Postdivorce Parenting: A Study of Recently Divorced Mothers and Fathers

ABSTRACT

Divorce is challenging for parents with children, commonly resulting in a series of individual and interpersonal adjustments. The time immediately following divorce can be particularly difficult. This study used a modified grounded theory approach to explore the experiences of 99 recently divorced mothers and fathers. Analysis of written narratives revealed 4 emergent groups of parents who described their postdivorce parenting experiences: good divorce, good enough, bad to better, and bad. Each group described their experiences across several areas including coparenting, father involvement, challenges of single parenting, personal turmoil, and their children’s adjustment. Implications for research and divorce education are discussed.     

Acceptance and Caregiving of Married and Divorced Custodial Mothers and Fathers

The study examined whether differences in gender and family status affect parental caregiving disposition and acceptance of children among parents of children in mid-childhood. The number of participants were 122 divorced-custodial fathers, 107 married fathers, 85 divorced-custodial mothers, and 82 married mothers (n?=?398). A comparison among four groups of parents revealed the following gender differences: mothers scored higher on anxious caregiving and parental acceptance than fathers, and lower on avoidant caregiving. Regression analysis indicated that the higher the caregiving avoidance or anxiety, the lower the parental acceptance. Family status moderated parental acceptance, as avoidant caregiving was associated with reduced parental acceptance among married parents, but not among divorced custodial parents. The finding that avoidant caregiving was not associated with reduced acceptance among divorced custodial parents implies that their parental acceptance behaviors toward their children are affected by their parental status as sole custodial parent, and the associated responsibilities, rather than by gender.     

Parenting Responses and Parenting Goals of Mothers and Fathers of Adolescents

We extended on previous work by examining the contextual nature of parenting goals in mothers and fathers of adolescents. We also examined dyadic parenting similarity in parenting responses and parenting goals. Participants were 285 primarily professional (48.6%), White (82.7%) parents of adolescents aged 14 to 17 years old (mothers n = 213, fathers n = 68, dyads n = 43). Results of a 2 × 2 × 6 MANCOVA indicated that parenting goals were influenced by characteristics of the situation but not by parent or adolescent gender. There was dyadic parenting similarity for parenting responses and dyadic similarity for parenting goals. The implications of these findings for parenting interventions and future parenting research using within family comparisons are discussed.     

Predictors of Divorcing Women's Use of Divorce Mediation

Abstract

This study examined the relations between perceived usefulness of mediation, problem susceptibility, mental health conditions, availability of social support, and the likelihood of using divorce mediation service. The sample comprised 124 divorcing women in Hong Kong who sought legal aid to settle matrimonial issues. A large proportion of participants indicated their willingness to use mediation. Logistic regression showed that likely users have higher appreciation of the helpfulness of the service, have poorer mental health, and to some extent, receive lower levels of social support from informal sources. Susceptibility to housing, finance, and child-care problems is not a significant predictor. The results strongly suggest the importance of promoting mediation services to the people in need.     

A Joint Legal/Social Work Services Program Helps Working Women Through the Divorce Process

Abstract

This study examined the effect of divorce on working class women and the effects of social work services of these women's experiences. The study was based on women who were members of a New York City Labor Union.     

Relationship Components and Nature of Postdivorce Parenting Responsibilities Among Individuals Going Through a Divorce

ABSTRACT

The relationship components and nature of postdivorce parenting responsibilities were examined among individuals going through different levels of conflict as measured by level of court involvement during their divorce and 6 months later. A modification of the Binuclear Family Research Project Questionnaire was employed to examine communication, interaction, anger, guilt, positive feelings, and attitude toward former spouse as a parent for 110 parents of children under the age of 18 going through a divorce or dissolution. Participants were classified into 1 of 4 groups based on level of court involvement: dissolution, divorce with low conflict, divorce with moderate conflict, and divorce with high conflict. Results suggested that individuals going through dissolutions have better communication, more interaction, and a more positive attitude toward their former spouse than individuals going through high-conflict divorces. Suggestions are offered for addressing postdivorce conflict and future research.     

