Families with distinct levels of marital conflict and child adjustment: Which role for maternal and paternal stress?

This study addresses the links between distinct levels of marital conflict and mothers’ and fathers’ parenting stress and their associations with children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Using a sample of 358 Italian father–mother dyads with school-aged children, the study explores: the relationship between interparental conflict and children’s adjustment; the relationship between interparental conflict and parenting stress; the potential mediating role of maternal and paternal stress in the association between interparental conflict and children’s adjustment. Results show that: high levels of marital conflict negatively affect children’s adjustment; in families with moderate and high levels of marital conflict is correlated to both maternal and paternal stress; and in high conflict families maternal stress mediates the relationship between interparental discord and children’s internalizing behaviors, while paternal stress explains the effect of marital conflict on externalizing behaviors. Future direction of research are discussed