Bibliographies
The following bibliography has been compiled from the Australian Family & Society Abstracts database and other resources held in the Institute's library. Where available a link to the document on the Web is provided. Most items can be borrowed from the Institute's library via the inter library loan system. Online publications in PDF format require Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Effects of parental conflict on children
Because it's for the kids: building a secure parenting
base
McIntosh, Jennifer
Children in Focus, Australian Institute for
Primary Care, La Trobe University, 2005, 20p, ill
Separation does not have to be
harmful for the kids if it is managed well by the adults. This booklet,
written for parents, discusses the effects on children and adolescents of
separation and divorce, with a focus on how to minimise parental conflict
and create a secure emotional environment for the children.
Child-focused and child-inclusive mediation: a comparative
study of outcomes.
McIntosh, Jennifer; Long, Caroline;
Moloney, Lawrie
Journal of Family Studies v.10 no.1 Apr 2004:
87-95, figure
Children have largely been absent from or on
the periphery of mediation processes in postseparation parenting
disputes. An accompanying paper (Moloney and McIntosh, pp71-86) canvasses
a number of reasons why this may be the case. Moloney and McIntosh draw a
distinction between child-focused and child-inclusive practice, provide a
definition of both, and argue that the time is now right for child-focused mediation to become the minimum yardstick by which practice
is measured. Child-inclusive practice, on the other hand, more formally
fulfils the aspirations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
the Child (and statements from similar bodies) that children should be
consulted when decisions about their welfare are being made. Further,
child-inclusive practice (as defined in Moloney and McIntosh) allows for
consultation without placing the burden of decision making on the child.
The present paper goes on to describe a current prospective study of
outcomes for families utilising these two different forms of mediation:
child focused and child inclusive. Over 12 months, the study follows the
pathways of individual adjustment and parental alliance for families
across the two forms of intervention, addressing whether and in what
cases a child-inclusive mediation process enhances postseparation family
outcomes. (Journal abstract)
Children's voices: reflections on the telling and the
listening.
Moloney, Lawrie
Journal of Family Studies
v.11 no.2 Oct 2005: 216-226
This article considers two
transcripts, illustrating that children are often wiser than we imagine.
The transcripts also reveal that tapping into this wisdom involves
considerable openness and skill on the part of the adult listener and
brings with it a considerable degree of adult responsibility. This, in
turn, has implications for child-inclusive practice in postseparation
mediation. (Journal abstract)
Comparing young adults from divorced, high conflict and low conflict families.
McNally, S; Noller, P
University of Queensland Family Centre Newsletter no.3
Nov 2002: 3-7
Three groups of young adults were surveyed in this
study: those whose parents had divorced; those from
intact families where the parents engaged in high levels
of conflict; and those from intact families. The authors
set out to compare the well being, attachment styles,
and relationship experiences, particularly romantic,
of the participants in each group. Findings are presented,
and implications are discussed. The results largely
support the proposition that high levels of conflict
within the family environment can be detrimental to
the adjustment of children, even in the long-term.
Furthermore, the results suggest that high levels of
conflict between parents can have more harmful consequences
for young adults in comparison to the long-term effects
of divorce.
Current findings on Australian children in postseparation
disputes: outer conflict, inner discord.
McIntosh,
Jennifer; Long, Caroline
Journal of Family Studies v.11 no.1 Apr
2005: 99-109, figures
This paper sets out descriptive
baseline data on the first 111 Australian families participating in a
current study of the efficacy of child-focused and child-inclusive Family
Law Mediation.The families come from the first of two treatment groups in
that comparative study. While outcome data are not yet available on this
group, the baseline data, gathered prior to intervention, are of interest
and value. The paper describes the nature of parents' conflict with each
other, the strength of their parental alliance, and the psychological
functioning of their children at the time of presentation to the
mediation service. High mental health risk for the children in these
families is evident, both from parents' and children's perspectives.
Uniquely, the paper includes the perceptions of 73 children about their
parents' conflict and its impact on them. Implications are discussed,
underscoring the imperative of early intervention with separating
families that includes screening of the children's experience of conflict
and their own needs for recovery. (Journal abstract)
Does parental marital conflict impair their children's
education?
Evans, M D R; Kelley, J; Headey, B
Australian Social Monitor v.4 no.4 Dec 2001: 71-78, tables, figures
Previous research shows that parental divorce reduces children's
educational attainment on average. But the effect could well be
spurious, due not to divorce per se but rather to pre existing marital
conflict that both causes divorce and harms children's education. In
testing this possibility, the results shows that parental conflict does
not significantly reduce their children's educational attainment:
parental conflict has no statistically significant effect on how many
years of schooling their children complete, nor the probability of their
children completing secondary school, nor on the probability of
completing university. Thus, the harmful effect of divorce on children's
education cannot be attributed to pre existing conflicts in their
parents' marriages. (Journal abstract, edited)
Education and group interventions for separated parents in
conflict: a review of research and leading programs.
