Emotional Effects

Emotional Effects

Sadness

One of the negative emotional outcomes experienced by children and youth exposed to parental conflict is the emotion of sadness. A number of studies have suggested that background anger, which is just a term used to describe anger between adults, furthers negative feelings in children. Children may cry, be very upset and may sit still for a long period of time, as indicated by research showing that in response to background anger “the following overt motor responses may occur: crying, freezing, facial distress”(Cummings and Davies,1994). This also called the concerned pattern, the most common, adaptive method of the three basic ways children cope with background anger, the others being: angry/ambivalent, and unresponsive. They have also reported feeling sadness for the arguing adults as well as wishing they could help in some way. However, even children who are angry/ambivalent still show signs of sadness, like crying for example. (Cummings & Davies, 1994). The level of intensity in arguments between parents has also been shown to be linked to an increase in sadness, concern, and helplessness in children as well as to higher levels of behaviour problems (Lindahl). Conflict shows that parents are often preoccupied with other matters. With the parents arguing they are obviously not focused on the child. With this the child feels neglected and unimportant. This can be confusing, frightening and very sad for children. (Fanselow-Brown). The reason for this is that children need to feel their parents are focused on them as much as necessary so they feel safe and cared for.

Anxiety

Children who witness constant conflict between their parents also have the feeling of anxiety or anxiousness. When a child sens...

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...) and the other from abused woman shelters (145 ten- to twelve-year-olds). Some studies have looked at children’s self-reporting, where children describe feelings of guilt, shame, or worry in some situations, especially when the parental conflicts have to do with the behaviour of the children (Grych, H.J., &Fincham, D.F., &Jouriles, N.E., Renee, M). This is important data because it is the children themselves who are describe how it feels to be exposed to marital conflict.

The consequences for children who are exposed to situations of high conflict may not be detected right away. The experiences children go through during childhood build “the brain and brain’s reactivity of the stress system “and the damaging effects of this may not be seen until a lot later in life says Dr. Jean Clinton.

Background anger causes distress and anxiety in children.