Links Between Parental Psychological Violence,

Other Family Disturbances, and Childrens

Adjustment
MARIE-HELENE GAGNEw
SYLVIE DRAPEAUw
CLAUDIANE MELANC
ONw
MARIE-CHRISTINE SAINT-JACQUESw
RACHEL LEPINEw

In a sample of 143 parent-child dyads from two-parent and separated families, this
investigation documented the links between parental psychological violence and separation or divorce, severity of parental conflict, triangulation of the child in this conflict, and
polarized parent-child alliances. The unique and combined contributions of all these
variables to childrens behavior problems were also assessed. Participants were parents,
mostly mothers, and their 1012-year-old child. They were recruited through schools,
community organizations, and newspapers. Questionnaires were administered at home.
Findings suggest that separated families undergo more relational disturbances than twoparent families (more severe conflicts, more triangulation, stronger parent-child alliances), but the amount of parental psychological violence was similar in both groups.
Psychological violence was associated with the severity of parental conflict, especially in
two-parent families. Triangulation of the child in parental conflict was another correlate
of psychological violence. Once all variables were controlled for, psychological violence
remained the only significant correlate of childrens externalized behavior problems.
These findings raise the importance of preventing psychological violence toward children,
especially in families plagued with severe parental conflicts.
Keywords: Emotional Abuse; Psychological Violence; Parental Separation; Divorce;
Family; Pre-Adolescents
Fam Proc 46:523542, 2007
wResearch Centre for At-Risk Youths & Families Adjustment, Laval University, Quebec City, Quebec,
Canada.
Marie-Hele`ne Gagne and Claudiane Melancon are at the School of Psychology; Sylvie Drapeau is at the
Faculty of Education; and Marie-Christine Saint-Jacques is at the School of Social work.
This research was granted by the Quebec Fund for Research on Society and Culture [Fonds quebecois de
recherche sur la societe et la culture], Quebec City (Quebec), Canada.
We thank Hans Ivers for statistical support, and the team of interviewers.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Marie-Hele`ne Gagne, associate

professor, School of Psychology, Laval University, Quebec City (Quebec), Canada, G1K 7P4. E-mail:
marie-helene.gagne@psy.ulaval.ca
523

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arental psychological violence is an elusive concept, challenging researchers as

well as practitioners. No definition has elicited consensus. Moreover, measurement issues hinder research development. Nevertheless, a growing number of studies
suggest that this is a widespread problem in the general population. Both psychological aggression (occasional and/or minor yelling, cursing, threatening, or name
calling; see Straus, Hamby, Finkelhor, Moore, & Runyan, 1998) and psychological
abuse or maltreatment (repeated and/or severe spurning, terrorizing, isolating, exploiting/corrupting, and denying emotional responsiveness; see Hart, Binggeli, &
Brassard, 1998) have been associated with, or are predictive of, developmental and
adjustment problems (Belsky, 1991; Claussen & Crittenden, 1991; Johnson et al.,
2001). However, few researches have documented the links between parental psychological violence and other family disturbances. Moreover, none of the reviewed
studies assessed the specific contribution of psychological violence to childhood behavior problems while controlling for other family disturbances that are also recognized as risk factors for childrens adjustment. The present investigation will
contribute to filling in this gap, while focusing on parental psychologically violent
practices that are not necessarily abusive.

Prevalence of Parental Psychological Violence in Community Samples

A recent population survey carried out in the United States with a representative
sample of children and youths ages 217 years estimated the prevalence of psychological/emotional abuse at 103/1,000 (Finkelhor, Ormrod, Turner, & Hamby, 2005).
In this survey, abuse occurred when an adult scared, or made a child feel really bad,
by name calling, saying mean things or saying they didnt want the child (p. 23) and
was measured by a single item.
Surveys using the well-known Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales (PCCTS: Straus
et al., 1998) provide much higher proportions. For instance, 88.6% of American children and 80.0% of Quebec children aged from 0 to 17 years (representative samples)
are psychologically assaulted at least once a year by a caregiver (Clement,
Chamberland, Cote, Dubeau, & Beauvais, 2005; Straus & Field, 2003). Typically in
such surveys, what authors call severe aggression (swearing or cursing, name
calling, and threatening to kick the child out of the house) is less prevalent than what
they call minor aggression (shouting, yelling, screaming, and threatening to spank),
and repeated patterns of aggression are less prevalent than occasional occurrences. In
addition, older children and adolescents are the most frequent victims, especially
regarding severe and chronic aggression.

