Keywords
Commitment, Emerging adulthood, Intergenerational transmission of divorce, Parental conflict, Parental divorce
Abstract
Parental divorce and parental conflict influence children across multiple domains, including risk of divorce in their own marriages. However, parental conflict and divorce, both separately and the interaction between the two, have not often been studied in premarital relationships, especially when considering possible mechanisms mediating these effects. In a large sample of emerging adults (N = 353), we show that when the most plausible mediating mechanisms are simultaneously considered, only relational commitment mediates the influence of parental conflict on outcomes. Parental conflict in the absence of divorce was associated with less commitment and, in turn, less relationship satisfaction and stability in emerging adult children’s romantic relationships, whereas parental conflict was unrelated to outcomes for children whose parents divorced. Implications for theory and preventive interventions are discussed
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Braithwaite, Scott R.; Doxey, Reed A.; Dowdle, Krista; and Fincham, Frank D., "The Unique Influences of Parental Divorce and Parental Conflict on Emerging Adults in Romantic Relationships" (2016). Faculty Publications. 6012.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/6012
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
2016
Permanent URL
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/8741
Publisher
Springer Science+Business Media New York
Language
English
College
Family, Home, and Social Sciences
Department
Psychology