Sensitization in situ: Identifying interindividual differences in adolescents intraindividual responsiveness to daily interparental conflict

Objective This study aimed to provide a novel evaluation of adolescent sensitization to interparental conflict (IPC), which is thought to be a critical factor in understanding multifinality in risk outcomes. Background Adolescents threat and self-blame appraisals of IPC are mechanisms of risk for subsequent maladjustment. Youth who are exposed to high levels of frequent, intense, and unresolved interparental conflict are thought to become more reactive to future conflicts, a process labeled sensitization. We hypothesized that adolescents with more extensive histories of IPC would exhibit sensitization operationalized as greater intraindividual responsiveness to daily IPC. Sensitization may explain why some youth are more adversely affected by IPC than others. Method A 21-day daily diary study was conducted with 150 adolescents (61.3% girls) in 9th and 10th grade (M-age = 14.61) who resided in two-caregiver families. Adolescents provided global and daily reports of IPC and threat and self-blame appraisals. Results Results from multilevel models support a sensitization hypothesis for threat appraisals: Adolescents with greater histories of IPC exhibited stronger tendencies to appraise daily IPC as threatening. No support for sensitization was found for self-blaming attributions. Conclusion Findings suggest a specific underlying process to sensitization in which accumulated exposure to IPC may lead adolescents to perceive subsequent conflicts as more threatening to them or the well-being of the family. Implications Sensitization to IPC may involve the interaction of multiple timescales, including daily instances of conflict. Understanding historical exposure to IPC may guide interventionists efforts when working with adolescents coping with IPC.