MARITAL DISCORD

& DIVORCE

2
PARENTAL DIVORCE
3

Children of divorced marriages Cherlin et al. (1998) found that

report greater unhappiness, less children with divorced parents
satisfaction with life, a weaker exhibited poorer adjustment
sense of personal control, more than did children with
symptoms of anxiety and continuously married parents
depression, and a greater use of prior to marital dissolution
mental health services

3
PARENTS' MARITAL
DISCORD

Exposure to chronic
interparental discord appears to
have long-term psychological
and marital problems in their
own lives

Separation is typically preceded

by a period of con ict or mutual
disengagement between
spouses

Divorce is usually followed by a

series of stressful circumstances
for children:
including reduced contact with
noncustodial parents (usually 4
fathers)
increased tension between Followed by the remarriage of
children and custodial parents one or both parents, and dealing
(usually mothers) with stepparents represents a
continuing rancor between new source of stress for many
parents children
a decline in standard of living
an increase in residential
mobility often involving moving
to neighborhoods with fewer
community resources

4 High level of psychological

distress among adult children
These stressful circumstances are
who grew up in divorced families
likely to impact negatively on
may represent a simple
children's psychological
continuation of emotional
adjustment
problems that began in
childhood

5
4

This is possible due to decrease

Children with divorced parents
in children's standard of living,
are more likely to drop out of
moving to neighborhoods with
high school, less likely to attend
poorer schools, and declines in
college, and complete fewer
parental monitoring and school
years of education overall
involvement, post divorce

As a result, the occupational

status, earned income, and the
value of accumulated assets also
are relatively low among adults
with divorced parents

Parents who ght frequently,

compared with less combative
4 parents, tend to display less
SOCIOECONOMIC warmth toward their children
ATTAINMENT and discipline them more
5
harshly
Parental divorce is associated Observing overt con ict
with lower socioeconomic status between parents is a direct
5
in adulthood stressor for children
Children in high-con ict
households are at increased risk
for antisocial behavior, anxiety,
depression, and dif culty in
concentrating-factors known to
in uence school performance

Education also decreases the risk

of depression (Kessler 1982) and
increases people's sense of
5
personal control
Socioeconomic status is
positively associated with
5
psychological well-being
Income and economic hardship
are associated with
psychological well-being
2
independently of education
MARITAL DISCORD &
DIVORCE

INDIVIDUALS with divorced 5

parents are at increased risk of

experiencing psychological Risk of marital disruption is
problems in adulthood higher for those who
experienced parental divorce as
children

5
3
EXPLANATIONS Reach adulthood with traits that
predispose them to relationship
Marital dissolution is a process problems, such as a de cit in
that begins before physical interpersonal skills, a weak
separation and continues after commitment to the norm of
the marriage is legally ended lifelong marriage, or personality
characteristics that interfere with
relationship harmony and
4 stability
MEDIATION MODEL
RELATING PARENTS'
MARITAL DISCORD AND 5
5

DIVORCE TO 5 However, are relatively tenuous

Premarital cohabitation also is
OFFSPRING'S RELATIONSHIP more common among adult
and short-lived, with a large
INSTABILITY proportion dissolving before
PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL- children of divorce
marriage
BEING
Parental divorce negatively
affects the quality and stability of
Parental discord and divorce 5
children's intimate relationships
interfere with children's
in adulthood Growing up with discordant but
educational attainment, leave
continuously married parents
them with inadequate
also appears to be a risk factor
interpersonal skills and a history
for offspring's later marital
of unstable intimate
discord and instability
relationships, or undermine
close ties with their parents and
kin, children's distress is likely to
6
be reinforced or even ampli ed
after reaching adulthood
Social support provided by
Three processes in offspring's spouses
6
lives mediate the longterm
effects of parental divorce and Generally shows that married 6
marital discord on adult people, compared with single 6
psychological well-being: people, report greater Capacity of spouses to monitor
Protective effects of marriage are
happiness, fewer symptoms of one another's health
due to
psychological distress, more
fi
positive self-concepts, and
better physical health 6

General bene ts associated with

participating in an
institutionalized relationship

6
fi
fl
Associated with early home
leaving among youth-another
indicator of tension between
parents and children

Research consistently shows that

divorce is associated with fewer 6
expressions of parental affection,
greater parental harshness in Divorce appears to weaken
dealing with children's children's ties with both parents
misbehavior, and more
inconsistency in dispensing
discipline

Companionship and emotional

support

6 Advice with educational plans,

RELATIONS WITH jobs, homes, and family life
PARENTS
6
fi
fl
Parental divorce is associated
fl
fi
with relatively weak parent-child Practical assistance with
ties in adulthood everyday tasks such as child care

