父母冲突的稳定性及对初中生心理健康影响的时间效应:一个追踪研究

The Stability of Interparental Conflict and Time-related Effects of Interparental Conflict on Mental Health of Junior School Students: A Longitudinal Study

以745名初一学生为被试,采用间隔一年的追踪设计,考察父母冲突的稳定性及对初中生心理健康影响的时间效应。结果表明:(1)父母冲突具有中等稳定性。(2)父母冲突可分为三类,分别是低父母冲突、中等父母冲突、高父母冲突。(3)当父母冲突发生后,会对儿童心理健康方面的同伴排斥、孤独感和抑郁产生消极影响,具有即时影响,符合即时假说。但父母冲突对儿童攻击行为方面的即时影响结果不一致。(4)当父母冲突停止后,其对儿童心理健康的负面影响显著减少,符合停止假说。这些研究结果提示对父母冲突事件的干预比干预其引起的孩子不良适应更重要。

Interparental conflict poses challenges to stable and satisfying interpersonal relations among all members of the family. It has potential for highly negative outcomes, especially for children. Interparental conflict is a better predictor of a series of children＇s maladjustment than general marital distress. The relation between interparental conflict and their children＇s poor mental health is strong for adolescents. However, most previous studies in this field have assessed interparental conflict as a static trait at a single time point. It is urgent to have greater understanding of the effects of interparental conflict through longitudinal studies. The current study investigated the stability of interparental conflict and its time-related effects, including the effects of concurrent timing and the effects of duration. In total, 745 children （376 boys, 369 girls） participated at two time points： as children who entered the 7th grade （in the fall, Time 1） and those who entered the 8th grade （in the fall, T2）. At each assessment, data of demographic information, interparental conflict and children＇s mental health （including aggression, peer rejection, loneliness, and depression） were collected through questionnaires. The present study used latent class analysis （LCA） to analyze the classification of interparantal conflict and its stability across two waves of analysis. MANOVA and post hoc multiple comparisons were used to investigate the time-related effect of interparental conflict on mental health. The results showed that： （1） the stability of interparental conflict was moderate between the 7th and 8th graders （r =0.40,p 〈0.05）. （2） Independent LCA analyses for each year yielded three interparantal conflict classes： low-conflict class, moderate-conflict class, and high-conflict class. Moderate- conflict class was more stable than the other two, and 56.9% parents remained moderate-conflict class at Time 2. （3） A comparison of the T1 peer rejection scores between the stable-low-conflict group （belonged to low-conflict class in both Time 1 and Time 2） and the low-change-high-conflict group （categorized as low-conflict or moderate-conflict class in Time 1 and changed to a more severe class in Time 2） demonstrated a statistically non-significant difference （p 〉0.05）, as well as loneliness, and depression. These results suggested the stable-low-conflict group was similar to the low- change-high-conflict group. Comparisons of the Time 1 peer rejection scores between, on the one hand, the high-change-low-conflict group （categorized as high-conflict or moderate-conflict class in Time 1 and changed to a less severe class in Time 2） and the stable-high-conflict group （belonged to high- conflict class in both Time 1 and Time 2）, and, on the other, the stable-low-conflict group demonstrated statistically significant differences （p 〈 .05）, as well as loneliness, and depression. These results supported the onset hypothesis of maladjustment in peer rejection, loneliness, and depression, which posits that symptoms of poor mental health would increase as the interparental conflict occurs. However, the results of whether interparental conflict had an effect of concurrent timing on aggression were mixed. （4） The difference of Time 2 aggression scores between the stable-low-conflict group and the high-change-low-conflict group was non-significant （p 〉0.05）, as well as peer rejection, loneliness, and depression. These results supported the cessation hypothesis, which posits that symptoms of poor mental health dissipate concurrently with the cessation of interparental conflict. It suggests that there may be recovery effects for the children, implying that direct interventions for poor mental health may not be necessary if interventions to stop interparental conflict are successful.