Abstract: The negative effect of parental marital conflict on child development had been well documented in both theoretical and empirical studies. Specifically, parental marital conflict had a short- and long-term effect on children’s cognitive development and socioemotional development. Cognitive and emotional process and family process were described to clarify how parental marital conflict affected child development. In addition, child and environmental factors may moderate the association between parental marital conflict and child development. Future studies should examine the effects of parental marital conflict on child development in multiple aspects simultaneously and integrate the multi-mechanism of parental marital conflict on child development.

Key words: parental marital conflict, child development, cognitive and emotional process, family process, autonomic nervous system