During the critical years of

development where the child Money for special purchases,
leaves home, completes such as a down payment on a car
education, forms career plans, or home
become economically
independent and marry, they
6
miss potential bene ts from their
parents like: Connect children with kin (such
as grandparents) and other
adults (such as family friends)
fi
who can serve as sources of
support or assistance
fi
fl
6

The recent trend suggests that

the number of years that youth
are economically and
emotionally dependent on
parents appears to be increasing
and hence weak parent-child
relationships can have a severely
negative impact
THE EFFECTS OF DIVORCE AND MARITAL
DISCORD ON ADULT CHILDREN'S
PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING
PAUL R. AMATO JULIANA M. SOBOLEWSKI
ThePennsylvaniaState University ThePennsylvaniaState University

Previous researchhas demonstratedassociations betweenexposureto parental

divorce and maritaldiscord while growing up and children'spsychological distress
in adulthood.Few studies, however,have attemptedto explain these associations.
Threepathwaysare evaluatedthroughwhichfamily disruptionand discord may
affect offspring'swell-being: children'ssocioeconomic attainment,children'smarital
and relationshipstability,and the qualityof children'srelationswithparents. Using
17-year longitudinaldatafrom two generations, resultsshow that divorce and mari-
tal discordpredict lower levels of psychological well-being in adulthood.Parent-
child relationshipsmediatemost of the associations betweenparents'maritaldis-
cord and divorce and children'ssubsequentpsychological outcomes.Maritaldiscord
appears to erode children'semotionalbonds with mothers,whereasboth divorce and
maritaldiscord appear to erode children'semotionalbonds withfathers. The results
highlight the continuingimportanceof parent-childtiesfor children'swell-being in
early adulthood.

INDIVIDUALS with divorced parents are dition to examining the mediating role of so-
at increased risk of experiencing psycho- cioeconomic attainmentand relationship sta-
logical problems in adulthood.Although this bility, we consider a third mechanism: the
tendency has been documented in many quality of relations between offspring and
studies, the explanation for this phenom- parentsin adulthood.Although good reasons
enon remains elusive. A few studies have exist for assuming that the quality of parent-
considered the possibility that low educa- child ties mediates some of the long-term
tional attainmentor poor interpersonalskills negative effects of parental divorce, prior
may mediate the association between paren- studies have not considered this possibility.
tal divorce and adult psychological well-be- Another unresolved issue concerns the long-
ing. Because of the lack of appropriatelon- term impact of discord between parents who
gitudinal data, however, few studies have at- remain married.In the present study, we ex-
tempted to explain the link between child- amine whether exposure to chronic discord
hood family structureand adult psychologi- between parents while growing up predicts
cal functioning. elevated levels of psychological distress
We use data from a 17-year longitudinal among adults, and whetheroffspring's socio-
study of two generations to explain the esti- economic attainment, relationship instabil-
mated effect of parental divorce on adult ity, and quality of ties with parents account
offspring's psychological well-being. In ad- for this association.

Direct all correspondence to Paul R. Amato, BACKGROUND

Department of Sociology, The Pennsylvania
State University, University Park, PA 16802- PARENTAL DIVORCE
6207 ([email protected]). This research was sup-
ported by the National Institute on Aging (grant Previous studies have demonstrated that
ROI AG04146). We thank the anonymous ASA adults with divorced parents,when compared
reviewers for their helpful comments. with adults with continuously married par-
900 AMERICAN SOciOLOGiCAL REVIEW, 2001, VOL. 66 (DECEMBER:900-92 1)

This content downloaded from 128.238.66.100 on Sun, 01 Nov 2015 13:47:12 UTC
 DIVORCE, MARITAL DISCORD, AND CHILDREN'S WELL-BEING 901

