Interparental conflict impairs children’s short-termed attention performance

A growing body of research suggests an association between exposure to interparental conflict and attention problems in children. This study examined whether a videotaped couple conflict decreases child’s short-term attention performance, comparing the effect to the known disruptive impact of watching action films. Participants were 60 children, aged 11–13 years. Children’s performance in an attention task was measured prior to and immediately after video exposure and their skin conductance level (SCL) was assessed throughout stimulus presentation in two experimental conditions: (i) couple conflict condition and (ii) action film condition. Results indicate that the simulated couple conflict more harmfully disrupted children’s accuracy performance (i.e. error ratio) although being less physiologically arousing than the action film. No significant group differences were present concerning concentration performance as a behavioral outcome. The present study adds to the evidence that interparental conflict might be crucial in understanding more profoundly attention difficulties in children.