SCLR to simulated marital discord is emerging as an important moderating mechanism in the association between exposure to interparental conflict and child functioning. El-Sheikh and colleagues found in both a cross-sectional study (El-Sheikh, 2005) and a longitudinal study (El-Sheikh, Keller, & Erath, 2007) that higher SCLR operated as a vulnerability reactive factor in girls; that is, the negative impact of high levels of parental discord on the development of cognitive and externalizing symptoms was exacerbated by high levels of SCLR.