Parental Conflict Severely Impacts Child's Health

Frequent conflicts between parents can take a toll on the child's health.

Researchers from the Auburn University and the Catholic University of America put forward more evidence to prove this point. According to them, children who are exposed to frequent fights between their parents are more likely to experience stress, which further leads to a negative impact on their stress response system.

To analyze the importance of a healthy environment during childhood in having a healthy growth, researchers included 251 children and their parents.

Researchers interviewed the children at age 8 about the relationship between their parents, including incidences and intensity of parental conflict. Later, they measured respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) or a naturally-occurring variation in heart rate. A high RSA shows flexibility and health, while a low RSA indicates the risk of exposure to stress and diseases.

Using the RSA patterns, researchers examined the children's ability to control attention and emotion. The participants also underwent tests at ages 8, 9 and 10 that checked their ability to solve problems fast, and the ability to grasp patterns at a completely new background.

Children exposed to more marital conflict at age 8 had a low RSA at age 9, and had a very slow mental and intellectual ability.

"The findings provide further evidence that stress affects the development of the body's stress response systems that help regulate attention, and that how these systems work is tied to the development of cognitive ability," J. Benjamin Hinnant, assistant professor of psychology at the Catholic University of America and one of the researchers, said in a news release.

The study has been published in the journal Child Development.

This is not the first study to highlight the negative impact of exposure to parental conflict at a young age. In June 2012, a team of researchers from the University of Notre Dame found that children who are exposed to parental conflicts during the kindergarten years become emotionally insecure and are at higher risks of many psychological problems, including depression, anxiety and behavioral problems as teenagers.

Another study reported Feb. 4 in JAMA Pediatrics found that children who are exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) or maternal depression from birth to 3 years of age are more likely to be diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by the time they enter pre-school.