ICPR Abstracts: Session 16

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Session 16: Papers

Effects of Divorce

16.1
The Impact of Parental Divorce on Adult Romantic 
Experiences and Beliefs About Barriers to 
Relationship Dissolution

Kara F. Witt, Ramsey County Mental Health Center
Mark Attridge, United HealthCare Corporation

This survey study examined the impact of parental divorce 
on adult romantic experiences and beliefs.  College 
students who experienced parental divorce (n - 162) were 
compared to those who did not (n = 446).  No differences 
were found in age, sex, romantic involvement, or beliefs 
about the validity of internal kinds of barriers to breakup.  
However, parental divorce was associated with divorce for 
self, for family members, and close friends; lower 
relationship satisfaction; less faith in external kinds of 
barriers to breakup; and belief that avoidance and 
derogation of alternative partners helps relationships 
survive.  Prior research is reviewed and implications for 
relationships and couple therapy are discussed.

16.2
The Intimate Relationships of Adult 
"Children of Divorce"

Kate Henry and John Holmes
University of Waterloo

Some studies suggest that adult "children of divorce" 
(COD's) experience considerable difficulty in intimate 
relationships (eg. Wallerstein, 1989); however, others find 
no differences when their relationships are compared to 
their counterparts from intact families.  A longitudinal 
study examining the dating relationships of COD's was 
conducted to explore possible reasons for the contradictory 
findings.  COD's completed two relationship 
questionnaires over the course of six months.  Responses 
were compared to those of individuals from different 
family backgrounds, those with 1) happily married 
parents, and those with 2) unhappily married parents (ie. 
parents who had a troubled or conflictual relationship).  
Similarities and differences between groups will be 
discussed.

16.3
Parental Divorce and Premarital Couples: 
Commitment and Other Relationship Characteristics

Susan Jacquet and Catherine Surra
University of Texas at Austin

A random sample of young adults in premarital 
relationships were compared to explore whether or not the 
experience of parental divorce is associated with 
differences in relationship dimensions and commitment.  
Participants' assessments of love, trust, conflict in 
relationships, ambivalence and components of 
commitment revealed lower trust, higher conflict and 
ambivalence, and different patterns of love and 
commitment across stages of involvement for both men 
and women from divorced families, when compared to 
young adults from intact families.  Differences in 
relationship dimensions, such as trust and love which are 
central to relationship formation and stability, warrant 
attention in light of recent research results which indicate 
that relationship behaviors predict the intergenerational 
transmission of divorce.

16.4
Intergenerational Obligations to Older Family 
Members Following Divorce and Remarriage

Lawrence Ganong and Marilyn Coleman
University of Missouri-Columbia

The objective of the studies reported here was to examine 
normative beliefs about residence sharing and providing 
physical care to elderly family members following changes 
in family structure due to divorce and remarriage.  Results 
from the sample of 1189 randomly selected adults were: 
(a) Divorce reduces the obligation of a child to share a 
residence with an elderly parent, (b) Daughters are seen as 
more obligated to share their residence with a parent and 
provide care for them than are sons, regardless of marital 
status, (c) Obligations are related to emotional closeness, 
and (d) Obligations to care for elderly parents are stronger 
than to stepparents.

16.5
Formal and Informal Sources of 
Help of Elderly Divorcees

Jenny de Jong Gierveld
Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic 
Institute/Vrije Universiteit
Pearl A. Dykstra
Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute

Older adults' health status is an important, albeit only 
partial determinant of their reliance on formal care. Health 
status in connection with available informal support 
provides a better explanation. The present paper focuses 
on the interplay of formal and informal sources of help 
among a particular category of older adults, namely those 
who have ever experienced a divorce or separation. The 
decision to focus on divorcees is inspired by the desire to 
examine the strategies people follow during the course of 
their lives to secure the supports necessary for maintaining 
well-being. For that reason, the study first addresses the 
ways in which the divorcees have organized their social 
networks in anticipation of or in response to the 
termination of the partner relationship and other divorce-
linked relationship changes. Secondly, the study seeks an 
explanation of divorcees' reliance on formal help. Both 
background characteristics such as age, gender, health, 
income and duration of singlehood, and social network 
characteristics such as size, composition and 
supportiveness are used in the explanation. The data are 
from the NESTOR "Living arrangements and social 
networks of older adults" research program. In 1992 
interviews were conducted with over 4400 men and 
women between the ages of 55 and 89. Among 361 
respondents at least one partner relationship dissolved as 
the result of divorce or separation. In the analyses, data 
from never married, currently married and widowed 
respondents are used for comparison purposes.