ational Survey of Families indicates that a "remarriage benefit" does not exist for children in stepfamily households, and the authors hypothesize that the absence of benefit is attributable to the exposure of these children to more sources of conflict than children in two-family households or single-parent households. The negative impact of parental conflict before and after divorce is well-documented. This conflict usually manifests itself openly in the form of both verbal and physical aggression.
Several theories seek to explain the correlation between parental conflict and child adjustment problems. Some psychologists suggest that children adapt the confrontational strategies of their parental role models. Other experts theorize that hostile relationships between parents negatively effect parent-child relationships. Yet another explanation suggests that parental conflict is a significant stressor in children.
Hanson, McLanahan, and Thomson (1996) differ from their colleagues in their conclusion about parental conflict as a significant impact in the we
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