Parental Conflict and Its Impact on Children's Mental Health: A Literature Review from a Family Systems Perspective

Abstract

Interparental conflict represents a significant family-level risk to children’s psychological development, particularly when it is frequent, intense, hostile, child-involving, and poorly resolved. This review aimed to synthesize conceptual and empirical evidence concerning the effects of interparental conflict on child mental health through a Family Systems perspective. A systematic literature review was conducted following the PRISMA 2020 framework. Relevant studies published between 2016 and 2025 were identified through Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, and GARUDA. Following identification, screening, eligibility assessment, and methodological appraisal, 13 empirical articles involving 10,047 children and adolescents were included in the narrative synthesis. Eight studies used longitudinal or multiwave designs, while five employed cross-sectional designs. All included studies identified associations between destructive interparental conflict and adverse outcomes, including depression, anxiety, withdrawal, aggression, externalizing behavior, communication difficulties, and impaired self-regulation. Emotional insecurity was examined as a principal explanatory mechanism in six studies, followed by disrupted attachment, parenting spillover, fear of abandonment, self-blame, and parent–child triangulation. Empirically, one two-wave study found that interparental conflict predicted increased emotional insecurity (β = .67) and reduced inhibitory control six months later (β = −.29). Protective factors included self-compassion, peer acceptance, academic competence, grandparental support, and secure parent–child relationships, although their buffering effects were generally partial. The review concludes that children’s psychological symptoms should be understood as outcomes of interconnected family processes rather than isolated individual difficulties. Prevention and intervention should therefore integrate conflict resolution, cooperative coparenting, attachment repair, appropriate family boundaries, and child-focused mental-health support.