We expect that the children who are frequently exposed to high levels of parental conflict experience high arousal levels and can't really figure out what's happening at an emotional level. If future research confirms Silverman's initial findings, he believes that several new therapeutic approaches might be developed to help children and their families. One approach would be to work with families, especially parents, to reduce parental strife in high-conflict families. Another would be to teach children directly about conflicting emotions, because their understanding acts as a buffer to the effects of family conflict. And I believe that what we'll learn will be valuable and useful.
All families argue.
If I can contribute to an understanding of what that arguing does to children's emotional understanding and psychological adjustment, I'll be happy. M Kim Anderson is the administrator for the Missoula Writing Collaborative.