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Depression & Divorce Long-Term Effects On Adult Children
Depression & Divorce Long-Term Effects On Adult Children
Depression & Divorce Long-Term Effects On Adult Children
INTRODUCTION
not only the partners, but also the children. Therefore, it is important to
pay attention to the consequences of a divorce on children, in both the
short and long terms. Although a great deal of attention is focused on the
negative consequences in the short term, the conclusion is frequently
drawn that these can subside in the course of the years, because of the spe-
cific behavioral characteristics of the child and certain life experiences
(Louis and Zhao 2002). Nevertheless, cross-sectional and longitudinal
research up to twenty years after the parental divorce shows that impor-
tant differences continue to exist between children of divorced parents
and children of intact families. Only in the last ten years has more atten-
tion been devoted to a possible explanation for these long-term conse-
quences, and mediating factors, which on both the economic and relational
levels, appear to exercise a decisive influence (Amato and Sobolewski
2001; McLeod 1991; Ross and Mirowsky 1999; Dronkers 1997).
LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES
OF PARENTAL DIVORCE
kind of people who feel less bound to the “institution of marriage” and
consequently are more positive about a divorce. Also, without taking
into account the previous relation history, the general conclusion is
that there is a greater chance for divorce for children of divorced par-
ents, compared with those of parents who have stayed married (Keith
and Finlay 1988; McLanahan and Bumpass 1988; McLeod 1991).
People also frequently refer to the “intergenerational transfer of a di-
vorce.” A cited explanation (Christensen and Brooks 2001; McLanahan
1988) is the greater recognition of the divorce option: children from bro-
ken homes are more inclined to end the marriage instead of solving re-
lation problems in a constructive way.
In order to unravel the effect of parental divorce on one’s own rela-
tionship, it is more interesting, depending on the problems, to take cer-
tain qualities of relations into consideration than the actual divorce.
Examples are the relation quality (Holman and Birch 2001; McLeod
1991) and the relational involvement (Amato and DeBoer 2001). Wolf-
inger (2000) has shown that multiple transitions in childhood, such as
parental divorce and step parenting, diminish the relational involvement
in later life. Barriers and alternatives influence the chance for marital
stability leading up to one’s own divorce significantly more in children
from broken versus intact homes (White 1990). Similarly, objective
economic circumstances such as income, economic pressure and work
instability, have an indirect influence on marital interactions, owing to
the pressure that occurs when attempting to meet social needs with
improper means (Conger et al. 1990).
In general, there is a clear link between a parental divorce and various
characteristics of an intimate relationship in adulthood. Effects on the
marriage quality and the marriage involvement can ultimately result in a
lower well-being when these children become adults. We therefore ex-
pect an indirect link between parental divorce and depression through
the current marital status and, in the case of involvement in an intimate
relationship, through specific relational characteristics.
Sex Differences
RESEARCH DESIGN
Measurement
Dependent Variable
Independent Variables
Mediating Variables
With the income of your household in mind, do you find it very difficult
(1), difficult (2), rather difficult (3), rather easy (4), easy (5) or very easy to
make ends meet?”
Relational Characteristics. For the relational characteristics, it is
necessary to divide variables for the sample in general and partners (liv-
ing together and/or married) in particular. To measure the marital status
of all respondents, two dichotomized variables are compiled: “divorced”
with category 1 for individuals who have never been married and have
no partner and 0 for all others, and “single” with category 1 for individu-
als who never married and have no current partner, and 0 for all others.
For individuals who at the time of the survey were involved in an inti-
mate relation, information was obtained on the relation type in which
they were involved (living together or married), the previous relation
history (sum of the number of broken off living-together situations and
divorces) and the relational involvement. This latter variable is a sum-
med up scale of six items where both partners were asked whether they
found this to be a very bad (1), bad (2), good (3) or very good (4) de-
scription of their current relation. 2 Cronbach’s alpha for these six items
together is 0.68.
Methods
In the following analyses, which in the first instance pertain to data of
all respondents and later to respondents who are married/living to-
gether, the influence of a parental divorce is checked against various eco-
nomic variables and relational characteristics. Depending on the mea-
suring level of the dependent respondents, this is carried out on the basis
of an OLS or logistical regression analysis. The next step is to check the
effect of parental divorce on the later mental health as well as, directly or
indirectly, via the current financial situation, as specific relational charac-
teristics. To clarify the specific effect of these indirect paths, the intermedi-
ating variables are introduced gradually in the regression analysis.
