Building on empirical documentation of children's involvement in interparental conflicts as a weak predictor of psychopathology, we tested the hypothesis that involvement in conflict more consistently serves as a moderator of associations between children's emotional reactivity to interparental conflict and their psychological problems. In Study…

Preschoolers' normative patterns, individual styles, and developmental changes in coping with anger between others (background anger) were examined. Pairs of children were observed playing while two adults in an adjacent room verbally expressed anger toward each other. Children were also interviewed concerning the feelings they had during the…

This exploratory study examined children's sense of control as a cognitive and perceptual context for responding to the expression of interadult anger. Children's cardiovascular, electrodermal, and self-reported emotional responses to the angry interaction of adults were measured. Perceptions of control were manipulated in two ways: by giving…