowlby, 1973).
This interpretation has met with popular
support; thus, beliefs about the negative ef-
fects of a broken home are widely held.
Recent reviews suggest that this causal
hypothesis has failed to consider adequately
the effects of interparental conflict (Rutter,
1971, 1979). Current evidence suggests that
interparental conflict, not separation, may
be the principal explanation for the associ-
ation found between divorce and continuing
childhood problems. Five different research
approaches support this conclusion. First,
several investigators have compared children
from homes broken by divorce or separation
with those from homes broken by death.
More behavior problems were found in
homes broken by divorce, suggesting that
something other than separation per se is
having a significant effect on these children
(Douglas, Ross, Hammond, & Mulligan,
1966; Gibson, 1969; Gregory, 1965). Sec-
ond, other researchers have found that chil-
dren from broken but conflict-free homes
were less likely to have problems than were
children from conflictual, unbroken homes
(Gibson, 1969; McCord, JM McCord, W,,
313
& Thurber, 1962; Nye, 1957; Power, Ash,
Schoenberg, & Sorey, 1974). Third, as noted
throughout this review, children's responses
to divorce and discord share many features.
That is, undercontrolled behavior, sex dif-
ferences, and buffering effects are commonly
found among the children of both discord
and divorce. Fourth, children of divorced
parents who continue to have conflicts be-
yond the divorce have more problems than
do children from conflict-free divorces as
shown both by clinical impressions (An-
thony, 1974; Kelly & Wallerstein, 1976) and
by research results (Hetherington, Cox, &
Cox, 1976; Jacobson, 1978; Westman et al,
1970). Finally, one longitudinal investiga-
tion found that many of the problems evident
in children from broken homes were present
well before the children were separated from
a parent (Lambert, Essen, & Head, 1977).
In sum, in studies of clinic and nonclinic
groups that have used both independent and
nonindependent raters, interparental conflict
has been associated with behavior problems
in children whether that conflict occurred in
intact marriages, before a divorce, or after
a divorce. Thus, considerable evidence sup-
ports Hetherington's observation that chil-
dren from broken or intact homes charac-
terized by interparental conflict are at a
greater risk than are children from broken
or intact homes that are relatively harmo-
nious (Hetherington, Cox, & Cox, 1979).
Separation and Life-Change Responses
Although such data argue against attrib-
uting the association between divorce and
child behavior disorders solely to separation
from a parent, there is no suggestion that
separation has no effect on the child. An
"acute distress syndrome" is commonly found
in children on separation from a parent
(Bowlby, 1973; Rutter, 1979). This reaction
follows a three-stage process of acute upset
followed by apathy or depression, and, fi-
nally, loss of interest in the parents (Bowlby,
1973) or adaptation to the new situation
(Rutter, 1972).
Awareness of the acute distress syndrome
is important to the understanding of children
from homes where a parent is leaving or has
314 ROBERT E. EMERY
recently left. Children's separation responses
in reaction to divorce need to be docu-
mented, as do the effects of variations in the
treatment of the children of divorce that may
affect separation responses (e.g., visitation
patterns, different custody arrangements).
Still, there are two further reasons why the
effects of separation per se appear to be less
important than the results of the concomi-
tant conflict. First, as suggested by the
three-stage model and according to the
impressions of clinicians and researchers, the
separation effects appear to be time-lim-
ited (Anthony, 1974; Hetherington, 1979),
whereas conflict responses may be more en-
during (Hetherington et al., 1978). Second,
even those behavioral changes found follow-
ing conflict-free divorce cannot be wholly
attributed to separation per se (Rutter,
1979). Significant life changes occur con-
comitantly with divorce and further compli-
cate inferences about the effects of separa-
tion per se (Hetherington, 1979; Kurdek,
1981). These include sometimes dramatic
changes in financial status (Herzog & Sudia,
1973) and altered discipline practices (Heth-
erington et al., 1976).
In sum, it must be recognized that paren-
tal conflict does not terminate with the mar-
riage, and it may, in fact, increase after di-
vorce. Thus, much of the association be-
tween divorce and ongoing child behavior
problems may be explained by a frequently
overlooked third variable, namely, interpar-
ental conflict. As indicated later, the "con-
flict responses" found among the children of
divorce have features in common with the
responses of children from discordant, intact
marriages. The two areas of investigation,
however, are treated separately insofar as
children can have at least three sets of re-
actions to divorce: conflict responses, sepa-
ration responses, and life-change responses
associated with the new single-parent family.
Although the latter two types of responses
are important, children's conflict responses
in both broken and intact families are the
present concern.
Amount and Type of Conflict
Both the amount and type of interparental
conflict to which the child is exposed would
seem to be important determinants of the
effect of that conflict on the child. Conflict
that is openly hostile exposes the child to
more, presumably pathogenic, parental in-
teractions, as does conflict that lasts for a
long period of time. The few studies that
have investigated these variables are in
agreement with this conjecture. Rutter et al.
(1974), using interview ratings, found a
stronger relation between child problems
and unhappy marriages characterized by
quarrelsomeness than between child prob-
lems and unhappy marriages characterized
by apathy. Similarly, Porter and O'Leary
(1980) found that a self-report measure of
open marital conflict was a superior predic-
tor of problems in children when compared
with a general index of marital satisfaction.
Finally, in a study of the effects of divorce,
Hetherington (Note 4) found that encap-
sulated conflict was more weakly associated
with child behavior problems than was open
hostility. It should be noted, however, that
although these results are high in face va-
lidity, the first two studies were flawed in
that data were obtained from a single source
(i.e., parents). Further documentation of the
effects of open conflict would therefore be
useful.
Evidence also supports the presumption
of the increasingly detrimental effects of
continuing conflict. Rutter (1980) studied
children who were separated from their
homes at an early age as a result of family
discord or distress. He found that the chil-
dren who later resided in harmonious homes
were at a decreased risk for emotional dis-
turbance when compared with their earlier
status. On the other hand, those children
who stayed in homes characterized by con-
flict continued to show problem behavior.
Studies of divorce are consistent with this
finding. When there is postdivorce turbu-
lence between parents, children have more
problems and more frequently come to the
attention of professionals (Hetherington et
al., 1976; Kelly & Wallerstein, 1976; West-
man et al., 1970). Because most children of
divorce are exposed to some unknown amount
of predivorce conflict, these data suggest that
the termination of conflict, as opposed to its
continuation or exacerbation, is to the chil-
dren's benefit.
 CHILDREN OF DISCORD AND DIVORCE
The effects of both the amount and type
of conflict merit more detailed investigation
because all marriages have some periods of
conflict. Further study of these two variables
could provide valuable information on how
best to handle normal interparental dis-
agreements (in intact and in broken mar-
riages) and on when professional help should
be sought.
To summarize, the following can be con-
cluded about the dimensions of marital rela-
tions relevant to children's adjustment: The
distinction between divorced and intact fam-
ilies is important because separation and
life-change responses are adaptations that
are unique to the children of divorce. On the
other hand, children of both divorce and
discord are likely to show conflict responses.
In an assessment of the effects of interpar-
ental conflict, distinctions along hostile-calm
and temporal continuua and across various
content areas appear to be important. Un-
fortunately, such distinctions have not been
made consistently in past research. In fact,
the reader should be alerted that, unless oth-
erwise noted, the studies reviewed below
used summary measures of conflict or dis-
cord. These consist either of global judg-
ments provided by a parent or an interviewer
or of rating scales that sum ratings of various
content and process aspects of marital rela-
tions.
Additional Parameters of the Association
Between Marital and Child Problems
A review of the research literature reveals
additional variables that more precisely
specify the relation between marital turmoil
and child behavior problems. These variables
are (a) form of the child's behavioral re-
sponse, (b) sex effects, (c) age effects, (d)
effects of having a good relationship with one
parent, and (e) effects of parental psycho-
pathology.
Form of the Child Problem
It has been suggested that discord in intact
marriages is related to children's disorders
of undercontrol but not to their disorders of
overcontrol (Rutter, 1971). Most of the early
investigations of marital turmoil and prob-
lem children focused on relations with de-
315
linquency and found a substantial covaria-
tion (e.g., McCord & McCord, 1959). Sub-
sequent investigations, which have included
measures of other child behavior, have pro-
vided mixed results.
In studies of divorce, Tuckman and Regan
(1966) found that clinic children from homes
broken by divorce or separation were apt to
have conduct problems, whereas children
from intact families or homes broken by
death had more anxiety-related problems.
McDermott (1968, 1970) reported that con-
duct problems were most prevalent in his
divorce sample, but he also found signs of
depression in these children. Whereas the
above two studies were based on noninde-
pendent, clinical impressions, a study by
Hetherington et al. (1978) showed that non-
clinic children of divorce were more depen-
dent, disobedient, aggressive, whining, de-
manding, and unaffectionate than were chil-
dren from intact marriages as indexed by
reliable observational measures.
