The role of aggressive personality and family relationships in explaining family conflict

Unique roles of adolescents' friends and fathers in predicting verbal aggression in future adult romantic relationships

This 20-year prospective study examined verbal aggression and intense conflict within the family of origin and between adolescents and their close friends as predictors of future verbal aggression in adult romantic relationships. A diverse community sample of 154 individuals was assessed repeatedly from age 13 to 34 years using self-, parent, peer, and romantic partner reports. As hypothesized, verbal aggression in adult romantic relationships was best predicted by both paternal verbal aggression toward mothers and by intense conflict within adolescent close friendships, with each factor contributing unique variance to explaining adult romantic verbal aggression. These factors also interacted, such that paternal verbal aggression was predictive of future romantic verbal aggression only in the context of co-occurring intense conflict between an adolescent and their closest friend. Predictions remained robust even after accounting for levels of parental abusive behavior toward the adolescent, levels of physical violence between parents, and the overall quality of the adolescent's close friendship. Results indicate the critical importance of exposure to aggression and conflict within key horizontal relationships in adolescence. Implications for early identification of risk as well as for potential preventive interventions are discussed.

Continuity in hostile family relationships mediated by family psychopathology: An application of systems perspective

Grounded in the family systems theory within the life course systems perspective, this study sought to investigate (a) long-term transmission processes of hostility from interparental relationships to parent-young adult relationships and (b) the mediational roles of parents' and adolescents' psychopathology in these long-term processes. Research has examined the long-term transmission of hostility from interparental relationships to young adults' relationships with their parents. However, less is known about how this transmission process differs for father-young adult and mother-young adult relationships and if psychopathology is a mechanism that contributes to the transmission of hostility. Utilizing a structural equation model and prospective, longitudinal data from couples in enduring marriages and their offspring (n = 345 families), we examined long-term associations between interparental hostility when offspring were adolescents and young adults (1990 and 2001), adolescents' hostile relationships with their fathers and mothers (1991), and young adults' hostile relationships with their fathers and mothers (2003) as well as the mediating roles of fathers', mothers', and adolescents' psychopathology (1992 and 1994). Interparental hostility was more strongly linked to hostility between mothers (rather than fathers) and their young adult offspring. Fathers', mothers', and adolescents' psychopathology uniquely mediated the transmission processes. This study elucidated transmission processes of interparental hostility to young adults' relationship hostility with their parents and offers insights into the unique mediational roles of each family member's psychopathology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Intergenerational continuity in high-conflict family environments: Investigating a mediating depressive pathway

Emerging evidence suggests that family conflict shows continuity across generations and that intergenerational family conflict can be more intense and deleterious than conflict experienced in a single generation. However, few investigations have identified etiological mechanisms by which family conflict is perpetuated across generations. Addressing this limitation, we sampled 246 families from a multigenerational, high-risk, longitudinal study of parents (G1s) and their children (G2s), followed from adolescence to adulthood as well as the children (G3s) of G2 targets. Specifically, the current study examined whether G2s' depressive symptoms measured at multiple time points across development explained continuity in family conflict from 1 generation (G1-G2) to the next (G2-G3). Results revealed that after controlling for externalizing symptoms, depressive symptoms served as mediators of intergenerational family conflict in both men and women, but in different ways. Specifically, G2 women's young adulthood represented a period of vulnerability in which G2 depressive symptoms were especially likely to mediate intergenerational continuity in family conflict. Additionally, in both men and women, higher G1-G2 family conflict was associated with higher depressive symptoms that persisted from adolescence into young adulthood and then subsequently predicted the development of G2-G3 family conflict. Results did not support the hypothesis that G2 partner depressive symptoms moderated the relation between G2 depressive symptoms and G2-G3 family conflict. Implications of findings regarding the roles that G2 gender and G2 depressive symptoms play in the intergenerational transmission of family conflict are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Profiling families in conflict: Multigenerational continuity in conflict predicts deleterious adolescent and adult outcomes

The present study investigated the associations between multigenerational continuity in family conflict and current psychopathology symptoms and social impairment experienced by parents and adolescents. We sampled 246 families from a multigenerational, high-risk, longitudinal study of parents (G1s) and their children (G2s), followed from adolescence (Mage = 14.3 years, 57% female, 71% Caucasian, 26% Hispanic or Latino) to adulthood as well as the children of G2 targets (G3s; Mage = 12.1 years, 47% female, 51% Caucasian, 33% Hispanic or Latino). Family conflict was measured by composite latent variables incorporating mother, father, and adolescent reports in G1-G2 families and incorporating G2 target, G2 target's spouse, and G3 adolescent report in G2-G3 families. Indicators of G2 and G3 impairment including psychopathology symptoms (e.g., internalizing, externalizing, and substance use symptoms) and social role impairment (e.g., marital satisfaction, parenting behavior) were predicted from G1-G2 family conflict, G2-G3 family conflict, and the interaction between G1-G2 and G2-G3 family conflict. Results indicate that G1-G2 family conflict uniquely predicted indicators of G2 and G3 psychopathology, as well as G2 social impairment, even after controlling for more temporally proximal G2-G3 family conflict. Results further indicate that for G2 externalizing, internalizing, and marital functioning outcomes, high G2-G3 family conflict was associated with highest G2 impairment when G1-G2 family conflict was also high. It appears that for many G2 outcomes the interactive effects of multigenerational conflict are associated with greater risk for impairment. (PsycINFO Database Record

Marital Hostility, Hostile Parenting, and Child Aggression: Associations from Toddlerhood to School Age

OBJECTIVE

The spillover hypothesis suggests that childhood aggression results from spillover of interparental conflict to poor parenting, which promotes aggressive child behavior. This study was designed to examine the spillover hypothesis in non-genetically related parent-child dyads from the toddler period through age 6 years.

