Parents\u27 versus children\u27s perceptions of interparental conflict as predictors of children\u27s friendship quality

Grych and Fincham\u27s (1990) cognitive-contextual model highlights children\u27s perceptions as potential influences on the extent to which interparental conflict is associated with negative child outcomes. We asked children (n = 40, age 8-12 years), mothers, and fathers to report on multiple dimensions of interparental conflict. As predicted, family members showed greater correspondence in their ratings of the overt properties of conflict than in their ratings of children\u27s subjective distress in response to the conflict. Compared with parents\u27 perceptions, children\u27s perceptions of interparental conflict showed stronger and more consistent associations with multiple dimensions of friendship quality. The results provide further evidence of the utility of assessing children\u27s perceptions of marital conflict, rather than relying solely on parents\u27 reports