The Impact of Attachment and Parental Conflict on Children's Unconscious Attitudes and Behaviors

Abstract

This review explores how attachment relationships and parental conflict influence children’s unconscious attitudes and behaviors. Family factors, especially the quality of attachment and the level of parental harmony, play a pivotal role in shaping children’s socioemotional and cognitive development, as early family interactions form the basis of internal working models and implicit beliefs. Drawing from developmental psychology and neuroscience, the paper outlines how early caregiver-child dynamics shape implicit cognitive structures, emotional regulation strategies, and behavioral tendencies. Secure attachment fosters adaptive internal working models, whereas insecure attachment and persistent parental conflict increase children’s sensitivity to perceived threats and promote maladaptive coping strategies. Empirical findings also reveal that prolonged exposure to high-conflict environments contributes to negative self-narratives, distorted social perception, and long-term neurological changes. Based on these findings, this paper not only identifies the risks associated with insecure attachment and conflict but also offers targeted recommendations to enhance resilience and promote healthy development. This paper aims to integrate existing research, highlight key mechanisms, and propose intervention strategies that address these unconscious patterns at individual, familial, and societal levels.