In studies of intact marriages, McCord et
al. (1962) found that discord was related to
feminine-aggressive behavior, antisocial be-
havior, and sex anxiety but not to abnormal
fears in a nonclinic sample. In a clinic group,
Pemberton and Benady (1973) found that
marital discord was related to childhood
aggression and encopresis but not to enu-
resis. Porter and O'Leary (1980) found mar-
ital discord to be related both to problems
of conduct and to anxiety in clinic children,
but two similar investigations found signif-
icant relations only for conduct problems
(Emery & O'Leary, 1982; Oltmanns et al.,
1977). Also in direct conflict, Rutter (1971;
Wolkind & Rutter, 1973) found significant
relations for conduct problems but not for
neurotic problems in nonclinic samples,
whereas another British general population
report found significant relations for both
conduct and neurotic problems (Whitehead,
1979). Finally, in a study that used exem-
plary methodology, Block et al. (1981) found
that a measure of parental disagreement
about child rearing was more strongly re-
lated to teachers' ratings of undercontrol of
impulses than to their ratings of overcontrol
of impulses in nonclinic children who were
evaluated 1, 2, and 4 years after the marital
index was completed.
316 ROBERT E. EMERY
Although these studies present a some-
what conflicting pattern of results, every in-
vestigation, whether of questionable or sound
methodology, found marital turmoil to be
related to some form of undercontrolled be-
havior. The results for overcontrol were in-
consistent. The fact that undercontrol is typ-
ically rated more reliably than overcontrol
(Cantwell, Russell, Mattison, & Will, 1979;
Quay & Peterson, Note 1; Emery, Note 2)
may partially account for this difference.
Still, it seems safe to conclude that inter-
parental conflict—in broken and in intact
families—appears to be related more strongly
to children's problems of undercontrol than
of overcontrol.
Different Effects on Boys and Girls
Considerable recent evidence suggests that
marital turmoil has a greater effect on boys
than on girls from both divorced (Cadoret
& Cain, 1980; Hess & Camara, 1979; Heth-
erington et al, 1978; McDermott, 1968;
Wallerstein & Kelly, 1980) and intact, dis-
cordant marriages (Block et al., 1981; Emery
& O'Leary, 1982; Porter & O'Leary, 1980;
Rutter, 1971; Wolkind & Rutter, 1973).
Nevertheless, a careful examination of the
literature suggests that one must consider a
number of factors when interpreting this
finding.
On the basis of data obtained in interviews
with nonclinic families, Rutter (1971) found
that discord in intact marriages was asso-
ciated with school problems in boys but not
in girls. Whitehead (1979) questioned this
result. Citing Becker's (1964) work docu-
menting that parental punitiveness was re-
lated only to boys' behavior in school but to
both boys' and girls' behavior at home,
Whitehead argued that the relation with
marital turmoil was obscured because girls
inhibit aggression in school. She presented
data from a nonclinic sample showing sig-
nificant associations between mothers' re-
ports of the marriage and both boys' and
girls' problems at home. The results reported
by other investigators (Emery & O'Leary,
1982; Porter & O'Leary, 1980), however,
are contrary to Whitehead's. In samples of
clinic children, significant relations were
found between parents' ratings of marital
discord and their ratings of behavior prob-
lems at home for boys, whereas no signifi-
cant relations were found for girls. Similarly,
Gassner and Murray (1969) reported find-
ing a greater difference in the degree of ob-
served parental conflict between groups of
clinic and nonclinic boys than between sim-
ilar groups of girls.
A factor that affects the sex difference
more than the setting may be the type of
sample used. In nonclinic samples of intact
marriages, problems in both boys and girls
have been found to be related to discord
(Block et al., 1981; Whitehead, 1979; Emery,
Note 2), whereas in clinic samples, relations
have been found only for boys (Emery &
O'Leary, 1982; Porter & O'Leary, 1980).
When it is noted that Rutter's (1971) non-
clinic sample was preselected to contain a
high proportion of disturbed children and
children of parents with individual psycho-
pathology—thus making it comparable in
many ways to a clinic group—this study, too,
is consistent with the clinic/nonclinic sex
differences.
How is this pattern of results to be ex-
plained? An examination of how each sex
may respond to marital turmoil may hold an
answer. Two nonclinic studies of intact mar-
riages (Block et al., 1981; Whitehead, 1979)
and one of divorce (Hess & Camara, 1979)
found marital turmoil to be related directly
to measures of undercontrol only for boys,
whereas those weaker associations that were
found for girls were with overcontrolled be-
havior. (In fact, one study [Block et al.,
1981] found that discord was inversely re-
lated to undercontrol in girls.) Because chil-
dren are more likely to be referred to clinics
because undercontrolled behavior is more
readily identified as a problem than is over-
controlled behavior (Ross, 1980), it may be
the case that boys respond to interparental
conflict in a more pervasive, maladaptive
manner that is more likely to lead to a clinic
referral. Thus, it may be that there is a sex
difference in response to marital discord, but
the difference is in how and how much the
sexes respond, not whether they do.
A further complication exists in inter-
preting sex differences among the children
of divorce. These differences appear to be a
result of at least a two-fold process. First,
 CHILDREN OF DISCORD AND DIVORCE 317

as in studies of conflict in intact families, Although such speculations are common,

differences betwen the sexes in terms of con- surprisingly little evidence is available on
flict responses are expected. In addition, differential age effects. Two investigations
there may be a second effect related to being of discord in intact marriages that controlled
in the custody of the opposite-sex parent. for age found no major effect (Porter &
Santrock and Warshak (1979), in a study O'Leary, 1980; Rutter, Graham, Chadwick,
that used observational and self-report mea- & Yule, 1976). These studies, however, ob-
sures of a nonclinic sample, found that both tained nonindependent data and were lim-
boys and girls of divorce had more behavior ited to children 6 years of age or older.
problems when the opposite-sex parent had Wallerstein and Kelly (1974, 1975; Kelly
custody than when the same-sex parent had & Wallerstein, 1975, 1976), in contrast, sug-
custody. Because divorced mothers currently gested that divorce has unique effects on
have child custody over 90% of the time children of different ages, from 2 years to
(Glick, 1979), boys would be expected to adolescence. Their results were based solely
have more postdivorce adjustment problems on clinical impressions and small samples,
than would girls. Thus, it appears that boys however, and therefore cannot be viewed as
whose parents divorce and whose mothers reliable. Further, although these investiga-
have custody have a dual risk for developing tors reported subtly different effects at dif-
behavior problems. ferent ages, all age groups were found to be
In sum, it can be concluded that marital affected substantially by divorce.
turmoil, in several studies of adequate meth- Results from studies examining the effects
odology, is more strongly related to boys' of a child's age at the time of divorce have
than to girls' obviously maladaptive behav- been inconsistent. Findings that suggest
ior. One needs to consider, however, setting more detrimental effects of separations oc-
effects, sampling, form of the response, and curring before the age of five or six (Heth-
custody arrangements in interpreting sex erington, 1972), after this age (Gibson,
differences. Further, it is possible that the 1969; McCord et al, 1962), and no effect
effects on girls may be delayed and, as was of age at the time of separation (Power et
found in one study, appear prominently in al., 1974), have all been reported. Thus, it
subsequent relations with the opposite sex has not been demonstrated that a child's age
(Hetherington, 1972). Girls are likely to be is an important determinant of the effects
just as troubled by marital turmoil as boys of marital turmoil. Nevertheless, age contin-
are, but they may demonstrate their feelings ues to be of interest and merits careful con-
in a manner that is more appropriate to their sideration in future investigations.
sex role, namely, by becoming anxious, with-
drawn, or perhaps very well behaved.
Good Parent-Child Relationships
Child's Age Some recent empirical investigations have
supported the clinical impression that the
Various arguments suggest that either parent-child relationship deteriorates as a
older or younger children should be more result of marital turmoil (Hess & Camara,
affected by marital turmoil. For example, it 1979; Hetherington et al., 1979; Rutter,
could be argued that younger children are 1971). None of these investigators, however,
more susceptible because of their greater suggest that deterioration is inevitable, and,
dependence on their parents. Children as in fact, it is argued that a1 good relationship
young as 1 year old have been shown to re- with one parent can "buffer" the child from
spond to interparental conflict with upset some of the negative effects of marital tur-
and anger (Cummings, Zahn-Waxier, & moil (Hetherington et al., 1979).
