Children's understanding of marital conflict and the marital relationship was investigated in
60 children of 5, 7, and 9 years old. Age differences were hypothesized in four areas of
children's understanding of marital conflict and the marital relationship, based on the
development between 5 and 9 years of age of children's abilities to (a) analyse complex
sequences of behavior in terms of the mental states of protagonists and (b) integrate multiple
social roles. The four areas investigated were: conceptions of marital conflict, conflict
resolution, family triangulation, and integration of the spousal and parental roles. Children
were read stories involving family interactions. Open-ended questions were asked about their
understanding of these interactions and a coding scheme was devised that reflected
theoretical concepts. Nine-year-olds differed from 5-year-olds on all aspects of their
understanding of marital conflict and the marital relationship, and 7-year-olds showed levels
of understanding between 5- and 9-year-olds. Younger children were less likely than older
children to explain marital conflict in terms of the divergent goals of each parent, to
understand conflict resolution as dependent on one person changing their beliefs or goals, to
understand that parents were simultaneously spouses and parents and to understand the
nature of triangulation. Marital conflict is interpreted very differently by children of different
ages.