Examining the Relationships among Chidlren´s Emotional Security, Parent Marital Conflict Coping, and Undermining of Parenting Alliance of Elementary School Students Author:林惠雅(Huey-Ya Lin)
Research Article
The aims of the present study were to identify children’s emotional security patterns and to examine its relationships with parents’ marital conflict coping strategies, and u ndermining of parenting alliance. Participants were 398 families, including 5th and 6th graders and their parents. Results indicated that children’s emotional security patterns could be identified as “security pattern,” “preoccupied pattern,” and “dismissing pattern.” Fathers with children in “security pattern” reported higher level of “positive reaction” strategy when coping with marital conflict. Fathers with children in “preoccupied pattern” reported highest level of “argument” strategy and highest level of undermining of parenting alliance whereas fathers with children in “security pattern” reported lowest levels of these two aspects. Fathers with children in “preoccupied pattern” and in “dismissing pattern” reported high levels of “self-blamed,” “escaping from conflict,” and “self-interested” strategies; however, there was no significant differences between fathers with children in these two patterns. Mothers with children in “security pattern” reported higher level of “positive reaction” strategy whereas mothers with children in “preoccupied pattern” reported lowest level of this strategy. Mothers with children in “preoccupied pattern” reported highest levels of “argument” and “self-blamed” strategies and undermining of parenting alliance, and mothers with children in “security pattern” reported lowest levels of these two strategies. Moreover, mothers with children in “preoccupied pattern” reported highest level of “escaping from conflict,” and mothers with children in “security pattern” reported lowest level of “self-blamed” strategies.