Parent–Child Connectedness Mediates the Association Between Marital Conflict and Children’s Internalizing/Externalizing Outcomes

A number of studies of marital conflict have examined both parent- and child–reports of marital conflict and child outcomes, but additional research is needed to provide evidence for potential mechanisms of action explaining the association between marital conflict and child internalizing and externalizing outcomes. In the present study (N = 330 2-parent/child triads), we show that the connectedness of the parent–child relationship (as reported by parents, but not children) significantly mediated the effect of marital conflict on children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Our findings suggest that children’s perceptions are important when trying to understand the impact of marital conflict, but our results suggest that parent reports provide important, incremental insight and should not be overlooked.