ents, report greater unhappiness, less satis- for a large number of predivorce family and
faction with life, a weaker sense of personal child characteristics (Furstenberg and
control, more symptoms of anxiety and de- Kiernan 2001), parents' personality (Simons
pression, and a greater use of mental health and associates 1996), unobserved heteroge-
services. These findings have emerged from neity (McLanahan and Sandefur 1994), ge-
analyses based on the General Social Survey netic similarity between siblings (Kendler et
(Biblarz and Gottainer 2000; Glenn and al. 1992), and the adoption status of children
Kramer 1985), the National Survey of Fami- (Brodzinsky, Hitt, and Smith 1993). Overall,
lies and Households (Amato 1991), the Na- most scholars working in this area have con-
tional Survey of Children (Furstenberg and cluded that parental divorce has real conse-
Teitler 1994; Zill, Morrison, and Coiro quences for children's long-term well-being
1993), the Marital Instability over the Life (Amato 2000; Cherlin 1999; Emery 1999;
Course study (Amato and Booth 1991, 1997), Furstenbergand Kiernan2001; Hetherington
the Detroit Area Study (McLeod 1991), and 1998; McLanahanand Sandefur 1994).
the Survey of Aging, Status, and Social Con-
trol (Ross and Mirowsky 1999). Similar as-
PARENTS' MARITAL DISCORD
sociations appear in national samples from
other countries, including the National Brit- The long-term consequences of parents'
ish Child Development Study (Cherlin, maritaldiscord have been studied less exten-
Chase-Lansdale, and McRae 1998), the Brit- sively than the effects of divorce. Neverthe-
ish National Survey of Health and Develop- less, exposure to chronic interparental dis-
ment (Rodgers 1994), the Canadian General cord appears to have long-term conse-
Social Survey (Le Bourdais and Marcil- quences similar to those of divorce. Adults
Gratton 1998), and the Australian Family who recall a high level of conflict between
Formation Study (Amato 1988). The great parents while growing up tend to report a
majority of studies, with few exceptions, disproportionately large number of psycho-
supportthe existence of a link between child- logical and marital problems in their own
hood family structureand adult psychologi- lives (Amato and Booth 1991; Booth and
cal well-being. Edwards 1990; Kessler and Magee 1993;
Although it is difficult to establish, the pre- Overall, Henry, and Woodward 1974).
ponderanceof evidence suggests that the link Amato and Booth (1997) used prospective
between divorce and children's psychologi- data on parents' reports of marital discord
cal well-being is causal ratherthan spurious. and adult offspring's reports of well-being,
Cherlin et al. (1998) found that children with thus avoiding problems with common
divorced parentsexhibited poorer adjustment method variance. Their analysis (based on an
than did children with continuously married earlier wave of data from the present study)
parentsprior to marital dissolution, suggest- indicated that parental discord was posi-
ing that some of the apparent"effect" of di- tively associated with adult offspring's psy-
vorce was a result of predivorce factors (also chological distress 12 years later. Although
see Sun 2001). However, the gap in adjust- few studies focus on parents' marital qual-
ment between these two groups of children ity, both parental divorce and growing up in
continued to grow throughout adolescence a high-conflict two-parent family appear to
and early adulthood, suggesting that parental be linked with long-term decrements in
divorce had a cumulative impact not ac- children's psychological adjustment.
counted for by predivorce factors. The use of
a fixed-effects model, which controlled for
EXPLANATIONS
all time-invariant differences between chil-
dren with divorced parents and children with Marital dissolution is a process that begins
continuously married parents, provided fur- before physical separation and continues af-
ther supportfor a causal interpretationof this ter the marriageis legally ended. Separation
link (also see Hetherington 1998). Other is typically preceded by a period of conflict
studies have shown that the association be- or mutual disengagement between spouses.
tween parental divorce and long-term out- Moreover, divorce is usually followed by a
comes for children persists after controlling series of stressful circumstances for chil-

This content downloaded from 128.238.66.100 on Sun, 01 Nov 2015 13:47:12 UTC
902 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

Offspring
socioeconomic
attainment

Parentmarital Offspring Offspring

discordand relationship psychological
divorce instability well-being

Offspring-
parent
relationships

Figure 1. Mediation Model Relating Parents' Marital Discord and Divorce to Offspring's
Psychological Well-Being

