It is already known that children who become very upset when their parents fight are more likely to develop psychological problem. However little is known about what happens beyond this in terms of a child’s biological responses.
US researchers looked at 208 six-year-old children and their mothers in an attempt to determine whether children who show specific behaviour patterns of reacting to conflict also have changes in cortisol levels during arguments between their parents.
For the purpose of the study, the parents pretended to have an argument over the phone. The researchers then measured the children’s distress, hostility and level of involvement in the argument. They also received reports from the mothers about how their children tended to respond when parents fought at home.
Cortisol levels were measured by taking saliva samples from the children before and after the simulated arguments.
The study found that children who were very distressed by the conflicts had higher levels of cortisol in response to their parents fighting. The researchers noted that the children's levels of hostility and their involvement during the arguments were not always related to their levels of cortisol, but children who were very distressed and very involved in response to parental fighting had especially high levels of the hormone.
"Our results indicate that children who are distressed by conflict between their parents show greater biological sensitivity to conflict in the form of higher levels of cortisol. Because higher levels of cortisol have been linked to a wide range of mental and physical health difficulties, high levels of the hormone may help explain why children who experience high levels of distress when their parents argue are more likely to experience later health problems,” explained lead researcher, Prof Patrick Davies of the University of Rochester.
Details of these findings are published in the journal, Child Development.