METHOD

A sample of 361 sets of children, adoptive parents, and birth parents from the Early Growth and Development Study (EGDS) was assessed from child age 9 months to 6 years on measures of adoptive parent financial strain, antisocial traits, marital hostility, hostile parenting, and child aggression. Structural equation modeling was used to examine links from financial strain, parent antisocial traits, and marital hostility in infancy and toddlerhood to hostile parenting and child aggression at ages 4.5 and 6 years.

RESULTS

Spillover of marital conflict from child age 18 to 27 months was associated with more parental hostility in mothers and fathers at 27 months. In turn, adoptive fathers' parental hostility, but not mothers', was associated with aggression in children at age 4.5 years. However, there was no significant spillover from hostile parenting at 4.5 years to child aggression at 6 years. Birth mother antisocial traits were unassociated with child aggression.

CONCLUSION

This study is the first to examine spillover of marital hostility to parenting to child aggression from toddlerhood through age 6 years in an adoption design, highlighting the impact of these environmental factors from the toddler to preschool period. The findings support the potential benefit of early identification of marital hostility.

Understanding The Role of Mate Selection Processes in Couples' Pair-Bonding Behavior

Couples are similar in their pair-bonding behavior, yet the reasons for this similarity are often unclear. A common explanation is phenotypic assortment, whereby individuals select partners with similar heritable characteristics. Alternatively, social homogamy, whereby individuals passively select partners with similar characteristic due to shared social backgrounds, is rarely considered. We examined whether phenotypic assortment and/or social homogamy can contribute to mate similarity using a twin-partner design. The sample came from the Twin and Offspring Study in Sweden, which included 876 male and female monozygotic and same-sex dizygotic twins plus their married or cohabitating partners. Results showed that variance in pair-bonding behavior was attributable to genetic and nonshared environmental factors. Furthermore, phenotypic assortment accounted for couple similarity in pair-bonding behavior. This suggests that individuals' genetically based characteristics are involved in their selection of mates with similar pair-bonding behavior.

Fathering and mothering in the family system: linking marital hostility and aggression in adopted toddlers

BACKGROUND

  Previous studies have linked marital conflict, parenting, and externalizing problems in early childhood. However, these studies have not examined whether genes account for these links nor have they examined whether contextual factors such as parental personality or financial distress might account for links between marital conflict and parenting. We used an adoption design to allow for a clear examination of environmental impact rather than shared genes of parents and children, and assessments of parental personality and financial strain to assess the effects of context on relationships between marriage and parenting of both mothers and fathers.

METHOD

  Participants were 308 adoption-linked families comprised of an adopted child, her/his biological mother (BM), adoptive mother (AM) and adoptive father (AF). BMs were assessed 3-6 and 18 months postpartum and adoptive families were assessed when the child was 18 and 27 months old. Structural equations models were used to examine associations between marital hostility, fathers' and mothers' parenting hostility, and child aggressive behavior at 27 months of age. In addition, the contribution of financial strain and adoptive parent personality traits was examined to determine the associations with the spillover of marital hostility to hostile parenting.

RESULTS

  A hostile marital relationship was significantly associated with hostile parenting in fathers and mothers, which were associated with aggressive behavior in toddlers. Subjective financial strain was uniquely associated with marital hostility and child aggression. Antisocial personality traits were related to a more hostile/conflicted marital relationship and to hostile parenting.

CONCLUSIONS

  Results clarify mechanisms that may account for the success of early parent-child prevention programs that include a focus on parental economic strain and personality in addition to parent training.

Genetic moderation of contextual effects on negative arousal and parenting in African-American parents

A three-stage context amplification model was tested with a sample of 345 African-American parent-child dyads. The model combined the conceptual structure of stress generation with recent findings regarding genetic susceptibility. Because the 7R + allele of the dopamine transporter (DRD4) has the potential to enhance contextual priming and arousal, this allele was examined as a potential moderator of each stage of the amplification process. Particular attention was given to the hypothesized influence of parental negative arousal on valence of parent-child interactions. The literature on genetic susceptibility led to the hypothesis that DRD4 would moderate each stage of the model in a "for better or for worse" manner. The model was partially supported. DRD4 moderated effects at all three stages of the model and, as hypothesized, DRD4 moderated contextual effects on negative arousal in a "for better or for worse" manner. Effects on parent-child interaction, however, were moderated in a "for worse" manner only. These results indicate that parenting interactions may amplify the effects of positive and negative contexts in a stress-generating manner, and that a susceptibility framework captures the way in which DRD4 moderates the impact of context on negative arousal.