A Multi-Informant Study of Perceived Parental Conflict and Youth Adjustment among Siblings within Military Families

Cornerstone Ballroom Side A

Purpose: This study utilized the ABCX Model of Family Stress and Coping to examine the role of interparental conflict (IPC) on child adjustment in military families. We investigated how IPC as a stressor (A) relates to the meaning adolescent children assigned to the conflict (C), and how this meaning predicts adjustment outcomes among siblings in the family, reflecting a crisis (X). Methods: Data were collected from 116 families composed of an active-duty military parent, civilian parent, and two adolescent siblings. Parents and both adolescents reported their perception of IPC, and adolescents reported on their own positive adjustment. Results: Only civilian parent reports were related to adolescent sibling perceptions of IPC, and adolescent perceptions of IPC inversely predicted their own adjustment. Discussion: Findings support the importance of adolescent perceptions as a factor in their own outcomes. Results highlight the importance of at-home-caregivers as a potential point of intervention in fostering adjustment.