Radke-Yarrow, 1981). On the other hand, In a study of intact, nonclinic families,
older children are more sensitive to emotion Rutter (1971) reported that a good relation-
and may feel pressure to become involved ship with at least one parent significantly
in interparental conflict, thus making them- reduced the likelihood that boys would be
selves more vulnerable to its effects. judged antisocial by their teachers. It is
318 ROBERT E. EMERY

worth noting, however, that boys from dis- & McNeil, 1968). Further, disordered in-
cordant marriages still had more problems dividuals are more likely to have discordant
than did boys from happy marriages, despite marriages and to divorce (Molholm & Din-
the good parent-child relationship. Further,itz, 1972); thus, it is possible that marital
a good parent-child relationship was strictly
turmoil may partially explain the increased
defined as consisting of both positive warmth
problems among the children of these indi-
and lack of negative feelings as determined viduals.
by parental interview. Data supporting this possibility come from
Similarly, only particularly good parent-Rutter (1971). He found that discord in in-
child relationships produced buffering ef- tact marriages was related to antisocial be-
fects in a study of children of divorce (Heth-
havior in the children both of normal parents
erington et al., 1979). Children's adjust- and of parents with a personality disorder.
ment, as measured by multiple methods, was On the other hand, when the marriage was
better only when, based on several parentingharmonious, there was no increased antiso-
indices, the parent-child relationship was cial behavior associated with parental per-
classified as very good. Relationships judged
sonality disturbance. There was, however, a
to be moderate had no buffering effect. Fur-trend toward an even greater risk for anti-
ther, the very good relationship had to be social problems when both discord and per-
with the mother. Positive father-child rela-sonality disturbance were present.
tions did not mitigate the detrimental effects Emery et al. (in press) reported similar
of marital turmoil. findings among the children of parents with
In another nonclinic study of divorce, other diagnoses. In intact marriages discord
Hess and Camara (1979) also found that explained most of the association between
measures of the quality of the parent-child parents' affective disorder (unipolar depres-
relationship were important predictors of sion or bipolar disorder) and children's dis-
child adjustment as indexed by multiple in- turbed school behavior. When the effect of
dependent measures. In fact, statistical anal-
marital discord was taken into account, little
ysis revealed that parent-child relations pre-
association was found between these disor-
dicted a greater proportion of the variance ders and children's behavior. But when the
in child adjustment than did interparental diagnosis was parental schizophrenia, mar-
conflict. As with Rutter's (1971) study, how-
ital discord did not explain the children's
ever, conflict was related to children's ad-problems in school. In fact, little association
justment even when there was a good par- was found between discord and child behav-
ent-child relationship. Finally, in contrastior problems in the schizophrenic group, per-
to Hetherington's findings, good relation- haps because the children of schizophrenics
ships with either parent appeared to have a were already disturbed for other reasons.
buffering effect. Another possibility is that, although the
In sum, there is emerging evidence based global satisfaction ratings were similar, mar-
on adequate methodology that a particularly ital discord may be qualitatively different in
warm relationship with at least one parent schizophrenic families. Conflict may be re-
can mitigate, but not eliminate, the effectsduced because one partner is acknowledged
of marital turmoil on children. Without as sick.
doubt, the quality of parent-child relation- These two reports—both based on non-
ships deserves further attention in studies of
clinic samples, independent raters, and re-
both discord and divorce. liable measures—suggest that, except in the
case of schizophrenia, concomitant marital
Individual Parental Psychopathology turmoil may explain a good part of the in-
creased problems among the children of be-
It is well documented that children from haviorally disordered parents. Researchers
families where a parent has a psychological need to examine more closely the dual, non-
disturbance are at an increased risk for a independent effects of interparental conflict
variety of behavioral problems (Mednick and parental psychopathology on children.
 CHILDREN OF DISCORD AND DIVORCE
Mechanisms By Which Marital Turmoil
Affects Children
Research on marital and child problems
has not generally been guided by broad eti-
ological rationales. Rather, mini-theories
that offer only a few predictions or make no
allowance for critical evaluation are more
common. Because of such theoretical defi-
ciencies, this review evaluates several hy-
potheses about how marital turmoil may
produce childhood disorders: (a) disruption
of attachment bonds, (b) modeling, (c) al-
tered discipline practices, and (d) other mod-
els, including stress, taking on the symptom,
and child effects.
Each hypothesis is evaluated in terms of
the parameters of the relation between mar-
ital and child problems. Where appropriate,
theoretical assumptions are weighed against
the conclusions that (a) concomitant con-
flict, not separation per se, appears to be re-
sponsible for many of divorce's serious, long-
term pathogenic effects; (b) openly hostile
and continued conflict has a great effect; (c)
the most prominent behavior disorder is a
problem of undercontrol; (d) boys demon-
strate a greater observable response than do
girls; (e) age has not been shown to alter the
child's reaction; (f) a good relationship with
at least one parent can partially buffer the
negative effects; and (g) increased interpar-
ental conflict may explain many of the nega-
tive effects found among children of parents
with individual psychopathology. Other di-
rect evidence is discussed where it is avail-
able and appropriate.
Attachment and Separation
One of the few detailed hypotheses about
the effect of marital turmoil on children is
the maternal deprivation hypothesis (Bowlby,
1969). According to this account, the loss
of a figure to whom one is attached (usually
the mother) produces an instinctive fear re-
sponse. The survival value of the fear re-
sponse accounts for its instinctive nature.
Fear keeps the infant proximal to the care-
taker, thus increasing the chances for sur-
vival. On the basis of this rationale, Bowlby
(1973) concluded that whenever an attach-
319
ment figure is lost for any reason, anxiety
results.
The specificity of this hypothesis makes
it easily testable, but theoretical assumptions
in relation to marital turmoil may have been
overstated. The strongest prediction from
the attachment hypothesis is that divorce—
because it involves separation from a par-
ent—has a direct, negative effect on the
child. Although separation responses have
clearly been demonstrated, evidence re-
viewed earlier suggests that concomitant in-
terparental conflict, rather than separation
per se, is the more salient factor in creating
behavior problems in the children of divorce.
Further, the hypothesis predicts that mater-
nal deprivation is the most damaging be-
cause the mother is most commonly the pri-
mary attachment figure. Divorce usually re-
sults in paternal deprivation, thus the
hypothesized effects on these children are
unclear.
Other parameters discussed earlier are
also in conflict with the attachment hypoth-
esis. Separations before the age of five are
predicted to be the most damaging (Bowlby,
1973), but no consistent effects of age at the
time of divorce were found. Problems dem-
onstrated in the animal literature as result-
ing from maternal deprivation are frequently
related to fears and poor social development
(Rutter, 1972), yet marital turmoil was
found to be most strongly associated with
conduct disorders. Finally, sex differences
are not explicitly predicted by the theory.
Variations on the attachment hypothesis
(e.g., Goldstein, Freud, & Solnit, 1973) have
suggested that loss of love (emotional de-
privation) may be the central cause of prob-
lems. In support of this hypothesis, some
studies comparing clinic and nonclinic fam-
ilies found that parents of clinic children
were more negative with their children (Bug-
ental, Love, & Kaswan, 1972; Lobitz &
Johnson, 1975a; Love & Kaswan, 1974).
Further, review of the buffering effect sug-
gested that a good parent-child relationship
may lessen the detrimental effect of marital
turmoil.
Nevertheless, it is unclear whether loss of
love accounts for these findings or whether
some other aspect of the parent-child rela-
320 ROBERT E. EMERY
tionship produces the effect. Some direct
evidence supports the latter alternative. Us-
ing a measure of felt acceptance rated by
the child (Schaefer, 1965), Emery and
O'Leary (1982), in a clinic sample, found
that children's perceptions of being accepted
by their parents were not significantly re-
lated to parental ratings of satisfaction with
their intact marriages. Further, although the
children were generally aware of marital
discord, their ratings of felt acceptance did
not correlate significantly with their own rat-
ings of parental discord. Thus, marital dis-
cord had little direct effect on the children's
feelings of being loved, perhaps because par-
ents were particularly concerned about this
possibility and explicitly guarded against it,
In sum, although it is unlikely that de-
privation from a parent's love is the principal
explanation for the association between mar-
ital turmoil and ongoing behavior problems
in children, the attachment hypothesis has
made a valuable contribution in identifying
the acute distress syndrome. Researchers
would do well to attempt to identify more
fully separation responses in the children of
divorce. This could lead to distinguishing
children's reactions to the difficult, but ap-
parently temporary, 1-2-year separation pe-
riod identified by divorce researchers (Heth-
erington, 1979) from their ongoing behavior
problems that appear to have a different
cause. Such information would be of great
value to clinicians and to parents who could
be educated as to what to expect from chil-
dren as a natural course of adaptation during
a trying period in family life.
Before we leave the topic of attachment
and separation, two additional points should
be made. First, although loss of love is prob-
ably not the primary mediating variable be-
tween marital and child problems, it does
account for important variance in explaining
behavior problems of childhood (e.g., Ar-
mentrout, 1971; Emery & O'Leary, 1982).
The attachment hypothesis therefore merits
further consideration. Second, the specificity
of the hypothesis has stimulated interest,
offered testable predictions, and generated
research that states clear objectives. The
area would benefit from similarly precise
hypotheses.
