Parental separation/divorce and adolescents: an examination of factors mediating adaptation

This study examined the relationship between differences in current adjustment as they related to a number of demographic, personal, and situational factors for 65 late adolescents/young adults who had experienced this life transition. Utilizing multiple regression analyses, several factors emerged as particularly salient mediators of the adolescents' postdivorce adjustment, including distance from home, coping style, family cohesion, conflict and organization, and the use of family members for support. The importance of clarifying the role of psychological and situational mediating factors in order to understand the consequences of parental divorce and to organize preventive and ameliorative efforts for this population is discussed.