The Effect of Negative and Positive Childhood Divorce Experiences on Professional Performers

The purpose of this study was to provide an in-depth analysis of divorce by comparing levels of depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and availability of resources between professional performers who were children from divorces considered negative, divorces considered positive or neutral, and professional performers raised in 2-parent households. The results of this study indicated that performers raised in divorced families reported more depression, more anxiety, and lower levels of self-esteem than those who were raised in intact families. Additionally, results indicated that those who were raised in neutral to positive divorced families reported less depression, less anxiety, and higher levels of self-esteem than did those stemming from negatively divorced families. Implications for treatment and directions for future research are presented.