Are Children More Angered and Distressed by Man-Child than Woman-Child Arguments and by Interadult versus Adult-Child Disputes?

Six to 10‐year‐olds’ responses to witnessing videotapes of five contexts of verbal and physical arguments (man–woman, man–boy, man–girl, woman–boy, and woman–girl) were compared to examine the hypotheses that: (1) man–child disputes would be perceived more negatively and evoke more negative affect in children than woman–child conflict; and (2) man–woman conflict would be viewed more negatively and elicit greater negative emotions in children than adult–child arguments. Results lend support to the two predictions, and consistent with the emotional security hypothesis, reveal that (1) man–child conflict evoked more sadness and fear in children than woman–child disputes; (2) man–woman arguments evoked more intense feelings of sadness and fear than any of the adult–child disputes, and the adult in the conflicts was perceived as more sad and scared when arguing with the spouse than with the girl or boy; and (3) physical conflict evoked more negative affect than verbal disputes.