Deacon-Wood, H; McIntosh, J
Bundoora, Vic: La Trobe University,
2002, 55p
The authors review the research and past studies on
the effects of the post separation and divorce period on children. They
consider to what extent conflict is normal during separation, and the
differences between enduring and normative conflict. Twelve separated
parenting education programs, operating in Australia and the United
States, are described and evaluated. The authors found that short term
programs are of limited benefit, and are concerned at the proliferation
of these. They also criticise the self report method of evaluation, as
often the programs judged as producing the best outcomes are not enjoyed
by the parents.
Enduring conflict in parental separation: pathways of impact
on child development.
McIntosh, J
Journal of Family
Studies v.9 no.1 Apr 2003: 63-80
There are established
research truths about parental conflict and its impact on children which
are increasingly respected in practice: divorce does not have to be
harmful; parental conflict is a more potent predictor of child adjustment
than is divorce; conflict resolution is important to children's coping
with divorce.This synopsis of recent research moves beyond these truths,
to a review of emerging 'news' from the literature, with a focus on known
impacts of entrenched parental conflict on children's development and
capacity to adjust to separation. The findings are illustrated by the
case of two siblings, Jack and Rachel, seen in short-term therapy by the
author, in the period following their parents' highly conflictive
separation. From a practitioner's chair, the news is more than
noteworthy. It provides compelling arguments for a move beyond truisms
about parental conflict and children's adjustment, beyond wishful myths
of resilience, to look at the process of impact on development, within
the context of parental dispute and family restructure. (Journal
abstract)
Entrenched conflict in parental separation:
pathways of impact on child development: a synopsis
of recent research.
McIntosh, J
Bundoora, Vic: La Trobe University, 2002, 20p (Children
in Focus)
It is now accepted that parental conflict can be more
damaging to children than divorce. This publication
summarises recent research in this field, looking particularly
at the impact of long term parental conflict on the
development of children and their ability to deal with
separation. This current research draws in social learning,
family systems, trauma, and cognitive and developmental
theories.
Government's response to the family law
maze: the Family Relationship Centres proposal.
Moloney, Lawrie
Journal of Family Studies v.11 no.1 Apr 2005: 11-35
This paper considers the establishment of Family
Relationship Centres (FRCs) and the problems they
are attempting to address. A typology of postseparation
disputes is proposed, the purpose of which is to
link families to the services that best suit their
needs. The author explores reasons why the success
of FRCs will inevitably depend on their recognition
in the community as the default service for separation-related
disputes and pays some attention to how a FRC might
look from the inside, before addressing strategic
issues related to their introduction. Finally, the
FRCs' strengths and limitations within the larger
family law system are considered. (Journal abstract,
edited)
Listening: a tool for minimising violence
in the lives of women with disabilities.
Dennis, R
Women Against Violence: An Australian Feminist Journal
no.7 Dec 1999: 32-41
There are many ways in which women experience violence
in the modern era: physically, sexually, psychologically,
culturally. For women with intellectual disabilities
these experiences tend to be compounded by additional
layers of violence and oppression linked to their
deviant status. Identity scholars claim that telling
our story alleviates some of the oppression encountered
by being 'other' in the dominant culture. This paper
explores the intersection of personal story and identity
formation for women with profound intellectual disabilities
nominating the failure of society to listen as the
primary violent act. (Journal abstract, edited)
Group interventions for separated parents in entrenched
conflict: an exploration of evidence-based frameworks.
McIntosh, Jennifer; Deacon-Wood, Helena B
Journal of Family Studies
v.9 no.2 Oct 2003: 187-199
This paper explores the nature of
enduring postseparation conflict between parents; it looks to a growing
body of research around group interventions designed to help parents move
on from entrenched dispute, toward a more constructive coparenting
relationship, in the interests of their children. Interventions range
from traditional education approaches to therapeutic and treatment
oriented models. Evidence regarding the impact of specific interventions
is reviewed, and while encouraging, the need for more flexible,
differentiated models emerges. Simultaneously, attention is drawn to the
need for increased research activity in this burgeoning area of dispute
resolution. (Journal abstract)
High conflict family court cases: working for the child's
best interests.
Read, L
Australian and New Zealand
Journal of Family Therapy v.24 no.2 Jun 2003: 95-101
High
levels of parental conflict in separated families can have a devastating
impact on children and their development. This paper describes the
challenges inherent in the notion of the best interests of the child in
high conflict cases. It proposes an ethical framework which can guide
family therapy work through the labyrinth of adult interest towards
solutions which promote the interests of these children. A case example
illustrates how this framework is put into clinical practice. (Journal abstract)
Marital conflict and adolescents.