Modeling
Modeling is a second major etiological
mechanism by which marital turmoil may
affect children. Schwarz (1979) suggested
that interparental conflict may interfere with
imitation of the same-sex parent or may lead
to rejection of both parents as models. Either
process would disrupt normal socialization
in that appropriate parental behavior might
not be imitated, and other, more deviant,
models might be found. Other modeling hy-
potheses are also applicable. For instance,
parents in an unhappy marriage may exhibit
more hostile and aggressive behavior than
do happily married couples, and this behav-
ior could be imitated by their children. Un-
happy couples show more conflict than do
happy couples (Jacobson & Martin, 1976;
Patterson, Weiss, & Hops, 1976), and much
of this behavior might occur in the presence
of their children. The increase in negativity
toward children that corresponds with mar-
ital turmoil (Johnson & Lobitz, 1974) could
be interpreted as evidence in support of this
latter hypothesis.
Considerable research on the parameters
of marital turmoil is consistent with mod-
eling hypotheses. Interparental conflict, as
opposed to separation from a parent, would
be expected to be related more strongly to
child behavior problems. The stronger rela-
tion between interparental conflict and con-
duct problems is also congruent with a mod-
eling hypothesis. Disagreements and argu-
ments are often features of marital turmoil,
and aggression is readily imitated by chil-
dren (Bandura, 1973). Because the specifics
of the interparental conflict and children's
conduct problems may be quite different,
however, research that details the corre-
spondence between how parents express hos-
tility and how children respond to witnessing
it is needed.
Modeling explanations of the sex differ-
ence in response to marital turmoil are per-
haps most interesting. The modeling litera-
ture suggests that boys are, in general, more
likely to imitate aggressive behavior than are
girls (Flanders, 1968). The observed sex dif-
ference in response to marital turmoil may
simply be a subset of this general sex dif-
 CHILDREN OF DISCORD AND DIVORCE
ference. An alternative modeling explana-
tion is that fathers in an unhappy marriage
are more aggressive and uncooperative and
that boys imitate fathers more than girls do.
There is evidence that children are more
likely to imitate a same-sex model (Bandura,
1969; Margolin & Patterson, 1975). The
possibility that husbands in disturbed mar-
riages act more aggressively, whereas wives
react with more anxiety and withdrawal, is
readily translated into testable research.
Modeling hypotheses may also explain the
sex differences in children's separation and
life-change responses to different custody
arrangements. Because mothers have cus-
tody in most divorces (Glick, 1979), divorce
may have a more noticeable effect on boys
because the male model is missing. Santrock
and Warshak's (1979) finding of better ad-
justment when the same-sex parent has cus-
tody is congruent with the hypothesis, as is
evidence suggesting that contact with adults
other than the custodial parent is beneficial
to the child's development (Jacobson, 1978).
Its apparent fit with data on the various
parameters of marital and child problems is
a strength of the modeling hypothesis. Nev-
ertheless, modeling explanations, unlike at-
tachment theory, typically have been offered
post hoc. Further, several variations of the
hypothesis offer viable etiological explana-
tions. These variations deserve further spec-
ification and testing.
Discipline Practices
A third mechanism by which marital tur-
moil may affect children is through an al-
teration in discipline practices. Clinic and
nonclinic parents have been differentiated on
a variety of measures of discipline (Becker,
Peterson, Luria, Shoemaker, & Hellmer,
1962); it is possible that marital turmoil
leads to a change in the use of important
discipline techniques, to the detriment of the
child, or it may lead to increased inconsis-
tency in discipline either between parents or
in the practices of a single parent.
Potential discipline hypotheses are nu-
merous because a wide range of discipline
constructs have been offered. These con-
structs include such traditional dimensions
321
of child rearing as warm-hostile, restric-
tive-permissive, and calm-anxious (Becker,
1964). In addition, reinforcement theories
such as coercion (Patterson & Reid, 1970)
and the positive reinforcer trap (Wahler,
1976) have been offered. An attempt to ad-
dress each dimension in detail would be cum-
bersome; therefore, the following discussion
treats discipline practices as a group.
This general approach prohibits a detailed
evaluation in terms of the parameters of the
relation between child and marital problems.
Still, there are congruencies. Discipline is a
frequent topic of argument, and disagree-
ment about discipline in front of a child ob-
viously produces more inconsistent discipline
than when the disagreement is kept private
(Hetherington et al., 1976; Rutter, 1972).
Problems of conduct and aggression have
frequently been related to inconsistent dis-
cipline (Becker, 1964; Becker et al., 1962;
McCord, McCord, & Howard, 1961; Pat-
terson, 1977); thus, an increased frequency
of undercontrolled behavior might be ex-
pected. But insofar as these are not the only
aspects of child behavior that are affected
by inconsistent discipline, more specific dis-
cipline predictions need to be formulated.
For example, a coercion hypothesis might
predict that parents in marital turmoil be-
come more likely to give in to a child's coer-
cive demands.
As with modeling theory, discipline ex-
planations of sex differences are of great in-
terest. Several accounts are plausible. For
example, evidence suggests that parents are
more involved with disciplining the same-sex
child than the opposite-sex child (Baumrind,
1971). If marital turmoil causes fathers to
alter their discipline more radically than
mothers do, a greater effect would be seen
on sons. Researchers have previously been
warned not to ignore the father's effect on
the family (Becker, Peterson, Hellmer,
Shoemaker, & Quay, 1959).
The father's role is also highlighted if one
hypothesizes that sons receive more incon-
sistent discipline during times of marital tur-
moil than do girls. Research shows that sons
are disciplined about equally by both par-
ents, whereas daughters are disciplined more
by their mothers (Margolin & Patterson,
322 ROBERT E. EMERY
1975). If parents disagree about discipline,
boys should be affected more than girls be-
cause boys are disciplined more often by
both parents. For example, fathers may
counteract maternal discipline of their sons
but not object to the mothers' rules for their
daughters. In short, sons more frequently
than daughters may become the focus of in-
terparental conflict about discipline.
Direct evidence on the relation between
marital turmoil and discipline practices is
rare. One sound empirical study (Hether-
ington et al., 1976) documented changes in
postdivorce discipline. When compared with
parents from intact marriages, divorced par-
ents were found to make fewer maturity de-
mands, have poorer communication, be less
affectionate, and be more inconsistent with
their children. Effects of the discipline
changes were that children of divorce, espe-
cially boys, were less compliant with paren-
tal commands than were children of intact
marriages. This latter finding is particularly
important to the discipline hypothesis be-
cause it was also found that boys were ex-
posed to more ineffective discipline than
were girls (Hetherington et al., 1978).
Changes in discipline practices were
greatest 1 year after the divorce. By the sec-
ond year, differences between intact and di-
vorced parents were less noticeable (Heth-
erington et al., 1976). It is not known, how-
ever, whether the changes in discipline began
before or after the divorce. This is a very
important distinction for questions of etiol-
ogy and treatment. Still, the study demon-
strated that discipline was disrupted by mar-
ital turmoil, although when the change oc-
curred and what type of change most affected
the child are important questions that have
been left unanswered.
Supporting the possibility that discipline
may change before a divorce, a study of in-
tact marriages (Block et al., 1981) found
that an index of parental disagreement about
child rearing was related both to subsequent
marital dissolution and to future undercon-
trol in boys' and overcontrol in girls' school
behavior. Inconsistency in discipline was
thus shown to be both an aspect of marital
turmoil and a precursor of problems in chil-
dren. Such prospective findings provide
strong support for the hypothesis that in-
consistent discipline is a mediating factor
between marital turmoil and child behavior
problems. As such, the investigation provides
a model for future research.
In sum, discipline is an important influ-
ence on children and one that is altered con-
comitantly with marital problems. Inconsis-
tent discipline, in particular, demands con-
tinued attention, according to the results of
two well-constructed investigations.
Other Hypotheses
Three additional hypotheses—stress, tak-
ing on the symptom, and child-effects—
make important contributions to under-
standing how marital turmoil may affect
children. Because the data on these hy-
potheses are more limited than that on the
previous hypotheses, their unique implica-
tions are presented below with less critical
evaluation of each hypothesis as a whole.
Stress. Marital problems can be concep-
tualized simply as a stressor to which chil-
dren, as well as adults, are differentially ex-
posed. Marital disruption has been noted to
have pathogenic effects on adults (Bloom,
Asher, & White, 1978), and it may similarly
pose problems for children in that coping
with life's difficulties takes a psychological
toll.
A stress hypothesis is of interest primarily
in explaining the differential sex effects of
marital turmoil. The simplest stress hypoth-
esis would suggest that exposure to the
stressor is different for each sex. That is, girls
may be shielded from interparental conflict
more than are boys, Clinical impressions
that this is indeed the case have been offered
(Wallerstein & Kelly, 1980). Research,
however, has shown that parents report
fighting equally in front of children of both
sexes (Porter & O'Leary, 1980) and that
boys and girls report similar awareness of
discord between their parents (Emery &
O'Leary, 1982). Further, if differential ex-
posure accounted for the sex effects, mea-
sures of open conflict or of children's aware-
ness of conflict should relate at least to over-
controlled problems in girls, but this has not
been the case (Emery & O'Leary, 1982;
Porter & O'Leary, 1980).
