Poster #98 - The Protective Role of Parental Attachment in Young Adults Who Experience Divorce

• In Event: 3-159 - Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: PS 12 Section - Family Context & Processes

Integrative Statement

Background: Parental divorce may be experienced as a traumatic event in the life of a child. In order to understand the effects of divorce on children, early research focused primarily on negative psychological outcomes associated with this experience, such as depression and anxiety. Few studies have examined well-being following divorce or assessed protective factors, such as parental attachment, that may promote positive functioning and reduce psychopathology. The present study aims to address these research gaps by examining both negative (i.e. anxiety and depression) and positive (i.e. resilience and posttraumatic growth) mental health outcomes in young adults who experience divorce. Further, the effects of parental attachment on young adult functioning were assessed, while accounting for relevant demographic factors and divorce-related variables.
Methods: Participants were 210 young adults from a MidSouth university who experienced parental divorce (80.2% female, 55% White, Mage= 19.65). Respondents completed a battery of self-report measures that included questionnaires regarding traumatic life experiences, overall mental health functioning, and demographics. Four hierarchical linear regression models were run to predict generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), depression, resilience, and posttraumatic growth from race, sex, time since divorce, traumatic rating of the divorce, and divorce cited as the participant’s lifetime most traumatic event (Model 1), with avoidant and anxious attachment to one’s mother and father added in Model 2.
Results: With regard to negative outcomes, the final model for GAD was significant, F(10, 210)=5.02, p<.001, Adj R2=20.1%, with higher anxious attachment to mother (β=.61, p<.01) and higher anxious attachment to father (β=.41, p=.02) associated with more symptoms of GAD. The depression model was not significant. With regard to positive outcomes, the final model for resilience was significant, F(10, 210)=3.48, p< .001, Adj R2=14.9%, with less avoidant attachment to mother (β=-0.06, p=.02) related to more resilience. Race was also a significant predictor in this model (β=-0.96, p<.001). In the final posttraumatic growth model, attachment was again significant F(10, 204)=2.29, p<.001, Adj R2=10.6% with higher posttraumatic growth scores associated with less avoidant attachment to mother (β= -0.85, p=.01). Additionally, individuals who listed divorce as their most traumatic event reported lower posttraumatic growth scores than those who experienced other types of adversity (β= -10.57, p=.02).
Conclusions: Results indicate that attachment to one’s parents, particularly to the mother, has a significant impact on mental health following parental divorce. Specifically, young adults who utilize more anxious and avoidant attachment strategies report higher levels of anxiety, lower levels of resilience, and lower levels of posttraumatic growth. Thus, secure parental attachments may buffer against psychopathology and promote positive functioning. When working with young adults who have experienced parental divorce, clinicians should focus on the quality of the parental relationship as one way to enhance functioning. Family-based interventions should emphasize the importance of the child’s relationship to each parent and the value of a strong parental bond to improve post-divorce functioning.

Authors

• Taylor Rae Napier, University of Memphis
  Presenting Author

• Kathryn Howell, University of Memphis
  Non-Presenting Author

• Laura Schwartz, University of Memphis
  Non-Presenting Author