"I’m Scared because Divorce Sucks": Parental Divorce and the Marital Paradigms of Emerging Adults

Keywords

marital paradigms, divorce, emerging adults, attitudes, marriage

Abstract

Previous studies have suggested that parental divorce influences the relational beliefs and orientation toward marriage of adolescents and emerging adults. Most of this previous work has been limited to links between parental divorce and global attitudes toward marriage or attitudes toward divorce. Using a mixed-method design, the current study explored links between parental divorce and various aspects of emerging adults’ marital paradigms using cross-sectional, longitudinal, and qualitative data among a sample of unmarried emerging adults. Quantitative results suggested that parental divorce was linked to a variety of negative marital beliefs including less overall marital importance, less marital permanence, and less marital centrality. There was no evidence of longitudinal changes in these associations over time. Qualitative results among emerging adults with divorced parents revealed several key themes in how emerging adults viewed the impact of parental divorce, suggesting implications for perceived interpersonal competence and the internalization of negative marital beliefs stemming from parental role modeling.

Original Publication Citation

Willoughby, B. J., James, S., Marsee, I., Memmott, M., & Dennison, R. P. (2020). “I’m Scared because Divorce Sucks”: Parental Divorce and the Marital Paradigms of Emerging Adults. Journal of Family Issues, 41(6), 711–738.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2019-10-14

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/6951

Publisher

Journal of Family Issues

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Family Life

University Standing at Time of Publication

Associate Professor

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