Family Factors Associated With Psychological Violence

It is well established that domestic violence may precede or accompany all forms of
child abuse, including psychological violence (Madu, Idemudia, & Jegede, 2003;
McGuigan & Pratt, 2001; Tajima, 2000, 2002; Windham et al., 2004). It might also be the
case of parental conflict (Lesnik-Oberstein, Koers, & Cohen, 1995; Mullen, Martin,
Anderson, Romans, & Herbison, 1996). Children themselves attribute their psychological victimization to their parents marital problems (Ney, Fung, & Wickett, 1994). Some
qualitative studies have illustrated interactive and functional family dynamics that raise
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the risk of psychological violence to children (Gagne & Bouchard, 2004; Malo, Moreau,
Chamberland, Leveille, & Roy, 2004; Paavilainen & Astedt Kurki, 2003). Conflict between family members is a core component of these dynamics, a finding supported by the
epidemiological study of Menard, Bandeen Roche, and Chilcoat (2004).
Some researches have linked psychological violence against children to divorce,
parents separation, or family reconstitution (Higgins & McCabe, 1998, 2003; Menard
et al., 2004; Mullen et al., 1996; Ney, 1987). The pioneer exploratory study of Preston
(1986) conducted with 98 families in the process of parental separation estimated that
50% of these families exhibited moderate to severe psychological violence or neglect
toward children. Preston concluded that divorce and separation provide a favorable
ground for psychological violence to occur (see also Klosinsky, 1993). Another study
using a sample of 80 mothers who were victims of domestic violence and their 711year-old children suggested that stepfathers are more verbally abusive toward children than are biological/adoptive fathers and that children fear them more (Sullivan,
Bybee, Juras, Nguyen, & Allen, 2000). However, this finding may not generalize to
stepfamilies exempt from domestic violence.
This being said, some authors argue that family structure per se (single-parent
family or stepfamily) should not be considered a risk factor for psychological violence.
For instance, the 1999 Quebec Children and Adolescent Social & Health Survey
showed no significant link between abusive parental control and family structure at
ages 9, 13, or 16 (Bellerose, Cadieux, & Noel, 2002). The literature on risk factors for
psychological abuse reviewed by Black, Smith Slep, and Heyman (2001) supports this
finding. These authors, rather, believe that risk factors lie in disturbed family processes often inherent in family disruption.
In Quebec, the number of two-parent families, married or not, has decreased constantly in the last 20 years. The proportion dropped from 80.9% in 1987 to 66.1% in 2004
(Institut de la statistique du Quebec, 2001, 2004). Previous research suggests that one
quarter to one third of separated families are characterized by severe and persistent
parental conflict (Emery, 1999; Maccoby & Mnoonkin, 1992). Because these conflicts are
typically child orientedFcustody arrangements, visits, financial support, educational
styles, and so on (Garrity & Baris, 1994; Maccoby & Mnoonkin; Maccoby, Buchanan,
Mnoonkin, & Dornbush, 1993)Fchildren may be involved and sustain pressures from
both parents to take a side or to play the role of a spy or messenger. This phenomenon is
labeled triangulation (Grych & Fincham, 1993; Grych, Seid, & Fincham, 1992). To avoid
loyalty conflict or elicit mutual support in the aftermath of separation, some children
may forge an alliance with one parent (Kelly & Johnston, 2001; Wallerstein, Lewis, &
Blakeslee, 2000). Such alliances may be transitory and reversible (Bruch, 2001), but
some are very strong and imply rejection of the other parent (Johnston & Roseby, 1997).
In such cases, the relationship between the child and the rejected parent may suffer, and
the child may be deprived of a crucial developmental pillar.
In the present investigation, the severity of parental conflict, the childs feelings of
triangulation, and the strength of the parent-child alliance will be considered as indicators of family disturbances in separated and two-parent families.

Childrens Adjustment
Psychological violence, family disruptions, and characteristics of parental conflict
have all been associated with a greater risk of developing adjustment problems in
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childhood and adolescence. Literature reviews about the effects of psychological violence on children suggest that all spheres of development and mental health might be
affected and that these deleterious effects may be carried into adolescence and
adulthood (Gagne, 2001; Sneddon, 2003). Internalized and externalized behavior
problems are among the most consistently associated problems with parents
psychologically violent or abusive practices (Bagley & Mallick, 2000; Glaser, Prior,
& Lynch, 2001; Higgins & McCabe, 1998, 2003; Locke & Newcomb, 2005; Moran,
Vuchinich, & Hall, 2004; Sebre et al., 2004).
It is also a well-known fact that more children who have gone through the divorce or
separation of their parents display adjustment problems than do their two-parent
family counterparts (Amato, 2000). According to Hetherington, Bridges, and Insabella
(1998), 20%25% of children from separated families have adjustment problems, as
compared with 10% of children from two-parent families. Studies suggest that both
separation per se and the level of parental conflict have a unique contribution to
childrens adjustment problems (Booth & Amato, 2001; Hanson, 1999; Jekielek, 1998;
Morrison & Coiro, 1999; Perris & Emery, 2004). Yet, persistent postseparation conflicts that make children feel caught between their parents are associated with more
difficulties in the context of family disruption (Buchanan & Heiges, 2001; Dunn,
OConnor, & Cheng, 2005; Hetherington, 1999; Maccoby et al., 1993). However, the
negative impact of parent-child alliances on childrens adjustment is yet to be demonstrated. This issue is part of the debate over parental alienation, a so-called syndrome describing the childs unjustified rejection of one parent, usually under the
influence of the other parent in the context of separation or divorce (Gardner, 1998;
Kelly & Johnston, 2001; Warshak, 2001).

