Physical and Psychological Health of Young Adolescents: The Relationship to Gender and Marital Conflict

The response of early adolescent boys and girls to parental marital conflict was studied. Self-, mother-, and teacher-reported physical, externalizing (e.g., acting out), and internalizing (e.g., anxiety) problems were examined. Although prior studies have examined the relationship between marital con flict and psychological adjustment, particularly externalizing problems, the association of marital conflict and physical symptoms has been ignored. Thirty-nine adolescents from intact families were assigned to one of four groups based on gender and the mother's report of marital conflict: males, high-conflict homes; females, high-conflict homes; males, low-conflict homes; and females, low-conflict homes. The hypothesis that females would respond to marital conflict by the demonstration of physical and/or internalizing difficulties was not supported. However, as predicted, males, but not females, demonstrated more externalizing problems in high than in low-conflict homes. Several explanations for males' responsiveness to marital conflict by the manifestation of externalizing problems and for the absence of a relation ship between physical health and marital conflict were proposed.