As an alternative, the sexes may be ex-
 CHILDREN OF DISCORD AND DIVORCE
posed equally to interparental conflict, but
girls may be less susceptible to the stressor.
One such explanation is that girls are less
susceptible than boys to a variety of physical
stressors; therefore, they may also have a
greater resistance to psychological stress
(Erne, 1979; Rutter, 1970).
A second such explanation of the sex dif-
ference is suggested by a recent investiga-
tion. Male and female college students were
found to be equally accurate in recognizing
marital conflict, but the two sexes made dif-
ferent interpretations of the conflict. Specif-
ically, when judging marital interactions
that were seen as equally discordant by both
sexes, college women rated the couple as
more "right for each other" (Epstein, Fin-
negan, & Bythell, 1979). This suggests that
sex-role socialization may explain the dif-
ferent effect on boys and girls. Although
both sexes are equally aware of the discord,
parental conflict may be interpreted differ-
ently by girls, who may view the same
stressor as being less stressful.
A diathesis-stress model offers a final
stress explanation of the sex difference.
Base-rate data on childhood disorders in the
United States suggest that boys are predis-
posed toward undercontrol, whereas girls are
predisposed toward overcontrol (Ross, 1980).
Given this diathesis and a marital turmoil
stressor, each sex may be at risk for devel-
oping a disorder. Because undercontrol is
more easily recognized and less tolerated
than overcontrol, however, the finding that
boys are more affected than girls by marital
turmoil would be expected.
Taking on the symptom. The hypothesis
that one member of a family becomes the
focus of larger family conflicts also merits
consideration. Minuchin and his colleagues
(Minuchin, 1974; Minuchin et al., 1975)
suggested that children serve the function of
distracting their parents from their own con-
flicts by developing a problem themselves
and thus redirecting parental concerns. Chil-
dren's defusion of interparental conflict by
"taking on the symptom" is, therefore, a
fifth etiological hypothesis.
This hypothesis offers yet another expla-
nation of the sex differences and also might
explain some data on the form of the child's
behavioral response. Boys may take on the
323
symptom of interparental conflict in the sex-
role-appropriate manner of becoming ag-
gressive, noncompliant, and so on. This very
noticeable disruptiveness may indeed dis-
tract a boy's parents from their own prob-
lems. Undercontrolled behavior is more ob-
vious than overcontrolled behavior and might
facilitate the distraction.
But why wouldn't girls serve the same
function? Perhaps they do, but girls' behav-
ioral distractions might have a very different
topography. Rather than being disruptive,
girls may become anxious, withdrawn, or
even very well behaved. Girls may actually
refocus parental attention by their extreme
prosocial behavior. For girls, prosocial and
overcontrolled behavior is more sex-role ap-
propriate than is undercontrolled behavior,
therefore being nice or worried may serve
the distraction function better. This hypoth-
esis would explain the paradox in the Block
et al. (1981) data that showed that, for girls,
parental disagreement was related to over-
control in the expected direction but was in-
versely related to undercontrol. At the least,
a taking-on-the-symptom hypothesis sug-
gests that prosocial or competent behavior
be included as a dependent measure in stud-
ies of marital turmoil.
Child-effects, Instead of the assumption
that marital turmoil causes problems in chil-
dren, the reverse argument could be true;
namely, that a deviant child places strain on
a marriage. Bell and Harper's (1977) cogent
arguments concerning such child-effects need
to be considered. Indeed, it has been found
that children can decrease marital satisfac-
tion as indexed by such findings as (a) the
decline of marital satisfaction after the birth
of the first child, (b) the negative effect on
a marriage as a result of rearing a handi-
capped child, and (c) survey data wherein
parents report that their children are an
added stress on their marriage (Lerner &
Spanier, 1978). It is likely that a conduct
problem child would similarly strain a mar-
riage.
Despite the consideration of a child-ef-
fects alternative, the causal sequence from
parent to child is probably a more important
pathway. One group of researchers (Olt-
manns et al., 1977) found that marital sat-
isfaction did not increase concomitantly with
324 ROBERT E. EMERY
parent-rated improvement in problem chil-
dren's behavior, a result contrary to a child-
effects prediction. Further, from a strict
child-effects position, it becomes difficult to
explain why boys disrupt a marriage more
or why open conflict is the principal result
of a child's problem behavior. Still, as others
have noted (Lerner & Spanier, 1978; Mar-
golin, in press), the best explanation of the
relation between the two areas of difficulty
is reciprocal influence. Marital and child
problems are best viewed as interactive: To
an extent, each causes and exacerbates the
other.
Summary
It is unlikely that any single hypothesis
fully explains the relation between marital
and child problems, yet each may prove to
have merit. Parents involved in conflict with
each other are probably poorer models, are
more inconsistent in their discipline, and
place more stress on their children. Some
children probably serve to distract attention
away from parental conflict, whereas others
may aggravate the conflict. Attachment
bonds are certainly disrupted by separation
and may also be affected by conflict. These
(and perhaps other) processes are likely to
operate collectively in affecting the children
of marital turmoil, although, in any given
instance, one influence may predominate.
When the hypotheses are compared, mod-
eling and discipline practices would seem to
hold particular merit in light of the available
data. Still, because most of the data have
preceded specific predictions, even these two
etiological accounts cannot be given strong
support. This general lack of hypothesis test-
ing is characteristic of the literature on mar-
ital and child problems and should not con-
tinue. It is hoped that the above delineation
of various potential etiological mechanisms
will encourage future investigators to make
specific predictions based on theoretical ra-
tionales.
Implications for Treatment
Although questions of etiology are far
from being answered, at least one implica-
tion of the research on marital and child
problems appears to be clear: Efforts should
be made to minimize children's involvement
in interparental conflict. Although this may
seem to be only common sense, there are
therapists who argue that one must increase
family-wide conflict following a "civilized"
divorce as a means of allowing the members
to work through their feelings (e.g., Futter-
man, 1980).
At the level of prevention, four suggestions
can be offered. First, parents should work
toward the difficult goal of keeping their
children out of their angry disagreements,
lest the children learn that differences are
resolved by yelling, fighting, or hitting. Sec-
ond, parents should attempt always to agree
in front of the child about at least one im-
portant topic: discipline. Third, parents
should make a special effort to maintain
their individual relationship with each child,
as this may partially buffer the child from
the interparental conflict. Finally, more par-
ents need to be aware that conflicts between
them can have negative effects on their chil-
dren. Parents need to be sensitive to how
their children react to marital turmoil and
to be prepared to seek outside help if these
reactions are prolonged.
At the treatment level, families in which
marital and child problems coexist present
particularly difficult problems. This is docu-
mented both by clinical impressions (Kent
& O'Leary, 1976; Patterson, Cobb, & Ray,
1973) and by research that suggests that
treatment is less effective (Strain, Young,
& Horowitz, 1979; Clark & Baker, Note 5).
Because of this difficulty therapists need to
be open to new approaches and roles. For
example, the suggestion that individually
oriented interventions may be less successful
than treatment that takes place on the fam-
ily level (e.g., Minuchen, 1974) deserves
consideration. Behavioral family therapy
was shown in one study (Oltmanns et al.,
1977) to be effective despite the presence of
marital discord. As an alternative, recent
evidence suggests that the marriage rather
than the entire family may be the more ap-
propriate initial level for treatment (Mar-
golin & Christensen, Note 6). Families with
both marital and child problems were found
to improve more on self-report and obser-
vational measures of the family, the mar-
 CHILDREN OF DISCORD AND DIVORCE
riage, and the child when randomly assigned
to behavioral marital therapy as opposed to
family treatment (Margolin & Christensen,
Note 6). Although these data are prelimi-
nary, they point out the importance of com-
parisons of innovative treatments.
Child and family therapists must also be
willing to adopt other, nontraditional ap-
proaches. Parents who are divorced or who
come from discordant marriages often do not
receive the spousal support that can main-
tain positive efforts at child rearing (Wahler,
1980). Therapists, therefore, should consider
group approaches to parent training when
family and couple options are impossible.
Therapists also need to take a more active
role in legal decisions involving marital and
child problems. For example, Haynes (1978)
suggested a new role for mental health
professionals as divorce mediators. Rather
than resolving decisions such as child cus-
tody and visitation via the adversarial legal
process, it is possible that more of these de-
cisions can be reached with the help of an
impartial mediator. The latter process would
seem to offer opportunities for reducing con-
flict, whereas the former procedure is likely
to exacerbate it.
