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Previous research has demonstrated associations between exposure to parental divorce and marital discord while growing up and children's psychological distress in adulthood. Few studies, however, have attempted to explain these associations. Three pathways are evaluated through which family disruption and discord may affect offspring's well-being: children's socioeconomic attainment, children's marital and relationship stability, and the quality of children's relations with parents. Using 17-year longitudinal data from two generations, results show that divorce and marital discord predict lower levels of psychological well-being in adulthood. Parentchild relationships mediate most of the associations between parents' marital discord and divorce and children's subsequent psychological outcomes. Marital discord appears to erode children's emotional bonds with mothers, whereas both divorce and marital discord appear to erode children's emotional bonds with fathers. The results highlight the continuing importance of parent-child ties for children's well-being in early adulthood.
INDIVIDUALS with divorced parents are at increased risk of experiencing psychological problems in adulthood. Although this tendency has been documented in many studies, the explanation for this phenomenon remains elusive. A few studies have considered the possibility that low educational attainment or poor interpersonal skills may mediate the association between parental divorce and adult psychological well-being. Because of the lack of appropriate longitudinal data, however, few studies have attempted to explain the link between childhood family structure and adult psychological functioning.
We use data from a 17-year longitudinal study of two generations to explain the estimated effect of parental divorce on adult offspring's psychological well-being. In addition to examining the mediating role of socioeconomic attainment and relationship stability, we consider a third mechanism: the quality of relations between offspring and parents in adulthood. Although good reasons exist for assuming that the quality of parentchild ties mediates some of the long-term negative effects of parental divorce, prior studies have not considered this possibility. Another unresolved issue concerns the longterm impact of discord between parents who remain married. In the present study, we examine whether exposure to chronic discord between parents while growing up predicts elevated levels of psychological distress among adults, and whether offspring's socioeconomic attainment, relationship instability, and quality of ties with parents account for this association.
BACKGROUND
PARENTAL DIVORCE
Previous studies have demonstrated that adults with divorced parents, when compared with adults with...