Interparental Conflict, Attention to Angry Interpersonal Interactions, and Adolescent Anxiety

• Published date: 01 December 2020
• Author: Rachel G. Lucas‐Thompson,Natasha S. Seiter,Erika S. Lunkenheimer
• Date: 01 December 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12505

R G. L-TColorado State University

N S. SColorado State University

E S. LPenn State University

Interparental Conict, Attention to Angry

Interpersonal Interactions, and Adolescent Anxiety

Objective: The goal of this study was to pro-

vide the rst empirical investigation of associa-

tions among interparental conict, adolescents’

attention to emotion in interpersonal interac-

tions, and adolescents’ anxiety.

Background: Previous research suggests that

both interparental conict and attention biases

have implications for youth anxiety.

Method: Adolescents (n=60, aged 10–

19 years)viewedneutralversusemotional

(angry, happy) photo pairs of interpersonal

interactions while gaze was measured using an

eye-tracking camera. Adolescents also reported

their anxiety symptoms. Parents’ self-reported

characteristics of their conict were observed

during an interparental conict discussion.

Results: Parents who displayed less positive

conict behavior had adolescents who spent

more time attending to angry interpersonal

interactions; more negative conict behavior by

parents predicted less time attending to happy

interpersonal interactions by adolescents. Inter-

parental conict interacted with attention to

angry interpersonal interactions in relation

Department of Human Development and Family Stud-

ies, Colorado State University, 1570 Campus Delivery,

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1570

(lucas-thompson.rachel.graham@colostate.edu).

Key Words: adolescent development, anxiety disorder, fam-

ily communication and interaction, family relationships,

marital communication.

to adolescent anxiety: More negative marital

conict was related to increased anxiety symp-

toms only when adolescents also displayed an

attention bias toward angry interactions.

Conclusion: Interparental conict and atten-

tion to angry interpersonal interactions may be

risk factors for adolescent anxiety and interact

in predicting anxiety.

Implications: Efforts aimed at improving the

mental health of youth from poor-quality fam-

ily environments may benet from considering

strategies to modify attention to angry interper-

sonal interactions.

Exposure to frequent, intense, and poorly

resolved interparental conict is related to

greater internalizing behaviors in offspring

(Bornovalova et al., 2014; Papp,2012; Turner &

Kopiec, 2006; Zimet & Jacob, 2001), including

symptoms of anxiety (e.g., Dadds & Pow-

ell, 1991). Attentional processes—namely,

increased attention to negative emotions—play

a critical role in the development of anxiety

(Bar-Haim et al., 2007). Recent evidence from

research with emerging adults indicates that

more negative conict appraisals, especially

perceptions of self-blame for interparental

conict, predict a greater increase in attention

to anger after exposure to intense, hostile,

and poorly resolved interparental conict

(Lucas-Thompson, Dumitrache, et al., 2017).

In addition, in the context of family violence,

Family Relations 69 (December 2020): 1041–10541041

DOI:10.1111/fare.12505