Parental Divorce Process and Post-Divorce Parental Behaviors and Strategies: Examining Emerging Adult Children’s Attachment-Related Anxiety and Avoidance

Klara Smith-Etxeberria (), Irune Corres-Medrano and Itziar Fernandez-Villanueva
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Klara Smith-Etxeberria: Department of Basic Psychological Processes and Development, Faculty of Psychology, University of the Basque Country, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain
Irune Corres-Medrano: Department of Basic Psychological Processes and Development, Faculty of Psychology, University of the Basque Country, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain
Itziar Fernandez-Villanueva: Department of Basic Psychological Processes and Development, Faculty of Psychology, University of the Basque Country, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 16, 1-14

Abstract: The main goal of this study was to examine the role of parental behaviors during both the process of divorce and the post-divorce period on emerging adult children’s attachment-related anxiety and avoidance. Specifically, we analyzed how recalled coparental respect and cooperation, interparental conflict, positive parenting strategies, and both parents’ emotional state and instability from adult children’s perspective during the divorce process and the post-divorce period were associated with emerging adult children’s current attachment representations. Our sample consisted of 173 emerging adults (Mage = 22.01). The results of this study demonstrate that paternal coparental respect and cooperation along with freedom provided by the mother to talk about the father during the divorce process and post-divorce period were both related to lower attachment-related avoidance. Our findings also confirm a significant link between some paternal positive attitudes during the divorce process (i.e., freedom provided by the father to talk about the mother) and low attachment-related anxiety. Overall, the results of this research confirm that beyond divorce perse, several variables surrounding the divorce process better explain variations in adult children’s attachment representations, which contribute to better comprehending the effects of parental divorce.

Keywords: parental divorce; coparental cooperation and respect; post-divorce interparental conflict; parental emotional state and instability; positive parenting; attachment-related anxiety and avoidance; emerging adult children (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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