The Relationship of Divorced Adult Children With Their Elderly Parents

Some 93 divorced adult children of elderly parents, 69 women and 24 men aged 44.4 years, were interviewed in depth concerning their interpersonal and helping relationships with elderly parents. The great majority still felt close to their parents and had a compatible relationship with them, with little conflict. Most helped parents out of love and a desire to protect them from need, but found lack of money and time their most severe problems in helping. Although present costs of helping were low, most adult children felt future help would be limited by job and other responsibilities. Implications for social services are discussed.     

Living Arrangements of Single Parents and Their Children in South Korea

As the divorce rate in South Korea increases, an increasing proportion of children are growing up in single-parent families. Given the limited public support and disadvantages for women in the labor market, it is expected that single parents in Korea, single mothers in particular, are more likely to use family ties to mitigate economic and social difficulties, including the option to live with their parents. We assessed the living arrangements of single parents and their children with respect to co-residence with the grandparents of the children using samples from the 2010 Korean Census and the Program for International Student Assessment conducted in 2009. We found that a fairly small proportion of single mothers live with their parents and that the prevalence of co-residence with parents among both single mothers and single fathers was relatively low in Korea compared with Japan and Taiwan. We also found that single parents with a higher level of education are more likely to live with their parents than those with less education, which contrasts with the pattern found in the United States. We discuss the implications of our findings in contemporary Korea, which has traditionally been regarded as a country with strong family ties.     

Listening Between Grown Children and Their Parents

With much listening research centered on problems in business and academic settings, listening in families has received less emphasis. This research project explored the perceptions of listening in a family environment. Interviews were conducted with a total of 85 participants, adult children who had children of their own and "still active" parents of adult children. They were asked to assess listening effectiveness in the parent/child relationships and to give reasons for their assessments. Several problems and reasons emerged, especially when specified controversial topics were involved. Some good listener techniques were also identified. In addition to the report on the research process, the authors have begun to formulate a set of principles for effective listening in the family context.     

Emotionally Focused Family Therapy and Play Therapy for Young Children Whose Parents Are Divorced

ABSTRACT

Divorce is common and can pose risks to those involved. Although divorce affects all parts of the family system, young children face extraneous challenges due to their unique developmental stage and limited cognitive ability. Emotionally focused family therapy (EFFT) works to enhance attachment bonds by restructuring a family’s negative interaction cycle and can be useful for repairing relationships between parents and their children who are suffering negative effects of parental divorce. Whereas adults have the skills to express themselves verbally, young children often use imaginary play to convey their emotional experiences and unmet attachment needs. By using play therapy techniques within an EFFT framework, adults and children can better communicate their perspectives concerning difficult life events such as parental divorce.     

Spirituality for Building Resilience in Children of Divorced Parents: A Cross-Country Experimental Study

Based on a post-test experimental study of 1,893 children of divorced parents across 15 countries, I examine influence of a spiritual education program (SEP) on their resilience building. I have used 4 scales to study the resilience and strengths of the treatment group children. Results of the analysis of variance and t test showed that treatment group children scored better on the scales compared to the control group. Through 4 structural equation models, I show that the scores of the treatment group children were influenced by parenting arrangements, economic class, SEP, and self-practice. Children who lived with single parents or had nonresident cooperative coparenting arrangements scored higher on the scales vis-à-vis those who had custodial and frequently conflicting coparenting arrangements or those whose parents had repartnered and they had stepparents. Upper middle-class children responded better to SEP than their elite class counterparts. Further, treatment group children who did 2 or 3 rounds of the SEP during the course of the study vis-à-vis once, and those who said that they self-practiced the program lessons regularly scored higher on the scales. The findings highlight the importance of spiritually sensitive interventions for resilience building of children of divorced parents.     

Timing of Remarriage Among Divorced and Widowed Parents

Research on timing of parental remarriage is important to understanding consequences of remarriage for children. In this study, survival analyses were conducted predicting timing of parental remarriage from parental loss in a sample of 3,774 offspring whose parents divorced or whose mother or father died during childhood. Transition to remarriage was quicker for parents who divorced compared to those who were widowed, especially for fathers. By examining timing of remarriage from the perspective of parents, and thus children, we identify not only who is more likely to experience parental remarriage, but when remarriage is likely to occur.     

Divorced Yet Still Together: Ongoing Personal Relationship and Coparenting Among Divorced Parents

This study examined the ongoing personal and emotional involvement between former spouses and its association with perceptions of the quality of the coparenting relationship. Dyadic analysis of 54 formerly married couples revealed that both men and women rate their coparenting relationship as better when they also report ongoing personal and emotional involvement with their former spouse. Furthermore, when men reported ongoing involvement, their former wives reported better coparenting. The opposite effect was not found. This pattern held for both Black Americans and White Americans. Clinical implications of the findings of this study are also discussed.     

Stress in Parents and Late Elementary Age Children in Divorced and Intact Families and Child Adjustment

The cumulative effect of stressful life events on 40 children in the 4th to 6th grades who were in matched pairs from intact and divorced families were investigated. Children's adjustment was assessed by parent report, teacher report and fantasy material from an abbreviated Thematic Apperception Test. In comparison to children from intact families, children of divorce were rates as less well adjusted by parents and teachers (as expected), and they had a greater number of rejection themes in fantasy. There was no interaction between stress levels and marital status in predicting child adjustment. Higher parental stress was related to parent ratings of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in the child, and to teacher rated externalizing symptoms in the child. Higher numbers of stressful life events that were primarily child oriented were related to higher teacher ratins of anxiety, social withdrawal and internalizing symptoms. Thus, the source of stress leads to different types of maladjustment.     