Finally, therapists need to keep in touch
with the emerging empirical literature and
distinguish it from opinion. For example,
contrary to popular belief, the literature re-
viewed here suggests that divorce may ulti-
mately result in a less detrimental environ-
ment for a child's emotional development,
at least in homes where conflict is great and
where divorce will lead to a diminution of
that conflict. Such an interpretation might
not only benefit children from intact but con-
tinually conflicted families, but it might also
relieve divorced parents' guilt over the ir-
reversible damage they may believe they
have caused their children. Further, the fo-
cus on interparental conflict underscores
both parents' continued responsibility to im-
prove relations with the former spouse for
the children's sake. Nevertheless, despite the
fact that divorce may sometimes be the least
detrimental alternative, evidence does sug-
gest that divorcing parents should be pre-
pared for three unique reactions from their
children: conflict responses, separation re-
sponses, and life-change responses. Parents
325
should also know that, unfortunately, psy-
chologists do not yet have all the answers to
the many questions on how marital turmoil
affects children.
Future Trends
If answers to some of the questions are to
be forthcoming, much more sound research
will have to be done. Given below are some
interpretative and methodological consider-
ations that will need to be addressed in ad-
dition to specific proposals for future re-
search.
Methodological Considerations
Because marital and child problems can
be studied only in a correlational design and
because alternative interpretations are theo-
retically relevant to the topic, reverse cau-
sality and third variable interpretations need
to be considered. Reverse causality was dis-
cussed earlier as the etiological model of
child-effects; only third variables are consid-
ered now.
A variety of strategies are available for
investigating the effects of third variables.
The important point is to recognize those
variables that are potential mediators. In the
marital-child area, variables related to mar-
ital turmoil such as social class and parental
psychopathology can be controlled for in
various research designs. Indeed, it has been
shown that these two variables do not fully
account for the observed relation (Rutter,
1971; Rutter et al., 1974), although the fi-
nancial decline experienced by one-parent
families clearly produces important life-
change responses in the children (Colletta,
1979; Herzog & Sudia, 1973). Other vari-
ables such as postdivorce custody arrange-
ments, visitation patterns, and social support
networks also need to be measured and con-
trolled as relevant third variables.
One third variable mentioned earlier is
worth discussing again: response bias in non-
independent reports of marital and child
problems. Recent investigations suggest that
parents' reports of behavior problems in
their children can sometimes reflect more
about the parent than about the child. In one
study (Griest, Wells, & Forehand, 1979),
326 ROBERT E. EMERY
maternal ratings of child adjustment were
more strongly related to maternal depression
than to the child's observed behavior. It was
argued that the depression had colored the
mothers' perceptions.
It is possible that a similar bias might ex-
plain some of the association found between
marital turmoil and child behavior problems.
One way to avoid this problem is to use in-
dependent raters or observational measures.
Because parents have unique access to many
aspects of their children's behavior, however,
it is important to determine whether marital
turmoil does alter parents' perceptions of
their children. The comparison of parental
report with observational measures (Griest
et al., 1979), the assessment of rating biases
such as social desirability (Robinson & An-
derson, Note 3), and the measurement of
cognitive set toward evaluating children's
behavior (Messe, Stollak, Larson, & Mi-
chaels, 1979) are three methods that can be
used in obtaining data on this issue.
In addition to third-variable considera-
tions, methodological improvements are
needed. The taxonomy of child and marital
problems and the instruments available to
measure their dimensions need to be devel-
oped further. In the assessment of children,
more reliable measures of social competence
and of overcontrol are especially needed.
With regard to marital problems, instru-
ments are needed that will assess the process
and the length of conflict independently
along different continuua, within discrete
categories of conflict content. While the sys-
tems of classification and measurement of
child and marital problems are being re-
fined, research should use at least one ac-
cepted measure of each problem. Measures
of adequate reliability are available on the
self-report of child adjustment (Achenbach
& Edelbrock, 1978) and marital relations
(Cromwell, Olson, & Fournier, 1976) as well
as on the observation of child behavior (Pat-
terson, Ray, Shaw, & Cobb, Note 7) and
marital interaction (Olson & Strauss, 1972;
Hops, Wills, Patterson, & Weiss, Note 8).
The definition of the population of interest
is a final methodological consideration that
needs to be addressed. Most of the investi-
gations reviewed above have studied special
populations, usually children referred for
therapy. Although a relation between mar-
ital and child problems is found in nonclinic
samples (Block et al., 1981; Gibson, 1969;
Rutter et al., 1976), stronger associations
seem to be found within clinic groups
(O'Leary & Emery, in press; Oltmanns et
al., 1977). The study of nonclinic families
would not only provide valuable epidemio-
logical data but would also control for two
important confounds. First, people who seek
treatment are self-selected and represent an
ill-defined subgroup of the general popula-
tion. Second, the fact of being the subject
of both research and treatment may have
problematic reactive effects. Because it has
been demonstrated that it is easier to fake
bad (i.e., make the family look more dis-
turbed than it is) than to fake good (i.e.,
make the family look healthier than it is;
Lobitz & Johnson, 1975b), the possibility
that clinic samples might wish to make their
family and children look more disturbed in
order to justify treatment is of most concern.
Research Directions
Although suggestions for research have
been made throughout the text, four specific
research proposals deserve special attention.
First, a large, cross-sectional, multi-pre-
dictor epidemiological study on a represen-
tative U.S. sample is needed. The degree of
covariation between types of marital turmoil
and child behavior problems has not yet been
documented in sufficient detail. Marital tur-
moil is related to increased behavioral dis-
turbance in children, but it cannot yet be
clearly specified how great the risk is. The
value of epidemiological data would be
greatly augmented by including moderator
variables such as the type, length, and con-
tent of interparental conflict; the age and sex
of children; and the presence of psycholog-
ical problems in the parents, as well as by
including demographic information. Find-
ings from such a cross-sectional analysis
would yield valuable data on which children
in what circumstances are at greatest risk
because of a given type of marital problem.
Second, more descriptive studies using
detailed and reliable self-report and obser-
 CHILDREN OF DISCORD AND DIVORCE
vational measures are needed. Comparisons
between (a) intact and broken families char-
acterized by interparental conflict and (b)
other families in terms of variables such as
open conflict, child-rearing practices, affec-
tion, treatment of children of different sexes,
and child behavior are needed. Data from
investigations of this nature could provide
tests of etiological accounts and offer de-
scriptions that would help to develop a tax-
onomy of marital and family relations.
Third, and perhaps most important, pro-
spective investigations are badly needed.
Longitudinal data can provide controls for
reverse causality as well as yield descriptive
information on the course of children's re-
sponses to marital discord and divorce. Such
critical issues as (a) the distinction of sep-
aration, life-change, and conflict responses;
(b) the timing of changes in parent-child
interactions resulting from changes in par-
ent-parent interactions; (c) the effect of con-
flict of various types and lengths; and (d) the
child's role in aggravating interparental con-
flict can be properly addressed only through
prospective investigation. The added expense
involved in gathering longitudinal data is
clearly offset by its quality and importance.
Finally, studies are needed on how martial
turmoil affects the outcome of traditional
treatments for children as well as on the ef-
fectiveness of new treatments. Alternative
treatments for study include (a) family ther-
apy > (b) conjoint therapy for parents (from
both intact and broken marriages) preceding
treatment of the child, (c) teaching child
management to single parents in groups, and
(d) divorce mediation as an alternative to
the legal, adversarial resolution of custody
and visitation decisions.
Both marital and child problems are com-
mon in the United States today, Careful in-
vestigation of the relation between the prob-
lems could have broad implications for the
prevention and treatment of behavior dis-
orders in children and could allow profes-
sionals to better meet the needs of both par-
ents and children. At present, the many chil-
dren from homes where interparental conflict
is a common occurrence are a high-risk pop-
ulation. As demonstrated by the relatively
meager psychological literature, research
327
and treatment directed at lowering this risk
have not been of high priority. Given the
importance and the frequency of the prob-
lems, this should not be allowed to continue.
Reference Notes
1. Quay, H. C., & Peterson, D. R. Manual for the
Behavior Problem Checklist. Unpublished manu-
script, 1979. (Available from D. R. Peterson, 39
North Fifth Street, Highland Park, New Jersey
08904.)
2. Emery, R. E. Marital discord and child behavior
problems in a nonclinic sample. Unpublished manu-
script, University of Virginia, 1981.
3. Robinson, E, A., & Anderson, L. L. Family ad-
justment, parental attitudes, and social desirability.
Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psy-
chological Association, Los Angeles, August 1981.
4. Hetherington, E. M. Personal communication, March
22, 1981.
5. Clark, D. B., & Baker, B. L. Training parents of
developmentally disabled children: Prediction of
follow-up outcome. 1. Paper presented at the meet-
ing of the American Psychological Association, New
York, August 1979.
6. Margolin, G., & Christensen, A. The treatment of
families with marital and child problems. Paper
presented at the meeting of the Association for the
Advancement of Behavior Therapy, Toronto, No-
vember 1981.