A Prospective Study of Behavioural Disturbance in Children Who Subsequently Experience Parental Divorce

This study examines changes in children's behaviour as a function of parental divorce. As part of a large scale general population study on the effects of marital disharmony on children, 139 children from the general population were followed up from a previous study. These children and their mothers were interviewed first between 1979 and 1982 (time 1) and then followed up between 1984 and 1986 (time 2). Between the time 1 interview and the time 2 interview, 16 children's parents had separated or divorced. This paper deals with the mothers' report of changes in the behaviour of these children between time 1 and time 2 as a function of their parents' divorce, and compares this with changes in children's behaviour whose parents live in disharmonious (N = 40) or harmonious homes (N = 50). Children's reports of their own behaviour at time 2 are also presented. The data show that children in disharmonious homes and children whose parents subsequently divorce show higher levels of disturbance than children in harmonious homes. Children whose parents subsequently divorce show their disturbance prior to the divorce. Children's coping strategies in response to divorce were also investigated and and an association was found between children's behavioural problems and (a) self-blame and (b) not having friends whose parents had divorced.     

Correlates of Women's Adjustment During the Separation and Divorce Process

This study sought to clarify those factors related to successful adjustment at different times during the divorce process. A longitudinal research design was used to study three diverse sam- ples of women in the process of adaptation. Certain variables previ- ously found to predict adjustment, such as the woman's a e and the f presence of children, were not significantly associated wit the mul- tiple indicators of adjustment used in this study. Sex role attitudes, social isolation, and inter-spouse acrimony emerged as stronger cor- relates of adjustment. The predictive power of several variables changed over time, emphasizing the importance of controlling the length of separation for a given sample.     

A Longitudinal Study of the Effects of Social Support on the Psychological Adjustment of Divorced Mothers

Social support has been frequently hypothesized as a significant moderating influence on the adverse consequences of marital disruption. This exploratory longitudinal study examined the impact of social support on the psychological adjustment of divorced mothers. Divorced mothers provided social network information and psychological adjustment profiles at two months and six months following divorce. Results indicate that there were major changes in the structural and interactional characteristics of the participants' social networks over time. Some types of social support were related to well-being and several structural and interactional characteristics of the social network were related to adjustment.     

Divorce and Remarriage in Norway: A Prospective Cohort Study Between 1981 and 2013

ABSTRACT

As the population of divorced adults has increased, the number of remarriages has followed. Previous research has mainly compared first-time marriages with remarriages, whereas this study analyzes 4 different constellations of marriages: first time for both spouses, first time for one and second time for the other, second time for both, and third time or more for at least one member of the couple. The analyses are based on data from all Norwegian 2-sex marriages formed from 1981 to 2013, for a total of more than 770,000 marriages. The findings indicate that remarried couples are considerably more prone to divorce compared to couples married for the first time, particularly marriages in which both partners are remarried and marriages in which at least one of the partners is married for the third time or more. The differences between the various groups of marriages decline with a longer duration of the marriage.     

Unique Influence of Mothers and Fathers on Their Children's Antisocial Behavior

The social development model ( Catalano & Hawkins, 1996 ) was adapted to examine the unique influence of mothers and fathers on their children's antisocial behavior. Analyses examined 325 families with sixth‐grade children. Structural equation modeling was used to assess unique influences of constructs specific to mothers or fathers. Multiple‐group comparisons were conducted to identify differences in the relationships between constructs for daughters versus sons. Results suggested that, although the relationships were often similar for both parents and for both daughters and sons, mothers and fathers uniquely influenced their child's antisocial behavior depending on the child's gender. Overall, cross‐gender influence appeared to be particularly important for fathers’ control of their daughters’ antisocial behavior. Implications for the prevention of antisocial behavior are discussed.     

