Parents' and Children's Perceptions of Interparental Conflict Resolution

Abstract

This study examined the concordance between parents' assessment of their interpersonal conflict resolution with each other and their children's perception of the same. 61 parent dyads responded to the 1984 Communication Patterns Questionnaire of Christensen and Sullaway while their children completed the 1992 Children's Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale by Grych, Seid, and Fincham. Mothers' and fathers' perceptions of their conflict resolution were significantly correlated. Analysis indicated that overall, children's perception of interparental conflict was related to their mothers' perception of the communication patterns between themselves and their partner. However, this relationship was confounded with sex of the child indicated by different patterns of intercorrelations between mothers‘, fathers‘, and children's perceptions for boys and girls.