7. Patterson, G. R., Ray, R. S., Shaw, D. A., & Cobb,
J. A. Manual for coding of family interactions. Un-
published manuscript, University of Oregon and
Oregon Research Institute, 1969.
8. Hops, H., Wills, T. A., Patterson, G. R., & Weiss,
R. L. Marital interaction coding system. Unpub-
lished manuscript, University of Oregon and Oregon
Research Institute, 1972.
References
Achenbach, T. W. Psychopathology of childhood: Re-
search problems and issues. Journal of Consulting
and Clinical Psychology, 1978, 46, 759-776.
Achenbach, T. M., & Edelbroch, C. S. The classifica-
tion of child psychopathology: A review and analysis
of empirical efforts. Psychological Bulletin, 1978, 55,
1275-1301.
Anthony, E. J. Children at risk from divorce: A review.
In E. J. Anthony and C. Koupernik (Eds.), The child
in his family. III. New York: Wiley, 1974.
Armentrout, J. A. Parent child-rearing attitudes and
preadolescents' problem behaviors. Journal of Con-
sulting and Clinical Psychology, 1971, 35, 278-285.
Bandura, A. Principles of behavior modification. New
York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1969.
Bandura, A. Aggression: A social learning approach.
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1973.
Baumrind, D. Current patterns of parental authority.
Developmental Psychology Monographs, 1971, 4(1,
Pt. 2).
328 ROBERT E. EMERY
Becker, W. C. Consequences of different kinds of pa-
rental discipline. In M. L. Hoffman & L. W. Hoffman
(Eds.), Review of child development. New York:
Russell Sage Foundation, 1964.
Becker, W. C., Peterson, D. R., Hellmer, L. A., Shoe-
maker, D. J., & Quay, H. C. Factors in parental
behavior and personality as related to problem be-
havior in children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, 1959, 23, 107-118.
Becker, W. C., Peterson, D. R., Luria, Z., Shoemaker,
D. J., & Hellmer, L. A. Relations of factors derived
from parent interview rating to behaviour problems
of five-year-olds. Child Development, 1962, 33, 509-
535.
Bell, R. Q., & Harper, L. V. Child effects on adults.
Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum, 1977.
Block, J. H., Block, J., & Morrison, A. Parental agree-
ment-disagreement on child-rearing orientations and
gender-related personality correlates in children. Child
Development, 1981, 52, 965-974.
Bloom, B. L., Asher, S. J., & White, S. W. Marital
disruption as a stressor: A review and analysis. Psy-
chological Bulletin, 1978, 85, 867-894.
Bowlby, J. Attachment and loss: I. Attachment. New
York: Basic Books, 1969.
Bowlby, J. Attachment and loss: II. Separation. New
York: Basic Books, 1973.
Bugental, D. E., Love, L. R., & Kaswan, J. W. Vid-
eotaped family interaction: Differences reflecting
presence and type of child disturbance. Journal of
Abnormal Psychology, 1912,79, 285-290.
Cadoret, R. J., & Cain, C. Sex differences in predictors
of antisocial behavior in adoptees. Archives of Gen-
eral Psychiatry, 1980, 37, 1171-1175.
Cantwell, D. P., Russell, A. T., Mattison, R., & Will,
L. A comparison of DSM II and DSM III in the
diagnosis of childhood psychiatric disorders. Archives
of General Psychiatry, 1979, 36, 1208-1228.
Chawla, P. L., & Gupt, K. A comparative study of
parents of emotionally disturbed and normal children.
British Journal of Psychiatry, 1979, 134, 406-411.
Cherlin, A. The effect of children on marital dissolution.
Demography, 1977, 14, 265-272.
Colletta, N. D. The impact of divorce: Father absence
or poverty? Journal of Divorce, 1979, 3, 27-38.
Cromwell, R. E., Olson, D. H. L., & Fournier, D. G.
Diagnosis and evaluation in marital and family coun-
seling. In D. H. L. Olson (Ed.), Treating relation-
ships. Lake Mills, Iowa: Graphic, 1976.
Cummings, E. M., Zahn-Waxler, C., & Radke-Yarrow,
M. Young children's responses to expressions of anger
and affection by others in the family. Child Devel-
opment, 1981, 52, 1274-1282.
Douglas, J. W. B., Ross, T. M., Hammond, W. A., &
Mulligan, D. G. Delinquency and social class. British
Journal of Criminology, 1966, 6, 294-302.
Erne, R. F. Sex differences in childhood psychopathol-
ogy: A review. Psychological Bulletin, 1979, 86, 574-
596.
Emery, R. E., & O'Leary, K. D. Children's perceptions
of marital discord and behavior problems of boys and
girls. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 1982,
10, 11-24.
Emery, R. E., Weintraub, S., & Neale, J. M. Effects
of marital discord on the school behavior of children
of schizophrenic, affectively disordered, and normal
parents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, in
press.
Epstein, N., Finnegan, D., & Bythell, D. Irrational be-
liefs and perceptions of marital conflict. Journal of
Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1979, 67, 608-
609.
Flanders, J. P. A review of research on imitative be-
havior. Psychological Bulletin, 1968, 69, 316-337.
Framo, J. L. Personal reflections of a therapist. Journal
of Marriage and Family Counseling, 1975, /, 15-28.
Futterman, E. A. After the "civilized" divorce. Journal
of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 1980,
19, 525-530.
Gassner, S., & Murray, E. J. Dominance and conflict
in the interactions between parents of normal and
neurotic children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology,
1969, 74, 33-41.
Gibson, H. B. Early delinquency in relation to broken
homes. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
and Allied Disciplines, 1969, 10, 195-204.
Glick, P. C. Children of divorced parents in demo-
graphic perspective. Journal of Social Issues, 1979,
55, 170-182.
Glick, P. C., & Norton, A. J. Marrying, divorcing, and
living together in the U.S. today. Population Bulletin,
1978, 32, 3-38.
Goldstein, J., Freud, A., & Solnit, A. J. Beyond the best
interests of the child. New York: Free Press, 1973.
Gregory, I. Anterospective data following childhood loss
of a parent. Archives of General Psychiatry, 1965,
13. 110-120.
Griest, D., Wells, K. C., & Forehand, R. Examination
of predictors of maternal perceptions of maladjust-
ment in clinic-referred children. Journal of Abnormal
Psychology, 1979, 88, 277-281.
Gurman, A. S., & Kniskern, D. P. Research on marital
and family therapy: Progress, perspective, and pros-
pect. In S. L. Garfield & A. E. Bergin (Eds.), Hand-
book of psychotherapy and behavior change. New
York: Wiley, 1978.
Haynes, J. M. Divorce mediator: A new role. Social
Work, 1978, 23, 5-9.
Herzog, E., & Sudia, C. E. Children in fatherless fam-
ilies. In B. M. Caldwell & H. N. Riccuti (Eds.), Re-
view of child development research (Vol. 3). Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1973.
Hess, R. D., & Camara, K. A. Post-divorce family rela-
tionships as mediating factors in the consequences of
divorce for children. Journal of Social Issues, 1979,
35, 79-96.
Hetherington, E. M. Effects of father absence on per-
sonality development in adolescent daughters. Devel-
opmental Psychology, 1972, 7, 313-326.
Hetherington, E. M. Divorce: A child's perspective.
American Psychologist, 1979, 34, 851-858.
Hetherington, E. M., Cox, M., & Cox, R. Divorced
fathers. Family Coordinator, 1976, 25, 417-428.
Hetherington, E. M., Cox, M., & Cox, R. The aftermath
of divorce. In J. H. Stevens & M. Mathews (Eds.),
Mother/Child Father/Child Relationships. Washing-
ton, D.C.: National Association for the Education of
Young Children, 1978.
 CHILDREN OF DISCORD AND DIVORCE
Hetherington, E. M, Cox, M., & Cox, R. Family in-
teraction and the social emotional and cognitive de-
velopment of children following divorce. In V. Vaughn
& T. Brazelton (Eds.), The family: Setting priorities.
New York: Science and Medicine, 1979.
Jacobson, D. S. The impact of marital separation/di-
vorce on children: II. Interparental hostility and child
adjustment. Journal of Divorce, 1978, 2, 3-20.
Jacobson, N. S., & Martin, B. Behavioral marriage
therapy: Current status. Psychological Bulletin, 1976,
83, 540-556.
Johnson, S. M., & Lobitz, G. K. The personal and mar-
ital adjustment of parents as related to observed child
deviance and parenting behaviors. Journal of Abnor-
mal Child Psychology, 1974, 2, 193-207.
Kelly, J. B., & Wallerstein, J. S. The effects of parental
divorce: 1. The experience of the child in early latency,
2. The experience of the child in late latency. Amer-
ican Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 1975, 45, 253-255.
Kelly, J. B., & Wallerstein, J. S. The effects of parental
divorce: Experiences of the child in early latency.
American Journal of'Orthopsychiatry, 197'6, 46, 20-
32.
