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Caught between parents: adolescents' experience in divorced homes.
C M Buchanan1, E E Maccoby, S M Dornbusch
1Center for the Study of Families, Children and Youth, Stanford University, CA 94305-2135.
Child Development
|October 1, 1991
Summary
Adolescents feeling caught between divorced parents experience poorer adjustment. This feeling is linked to parental conflict, not directly to adjustment, highlighting the impact of the child
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Family Studies
Background:
- Adolescent adjustment after parental divorce is a significant area of research.
- Understanding the mediating factors in post-divorce adjustment is crucial for developing effective interventions.
- The concept of 'feeling caught' between parents warrants further investigation in the context of adolescent well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine adolescents' feelings of being caught between parents.
- To determine if this construct explains variability in postdivorce adjustment.
- To investigate associations between family/child characteristics and adolescent adjustment.
Main Methods:
- Telephone interviews with 522 adolescents aged 10-18, 4.5 years post-separation.
- Assessment of feelings of being caught between parents.
- Evaluation of adjustment outcomes and family/child characteristics.
Main Results:
- Feeling caught was associated with high parental conflict and low parental cooperation.
- Closeness to both parents correlated with lower feelings of being caught.
- Parental conflict indirectly impacted adjustment outcomes solely through adolescents' feelings of being caught.
Conclusions:
- Adolescents' feelings of being caught mediate the relationship between parental conflict and adjustment.
- Parental cooperation and closeness can mitigate negative feelings of being caught.
- Interventions should focus on reducing interparental conflict to improve adolescent postdivorce adjustment.