A Temporal Multifaceted Adaptation Approach to the Experiences of Employed Mothers

Scholars have been examining multiple facets of the experiences of employed mothers for decades. However, much of this scholarship has focused on the examination of specific variables that may have an influence on their lives. In this article I seek to review much of this research and explore it through the framework of a temporal multifaceted adaptation approach. This framework addresses the specific phases that comprise the professional or semiprofessional employed mother's adaptation to her home and work environments. Thus, this approach organizes employed mothers’ experiences in terms of the antecedent, process, and outcome phases of their adaptation to their lives as employed mothers. Organizing and examining the research in this way enables a more comprehensive understanding of how the experience of employed mothers evolves over time, as well as the factors that both hinder and help them as they adjust to challenges associated with their role.     

Till Debt do us Part: A Model of Divorce and Personal Bankruptcy

The number of personal bankruptcies has increased dramatically since 1990, and a growing number of filers are divorced. While previous research shows that divorce significantly increases the probability of bankruptcy, these studies assume divorce is exogenous. This study uses the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to investigate the relationship between divorce and bankruptcy. Single-equation probit results show that divorce significantly increases the probability of bankruptcy and bankruptcy significantly increases the probability of divorce. However, after controlling for endogeneity, the effect of divorce on bankruptcy and the effect of bankruptcy on divorce both fall by a significant amount and are statistically insignificant. The findings suggest that future research needs to more carefully model the role that financial distress plays within a marriage.

A Comparison of Biological and Adoptive Mothers and Fathers

ABSTRACT

While poverty is suspected to be the major reason for birth families relinquishing their children for international adoptions, little is known of the impact of the interplay among the economic, familial, and cultural aspects of a particular sending country which culminates in the adoption decision. In this study, the authors studied 73 birthmothers in the Republic of Marshall Islands, a small Western Pacific island nation with a total population of 68,000, to explore the influences that led to their adoption decision. Their findings reflect an environment of extreme poverty, the breakdown of traditional family support systems, and the exploitation of the cultural understanding of adoptions.     

Children of Divorce in the 1990s

Abstract

Amato and Keith's (1991) comprehensive meta-analysis of well-being differences in children from divorced and intact families found that, when studies were divided by era (1950-1969, 1970-1979, and 1980-1989), the apparent decrements to children of divorce became smaller over time. In an attempt to replicate and extend the Amato and Keith meta-analysis, we conducted a similar one for the 1990s, drawing from 35 published articles. Results showed that across several domains of child well-being (school achievement, conduct, psychological adjustment, self-concept, social adjustment, mother-child relations, and father-child relations), decrements to children of divorce between 1990-1999 were slightly-though consistently-more pronounced than in the previous decade.     

The Effect of Male Delinquency on Mothers and Fathers: A Heuristic Study

This paper addresses some of the lacunas extant in the empirical literature on adolescents. The focus rests on studying the impact of juvenile delinquency not on adolescents, but on their parents. From an interactional perspective, adolescents are denned as proactive social actors who contribute to the quality of their family lives. A multisample, multimethod study of delinquents'parents is conducted and finds that parents are highly affected by their children's delinquency; this effect is particularly strong for mothers compared to fathers. Difficult adolescent behaviors and delinquency lead to a series of complications and stressors in parental lives. Research questions are suggested that target a broad range of variables and themes.     

A Model of the Remarried Family

Abstract

The focus of this paper is on the tension and dilemmas that are relatively common in remarried families. The document begins with laying a foundation that, indeed, tension and dilemmas are common in social relations as well as in first married families. The paper then continues to synthesize some of the literature on remarried families to develop a model that identifies seven dilemmas: nomic, authority, family career, bonding, intergenerational, societal boundary and the divorce chain.     

Parenting Practices of Resident Fathers: The Role of Marital and Biological Ties

This paper uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 2,098) to examine differences in the parenting practices of four types of resident fathers, defined by their biological relationship to a focal child and their marital status with regard to the focal child's mother. Regression results suggest that biological and social (i.e., stepfathers or mothers' cohabiting partners) fathers differ significantly, and in some unexpected ways, on most measures of parenting. However, a considerable portion of these differences can be explained by variation in the background characteristics of the individuals and families in each group. Additionally, difference-in-difference analyses reveal a stronger link between marriage and higher quality parenting practices among social fathers than among biological fathers.