INVESTIGATING THE MEDIATING ROLE OF EMOTIONAL SAFETY IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHILDHOOD PERCEPTIONS OF PARENTAL CONFLICTS

Maryamolsadat  Fazli Ahmad Abad; Fatemeh Gharehbaghi; Farangis  Elyasi

Maryamolsadat Fazli Ahmad Abad Azad University, Tehran, Iran. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1664-2190
Fatemeh Gharehbaghi Azad University, Tehran, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4407-4901
Farangis Elyasi Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of children's emotional safety in the family in the relationship between children's perceptions of parental conflict and children's self-esteem in enriching mediating and process-oriented models. For this purpose, 200 elementary fifth grade students (100 girls and 100 boys) who were studying in Tehran during the academic year 2017-2018 were selected using multistage random sampling. And they responded to the child perception questionnaire about conflict between parents, self-esteem, and family safety. Simple and hierarchical regression were used to analyze the data and investigate the direct and intermediate relationships. The results showed that children's perception of parental conflict had an adverse effect on their self-esteem. Also, the child's perception of conflict is directly related to the child's emotional insecurity. In addition, emotional insecurity can reverse the self-esteem of the child. Finally, the mediating role of emotional insecurity in the relationship between conflict perception and self-esteem was confirmed. These findings are consistent with tissue-based cognitive framework hypotheses, emotional safety theory, and protective factors and mediating risk. The results of this study could be useful in enriching process-oriented models that explain the role of mediating risk factors in transmitting parental conflicts to children's behavioral and emotional outputs.

Author Biographies

Maryamolsadat Fazli Ahmad Abad , Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

Master of Family Counseling, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, South Tehran Branch, Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

Fatemeh Gharehbaghi , Azad University, Tehran, Iran

PhD in Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, South Tehran Branch, Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

Farangis Elyasi , Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

PhD Student in Curriculum Planning, Roodehen Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

References

Coopersmith. S. (1967). The antecedent of self-esteem. New York: W. H. Freeman; 27-8.
Cummings, E. M., & Miller-Graff, L. E. (2015). Emotional security theory: An emerging theoretical model for youths’ psychological and physiological responses across multiple developmental contexts. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 24(3), 208 -213.
Cummings, E. M., Faircoth, W. B., Mitchell, P. M., Cummings, J. S., & Schermerhorn, A. C. (2008). Evaluating a brief prevention program for improving marital conflict in community families. Journal of Family Psychology, 22(2), 193-202.
Cummings, E. M., Schermerhorn, A. C., Davies, P. T., Goeke‐Morey, M. C., & Cummings, J. S. (2006). Interparental discord and child adjustment: Prospective investigations of emotional security as an explanatory mechanism. Child development, 77(1), 132-152.
Cummings, E.M., Schermerhorn, A.C., Davies, P.T., Goeke-Morey M.C., & Cummings, J.S. (2006). Interparental discord and child adjustment: Prospective investigations of emotional security as an explanatory mechanism. Child Development, 77(1), 132-152.
Davies, P. T., & Cummings, E. M. (1998). Marital conflict and child adjustment: An emotional security hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 116, 387-411.
Davies, P. T., & Woitach, M. J. (2008). Children’s emotional security in the interparental relationship. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17(4), 269-274.
Davies, P. T., Sturge-Apple, M. L., Cicchetti, D., & Cummings, E. M. (2007). The role of child adrenocortical functioning in pathways between interparental conflict and child maladjustment. Developmental Psychology, 43, 918–930.
Davies, P. T., Sturge-Apple, M., Boscoe, S. M., & Cummings, E. M. (2010). The legacy of early insecurity histories in shaping adolescent adaptation to interparental conflict. Child Development, 85, 338–352.
El-Sheikh, M., Buckhalt, J.A., Keller, P.S., Cummings, E.M., & Acebo, C. (2007). Child emotional insecurity and academic achievement: The role of sleep disruptions. Journal of Family Psychology, 21(1), 29-38.
Eunuch Nouri, b. And the peasant, R. (2011). The Study of the Relationship between Family Conflicts and Self-esteem of Adolescents (Case Study: Shiraz Students). Journal of Social Sciences, 2 (13), 61-45.
Faircloth, B. (2012). Children and marital conflict: A review. Center for the Advanced Study of Excellence in Early Childhood and Family Support Practices, 6(1), 1-5.
Fosco, G.M., & Grych, J.H. (2007). Emotional expression in the family as a context for children ’s appraisals of inter-parental conflict . Journal of Family Psychology,21(2) , 248-258 .
Gharabagh, F. (2010). The Role of Marital Conflict and Parent-Child Relationship in Emotional and Behavioral Symptoms of Child. Psychological Research, 13 (1), 89-89.
Gharabagh, F. (2012). Family origin of abilities or problems? An Introduction to Bowen System Theory and Treatment. Tehran: Passionate Publication.
Goldberg, J. S., & Carlson, M. J. (2014). Parents’ relationship quality and children’s behavior in stable married and cohabiting families. Journal of Marriage and Family,76(4), 762–777.
Goldenberg, A. And Goldenberg, eh. (2003). Basic Family Therapy, translated by Hamid Reza Hossein Shahi and Siamak Naghshbandi, Tehran: Psychological Publishing.
Grych, J. H., Harold, G. T., & Miles, C. J. (2003). A prospective investigation of appraisals as mediators of the link between inter-parental conflict and child adjustment. Child Development, 74, 1176-1193.
Grych, J., & Fincham, F. (1990). Marital conflict and children’s adjustment: A cognitive-contextual framework. Psychological Bulletin, 108, 267-290.
Grych, J.H., Harold, G.T., & Miles, C.J. (2003). A prospective investigarion of appraisals as mediators of the link between interparental conflict and child adjustment. Child Development, 74, 1176-1193.
Lerner, R.M. (2005). Theoretical models of human development. Handbook of Child Psychology (6th Edition). Editor in Chief W. Damon. NY: Wiley.
McDonald, R & Grych, J. H. (2006). Young children’s appraisals of inter parental conflict: Measurement and links with adjustment problems, Journal of Family Psychology, 20(1). 88-99.
Mesman, J., & Koot, H. (2001). Early preschool predictor of preadolescent internalizing and external izing Dsm_Iv diagnoses. Journal of American Child and adolescent psychiatry, 4(9), 1029-1036.
Ranjbar, F. Leadership, Sh. Mohtashami, J., and Nasiri Oskouei, n. (2011). Examine the correlation between family processes and self-esteem of depressed patients. Psychiatric Nursing, 1 (4), 66-73.
Rhoades, K. A. (2009). Children’s responses to interparental conflict: A meta-analysis of their associations with child adjustment. Child Development, 79(6).
Sadr al-Sadat, J., Shams Esfandabadi, H. And Emami Pour, Q. (2005). Comparison of Parenting Styles and Family Functioning in Maladaptive Families with Behavioral and Normal Disorders. Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, 7 (2), 48-43.
Shokhi Yekta, M., and Parand, A. (2005). Behavioral Disorders of Children and Adolescents, Tehran: Timurzadeh Publications.
Sturge‐Apple, M. L., Davies, P. T., & Cummings, E. M. (2010). Typologies of family functioning and children’s adjustment during the early school years. Child Development, 81, 1320-1335.