KathrynRespicio

PYSCH41
Psychosocial Development Assignment
In the last three decades, divorce has become prevalent occurrence in our society. New
research studies have suggested that nearly half of marriages end in divorce. One predominant
factor that has received interest is the effect of parental divorce on young adults romantic
relationships. Cui, Fincham, and Durtschi (2011) decided to explore the relationship between
parental divorce and their offsprings attitudes and behaviors in regards to relationships.
A meta-analysis of young adults who had witnessed their parents divorce provided
interesting results. Cui et al. (2011) discovered an indirect relationship between parental divorce
and young adults relationship. Two variables were used to understand the variation of impact
caused by parental divorce.
For the first variable, the researchers examined the young adults perception of marital
quality between their parents. Young adults who perceived their parents to have a lower quality
of marriage had a more positive attitude towards divorce.
For the second variable, the authors found that attitudes toward divorce were dependent
on the offsprings exposure to interparental conflict. Young adults who were exposed to a high
amount of interparental conflict reported becoming fearful of being in a similar, committed
relationship. Thus leading to a more favorable attitude towards divorce. Young adults who were
exposed to a low amount of conflict had better relationship stability and were less likely to report
relationship dissolution (Cui et al., 2011).
These results showed that offspring who had a positive attitude towards divorce, and who
were exposed to a high amount of interparental conflict were likely to model behavior from their
parents divorce. More importantly, it suggested that these adults could develop patterns of
leaving a less satisfying relationship instead of working on it.

KathrynRespicio
PYSCH41

References

Cui, M., Fincham, F. D., & Durtschi, J. A. (2011). The effect of parental divorce on young
adults romantic relationship dissolution: What makes a difference?. Personal
Relationships, 18(3), 410-426.