Psychological and Biological Processes in Children Associated with High Conflict Parental Divorce

• Author: Connie J. A. Beck,Ryan D. Davidson,Karey L. O'Hara
• Date: 01 January 2014
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jfcj.12015
• Published date: 01 January 2014

Psychological and Biological Processes in

Children Associated with High Conflict

Parental Divorce

By Ryan D. Davidson, Karey L. O’Hara, and Connie J. A. Beck

ABSTRACT

Several factors impact a child’s adjustment after a parental divorce; a well-

established one is the level of parental conflict during and after a divorce. Research is

beginning to investigate the biological mechanisms that may be impacted by child-

hood trauma in general and parental high conflict specifically. This paper reviews the

existing research concerning the relationship between exposure to high parental

conflict/trauma and the biological stress response system (the hypothalamic-pituitary

adrenocortical axis and the sympathetic nervous system), sleep, and psychological

maladjustment. We propose a conceptual model linking biological and psychological

responses and discuss suggestions for future research.

A puzzling issue for researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers is that after a

divorce, most children (75 percent) are resilient and return to baseline functioning within

one to two years, but an important minority of children suffer long-term negative mental

and physical health consequences well into adulthood (Hetherington & Kelly, 2002).

One of the most well-established factors in predicting negative outcomes for children is

high levels of marital conflict during and after the divorce (Cummings & Davies, 2010;

Hetherington & Kelly, 2002). The factors that are not well-established are the interac-

tions of biological and psychological processes through which these negative outcomes

occur.

Ryan D. Davidson is a Ph.D. student in Clinical Psychology Program, Department of Psychology,

University of Arizona. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to: Ryan D. Davidson,

University of Arizona, Department of Psychology, PO Box 210068, Tucson, AZ 84721-0068; E-mail:

RDavidso@email.arizona.edu.

Karey L. O’Hara, holds a Master’s Degree in Forensic Psychology from University of North Dakota

and is currently a Ph.D. student in the Clinical Psychology Program, Department of Psychology, University

of Arizona.

Connie J. A. Beck is an Associate Professor in the Clinical Psychology Program and Director of the

Accelerated Master’s Program, Department of Psychology, University of Arizona.

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Juvenile and Family Court Journal 65, No. 1 (Winter) 29

© 2014 National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

This paper reviews the existing empirical studies that address the biological and

psychological effects associated with exposure to high conflict parental divorce for chil-

dren. Contrary to the vast research addressing psychological effects of divorce on children,

the research addressing biological effects is in its infancy. Much of the existing research

focuses on narrow issues with homogeneous populations and fails to provide a consistent

synopsis. Therefore, the current paper highlights general research on the biological con-

sequences of marital conflict and divorce for children and, when possible, suggests impli-

cations for extending these findings to high conflict divorce families. Additionally, broad

research concerning childhood trauma is reviewed and discussed, specifically how it is

understood in the context of divorce (Center for Disease Control [CDC], 2013; Chapman,

Liu, Presley-Cantrell, Edwards, Wheaton, Perry & Croft, 2013). Lastly,a conceptual model

of the relationships between biological and psychological effects of divorce and trauma in

children is presented and potential areas for future research are discussed.

DEFINITION OF HIGH CONFLICT

High conflict in divorcing couples exists along a continuum and describes a variety

of behaviors and interactions between parents and among family members. Some theo-

rists offer a conceptualization of high conflict in terms of varying severity levels based on

the conflict’s characteristics, including the domain of content (issue-based versus personal

attacks), the learned interaction patterns (general communication styles and emotional

reactivity), and pervasiveness (chronic versus situational) (Anderson, Anderson, Palmer,

Mutchler & Baker, 2011). Others define the phenomenon by describing the nature of

high conflict in terms of two clusters, behaviors and emotions. High conflict behaviors are

pervasive negative exchanges characterized by defensiveness, verbal and physical aggres-

sion, personal insult, and marital withdrawal. High conflict emotions make up the

emotional environment of the family and can include hostility and insecurity (Anderson

et al., 2011; Cummings & Davies, 2010).

The difficulty in defining high conflict exists because most couples, married or

divorced, engage in some behaviors that could be considered high conflict. Further,

parental conflict is particularly common during the time between separation and the final

legal divorce. The effect of marital conflict on children depends significantly on whether or

not the conflict is resolved between parents. Conflict that is resolved and does not focus on

the child has relatively benign effects on children (Goeke-Morey, Cummings & Papp,

2007).

For this paper, high conflict is defined as conflict that continues after the divorce

decree, crosses domains (financial conflict spills over into parenting disputes), causes or

exacerbates parental psychopathology (depression, alcoholism or substance abuse,

anxiety), and reduces effective co-parenting. This type of parental conflict is consistently

associated with significant negative outcomes for children (Cummings & Davies, 2010;

Johnston, 1994).

Many of the relational correlates of high conflict interactions, such as a lack of

effective conflict resolution skills, negative attributions about partner behavior, and anger

30 | JUVENILE AND FAMILY COURT JOURNAL / Winter 2014