Objectives and Hypotheses

Using a sample of parent-child dyads from two-parent and separated families, this
investigation aims to document the links between parental psychological violence,
separation or divorce, severity of parental conflict, triangulation of the child in this
conflict, and polarized parent-child alliances. Childs gender will also be taken into
account, for girls and boys may react differently to psychological violence (Higgins &
McCabe, 2003; Morimoto & Sharma, 2004). Once all these family disturbances are
controlled for, the strength of the link between psychological violence and childrens
internalized and externalized behavior problems will be estimated.
Preliminary objectives consist of verifying (1) whether children from separated
families differ from their two-parent family counterparts on all other variables,
(2) whether girls and boys differ on all variables, and (3) bivariate associations between all variables. Core objectives consist of (4) identifying which family disturbances predict the score of parental psychological violence and (5) determining if
psychological violence is associated with behavior problems in children while other
perturbations of family relations are controlled for. Based on preliminary findings,
family structure and the childs gender will be controlled for if necessary. Two hypotheses are formulated: (1) severity of parental conflict, triangulation of the child,
and a polarized parent-child alliance will contribute significantly to predicting psychological violence to children in two-parent and in separated families, and (2) psychological violence will have a unique, significant contribution to childrens
externalized and internalized behavior problems.
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METHOD

Participants
Total sample and sampling method
The total sample included 265 parent-child dyads. All participants were French
speaking (80% of Quebecs population is), and the area of recruitment was characterized by a homogeneous Caucasian population. Children were girls and boys between 8 and 12 years of age. This age group was targeted because these children are
capable of reporting their experience directly and reliably but have not yet entered
adolescence, a developmental stage that has a strong impact on family dynamics and
the parent-child relationship. A childs age is known to moderate the link between
family disturbances and the childs adjustment; this is why this study focused on a
specific age group.
This nonprobabilistic sample was originally designed to compare children on the
basis of family structure (two-parent vs. separated families). For this purpose, children from separated families1 were oversampled: They represent 46% of the sample.
Inclusion criteria for separated families were that (1) parents separation occurred
less than 3 years before (the level of parental conflict is usually the highest during the
years following separation; time is needed for families to recover from disruption), and
(2) child custody was given to the mother.2 However, these criteria were loosened in
the course of the study to attain the desired sample size. The final sample includes
families who experienced separation up to 5 years before. One out of four children
lives in shared custody, and a few live primarily with their father. Because of the small
sample size, these situations had to be treated as one group only in data analyses.
Young participants and their parents were recruited through 53 primary schools
from the Quebec City urban and suburban areas, three community organizations
devoted to separated parents, and ads placed in local and regional newspapers. It is
estimated that more than 11,000 children and their families were solicited between
October 2003 and March 2005, in addition to those who were exposed to advertisements in the media. Those who volunteered to participate completed and signed a
registration form and returned it to the research coordinator.3
Study subsample
This investigation used a subsample of 143 children 1012 years old, M 11.0,
SD 0.71, for younger participants did not answer the questions about psychological
violence. All children were in fourth, fifth, or sixth grade at school, except for one who
1

No difference was made between separation and divorce in this study, for two reasons. First,
divorce is a legal status, while separation involves family processes that are thought to impact
childrens adjustment. Moreover, cohabiting parents dont divorce; in Quebec, the latest census
data showed that 1 of 3 children from two-parent families live with nonmarried parents. This
family arrangement is frequent and largely accepted culturally.
2
Although this latter criterion overshadows the diversity of postseparation family arrangements,
it was meant to control the influence of this variable by keeping it constant. Indeed, a much larger
sample would have been required to account for various family contexts and structures, and this
was not feasible in the context of this particular study.
3
Although this self-selected sampling method might introduce a selection bias, it allowed recruiting the two-parent and the separated families through the same settings. This procedure is
commonly used in current research on parental separation or divorce in nonclinical populations.

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was in third grade. Seventy-five children (52.4%) lived with both parents who had
been married or were cohabiting for an average of 16.8 years, SD 3.46. This group
included 68 mother-child dyads, 5 father-child dyads, and 2 unidentified dyads
(missing data). The remaining 68 children (47.6%) experienced parental separation or
divorce 2.7 years before, on average, SD 1.63. This group included 61 mother-child
dyads and 7 father-child dyads. Among separated parents, 22.1% reported living with
a new partner. This relationship had been ongoing for 1.9 years on average, SD 1.70.
Characteristics of the two groups are described in Table 1

Material
Data from children and parents were collected by questionnaire. All measures were
selected on the basis of their conceptual and psychometric properties.
Childrens questionnaire
The questionnaire designed for children included questions about frequency of parental psychological violence, perceived characteristics of parental conflict, and
quality of the childs relationship with both parents, among others.
Psychological violence was measured with the excessive harshness scale of the
Psychologically Violent Parenting Practices Inventory (PVPPI; Gagne, Lavoie, &
Fortin, 2003). This scale includes 22 items referring to day-to-day psychological violence, including lack of attention, interest, or respect, constant blaming, excessive
punishment, and excessive restriction or control over activities and social contacts.
The other PVPPI scale, parental disorganization, refers to more severe terrorizing,
rejecting, or neglectful behaviors seldom occurring in the general population. For
ethical purposes, the decision was made to exclude these items. Items were presented
as a list of things parents might do when they are angry, tired, or for any other
reason, and the word parents means all the adults who live with you and who are
responsible for you in your everyday life. Respondents indicated the annual frequency of each behavior on a 4-point scale: 0 never happened; 1 happened once or
twice; 2 happened more than twice, but not regularly; 3 happened regularly, many
times a month. The construct was addressed globally, not separately for mothers,
fathers, and other parental figures. Responses were summed up to obtain a score. This
scale possesses very good content validity and internal consistency (alpha .89), and
emerging evidence of construct validity in terms of factorial structure, convergence
with other scales measuring similar constructs, and significant correlations with adjustment and relational problems. In the present study sample, the internal consistency coefficient was .88.
Perceived characteristics of parental conflict were measured with a French translation of the Childrens Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale (CPICS: Grych,
Fincham, Jouriles, & McDonald, 2000; Grych et al., 1992). This measure, designed for
children 814 years of age, contains 51 items distributed among nine subscales. Each
subscale refers to a specific dimension of parental conflict or the childs interpretation
of this conflict. Items are answered using a 3-point Likert scale: true, sort of true, and
false. The scores are calculated by adding all item responses. Depending on the
scale, test-retest reliability within a 2-week delay varies between .68 and .76.
Internal consistency varies between .78 and .90. Indices of convergent validity are
also provided.
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TABLE 1
Characteristics of the Sample