dren, including reduced contact with non- Figure 1 outlines our explanatory frame-
custodial parents (usually fathers), increased work. Our model assumes that three pro-
tension between children and custodial par- cesses in offspring's lives mediate the long-
ents (usually mothers), continuing rancor term effects of parental divorce and marital
between parents, a decline in standardof liv- discord on adult psychological well-being:
ing, and an increase in residential mobility- socioeconomic attainment, relationship in-
often involving moving to neighborhoods stability, and the quality of relationships be-
with fewer community resources (for a re- tween offspring and parents. To the extent
view, see Amato 2000). In addition, divorce that parental discord and divorce interfere
is usually followed by the remarriageof one with children's educational attainment,leave
or both parents, and dealing with stepparents them with inadequateinterpersonalskills and
represents a new source of stress for many a history of unstable intimate relationships,
children (Hetherington 1998). Parental re- or undermineclose ties with their parentsand
marriage also makes it possible for children kin, children's distress is likely to be rein-
to experience multiple parental divorces. forced or even amplified afterreaching adult-
All of these stressful circumstances are hood. Because causal relations among the
likely to impact negatively on children's psy- mediators are unclear, the model assumes
chological adjustment. Consequently, the that these processes are correlated but does
relatively high level of psychological distress not specify the direction of influence.
among adult children who grew up in di-
vorced families may represent a simple con-
SOCIOECONOMICATTAINMENT
tinuation of emotional problems that began
in childhood. Most researchers,however, as- Parentaldivorce is associated with lower so-
sume that childhood adversities are linked cioeconomic status in adulthood. Compared
with adult mental health through a variety of with children from two-parentfamilies, chil-
intervening structuraland psychological pro- dren with divorced parents are more likely
cesses (e.g., Brown and Harris 1989). More- to drop out of high school, less likely to at-
over, a life-course perspective (Caspi and tend college, and complete fewer years of
Elder 1988; Elder 1994) suggests that expe- education overall (Biblarz and Gottainer
riences in adulthood have the potential to 2000; Furstenbergand Teitler 1994; McLeod
ameliorate,maintain,or exacerbateproblems 1991; Ross and Mirowsky 1999; Zill et al.
that originate in the family of origin. 1993). This educational disadvantage ap-

This content downloaded from 128.238.66.100 on Sun, 01 Nov 2015 13:47:12 UTC
 DIVORCE, MARITAL DISCORD, AND CHILDREN'S WELL-BEING 903

pears to be a result of several postdivorce attainmentmay account for the link between
factors: a decrease in children's standardof divorce, maritaldiscord, and offspring's psy-
living, moving to neighborhoods with poorer chological well-being in adulthood.
schools, and declines in parental monitoring
and school involvement (McLanahan and RELATIONSHIP INSTABILITY
Sandefur 1994). Given the importance of
education in determining later socioeco- Evidence suggests that parental divorce
nomic attainment, it is not surprising that negatively affects the quality and stability of
occupational status, earned income, and the children's intimate relationships in adult-
value of accumulated assets also are rela- hood. Individuals with divorced parents,
tively low among adults with divorced par- compared with individuals with continu-
ents (Amato and Keith 1991; Biblarz and ously married parents, report more dissatis-
Gottainer 2000; McLeod 1991; Ross and faction, problems, and conflict in their own
Mirowsky 1999). marriages (Amato and Booth 1991, 1997).
Parents' marital discord, even in the ab- Similarly, the risk of marital disruption is
sence of divorce, may impact negatively on higher for those who experienced parental
children's school achievement. Observing divorce as children (Amato and Booth 1997;
overt conflict between parents is a direct Bumpass, Martin, and Sweet 1991; Glenn
stressor for children. In addition, parents and Kramer 1987; McLanahanand Bumpass
who fight frequently, compared with less 1988; McLeod 1991). Most observers as-
combative parents, tend to display less sume that children from divorced families
warmth toward their children and discipline reach adulthood with traits that predispose
them more harshly. Presumably for these them to relationship problems, such as a
reasons, children in high-conflict households deficit in interpersonal skills, a weak com-
are at increased risk for antisocial behavior, mitment to the norm of lifelong marriage, or
anxiety, depression, and difficulty in concen- personality characteristicsthat interfere with
trating-factors known to influence school relationship harmony and stability. Premari-
performance (Davies and Cummings 1994; tal cohabitation also is more common among
Emery 1999). Few studies have related pa- adult children of divorce (Cherlin, Kiernan,
rental discord to children's educational out- and Chase-Lansdale 1995; Furstenberg and
comes in adulthood, although Snarey (1993), Teitler 1994; Le Bourdais and Gratton
using longitudinal data, found that parents' 1998). Cohabiting unions, however, are rela-
marital quality when children were growing tively tenuous and short-lived, with a large
up was positively associated with daughters' proportion dissolving before marriage
(but not sons') later educational and occupa- (Bumpass and Lu 2000). This trend, coupled
tional attainment. with their higher risk of marital dissolution,
Previous studies indicate that socioeco- means that adults with divorced parents ex-
nomic status is positively associated with perience more union disruptions than do
psychological well-being. For example, edu- adults with continuously marriedparents.
cational achievement is positively related to Growing up with discordant but continu-
people's reports of being happy and having ously married parents also appears to be a
stimulating, pleasant, and rewarding experi- risk factor for offspring's later marital dis-
ences at work and at home (Campbell 1981). cord and instability. Several cross-sectional
Education also decreases the risk of depres- studies have shown that people who recall
sion (Kessler 1982) and increases people's unhappiness in their parents' marriages tend
sense of personal control (Ross and Wu to report less happiness, more conflict, and
1995). Moreover, income and economic more problems in their own marriages
hardship are associated with psychological (Belsky and Isabela 1985; Booth and
well-being independently of education (Ross Edwards 1990; Overall et al. 1974). In a
and Mirowsky 1999). Therefore, if educa- longitudinal study, Caspi and Elder (1988)
tion and income both promote psychological found that parents' ratings of marital con-
well-being, and if offspring from divorced or flict (using data collected when children
discordantfamilies have lower levels of both were growing up) were positively associ-
education and income, then socioeconomic ated with children's later reports of conflict

