This multimethod, prospective study examined the nature of pathways between interparental hostility and withdrawal, parental emotional unavailability, and subsequent changes in children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and school adjustment difficulties over a 3-year period in a sample of 210 mothers, fathers, and 6-year-old children. The results of autoregressive structural equation models indicated that interparental withdrawal had a detrimental impact on all areas of children's adjustment, whereas interparental hostility had an indirect effect on subsequent changes in child adjustment. An intermediary role of parental emotional unavailability in links between interparental withdrawal and hostility and child outcomes was indicated, with specific, differential effects observed for fathers and mothers.

Longitudinal effects of child maltreatment on cortisol regulation in infants from age 1 to 3 years were investigated in the context of a randomized preventive intervention trial. Thirteen-month-old infants from maltreating families (N = 91) and their mothers were randomly assigned to one of three intervention conditions: 1. Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP); 2. Psychoeducational Parenting Intervention (PPI); and 3. a control group involving standard community services (CS). A fourth group of infants from nonmaltreating families (N = 52) and their mothers comprised a nonmaltreated comparison (NC) group. The two active interventions were combined into one maltreated intervention (MI) group for statistical analyses. Saliva samples were obtained from children at 10:00 a.m. before beginning a laboratory observation session with their mothers when the children were 13 months of age (pre-intervention), 19 months (mid-intervention), 26 months (post-intervention), and 38 months (one-year post-intervention follow-up). At the initial assessment, no significant differences among groups in morning cortisol were observed. Latent growth curve analyses examined trajectories of cortisol regulation over time. Beginning at mid-intervention, divergence was found among the groups. Whereas the MI group remained indistinguishable from the NC group across time, the CS group progressively evinced lower levels of morning cortisol, statistically differing from the MI and NC groups. Results highlight the value of psychosocial interventions for early child maltreatment in normalizing biological regulatory processes.

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Emotional security theory was introduced over two decades ago to explain how and why children exposed to interparental and family conflict are at greater risk for developing psychopathology. Using developmental psychopathology as an evaluative lens, this chapter provides a review of the progress, challenges, and future directions in testing EST. After characterizing the distinctive properties of the goal system of emotional security in relation to developmental constructs outlined in other approaches, we review empirical evidence supporting the hypothesis that emotional insecurity is a unique and robust mediator of multiple pathways involving family adversity and children's adjustment problems. Next, the chapter addresses the family, contextual, developmental sources underlying the multiplicity of pathways among family discord, emotional insecurity, and children's psychological functioning. Throughout the chapter, we distinguish between two formulations of EST to adequately characterize the significant developments in the history of the theory. Finally, we conclude by outlining scientific and clinical growing points for EST.

This study examined the interplay between interparental conflict and child cortisol reactivity to interparental conflict in predicting child maladjustment in a sample of 178 families and their kindergarten children. Consistent with the allostatic load hypothesis (McEwen & Stellar, 1993), results indicated that interparental conflict was indirectly related to child maladjustment through its association with individual differences in child cortisol reactivity. Analyses indicated that the multimethod assessment of interparental conflict was associated with lower levels of child cortisol reactivity to a simulated phone conflict between parents. Diminished cortisol reactivity, in turn, predicted increases in parental reports of child externalizing symptoms over a 2-year period. Associations between interparental conflict, child cortisol reactivity, and child externalizing symptoms remained robust even after demographic factors and other family processes were taken into account.