Two-Parent
Families
n 75
Characteristic
Childs Gender
Female
Male
Respondents Education
High school or less
Higher education
Missing
Respondents Occupation
Full-time work
Part-time work
Household work
Othera
Missing
Partners Education
High school or less
Higher education
No partner
Missing
Partners occupation
Full-time work
Part-time work
Household work
Other
No partner
Missing
Family Income
Less than $20 000
$20 000$29 999
$30 000$39 999
$40 000$49 999
$50 000$59 999
$60 000$69 999
$70 000 or more
Dont know
Missing

Separated
Families
n 68

Total N 143

42
33

56.0
44.0

40
28

58.8
41.2

82
61

57.3
42.7

21
52
2

28.8
71.2
F

26
42
F

38.3
61.8
F

47
94
2

33.3
66.7
F

42
15
11
5
2

56.0
20.0
14.7
6.9
F

43
12
5
8
F

63.2
17.6
7.4
11.7
F

85
27
16
13
2

60.3
19.1
11.3
9.1
F

28
45
F
2

38.4
61.6
F
F

8
7
53
F

53.3
46.7
F
F

36
52
53
2

40.9
59.1
F
F

66
4
1
2
F
2

90.4
5.5
1.4
2.7
F
F

12
1
0
2
53
F

80.0
6.7
0
13.4
F
F

79
5
1
4
53
2

88.6
5.7
1.1
4.5
F
F

1
4
5
5
13
8
35
2
2

1.4
5.5
6.8
6.8
17.8
11.0
47.9
2.7
F

14
9
14
11
9
3
2
1
5

22.2
14.3
22.2
17.5
14.3
4.8
3.2
1.6
F

15
13
19
16
22
11
37
3
7

11.0
9.6
14.0
11.8
16.2
8.1
27.2
2.2
F

a
Includes parents or spouses who are students (with or without a job), on sick leave or maternity
leave, or on disability.
Note: The two groups were equivalent with regard to childs gender, respondents education, and
respondents occupation. However, they differed significantly on family income, with separated
families being poorer than two-parent families, t81 2.4, p .017.

Because of its small sample size, the present study had to limit the number of
variables used in analyses. This is why only three CPICS subscales were used: frequency of conflict, intensity of conflict, and triangulation (e.g., childs involvement in
parental conflict). These scales were selected on the basis of their internal consistency
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FAMILY PROCESS

and of their relevance for the studys objectives and hypotheses. Because frequency
and intensity scores were highly correlated, r .67, p .000, they were merged to
obtain a single severity of conflict score. In addition, one triangulation item was excluded from the score because it affected internal consistency negatively.4 For severity
of conflict and triangulation scores, respectively, internal consistency coefficients were
.87 (13 items) and .63 (four items).
Finally, the quality of the parent-child relationship was measured with French
translations of the attitudes toward the mother and the attitudes toward the father
scales of the Clinical Assessment Package (Giuli & Hudson, 1977). Despite their titles,
these scales do not really measure attitudes, but rather relationship problems between
the child and each of his or her parents. Each instrument includes 25 items that are
answered on a 5-point frequency scale ranging from seldom or never to most of the time
or always. The same questions are asked for mother-child and father-child relationships. The scores are calculated by adding all item responses: The higher the score, the
poorer the parent-child relationship. Although these scales were originally designed
for children aged 12 or older, they have already been used with children as young as
9 (Pauze, Toupin, & Dery, 2000). Hudson (1982a, 1982b) reported high internal
consistency coefficients for both measures (.94 and .95). In the present study, these
coefficients reached .90 and .94.
For the purpose of the present study, the score reflecting the quality of father-child
relationship was subtracted from the score reflecting the quality of mother-child relationship. The distribution of absolute values obtained from this subtraction was
used as a proxy measure for parent-child alliance: The higher the score, the stronger
the childs preference for one of his or her parents. This strategy was inspired by
Grych, Raynor, and Fosco (2004).
Parents questionnaire
The parent was questioned about demographics, including many questions about
evolution of family structure and composition. Among others, the parent answered the
Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1991) to assess their childs potential adaptation problems. The CBCL includes 113 items referring to problematic behaviors that
may be displayed by 418-year-old youngsters. Referring to the last 6 months, the
parent must indicate if each item is false, more or less true, or always/often true. The
CBCL is one of the most widely used instruments to measure internalized (withdrawal, somatic symptoms, and anxiety/depression) and externalized (delinquency,
aggression) behavior problems in children; it has been validated through its use
in numerous researches. It possesses excellent test-retest reliability within a 7-day
period (.93), and the interparents correlation is .76.