This content downloaded from 128.238.66.100 on Sun, 01 Nov 2015 13:47:12 UTC
904 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

in their own marriages. Existing evidence, pline (Davies and Cummings 1994;
therefore, suggests that marital discord, as Hetherington and Clingempeel 1992). Al-
well as divorce, is transmitted across gen- though divorce appearsto weaken children's
erations. ties with both parents, most studies indicate
Research generally shows that married that the consequences are stronger for fa-
people, compared with single people, report thers than for mothers, presumably because
greater happiness, fewer symptoms of psy- most children reside with mothers following
chological distress, more positive self-con- marital dissolution. Studies also show that
cepts, and better physical health (Aseltine interparental discord-even in the absence
and Kessler 1993; Ross 1995; Waite 1995). of divorce-is linked with poor relation-
Most observers assume that the protective ships with parents among young children
effects of marriageare due to the social sup- (Davies and Cummings 1994; Emery 1999;
port provided by spouses, the capacity of Hetherington and Clingempeel 1992) as
spouses to monitor one another's health, and well as adult offspring (Amato and Booth
the general benefits associated with partici- 1997; Rossi and Rossi 1990).
pating in an institutionalized relationship Even though problematic parent-child re-
(Nock 1998). Regardless of current marital lationships may originate in childhood, they
status, the number of divorces people accu- take on new significance as children make
mulate appears to be a factor in poor mental the transition to adulthood-a time when
health (Kurdek 1990). Therefore, if indi- youth leave home, complete their educations,
viduals with histories of unstable relation- form career plans, become economically in-
ships are prone to psychological distress, dependent, marry,and begin their own fami-
and if growing up in a discordant and un- lies. During these critical years, children re-
stable home environment makes it more dif- ceive many potential benefits from parents,
ficult for children to maintain stable rela- including emotional support; companion-
tionships in adulthood, then relationship in- ship; advice with educational plans, jobs,
stability may mediate the effects of parental homes, and family life; practical assistance
discord and instability on adult offspring's with everyday tasks such as child care; and
psychological well-being. money for special purchases, such as a down
payment on a car or home. Parents also con-
nect children with kin (such as grandparents)
RELATIONS WITH PARENTS
and other adults (such as family friends) who
Parentaldivorce is associated with relatively can serve as sources of supportor assistance.
weak parent-child ties in adulthood. Com- These transitional years have become more
pared with adults with continuously married difficult in recent decades because of a de-
parents, adults with divorced parents have cline in wages for young men, the rising cost
less frequent contact with parents, exchange of housing, and an increase in the cost of a
less assistance with parents, and describe college education (Amato and Booth 1997).
their relationships with parents less posi- Correspondingly, the number of years that
tively (Amato and Booth 1991, 1997; youth are economically and emotionally de-
Aquilino 1994; Cooney 1994; Silverstein pendent on parents appears to be increasing
and Bengtson 1997; Umberson 1992; Zill et (Furstenberg2000). For example, recent co-
al. 1993). Parental divorce and remarriage horts of youth have been relatively slow to
also are associated with early home leaving leave the parental home, and among those
among youth-another indicator of tension who do, "returningto the nest" is common
between parents and children (Amato and (Goldscheider and Goldscheider 1994). In-
Booth 1997; Cooney 1994). Presumably, deed, only when parents reach the last de-
weak bonds with parents emerge from the cade of the life course does the flow of assis-
turmoil that precedes and follows marital tance between generations shift primarily
disruption. Research consistently shows that from children to parents (Rossi and Rossi
divorce is associated with fewer expressions 1990). Because the early adult years present
of parental affection, greater parental harsh- many challenges to youth, and because par-
ness in dealing with children's misbehavior, ents represent a key resource for making the
and more inconsistency in dispensing disci- transition to adulthood, weak ties with par-

This content downloaded from 128.238.66.100 on Sun, 01 Nov 2015 13:47:12 UTC