Family Structure, Divorce and Parental Conflict as Predictors of Social-Emotional Difficulties in Early Childhood

Judit Monostori , Institute for Quantitative Population and Economic Research - Hungarian Demographic Research Institute - HDRI
Laura Szabo, Institute for Quantitative Population and Economic Research – Hungarian Demographic Research Institute (HDRI)

Children's outcomes are strongly influenced by family background factors, such as living with biological parents and the quality of parental relationships. Although there is extensive literature on the effects of not living with both biological parent and parental conflict on child development, fewer studies examined how these factors interact. Our study addresses this gap by investigating whether children experience more socio-emotional difficulties in early childhood if they are exposed to parental conflict or if they live apart from both biological parents. The study is framed within conflict theory, the family as a system and attachment theory. Our data come from the nationally representative, longitudinal Cohort’ 18 – Hungarian Birth Cohort Study (2017–2024). The dependent variable is children's social and emotional difficulties at age 3 using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Explanatory variables are family structure and parental conflicts over time. We applied bivariate and multivariate regression analyses, controlling for several covariates and calculating the relative risks of SDQ problems. Our analysis confirms that children facing the highest risk of social and emotional difficulties are those who have experienced interparental conflict. Conversely, children of divorced parents with a harmonious relationship are at a lower risk than children of parents living together with high conflict. These findings suggest that the conflictual nature of the parental relationship has a stronger influence on children’s socio-emotional difficulties than whether or not the parents live together. Therefore, it seems that the conflict theory offers a more relevant interpretive framework than the 'family as a system' perspective.

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 Presented in Session 53. Family, Wellbeing and Health