Latino children's responses to simulated interparental conflict

Seventy Latino children from homes with physically aggressive and nonphysically aggressive marital conflict reported affective, cognitive, and behavioral responses to simulated marital conflicts varying in intensity and content. Results indicate that children who have witnessed marital violence expect more conflict escalation and endorse more parent- and child-blaming responses than no children who have not witnessed marital violence. In response to child-related compared to nonchild-related marital conflict, children experience more negative affect, self-blame, and feelings of self-efficacy, and report fewer statements regarding parents' negative affect and parent blame. Children are more likely to blame their parents in response to high- than low-intensity marital conflict. Consistent with Grych and Fincham's (1990) cognitive-contextual theory, these results suggest that Latino children's responses to novel episodes of marital conflict are influenced by previous exposure to marital conflict as well as variations in conflict content and intensity.