Parents' Marital Conflict Tactics as Predictors of Adolescents' Subsequent Romantic Conflict: A 6-Year Longitudinal Study Amanda L. Hare, Joseph P. Allen, & Jessica R. Meyer University of Virginia Copies of this poster & related research will be available at:

Introduction The importance of positive romantic relationships in adolescence has been highlighted by their association with:  Lower stress, lower loneliness, and higher academic satisfaction (Moore & Leung, 2002).  Identity development, autonomy from the family of origin, and scholastic achievement (Furman & Shaffer, 2003).  Subsequent relationship functioning (Furman & Flanagan, 1997).

Introduction But what factors might put adolescents at risk of developing negative romantic relationship skills?  Consistent with Bandura’s Social Learning Theory (1977) and Bryant and Conger’s Observational Learning Hypothesis (2002), adolescents likely use their parents’ marital relationships as a model for their own romantic relationships.  But could this mechanism impact some adolescents differently than others? It is likely that that secure attachment acts as a buffer against negative influences, while insecurely attached individuals are more likely to fall prey to those influences (Bowlby, 1988).

Hypotheses  For adolescents who exhibit low attachment security, parents’ marital conflict will be predictive of their subsequent romantic relationship conflict (both perpetration and victimization)  For adolescents who exhibit high attachment security, parents’ marital conflict and subsequent romantic relationship conflict will be unrelated

Method  Participants Data were drawn from a larger longitudinal study of adolescent development within the context of familial and peer relationships. 98 target adolescents (41 male, 57 female), were first interviewed at age 13.4 with their parents. Adolescents were then re-interviewed at age 18.3 with their romantic partners of at least 3 months. The sample was racially/ethnically and socioeconomically diverse (53% Caucasian, 33% African American, and 14% other or mixed; median family income in the $40,000 to $59,999 range ).

Method  Measures Conflict Tactics Scale. At T1, mothers were asked to rate their partners’ behaviors during marital conflicts on the Physical Aggression subscale of the Conflict Tactics Scale (Straus, 1979). Adult Attachment Interview and Q-set. Adolescents were administered the Adult Attachment Interview (George, Kaplan & Main, 1995) at T1. Individuals’ responses were audiotaped, transcribed, and then coded based upon overall coherence and the ability of the interviewee to integrate semantic and episodic memories. Conflict in Relationships. At T2, adolescents and their romantic partners were asked to rate their own and their partners’ physically abusive, blaming, and coercive behaviors during romantic conflicts using the Conflict in Relationships questionnaire (Wolfe, Reitzel- Jaffe, Gough, & Wekerle, 1994).

Results Table 1. Partial correlations between predictor and outcome variables of interest (after partialling out gender and socioeconomic status) Note: *p <.05

Table 2. Regressions predicting romantic partners’ use of abuse/coercion toward teen at age 18 Note: *p <.05, **p <.01, ***p <.001, ****p <.0001 Results

For teens low in attachment security, higher levels of physical aggression during marital conflict predicts greater use of abuse and coercion in romantic relationships six years later. Marital conflict and perpetration of romantic abuse are not related for teens high in attachment security.

Table 3. Regressions predicting teens’ use of abuse/coercion toward romantic partner at age 18 Note: *p <.05, **p <.01, ***p <.001, ****p <.0001 Results

For teens low in attachment security, higher levels of physical aggression during marital conflict predicts greater exposure to abuse and coercion in romantic relationships six years later. Marital conflict and victimiazation of romantic abuse are not related for teens high in attachment security.

Discussion  These findings suggest that security is a buffer in the link between parents’ marital conflict and adolescents’ romantic relationship conflict six years later.  Specifically, individuals who are low in security likely do not recognize the conflict tactics that their parents use as destructive (rather than constructive), and thus replicate them in their subsequent romantic relationships.  These results can also be interpreted as highlighting the role of mate selection, as individuals low in security seem to choose partners who replicate their parents destructive conflict strategies as well

References Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: Parent-child attachment and healthy human development. New York, NY, US: Basic Books. Bryant, C. & Conger, R. (2002). And intergenerational model of romantic relationship development. In Vangelisti, A., Reis, H. & Fitzpatrick, M. (Ed.) Stability and change in relationships (pp ). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. Collins, W. A. (2003). More than myth: The developmental significance og romantic relationships during adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 13(1), Furman, W. & Flanagan, A. (1997). The influence of earlier relationships on marriage: An attachment perspective. In Halford, W. & Markman, H. (Ed.) Clinical handbook of marriage and couples interventions (pp ). New York, NY, US: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Furman, W. & Shaffer, L. (2003). The role of romantic relationships in adolescent development. In Florsheim, P. (Ed.) Adolescent romantic relations and sexual behavior: Theory, research, and practical implications (pp. 3-22). Mahwah, NJ, US: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. George, C., Kaplan, N. & Main, M. (1985). The Attachment Interview for Adults, Unpublished manuscript, University of California, Berkeley. Moore, S. & Leung, C. (2002). Young people’s romantic attachment styles and their associations with well- being. Journal of Adolescence, 25, Reese-Weber, M. & Bartle-Haring, S. (1998). Conflict resolution styles in family subsystems and adolescent romantic relationships. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 27(6), Straus, M. (1979). Measuring intrafamily conflict and violence: The Conflict Tactics Scales. Journal of Marriage and the Famly, 41, Wolfe, D., Reitzel-Jaffe, D., Gough, R., &Wekerle, C. (1994). Conflicts in relationships: Measuring physical and sexual coercion among youth. Unpublished manuscript. Available from the Youth Relationships Project, Department of Psychology, the University of Western Ontario, London, Canada, N6A C52.

Acknowledgments We would like to thank the National Institute of Mental Health for funding awarded to Joseph P. Allen, Principal Investigator, (Grant #R01-MH58066) to conduct and write-up this project.