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Interparental aggression, attention skills, and early childhood behavior problems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 April 2011

Nissa R. Towe-Goodman ,
Cynthia A. Stifter ,
Michael A. Coccia  and
Martha J. Cox
Nissa R. Towe-Goodman*
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Cynthia A. Stifter
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
Michael A. Coccia
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
Martha J. Cox
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Nissa Towe-Goodman, Center for Developmental Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 100 East Franklin Street, Suite 200, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8115; E-mail: Nissa_Towe-Goodman@unc.edu.
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Abstract

The current study explored longitudinal associations between interparental aggression, the development of child attention skills, and early childhood behavior problems in a diverse sample of 636 families living in predominately low-income, nonmetropolitan communities. The results of latent-variable, cross-lagged longitudinal models revealed that maternal-reported interparental aggression in infancy predicted reduced observed attention skills in toddlerhood; no association was observed, however, between attention in infancy and interparental aggression during the toddler years. Further, reduced toddler attention and high interparental aggression were both associated with increased risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms and conduct problems at 3 years of age. Processes largely operated in similar ways regardless of child gender or low-income status, although a few differences were observed. Overall, the results suggest that interparental aggression undermines attention development, putting children's early behavioral adjustment at risk.

Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , May 2011 , pp. 563 - 576
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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