Bidirectional Associations Between Parent-Child Conflict and Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the longitudinal bidirectional association between parent-child conflict and child externalizing and internalizing symptoms from the preschool years through adolescence.

Method: A nationally representative longitudinal study recruited 11,134 children at birth and followed them from December 2010 through June 2022. Primary caregivers completed validated measures at each follow-up, yielding data on parent-child conflict and child symptoms at ages 3, 5, 7, 9, and 13 years. Data were analyzed using a random-intercepts cross-lagged panel model.

Results: A total of 9,793 children were assessed at age 3 years, 9,001 at age 5 years, 5,344 at age 7 years, 8,032 at age 9 years, and 6,655 at age 13 years (50% girls). Externalizing symptoms at ages 3, 5, and 7 years were prospectively associated with parent-child conflict at ages 5, 7, and 9 years. The opposite associations were not observed, indicating a unidirectional link between child externalizing symptoms and later parent-child conflict during childhood. However, parent-child conflict at age 9 years was prospectively associated with child externalizing symptoms at age 13 years. The opposite prospective association was not observed, indicating a reversal in the direction of the association between externalizing symptoms and parent-child conflict during early adolescence. Prospective associations between parent-reported internalizing symptoms and parent-child conflict were not observed in either direction.

Conclusion: Findings underscore the importance of both the timing and targeted nature of interventions for children's mental health. Supporting children's early self-regulation skills could be an effective intervention for preventing parent-child conflict later in development.