Fathers’ marital conflict and children’s socioemotional skills: A moderated-mediation model of conflict resolution and parenting

Gong, Q., Kramer, K. Z., & Tu, K. M. (2023). Fathers’ marital conflict and children’s socioemotional skills: A moderated-mediation model of conflict resolution and parenting. Journal of Family Psychology, 37(7), 1048–1059. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0001102

Informed by spillover theory, which recognizes the interrelatedness of individuals functioning in multiple family roles (e.g., partner/spouse, parent), this cross-sectional study examined whether marital conflict was linked to fathers’ parenting; and, in turn, to young children’s socioemotional skills and whether the fathers’ constructive conflict resolution (e.g., compromising) affected these associations. 3,955 married civilian fathers reported their frequency of marital conflict, along with parental involvement, parental warmth, parenting stress, and the frequency of their constructive conflict resolution behaviors. Mothers reported children’s socioemotional skills. Overall, marital conflict was related to fathers’ parenting and, in turn, children’s socioemotional skills. Some associations were stronger for fathers who used more constructive conflict resolution strategies.

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