Emotional Reactivity

When my parents argue, I feel . . .

1.Sad.a

2.Scared.a

3.Angry.a

4.Unsafe.a

After my parents argue . . .

5.It ruins my whole day.b

6.I can’t seem to calm myself down.b

7.I can’t seem to shake off my bad feelings.b

When my parents have an argument . . .

8.I try to hide what I’m feeling.b

9.I can’t stop thinking about their problems.b

Behavioral Dysregulation

When my parents have an argument . . .

10.I yell at, or say unkind things to, people in my family.

11.I hit, kick, slap, or throw things at people in my family.

12.I try to clown around or cause trouble.

Avoidanmce

When my parents have an argument . . .

13.I keep really still, almost as if I were frozen.

14.I don’t know what to do.

15.I try to be really quiet.

16.I end up doing nothing even though I wish I could do something.

17.I wait and hope things will get better.

18.I feel like staying as far away from them as possible.

19.I try to get away from them (for example, by leaving the room.. 

Involvement

When my parents have an argument . . .

20.I feel sorry for one or both of my parents.

21.I try to distract them by bringing up other things.

22.I try to be on my best behavior (like doing nice things for them.. 

23.I try to solve the problem for them.

24.I try to comfort one or both of them.

25.I try to pretend that things are better.

Constructive Family Representations

When my parents have an argument . . .

26.The family is still able to get along with each other.

27.I know they still love each other.

28.I know that everything will be okay.

29.I believe that they can work out their differences.

Destructive Family Representations

When my parents have an argument . . .

30.I worry about my family’s future.

31.I worry about what they’re going to do next.

32.I know it’s because they don’t know how to get along.

33.I wonder if they will separate or divorce.

Conflict Spillover Representations

When my parents have an argument . . .

34.I feel caught in the middle.

35.I feel like they are upset with me.

36.I feel like it’s my fault.

37.I think they blame me.

Note: Items with superscript “a” can be summed to form an emotional arousal subscale, whereas items with a superscript “b” can be summed to form an emotional dysregulation subscale.