Coming to Terms With Parental Divorce: Associations With Marital Outcomes and the Role of Gender and Religiosity

Keywords

children of divorce, divorce, family of origin, religiosity

Abstract

In this article we examine the current marriage relationship outcomes for children of divorce compared to children from intact families. The sample is 997 matched married couples. Those from families with married parents were more likely to come to terms with issues in their family of origin, and had higher religiosity, less negative communication, and more positive relationship satisfaction than those with divorced parents. Religiosity was effective in helping those with married parents come to terms with family of origin. The variable coming to terms with family of origin predicted positive marital outcomes to some extent for all couples, although for couples where both partners' parents had divorced coming to terms predicted fewer positive outcomes. Coming to terms for females was associated more profoundly with decreases in negative communication for both males and the females, and also predicted satisfaction and stability in more cases than did coming to terms for males.

Original Publication Citation

Fackrell, T. A., Poulsen, F. O., Busby, D. M., & Dollahite, D. C. (2011). Coming to terms with parental divorce: Associations with marital outcomes and the role of religiosity. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 52, 435-454.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2011-08-24

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/7420

Publisher

Journal of Divorce & Remarriage

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Family Life

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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