Within-family covariation between interparental hostility and
adolescent behavior across three interactions over a 2-year period was
explored in a sample that included 37 typical adolescents and 35
adolescents recently hospitalized for psychiatric difficulties. More
interparental hostility across the three interactions was associated with
more adolescent hostility and more positive engagement (at a
trend level) regardless of psychiatric background. Parent-to-child
hostility in each interaction mediated the link for adolescent hostility
but not for positive adolescent engagement. Emotion regulation capacities
and age were linked to variability in adolescents' behavior in the
presence of interparental conflict. In interactions with more
interparental hostility, adolescents with greater capacity to tolerate
negative affect were more likely to show increased positive engagement,
and adolescents who were better able to modulate their emotional
expression were less likely to show increased hostility. Covariation
between interparental and adolescent hostility across the three family
interactions decreased as the adolescent aged. These findings are
consistent with the theory that exposure to interparental hostility is
emotionally disequilibrating, and that adolescent responses may reflect
differences in emotion regulation and other developmentally based
capacities. Gender and variations across families in overall levels of
hostile parenting were also linked with adolescent behavior in the
presence of interparental hostility.This
research was supported, in part, by a grant from the National Institute of
Mental Health (RO1 MH 4493). The authors thank J. Heidi
Gralinski–Bakker and Rebecca Billings for their valuable assistance
with this research.