Research on divorce during the past decade has focused on a range of topics, including the predictors of divorce, associations between divorce and the well-being of children and former spouses, and interventions for divorcing couples. Methodological advances during the past decade include a greater reliance on nationally representative…

We assessed the associations between parents' marital discord and divorce, patterns of parent-child relationships, and adult children's subjective well-being. Parental divorce and marital conflict appeared to increase the odds that children were close to neither parent in adulthood. Parental divorce (but not marital conflict) appeared to increase…

Conducted meta-analysis of 37 studies dealing with long-term consequences of parental divorce for adult well-being. Results indicated adults who experienced parental divorce exhibited lower levels of well-being than did adults whose parent were continuously married. Strongest estimated effects occurred in areas of one-parent family status,…

Used data from longitudinal study of 471 parents and their adult offspring to examine whether nontraditional gender roles/attitudes among parents were associated with later life outcomes of children. Found very little evidence that mother's participation in labor force, father's participation in household tasks, and parents' gender role attitudes…

Research on divorce has found that adolescents' feelings of being caught between parents are linked to internalizing problems and weak parent-child relationships. The present study estimates the effects of marital discord, as well as divorce, on young adult offspring's feelings of being caught in the middle (N=632). Children with parents in…

Analysis of data from 471 young adults showed that closeness to fathers made unique contribution to offspring happiness, life satisfaction, and psychological distress. Parental divorce weakened salience of father-child relationship for adult children's life satisfaction. Similarly, marriage, parenthood, and full-time employment diminished salience…

Compared 21 widowed mothers, 21 divorced mothers, and 21 married mothers on material, personal, family, and social well-being. Found that, compared with married mothers, divorced mothers revealed consistently lower levels of economic well-being, widowed mothers tended to have lower levels of personal well-being. Discusses implications for…

Analysis showed that fathers' payment of child support was positively associated with measures of children's well-being. The frequency of contact with nonresident fathers was not related to child outcomes in general. Reports that feelings of closeness and authoritative parenting were positively associated with children's academic success and…

Past research consistently indicates that poverty and economic hardship have negative consequences for children. Few studies, however, have examined whether these consequences persist into adulthood. This study addresses this gap by assessing whether economic resources in the family of origin have long-term effects on psychological well-being in…

Among 1,243 adults nationwide, individuals who experienced parental divorce as children scored lower than those from happily intact families of origin on measures of psychological, social, and marital well-being. Multiple parental divorces and divorces involving deterioration of parent-child relations appeared particularly problematic. Contains 39…

How have recent changes in U.S. family structure affected the cognitive, social, and emotional well-being of the nation's children? Paul Amato examines the effects of family formation on children and evaluates whether current marriage-promotion programs are likely to meet children's needs. Amato begins by investigating how children in households…

For 471 adult children of persons in a longitudinal study of marital instability, the long-term consequences of parental divorce depended upon level of parental conflict prior to separation. Adult offspring who had experienced high levels of parental conflict followed by divorce had levels of psychological and marital well-being as high as…

During the last three decades, remarkable transformations have occurred in the American family, including changes in economic well-being, gender roles, family relationships, and family structure. Based on a 15-year study begun in 1980, this book examines young Americans coming of age in the 1980s and 1990s among families experiencing these social…