Procedures
On the basis of information provided with the registration form, volunteer parents
were contacted by telephone to verify if inclusion criteria were met and to make sure
that the parent and the child still agreed to participate. The registration form played
the role of an informed consent form: It contained information about research
4

I dont feel like I have to take sides when my parents have a disagreement.

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objectives, participation implications, potential risks and benefits, and confidentiality

issues. The questionnaires were administered at home. The child answered his or her
questionnaire in presence of a trained interviewer, whereas the parent answered his
or her questionnaire alone in another room. On average, this procedure took 3045
minutes for children and 2530 minutes for parents. Once the questionnaires were
handed back to the interviewer, the child received a $5 gift for his or her participation.
The Laval University IRB approved these procedures (#77109FSeptember 30,
2004).

Data Analyses
Frequencies were examined, and the few missing data on behavior problems (n 2)
and psychological violence (n 5) were imputed with the expected maximization
technique (Roth, 1994). After examination of distributions, descriptive statistics, and
Mahalanobis distances for all variables, 7 participants were identified as univariate
and/or multivariate outliers: 3 girls (1 from a two-parent family and 2 from a separated family) and 4 boys (2 from a two-parent family and 2 from a separated family).
These participants were excluded from further analyses.5
A factorial multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) 2 (family structure)
2
(child gender) using the Hotellings criterion and post hoc Students t tests correcting
for inequality of variances was performed to identify group differences on six dependent variables: parental psychological violence, severity of parental conflict, triangulation of the child in this conflict, alliance with a parent, internalized behavior
problems, and externalized behavior problems. MANOVA effect sizes were estimated
with partial eta-squared (Z2; Stevens, 1990).6 Then, the correlation matrix between
the same variables was calculated to estimate the strength of their interrelations and
to avoid potential multicollinearity in further regression analyses. Finally, three sequential multiple regression analyses were performed. The first one allowed identification of family factors most strongly associated with parental psychological
violence. Two participants with standardized residuals greater than 3 were excluded
from this analysis. The second and third regressions aimed at specifying the unique
contribution of parental psychological violence to internalized and externalized
behavior problems, whereas various dimensions of parental conflict and family
characteristics were controlled for. Multiple regression is an appropriate technique
to estimate the degree of relationship between a continuous dependent variable
(DV) and many independent variables (IVs) that can be interrelated to some extent. It
also indicates the relative importance of each IV to predict DV (Tabachnick & Fidell,
2001).
All analyses were performed with SPSS 12.0. Regressions used the standard
method and the pairwise option. Collinearity statistics showed appropriate
tolerance levels for each predictor and residuals showed normality, linearity, and
homoscedasticity.

This methodological choice favors more conservative findings and interpretation. Given the
small sample size, outliers could have a strong impact on the results and lead researchers to
overestimate the links between variables.
6
Effect size is large when Z2 .14, medium when Z2 .06, and small when Z2 .01.

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FAMILY PROCESS

RESULTS

Descriptive Statistics and Group Differences

The 2
2 MANOVA indicated a significant main effect of family structure on the
combination the dependent variables, F(6, 127) 5.54, p .000. Effect size is large,
Z2 .21, and observed power is 99.6%. Post hoc t tests showed that children from separated families report more severe parental conflict, more triangulation in that conflict,
and more intense alliances with one of their parents as compared with children from twoparent families. It is noteworthy that the mean scores of parental psychological violence,
as well as internalized and externalized behavior problems, were similar in both groups.
The main effect of the childs gender on the combination of dependant variables was
also significant, F(6, 127) 2.28, p .040, but with moderate effect size, Z2 .10.
Observed power is 77.8%. Post hoc t tests showed that parents report more internalized behavior problems in boys. Moreover, boys tend to report more psychologically
violent parental practices and more intense alliances with one of their parents than
girls. The level of parental conflict, triangulation, and externalized behavior problems
was similar for both genders.
Finally, the interaction effect Family Structure
Childs Gender on the combination of dependant variables is marginally significant, F(6, 127) 2.16, p .051, with a
moderate effect size, Z2 .09. Observed power is 75.2%. In separated families, boys
report more triangulation and more pronounced alliances than girls; this is not the
case in two-parent families. Moreover, in two-parent families, parents report more
externalized behavior problems in boys; this is not the case in separated families.
Table 2 displays descriptive statistics and post hoc t-test results.

Correlations
The correlation matrix between variables of interest is presented in Table 3.
Findings suggest that severity of parental conflict, triangulation, alliance, and
TABLE 2
Descriptive Statistics and Mean Differences (t) as a Function of Family Structure and Childs Gender

Family Structure
Biparental
(n 72)

Sever.con.
Triangul.
Alliance
Psych.vio.
Extern.B.P.
Intern.B.P.