Psychological Morbidity,Social Intimacy,Physical Symptomatology,and Lifestyle in Adult Children of Divorced Parents

This study assessed the relationships between psychological morbidity, social intimacy, perception of the parental relationship, lifestyle and physical symptomatology as well as the contributors of physical symptomatology, in adult children of divorced parents. Participants answered the Physical Symptom Questionnaire, the Anxiety, Depression and Stress Scale, the Lifestyle Questionnaire, the Social Intimacy Scale and The Perception of the Parental Relationship Scale. Results revealed that older participants showed lower levels of anxiety, depression and stress and that male participants perceived the parental relationship as better when compared to females. There was a negative association between depression and the duration of parental divorce. Adult children with greater physical symptoms and more anxious showed less social intimacy. The latter was associated with a less healthy lifestyle. As expected less physical symptomatology was associated with lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. Anxiety was the only variable that contributed to physical symptomatology. Intervention should be gender sensitive and focus early on on the identification of psychological morbidity, social intimacy, healthy behaviors, and physical symptomatology, in adult children whose parents are in the process of divorcing.     

Parents,Friends, and Familial Sex Role Attitudes*

The present study treats parental and friendship interaction as predictors of familial sex role attitudes for each sex, taking into account mother's socioeconomic status and work experience. The data are based on a random sample of college students. The findings show that parental interaction is more important than peer associations in influencing familial sex role attitudes, particularly among men. Mother's socioeconomic status and work experience condition the effects of reference group interaction on a daughter's and son's familial sex role attitudes differently and contrary to expectations. The findings are discussed in the context of reference group theory and attitude formation with a focus on the mother as a role model.     

Perceived Bonding by Parents Living With HIV and Their Adolescent Children

This study examined the associations between parent and adolescent reports of bonding within families and the relationships among reported parental bonding, family conflict and adolescent stress. A total of 118 families from Anhui, China, were recruited for this study. Two family‐level bonding scores were constructed: the average of and difference between parent and adolescent bonding scores. Study results indicated that the difference between parent and adolescent bonding reports was associated with higher levels of adolescent daily stress. A negative association was observed between average family‐level bonding and the level of parent‐reported conflict. Our findings highlight the importance of combining data from both parents and adolescents when studying issues related to family wellbeing.     

The Needs of Gender-Variant Children and Their Parents: A Parent Survey

ABSTRACT

Parents of children with gender-variant behavior, while doing their best to handle their child's preferences and needs, are forced to contend with societal bias and assumptions that allow their children to be marginalized. This exploratory investigation aims to provide a basis for supporting all children with gender variance and their parents by identifying their needs. An Internet survey was designed to elicit the experiences of parents with gender-variant children to identify the needs of both parents and children. Data were analyzed using content analysis to establish the major themes. The dominant identified needs for parents were related to finding correct information and obtaining professional support, parenting strategies, and peer support. The children's primary needs were related to discussing their feelings, being accepted, and being supported to express their gender preference.     

Divorced Single Parents' Perceptions of Child-Related Problems

Seventy-three divorced single parents were asked to rate the severity of a variety of child-centered problems. The problems of greatest concern involved discipline, behavior problems resulting from the separation and following the ex-spouse's visit, and the lack of an available male model. The severity of the problems was found to be unrelated to both the age of the child and the length of the separation. Moreover, little relationship was found between the perceived severity of the problems and a variety of parent-related characteristics. Parents viewed the lack of a male model as the primary harmful consequence of the separation, and saw the removal of tension and fear from the home environment as the greatest beneficial consequence.     

Parent-Child Interaction Styles Between Gay and Lesbian Parents and Their Adopted Children

SUMMARY

While myths exist that call into question the parenting ability of gay and lesbian parents as well as the impact of such parenting on children in their care, there is an ever increasing body of literature that clearly demonstrates the capabilities of these parents with their birth children. However, there continues to be a dearth of research on gay and lesbian adoptive parents and their children. To address this deficiency in the literature, this article explores the parenting styles of gay and lesbian adoptive parents and strengths of their children between the ages of 5–9 years (N = 94), using scores from the Parent-as-a-Teacher Inventory and the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale. Results illustrate that the gay and lesbian adoptive parents in this sample fell into the desirable range of the parenting scale and their children have strength levels equal to or exceeding the scale norms. Finally, various aspects of parenting style significantly predicted the adoptive parents' view of their child's level of care difficulty which subsequently predicted the type and level of strengths assessed within their adopted child. Recommendations for practice, policy and future research are highlighted.     

Adolescents from Divorced Families and Their Best-Friend Relationships

The present study examines the quality of best-friend relationships of adolescent children of divorced parents. Two theoretical frameworks are employed: Sullivan's "substitution" theory, and Freud's "object-relation" theory. The findings of the study show that parental divorce (1) has no effect on either having a best-friend relationship or satisfaction with social life; (2) has only a slight effect on the perception of the best-friend relationship; (3) has a somewhat greater effect on the experience of the best-friend relationship. These results are interpreted and shown to lend some support to the object relation theory.     

Parallel Process Issues for Lesbian and Gay Adoptive Parents and Their Adopted Children

ABSTRACT

This article is a case study that examines the failures of the social welfare system in failing to prevent homelessness. This article chronicles one family's homeless experience and examines the social policies and programs that affected them. The authors make recommendations for further research and policy implementation for vulnerable populations.