Noller, P; Feeney, J
A; Peterson, C; Atkin, S
Family Matters no.55 Autumn 2000: 68-73,
and Online (PDF 385K)
Do adolescents respond differently to
marital conflict in the family according to whether or not the conflict
involves them? Are they able to distinguish between constructive and
destructive marital conflict? This article discusses a recent University
of Queensland Family Centre study that used an analogue methodology to
explore adolescents' reactions to marital conflict. Participants in the
Marital Conflict and Adolescents Analogue Study were from 55 intact
families with at least two adolescent children between the ages of 12 and
16. Discussion includes ratings of typicality, stressfulness, likelihood
of resolution, emotional reactions, behavioural reactions, sex
differences in adolescents' responses, and differences between parents'
and children's responses.
Marital conflict patterns: links with family conflict and
family members' perceptions of one another.
Noller, P;
Feeney, J A; Sheehan, G; Peterson, C
Personal Relationships v.7
no.1 2000: 79-94, tables
Little attention has been paid to
the effects of marital conflict on family members' perceptions of their
interactions, and little research undertaken into the effects of marital
conflict on children's interactions with their siblings. The aim of this
study is to explore the processes by which marital conflict patterns
affect other family relationships. This study looked at the effects of
marital conflict on conflict patterns in the family, and on family
members' perceptions of each other. In this study which involved two
parent families with adolescent twins, parents reported on conflict
patterns used by the parents, and by themselves, in interaction with each
of their twins. The adolescent twins reported on their interaction with
each other. Links were obtained between conflict patterns between
parents, and parent child conflict patterns, and between parent child
conflict patterns and those used in sibling relationships. The authors
found that marital conflict patterns were not related to sibling conflict
patterns. Links were found between marital conflict and fathers'
perceptions of their children, and between father child conflict and
children's perceptions of each other.
Outer conflict, inner discord: Australian children in
post-separation disputes.
McIntosh, Jennifer; Long,
Caroline
Health Issues no.84 Spring 2005: 22-25, figures
Research indicates that divorce can have an impact on the wellbeing of
the children concerned, particularly their mental health. This article
looks at baseline data on 111 Australian families gathered prior to their
participation in child-focused Family Law Mediation as part of an
on-going Australian study. Data gathered includes the nature of parents'
conflict, the strength of their parental alliance, and the psychological
functioning of their children at the beginning of the mediation process.
The larger study aims to establish which form of intervention has the
most benefits for families. (Journal abstract)
Parental marital quality and family conflict: longitudinal
effects on adolescents from divorcing and non-divorcing
families.
Burns, A; Dunlop, R
Journal of Divorce <
Remarriage v.37 no.1 - no.2 2002: 57-74, tables, figure
This
longitudinal study explores the theory that children of high conflict
parents who remain together and children of low conflict parents who
separate are comparatively more poorly adjusted as adults and less
successful in their adult intimate relationships. It also explores the
ability to predict these adolescents' adjustment from their reports of
family harmony. The subjects were interviewed at 13 to 16 years of age
and then ten years later. In the first stage of the study the parents and
adolescents rated family conflict, and the self image, anxiety and
depression of the adolescents were measured. In the second stage these
measures were repeated, and their feelings on intimacy and relationships
and family conflict were included.
The relationship between perceived marital conflict,
attitudes towards parents, and parenting styles experienced by
adolescents.
Tritt, Amber M; Pryor, Jan E
Journal of
Family Studies v.11 no.2 Oct 2005: 284-296, table, figure
This study investigated the relationships among marital conflict,
perceptions of parents, and parenting styles perceived by adolescents.
Subjects were 172 high school and university students aged 16 to 19
years. Subjects were given a questionnaire containing The Conflict Scale,
Parenting Styles Scale, and Perceptions of Parents Scale. Results
indicated that total marital conflict scores correlated with negative
perceptions of mothers and fathers and with authoritarian, neglectful,
and permissive parenting. Marital conflict correlated positively with
negative perceptions of mothers and fathers and negatively with positive
perceptions of parents. Mediational analyses revealed that neglectful
parenting was a partial and sometimes full mediator in the relationships
between perceived marital conflict and perceptions of parents. Neglect
was a full mediator in the relationship between perceived marital
conflict and both positive and negative perceptions of mothers. Neglect
was a partial mediator in the relationship between perceived marital
conflict and positive perceptions of fathers. This suggests that marital
conflict may be consuming parents' emotional resources, leading to
neglectful parenting and low support, which in turn contributes to
adolescents holding negative perceptions of parents. These findings might
contribute to education programs for addressing the negative effects of
marital conflict and its impact on the perceptions children hold of their
parents. Awareness of these influences may minimise the harmful family
relationship effects of marital conflict. (Journal abstract)