Kent, R. N., & O'Leary, K. D. A controlled evaluation
of behavior modification with conduct problem chil-
dren. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
1976, 44, 586-596.
Kurdek, L. A. An integrative perspective on children's
divorce adjustment. American Psychologist, 1981,
36, 856-866.
Lambert, L., Essen, J., & Head, J. Variations in be-
havior ratings of children who have been in care. Jour-
nal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied
Disciplines, 1977, 18. 335-346.
Lerner, R. M., & Spanier, G. B. Child influences on
marital and family interaction: A life-span perspec-
tive. New York: Academic Press, 1978.
Levitin, T. E. Children of divorce. Journal of Social
Issues, 1979, 35, 1-25.
Lobitz, G. K., & Johnson, S. M. Normal versus deviant
children: A multimethod comparison. Journal of Ab-
normal Child Psychology, 1975, 3, 353-374. (a)
Lobitz, W. C., & Johnson, S. M. Parental manipulation
of the behavior of normal and deviant children. Child
Development, 1975, 46, 719-726. (b)
Locke, H. J., & Wallace, K. M. Short marital-adjust-
ment and prediction tests: Their reliability and valid-
ity. Marriage and Family Living, 1959, 21, 251-255.
Love, L. R., & Kaswan, J. W. Troubled children: Their
families, schools, and treatments. New York: Wiley,
1974.
Margolin, G. The reciprocal relationship between mar-
ital and child problems. In J. P. Vincent (Ed.), Ad-
vances in Family Intervention, Assessment, and The-
ory. Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press, in press.
Margolin, G., & Patterson, G. R. Differential conse-
quences provided by mothers and fathers for their
sons and daughters. Developmental Psychology, 1975,
/ / , 537-538.
McCord, J., McCord, W., & Thurber, E. Some effects
of paternal absence on male children. Journal of
Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1962,64, 361-369.
McCord, W., & McCord, J. Origins of crime: A new
329
evaluation of the Cambridge-Somerville Youth Study.
New York: Columbia University Press, 1959.
McCord, W., McCord, J., & Howard, A, Familial cor-
relates of aggression in non-delinquent male children.
Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1961,
62, 79-83.
McDermott, J. F. Parental divorce in early childhood.
American Journal of Psychiatry, 1968, 124, 1424-
1432.
McDermott, J. F. Divorce and its psychiatric sequelae
in children. Archives of General Psychiatry, 1970, 23,
421-427.
Mednick, S. A., & McNeil, T. F. Current methodology
in research on the etiology of schizophrenia: Serious
difficulties which suggest the use of the high-risk
group method. Psychological Bulletin, 1968, 70, 681-
693.
Messe, L. A., Stollak, G. E., Larson, R. W., & Michaels,
G. Y. Interpersonal consequences of person percep-
tion processes in two social contexts. Journal of Per-
sonality and Social Psychology, 1979, 37, 369-379.
Minuchin, S. Families and family therapy, Cambridge,
Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1974.
Minuchin, S. et at. A conceptual model of psychoso-
matic illness in children: Family organization and
family therapy. Archives of General Psychiatry, 1975,
32, 1031-1038.
Molholm, L. H., & Dinitz, S. Female mental patients
and their normal controls. Archives of General Psy-
chiatry, 1972, 27, 606-610.
Nye, F. I. Child adjustment in broken and unhappy
unbroken homes. Marriage and Family Living, 1957,
19. 356-361.
O'Leary, K. D., & Emery, R. E. Marital discord and
child behavior problems. In M. D. Levine & P. Satz
(Eds.), Developmental variation and dysfunction.
New York: Academic Press, in press.
O'Leary, K. D., & Turkewitz, H. Methodological errors
in marital and child treatment research. Journal of
Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1978, 46, 747-
758.
Olson, D. H., & Strauss, M. A. A diagnostic tool for
marital and family therapy. Family Coordinator,
1972, 21, 251-258.
Oltmanns, T. F., Broderick, J. E., & O'Leary, K. D.
Marital adjustment and the efficacy of behavior ther-
apy with children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, 1977, 45, 724-729.
Patterson, G. R. Accelerating stimuli for two classes of
coercive behaviors. Journal of Abnormal Child Psy-
chology, 1977, 5, 335-350.
Patterson, G. R., Cobb, J. A., & Ray, R. S. A social
engineering technology for retraining the families of
aggressive boys. In H. E. Adams & I. P. Unikel
(Eds.), Issues and trends in behavior therapy. Spring-
field, 111.: Charles C Thomas, 1973.
Patterson, G. R., & Reid, J. B. Reciprocity and coer-
cion: Two facets of social systems. In C. Neuringer
& J. Michaels (Eds.), Behavior modification in clin-
ical psychology. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts,
1970.
Patterson, G. R., Weiss, R. L., & Hops, H. Training
in marital skills: Some problems and concepts. In H.
Leitenberg (Ed.), Handbook of behavior modifica-
330 ROBERT E. EMERY
lion and behavior therapy. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.:
Prentice-Hall, 1976.
Pemberton, D. A., & Benady, D. R. Consciously re-
jected children. British Journal of Psychiatry, 1973,
123. 575-578.
Porter, B., & O'Leary, K. D. Marital discord and child-
hood behavior problems. Journal of Abnormal Child
Psychology, 1980, 80, 287-295.
Power, M. J., Ash, P. M., Schoenberg, E., & Sorey,
E. C. Delinquency and the family. British Journal
of Social Work, 1974, 4, 17-38.
Rosenthal, R. Experimenter bias in behavioral re-
search. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1966.
Ross, A. O. Psychological disorders of children. New
York: McGraw-Hill, 1980.
Rutter, M. Sex differences in response to family stress.
In E. J. Anthony & C. Koupernik (Eds.), The child
in his family. New York: Wiley, 1970.
Rutter, M. Parent-child separation: Psychological ef-
fects on the children. Journal of Child Psychology
and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 1971,12, 233-
260.
Rutter, M. The quality of mothering: Maternal depri-
vation reassessed. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, En-
gland: Penguin, 1972.
Rutter, M. Maternal deprivation, 1972-1978: New
findings, new concepts, new approaches. Child De-
velopment, 1979, 50, 283-305.
Rutter, M. Protective factors in children's responses to
stress and disadvantage. In M. W. Kent & J. E. Rolf
(Eds.), Primary prevention of psychopathology: 111.
Promoting social competence and coping in children.
Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England,
1980.
Rutter, M., Graham, P., Chadwick, O. F. D., & Yule,
W. Adolescent turmoil: Fact or fiction? Journal of
Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disci-
plines, 1976, 17, 35-56.
Rutter, M. et al. Attainment and adjustment in two
geographical areas: III. Some factors accounting for
area differences. British Journal of Psychiatry, 1974,
125, 520-533.
Santrock, J. W., & Warshak, R. A. Father custody and
social development in boys and girls. Social Issues,
1979, 35, 112-125.
View publication stats
Schaefer, E. S. Children's reports of parental behavior:
An inventory. Child Development, 1965,36, 413-421.
Schwarz, J. C. Childhood origins of psychopathology.
American Psychologist, 1979, 34, 879-885.
Strain, P. S., Young, C. C., & Horowitz, J. An ex-
amination of child and family demographic variables
related to treatment outcomes during oppositional
child training. Behavior Modification, 1979, 3, 61-
76.
Tuckman, J., & Regan, R. A. Intactness of home and
behavioural problems in children. Journal of Child
Psychology and Psychiatry, 1966, 7, 225-233.
U.S. Census Bureau. Statistical abstract and the United
States. Washington, D.C.: Author, 1980.
Wahler, R. G. Deviant child behavior within the family:
Developmental speculations and behavior change
strategies. In H. Leitenberg (Ed.), Handbook of be-
havior modification and behavior therapy. Engle-
wood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1976.
Wahler, R. G. The insular mother: Her problems in
parent-child treatment. Journal of Applied Behavior
Analysis, 1980, 13, 207-219.
Wallerstein, J. S., & Kelly, J. B. The effects of parental
divorce: The adolescent experience. In E. J. Anthony
& C. Koupernik (Eds.), The child in his family: Chil-
dren at psychiatric risk. New York: Wiley, 1974.
Wallerstein, J. S., & Kelly, J. B. The effects of parental
divorce: Experiences of the preschool child. Journal
of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 1975,
14, 600-616.
Wallerstein, J. S., & Kelly, J. B. Surviving the breakup.
New York: Basic Books, 1980.
Westman, J. D., Cline, D. W., Swift, W. J., & Kramer,
D. A. The role of child psychiatry in divorce. Archives
of General Psychiatry, 1970, 23. 416-420.
Whitehead, L. Sex differences in children's responses
to family stress: A re-evaluation. Journal of Child
Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines,
1979, 20, 247-254.
Wolkind, S., & Rutter, M. Children who have been
"in care"—An epidemiological study. Journal of
Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disci-
plines, 1973, 14. 97-105.
Received May 26, 1981 •