Investigation of the Relationships between Perceived Marital Conflict, Parents’ Irrational Beliefs, Anxiety and Children’s Automatic Thoughts, Problem Solving Skills, and Children’s Anxiety and Aggression

Abstract

In this study, it was examined whether the anxiety and aggression observed in children were predicted by the irrational beliefs and anxieties of the parents, the marital conflict perceived by the children, automatic thoughts and problem solving skills. The study group is comprised of 304 elementary school fourth-grade students (170 females and 134 males) attending a state school located in the city of İzmir, Turkey, during the 2016-2017 academic school year. Additionally, the study group includes the students’ parents (n = 608), making a total of 912 participants. Within the context of the study, the “Trait Anxiety Scale” and “Parent Irrational Beliefs Scale” were administered to the parents, and the “Children’s Perception of Marital Conflict Scale,” “Problem Solving Inventory for Children,” “Children’s Automatic Thoughts Scale,” “Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children,” and “Little Aggression Scale” were administered to the students. The analyses conducted in the current study have revealed that except for the variables of father’s trait anxiety and mother’s irrational beliefs, the other variables have a significant contribution to the model; that father’s irrational beliefs, marital conflict perceived by children, children’s automatic thoughts and problem-solving skills significantly predicted anxiety in children, and that 55% of the total variance was explained. Moreover, the children’s problem-solving skills and automatic thoughts were found to explain 27% of the total variance in aggression in children. On the other hand, mother’s trait anxiety, father’s irrational beliefs, and perceived marital conflict were found to have no role in the prediction of children’s aggressive behaviors. The findings obtained as a result of the research are discussed according to the relevant literature within the scope of the Ecological Model, and suggestions are made for future research.