The Ubiquitous Family Environment: Examining Emotional Insecurity in the Family and Adjustment in School

• Author: E. Mark Cummings,Patrick T. Davies,Kathleen N. Bergman,Grace E. Choe
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12337
• Published date: 01 April 2018
• Date: 01 April 2018

THE UBIQUITOUS FAMILY ENVIRONMENT: EXAMINING

EMOTIONAL INSECURITY IN THE FAMILY AND ADJUSTMENT IN

SCHOOL*

Kathleen N. Bergman, Grace E. Choe, E. Mark Cummings, and Patrick T. Davies

The present study examines adolescents’ emotional insecurity and problem behaviors at school. Adolescents (n5280;

136 boys, 144 girls, Median age 513) and their parents reported on adolescents’ emotional security and adjustment problems.

Adolescents’ teachers (n5240) also reported on adolescents’ school adjustment. Results support that emotional insecurity is

related to adjustment problems in the home and at school. Emotional insecurity in the family system was a better predictor of

adolescents’ adjustment problems than emotional insecurity in the interparental relationship. Findings have implications for

teachers, parents, school administrators and policy-makers, as adolescents’ problem behaviors at school can be explained by

their emotional insecurity.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:

Adolescents’ emotional insecurity predicts their adjustment in contexts outside the home, and emotional security in the

family system is a particularly robust predictor of adolescents’ adjustment in school.

Adolescents’ responses to contexts of threat outside of the home can be enhanced by family-level security.

School personnel, parents, advocates, and policy makers need to be aware of the relationships between family-level

security on adjustment in other contexts (i.e., school) so that their decisions are well informed.

Keywords: Adolescence; Emotional Insecurity; Family Security; Interparental Conflict; and School Adjustment.

The numerous implications of high family conflict for adolescents’ normal and abnormal develop-

ment is well established, as adolescents’ repeated exposure to destructive conflict in the family has

been shown to produce risks for adjustment problems in studies since the 1930s (see Cummings &

Davies, 2011, p. 9). These include externalizing problems (e.g., aggression, inappropriate conduct,

delinquent behavior; Emery, 1982); internalizing problems (e.g., anxiety, depression, social with-

drawal; Cummings, Schermerhorn, Davies, Goeke-Morey, & Cummings, 2006); poor social skills

and relationships (Grych & Fincham, 1990); school performance (e.g., due to sleep and attentional

problems; Davies, Woitach, Winter, & Cummings, 2008); and physiological functioning (El-Sheikh,

Buckhalt, Cummings, & Keller, 2009). Likewise, Repetti, Taylor, and Seeman (2002) articulated

that children in families that are characterized by conflict, aggression, and relationships that are

“cold, unsupportive neglectful” (p. 330) are at risk for developing problems in psychosocial function-

ing, stress-responsive biological regulatory systems, and health behaviors such as substance abuse.

Observing conflict between their parents is a direct stressor for adolescents, potentially influencing

their perception of the quality of their parents’ marriage (Amato & Cheadle, 2008), their negative

emotional reactions (e.g., fear, anger, inhibition of normal behavior; Cummings, 1987), their feelings

of guilt or self-esteem (Grych & Fincham, 1990), or their other family relationships (e.g., parent–

child) through a spillover effect (Davies & Cummings, 1994). Thus, it is important to consider how

marital conflict can impact children’s emotions and perceptions about the family context and thereby

increase their risks for adjustment problems.

Corresponding: kbergman@nd.edu

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol. 56 No. 2, April 2018 234–247

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C2018 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts