Coping as a mediator between interparental conflict and adolescents' romantic attachment

This study examined the association between interparental conflict and late adolescents' attachment in romantic relationships through analyses of the mediating and moderating effects of adolescents' coping. Adolescents (n = 96, age 18-19 years, 81% female) reported on dimensions of interparental conflict, romantic attachment, and strategies for coping with parents' conflicts. As expected, higher levels of conflict were associated with significantly higher levels of anxious attachment in romantic relationships. This association was mediated by involuntary disengagement coping, but not by other coping responses (involuntary engagement, voluntary engagement, or voluntary disengagement). Hypotheses regarding moderation were not supported. These results suggest that coping may be influenced by the nature of the parental conflict, which, in turn, shapes the impact of conflict on later romantic relationships.