Abstract
This study aimed to examine the influence of marital conflict on children's depressive symptoms, based on the mediating model of children's perception of their family relationship. Participants included 225 elementary school children (from fourth to sixth grades), 178 mothers and 99 fathers. Using path analysis by structural equation modeling, we examined the effect of marital conflict, via children's perception of their family relationships, on children's depressive symptoms. The results showed that mother's and father's marital conflicts were not both directly associated with children's perception of their family relationship. Instead, mother's marital conflict was negatively associated with mothers' positive parenting. This parenting in turn partially mediated between children's perception of their family relationships and children's symptoms of depression. These findings indicated that children's perception of their family relationships play a role in understanding the impact of marital conflicts on children's symptoms of depression.