Childs Gender

Separated
(n 64)

Girls
(n 79)

Total

Boys
(n 57)

N 136

ET

ET

ET

ET

ET

6.2a
0.8b
6.1c
6.8
52.0
58.1

4.6
1.1
6.1
5.6
8.7
9.2

9.9a
1.5b
10.0c
5.5
52.0
58.3

6.3
1.7
10.1
4.6
8.8
9.6

7.9
1.0
6.7d
5.4e
51.0
56.6f

5.3
1.2
7.3
4.8
9.0
8.9

8.0
1.4
9.7d
7.2e
53.3
60.4f

6.4
1.7
9.6
5.6
8.1
9.6

7.9
1.2
7.9
6.2
52.0
58.2

5.7
1.4
8.5
5.2
8.7
9.3

t (134)  3.87, p .000 (corrected for inequality of variances).

t (134)  9.93, p .004 (corrected for inequality of variances).
c
t (134)  2.73, p .007 (corrected for inequality of variances).
d
t (134)  1.97, p .051 (corrected for inequality of variances).
e
t (134)  1.94, p .054.
f
t (134)  2.35, p .020.
b

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TABLE 3
Correlation Matrix (N 136)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
n

Sever. conf.
Triangulation
Alliance
Psych. vio.
Extern. B.P.
Intern. B.P.

po.05.

nn

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

.51 n n
.28 n n
.17 n
.11
.23 n n

.36 n n
.25 n n
.08
.18 n

.22 n n
.22 n n
.19 n

.39 n n
.08

.50 n n

6.

po.01.

psychologically violent parental practices are interrelated at a bivariate level. All

correlations are significant, although of modest strength. The strongest link is between severity of parental conflict and triangulation (r .51). Behavior problems also
show many significant correlations with relational variables, the strongest relation
linking externalized problems and parental psychological violence (r .39). Finally,
internalized and externalized behavior problems are moderately interrelated (r .50).
To detect potential interactions between family structure and childs gender on the
one hand, and relational variables on the other, separated correlation matrices were
produced for two-parent and separated families and for girls and boys. On the whole,
these matrices indicated that the correlations between relational variables varied
considerably as a function of gender and family structure. These findings were useful
in identifying the interaction terms that were the most important to test in further
regression equations.7

Family RelationsVariables Associated With Psychological Violence

Table 4 displays the results of the first regression analysis, which appears significant, F(7, 126) 6.59, p .000. Overall, factors entered in the equation account for
23% of the variance of parental psychological violence. The most strongly associated
factors are severity of parental conflict and its interaction with family structure: The
association between severity of parental conflict and parental psychological violence is
stronger in two-parent families. Another important contributing factor is triangulation, and the contribution of childs gender is marginally significant: Being a boy is
associated with more psychological violence.

Contribution of Psychological Violence to Behavior Problems

Table 5 displays the results of the second and third regression analyses, with externalized and internalized behavior problems being the dependant variables. Factors
entered in the equation explain 18% of the variance of externalized problems, and the
analysis is significant, F(9, 126) 4.35, p .000. The most strongly associated factor is
parental psychological violence: Its contribution remains highly significant when selected interaction terms are entered in the equation. Even if the contribution of this
7

The small sample size made it impossible to test every possible interaction.

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FAMILY PROCESS

TABLE 4
Summary of Sequential Regression Analysis for Variables Predicting Parental Psychological Aggression
(N 134)

Variables
Step 1 (control): DR2 .05
Family structure
Childs gender
Step 2: DR2 .12
Severity of parental conflict
Triangulation
Alliance
Step 3: (final model): DR2 .10
Family structure
Childs gender
Severity of parental conflict
Triangulation
Alliance
Severity
Family Structure
Alliance
Family Structure

SE B

95% C.I. for B

 0.81
2.11

0.83
0.84

0.08
0.21

.334
.013

 2.44
0.45

0.84
3.77

0.10
0.61
0.11

0.08
0.33
0.05

0.11
0.18
0.19

.246
.065
.040

 0.07
 0.04
0.01

0.26
1.27
0.21

2.32
1.53
1.02
0.89
0.10
 0.59
0.00

1.44
0.78
0.24
0.32
0.18
0.15
0.10

0.24
0.16
1.20
0.26
0.18
 1.38
0.00

.110
.051
.000
.007
.566
.000
.999

 0.53
 0.01
0.54
0.25
 0.25
 0.88
 0.20

5.18
3.07
1.50
1.52
0.46
 0.30
0.20

Note. R2 .27; adjusted R2 .23.

fourth step is significant on the whole, none of the individual interaction terms appears significantly associated with externalized behavior problems.
Finally, regarding internalized problems, only Step 2 contributes significantly to
the prediction, F(5, 130) 3.20, p .009. This is why further steps are not presented in
Table 5. Two factors are significantly associated with internalized behavior problems:
being a boy and reporting a high level of parental conflict. This model accounts for
7.5% of the variance of internalized behavior problems, and parental psychological
violence does not add anything to this association model.

