"Feeling caught" as a mediator of adolescents' and young adults' avoidance and satisfaction with their parents in divorced and non-divorced households

Authors: Afifi T.D.; Schrodt P.

Source: Communication Monographs, Volume 70, Number 2, June 2003 , pp. 142-173(32)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

Numerous researchers have argued that divorce may not have as much of an impact on children's relationships with their parents as the degree of interparental con.ict (e.g., Ahrons & Rodgers, 1987; Amato, Loomis, & Booth, 1995). In the current model the degree to which adolescents and young adults felt caught between their parents was tested as a mediator between divorce and children's avoidance and satisfaction with them. The results revealed that divorce was largely associated with avoidance and satisfaction through children's feelings of being caught, which were a function of their parents' demand--withdraw patterns, communication competence, and other variables. When divorce was removed from the model, the specific relationships in the model applied to children of divorced and non-divorced households. Nevertheless, children of divorce reported greater avoidance, feelings of being caught, greater parental demand--withdraw patterns, less parental communication competence, less closeness, and less satisfaction than children from first marriage families. The .t of the model as a function of the age of the child is also discussed.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0363775032000133791

Publication date: 2003-06-01