"It Depends on What You Mean by 'Disagree'": Differences between Parent and Child Perceptions of Parent-Child Conflict

Andres De Los Reyes; Sarah A Thomas; Anna J Swan; Katherine B Ehrlich; Elizabeth K Reynolds; Liza Suarez; Lea R Dougherty; Laura MacPherson; Shairy C Pabón

doi:10.1007/s10862-012-9288-3

"It Depends on What You Mean by 'Disagree'": Differences between Parent and Child Perceptions of Parent-Child Conflict

J Psychopathol Behav Assess. 2012 Sep 1;34(3):293-307. doi: 10.1007/s10862-012-9288-3.

Authors

Andres De Los Reyes¹, Sarah A Thomas¹, Anna J Swan¹, Katherine B Ehrlich², Elizabeth K Reynolds³, Liza Suarez⁴, Lea R Dougherty⁵, Laura MacPherson⁶, Shairy C Pabón¹

Affiliations

¹ Comprehensive Assessment and Intervention Program, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland at College Park, Biology/Psychology Building, Room 3123H, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
² Maryland Child and Family Development Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland at College Park, Biology/Psychology Building, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
³ School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, Institute for Juvenile Research, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL, USA.
⁵ Child Stress and Emotions Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland at College Park, Biology/Psychology Building, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
⁶ Center for Addiction, Personality, and Emotions Research, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland at College Park, Biology/Psychology Building, College Park, MD 20742, USA.

Abstract

We examined a new structured interview of parent-child conflict that assesses parent and child perceptions of behavioral conflict about daily life topics (e.g., doing chores, homework), and whether discrepancies exist on beliefs about these topics. In a sample of 100 parents and children ages 10 to 17 years (M=13.5 years, 52 males, 57 % African-American), informants could reliably distinguish between perceived behavioral conflicts and perceived discrepant beliefs about topics. These scores were also significantly related to questionnaire reports of parent-child conflict. Parent and child questionnaire reports did not significantly differ, yet on the structured interview, parents reported significantly greater levels of perceived conflict and discrepant beliefs relative to child reports. Additionally, structured interview reports of conflict demonstrated incremental validity by relating to child self-reports of delinquent behaviors, when accounting for questionnaire conflict reports. The findings have implications for increasing understanding of the links between parent-child conflict and psychosocial outcomes.

Keywords: Informant disagreement; Informant discrepancies; Multiple informants; Parent–child conflict; Structured interview; To(may)to-To(mah)to Interview.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

Abstract

Publication types

Grants and funding