DISCUSSION
The above findings lead to several acknowledgments regarding parental psychological violence. First, at least in this self-selected sample, parents from two-parent
families seem to be using as much psychological violence as their separated counterparts, according to their children. Second, psychological violence is significantly and
positively associated with other family disturbances, especially severity of parental
conflict and triangulation of the child in this conflict. These findings are consistent
with previous research, including the analysis of Black et al. (2001): Family structure
per se does not appear as a risk factor for psychological abuse, but other family disturbances associated with family disruption do.
There is, however, one exception: Parent-child alliance is not related to psychological violence in our sample. A close examination of the distribution of alliance
scores showed that 77% of individual scores are located within one standard deviation
from the mean. Among the rest of the sample, about half report a more positive relationship with their mother, and the other half with their father. Strong preferences
( /2 standard deviations from the mean) account for less than 8% of our sample.
These findings suggest that most children maintain a good relationship with both
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TABLE 5
Summary of Two Sequential Regression Analyses (A and B) for Variables Predicting Behavior Problems
(N 136)

Variables

SE B

95% C.I. for B

Regression A: V.D. Externalized Behavior Problems

Step 1 (control): DR2 ns
Family Structure
Childs Gender
Step 2: DR2 ns
Severity of parental conflict
Triangulation
Alliance
Step 3: DR2 .12
Psychological Aggression
Step 4: (final model): DR2 .06
Family Structure
Childs Gender
Severity of parental conflict
Triangulation
Alliance
Psychological Aggression
Severity
Childs Gender
Triangul.
Fam. Structure
Alliance
Fam. Structure

0.11
2.32

1.49
1.51

0.01
0.13

.942
.127

 2.84
 0.67

3.07
5.31

0.14
 0.27
0.21

0.15
0.62
0.10

0.10
 0.05
0.21

.353
.662
.028

 0.16
 1.50
0.02

0.45
0.96
0.41

0.62

0.15

0.37

.000

0.33

0.90

 3.62
3.98
0.72
 3.48
 0.36
0.64
 0.45
1.75
0.31

2.14
2.34
0.38
1.94
0.33
0.14
0.24
1.13
0.19

 0.21
0.23
0.47
 0.58
 0.35
0.38
 0.52
0.54
0.57

.092
.091
.064
.075
.274
.000
.066
.124
.106

 7.85
 0.65
 0.04
 7.32
 1.02
0.36
 0.94
 0.48
 0.07

0.60
8.61
1.47
0.36
0.29
0.93
0.03
3.97
0.69

Regression B: V.D. Externalized Behavior Problems

Step 1 (control): DR2 ns
Family Structure
Childs Gender
Step 2: DR2 .07
Family Structure
Childs Gender
Severity of parental conflict
Triangulation
Alliance

0.30
3.77

1.59
1.60

0.02
0.20

.850
.020

 2.83
0.59

3.44
6.94

 1.62
3.27
0.35
0.23
0.12

1.66
1.60
0.16
0.65
0.10

 0.09
0.17
0.21
0.04
0.11

.330
.043
.034
.724
.254

 4.91
0.10
0.03
 1.06
 0.08

1.66
6.43
0.67
1.52
0.32

For regression A, R2 .24 and adjusted R2 .18. For regression B, R2 .11 and adjusted R2 .08.

parents, even if some of them show a preference for one parent or the other; strong
alliances seem rare. For instance, Johnston and Roseby (1997) showed that 1 out of 4
adolescents from separated families involved in custody litigation display strong, rigid
alliance with a parent, implying drastic rejection of the other parent. It should also be
remembered that the alliance score used in this study was a proxy derived from two
scales designed to measure the quality of the relationship with the mother and father.
This strategy may not be the most effective for measuring parent-child alliances.
Further research will be necessary to document the link between the parent-child
alliance and psychological violence, especially studies using large samples or studies
conducted with highly disturbed families. Despite its nonsignificance in multivariate
analysis, alliance displayed a significant bivariate correlation with psychological violence in our sample (r .22).
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FAMILY PROCESS

