Interparental conflict, community violence, and child problems: making sense of counterintuitive findings

Abstract

This research examines children's exposure to community violence as a potential moderator of the link between destructive interparental conflict (IPC) and child adjustment problems. In addition, this research extends the literature by evaluating children's threat appraisals of IPC as a process that might help explain moderator effects. Participants were 539 mothers and their 7-10-year-old children. Children reported on their exposure to community violence and IPC, their threat appraisals of IPC, and their adjustment outcomes. Mothers reported on children's adjustment outcomes as well. Exposure to community violence mitigated the association between IPC and children's self-reported internalizing problems. Children's threat appraisals helped explain this effect. Exposure to high levels of community violence may weaken the extent to which children feel threatened by IPC, which may attenuate the relation between children's exposure to IPC and their self-reported internalizing problems.