Studying the impact of the consequences of family conflict on children's mental health

Abstract

Family problems- as single parenthood, divorce, separation, and remarriage become common occurrences, the narrow and traditional definition of family is no longer useful to the practicing clinical psychologist. It is more appropriate to think of a child's family as a network of people in the child's immediate psychosocial environment. This may include family members and other non-family members who play a significant role in the child's life; for example, a separated parent and spouse living elsewhere with whom the child has regular contact; a stepparent who provides occasional assistance; a grandmother who provides informal day care, etc. The primary concern in clinical practice is the extent to which this network is responsive to the child's developmental needs (Kendler et.al., 1993).