The surprise lies in the significant interaction effect between family structure and
severity of parental conflict to predict psychological violence. Even though children
from separated families report more severe conflicts between their parents than do
children from two-parent families, the link between conflict and psychological violence
is much stronger in two-parent families. Although this finding must be interpreted
cautiously in lieu of potential sampling bias, some interpretations can be proposed.
A potential explanation was that in violent or abusive families, separation or divorce
entails more relational distance between children and the potential perpetrator.
However, a posteriori analysis did not support this explanation: Parametric and
nonparametric correlations between parental conflict and psychological violence in
separated families were not affected by the frequency of contacts with the noncustodial parent (usually the father). Another explanation lies in the potentially more
complex ecology of separated families. First, because of the burden of single parenthood and economical adversity, relatives, friends, or community resources may be
more involved in supporting these families. There is plenty of evidence of the
buffering effect of social support: The most taxed individuals or groups are those who
benefit the most (Kofkin Rudkin, 2003). Second, in some cases, the presence of stepparents and their own children and relatives considerably complicates family dynamics and functioning (Visher & Visher, 1996). And third, legal proceedings for child
custody or child support allowance also affect some separated families, sometimes for
years. In short, parental psychological violence takes place in more complex family
processes in separated families; it may share variance with environmental variables
that have not been addressed in the present study. Two-parent families may be more
self-sufficient and tightly knit relationships between family members less prone to
external influences, explaining why relational variables are more strongly interrelated
in these families. This empirical question could be answered by further research.
With respect to childrens adjustment, psychological violence was associated with
the childs externalized behavior problems, over and above all other potential predictors used in the present investigation, including gender. This is not the case for
internalized behavior problems, mostly associated with the severity of parental conflict and the childs gender (being a boy). Bivariate correlations suggest the same
pattern. These findings are surprising because both types of behavior problems have
been associated with parental psychological violence in the literature. For instance,
Crittenden, Claussen, and Sugarman (1994) showed that school-age boys who sustained psychological abuse developed more externalized problems, whereas girls developed more internalized problems. Our findings may reflect the age range of the
sample (1012-year-olds): Preadolescents may be particularly reactive against their
parents and tend to respond to parental violence with similar behavior. According to
Claes (2003), adolescence is a stormy period characterized by frequent parent-child
conflicts. Caffery and Erdman (2000) reminded us that psychological violence lies
within a relationship, implying interactions between the parent and the child. With a
representative sample of 1,017 Quebec families, Pagani et al. (2004) clearly showed
that most children assault their parents verbally and that such behavior is associated
with the same behavior in parents. A reciprocal escalation of violence may result from
this pattern of interactions, and this might be reflected in the results of the present
investigation.
Alternatively, conflict between parents is not a direct aggression toward the child.
This may explain why he or she tends to internalize the distress generated by this
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situation instead of reacting with opposition, aggression, or other externalized behaviors. In our sample, boys seem more affected than girls. In a study conducted with
a similar sample, Kerig (1998, 1999) also found that boys are more vulnerable to parental conflicts than girls, but in general, studies suggest the opposite (Davies &
Lindsay, 2001). But beyond conflict, a recent review of the literature suggested that
until preadolescence, boys are more disturbed than girls are by separation or divorce,
especially when their father is absent (Cyr & Carobene, 2004). Maybe this is what is
observed here.
Finally, boys reported more psychologically violent parental practices than girls.
The literature on psychological violence and abuse is divided regarding the question of
gender: Some surveys have shown that more boys than girls were victims (Vissing,
Straus, Gelles, & Harrop, 1991), but other studies found no gender differences
(Mraovich & Wilson, 1999). The relatively small, nonrepresentative sample of the
present study is of limited use to resolve this question, so this finding will not be
interpreted further.

Limitations and Strengths

Despite the small, nonrepresentative sample, this study presents important
strengths. First, developmental homogeneity strengthens the research design and
allows an in-depth understanding of preadolescents reality regarding parental psychological violence and its family context. A second strength is that data originate
from two different sources: Children provide information about family variables, and
the childs behavioral adjustment is reported by parents. This procedure avoids artificial inflation of shared variance between the family variable and a childs adjustment. Third, and most important, the childs point of view was preferred on the issues
of frequency and nature of parental psychological violence. This is an originality of
this study: The vast majority of studies about childhood victimization use parental
report (Gagne et al., 2003).
On the other hand, the self-selected nature of the sample and the heterogeneity of
separated families in this sample limit interpretation of findings. Single-parent families and stepfamilies may have specificities that could not be considered; moreover,
child custody arrangements may affect the findings. Two more limitations might have
contributed to underestimating the links between variables under study: the use of a
proxy measure for parent-child alliance and the conservative decision to exclude seven
believed-to-be outliers. Large, representative sample studies and psychometric
developments will be essential to fill these gaps.

Implications for Practice

Because our findings were obtained from a nonclinical sample, they raise prevention and early intervention issues. Families showing high levels of interparental
conflict could be targets for prevention of psychological violence toward children:
Conflict and violence are strongly interrelated, and both are recognized risk factors for
childrens adjustment. Parents must be warned not only that exposure to their conflict
may affect their children but also that they are themselves at risk of harsher parenting
expressed by the means of psychological violence. This might be especially true when
children externalize their reactions: Psychological violence is the strongest correlate
of childrens externalizing problems in the present study. Intervention should be
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FAMILY PROCESS

aimed at helping parents to manage and solve their conflicts without involving their
children and at supporting them in responding to their childrens needs. Parents must
learn to manage stress and cope with possible disturbing reactions from their children
without becoming too harsh or psychologically violent toward them. In the most disturbed families, young children may need protection while parents correct the situation. Older children may benefit from respite measures, like group intervention that
facilitates self-help and expression of feelings, or sports/leisure activities to change
their outlook.
Although separated families are the most easily identified and targeted, two-parent
families should not be forgotten in intervention efforts. They experience conflict too,
and interparental conflict is a particularly strong correlate of psychological violence
against children in these families.

CONCLUSION
Even if, on the whole, separated families undergo more relational disturbances
than two-parent families (more severe conflicts, more triangulation, stronger parentchild alliances), it does not mean that children from separated families will sustain
more psychological violence from their parents. Actually, children coming from
conflictual two-parent families are more at risk of parental psychological violence than
are their peers from conflictual separated families. This is an important finding of this
research, because it counters prejudices against separated families. Most of these
family members are probably resilient enough to overcome the stress, financial
hardship, and negative emotions associated with separation or divorce and are capable
of mobilizing resources in their environment to support them. These families may
experience more risk than two-parent families but also some protective factors and
mechanisms that were not considered in this particular study. It is important to keep
in mind that a majority of children from separated families show adequate psychological and behavioral adjustment (Cyr & Carobene, 2004; Emery, 1999; Hetherington
et al., 1998). However, parental psychological violence is detrimental for all children,
no matter the structure of their family: This is the strongest correlate of externalized
behavior problems in our sample of preadolescent youths. With regard to psychological violence against children, parents in conflict should be primary targets for prevention and early intervention, and the needs of two-parent families should not be
forgotten.
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