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Early trajectories of interparental conflict and externalizing problems as predictors of social competence in preadolescence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2010

Chrystyna D. Kouros ,
E. Mark Cummings  and
Patrick T. Davies
Chrystyna D. Kouros*
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University
E. Mark Cummings
Affiliation:
University of Notre Dame
Patrick T. Davies
Affiliation:
University of Rochester
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Chrystyna D. Kouros, Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN; E-mail: [email protected].
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Abstract

Consistent with developmental cascade notions, the present study investigated (a) associations between trajectories of interparental conflict and early externalizing problems during childhood and (b) early trajectories of externalizing problems as a pathway by which interparental conflict impacts children's social competence in preadolescence. Participants were 235 children and their parents and teachers. Children were assessed annually for 3 years, beginning when they were in kindergarten. Parents provided reports of interparental conflict and child externalizing problems. Children's social competence (prosocial behavior, social problems) was assessed approximately 5 years later via parent and teacher reports. Results from parallel process models indicated that changes in interparental conflict were positively associated with changes in externalizing problems during childhood. Further, demonstrating pathways consistent with notions of developmental cascades, early trajectories of externalizing problems accounted for the longitudinal link between early trajectories of interparental conflict and children's social problems in preadolescence.

Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 22 , Issue 3: Developmental Cascades: Part 1 , August 2010 , pp. 527 - 537
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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