RESULTS
Men Women
Divorcedc Singlec Degreeb OFSb SFSb Divrocedc Singlec Degreeb OFSb SFSb
Parental 0.747** ⫺0.105 ⫺0.831*** ⫺0.451*** ⫺0.502*** 0.700** ⫺0.080 ⫺0.641*** ⫺0.335*** ⫺0.435***
divorce
(2.570) (0.588) (⫺5.322) (⫺6.710) (⫺6.540) (3.113) ( 0.453) (⫺4.643) (⫺5.347) (⫺5.887)
[2.110] [0.900] [2.014] [ 0.923]
Age 0.082*** ⫺0.183*** ⫺0.012* 0.004 0.001 0.065*** ⫺0.188*** ⫺0.039*** 0.003 ⫺0.003
(6.944) (21.158) (⫺2.384) (1.829) (0.271) (7.274) (19.988) (⫺8.494) (1.505) (⫺1.410)
Constant ⫺6.330 4.896 4.985 2.620 3.984 ⫺5.148 4.537 5.946 2.584 4.057
R2 0.025 0.286 0.014 0.025 0.020 0.025 0.245 0.034 0.014 0.014
53
54 JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE
Men and women who lived through a parental divorce when they
were children, are decidedly more depressive than people who have not
gone through such an experience (Model 1, Table 2). This result is at
least noteworthy, in view of the fact that the average time that has lapsed
since the event in this sample is twenty-one years. The connection be-
tween parental divorce and depression is stronger for men, including af-
ter control of age, but the difference is small. Striking in general are the
low explained variance percentages (R2) resulting from this regression
analysis. Such results however are found in comparable studies (Aqui-
lino and Supple 2001; Amato and Sobolewski 2001; Keith and Finley
1988; Mack 2001). This can be explained in part by the small number of
adults with divorced parents for whom sufficient information is present.
On the other hand, it is possible that alternative theories can explain the
proposed connection. In general, we ask: Which variables explain indi-
rectly the link between a parental divorce and depression?
In the first instance, we find that children with divorced parents di-
vorce sooner themselves. Literature concerning the intergenerational
Wauterickx, Gouwy, and Bracke 55
Men Women
Model 1 Model 2 Model 1 Model 2
Parental divorce 0.057* 0.049* 0.045* 0.035
(2.518) (2.114) (2.210) (1.751)
Age ⫺ 0.001 ⫺ 0.001 ⫺ 0.002* ⫺0.002*
(⫺ 0.642) (0.729) (⫺2.077) (⫺2.175)
Divorced 0.089** 0.086** 0.123*** 0.090***
(2.745) (2.614) (5.068) (3.551)
Single 0.023 0.020 0.006 ⫺ 0.003
(1.150) (0.994) (0.301) (⫺ 0.161)
Educational degree 0.002 0.003
(0.466) (1.015)
Obj. financial situation 0.018* 0.012
(2.144) (1.573)
Subj. financial situation ⫺ 0.037*** ⫺ 0.041***
(-5.410) (⫺6.669)
Constant 0.633 0.727 0.795 0.916
2
R 0.008 0.022 0.016 0.034
break up with their partner. This could be explained by the drastic finan-
cial consequences of their own divorce, which for women are always
more detrimental (Bracke 1998). Table 2 shows that a second important
mediating variable, the negative subjective assessment of the financial
situation, fosters the depressive behavior of men and women.
To summarize, the study of this population shows that going through
a parental divorce in childhood can have negative influences on mental
health up to adulthood. This applies only for both men and women, and
is independently noticeable, including after the decidedly strong impact
of one’s own divorce experience and/or financial problems. It was ear-
lier stated that only few respondents divorce themselves in the end. The
next question that we can then ask ourselves is: Can the presence of a
stable relationship counter the negative effect of a parental divorce?
Degreeb Degree Obj. financial Subj. financial Relationship Relationship Type of partner
partnerb situationb situationb involvementb historyb relationshipb
Men
Parental Divorce ⫺0.849*** ⫺0.303 ⫺0.231** ⫺0.284** ⫺0.095* 0.252*** ⫺0.684**
(⫺4.014) (⫺1.559) (⫺2.817) (⫺2.930) (⫺2.424) (5.655) (3.117)
[0.505]
Divorce ⫺ 0.457* ⫺ 0.435* 0.073 ⫺0.201* ⫺0.017 0.100 ⫺0.766***
parents-in-law
(⫺2.240) (⫺2.329) (⫺ 0.923) (⫺2.141) (⫺0.441) (2.338) (3.568)
Age ⫺0.024** ⫺ 0.058*** 0.014*** ⫺0.007* ⫺0.005*** 0.005** 0.106***
(⫺3.117) (⫺8.274) (4.860) (⫺1.987) (⫺3.784) (3.010) (9.807)
57
58
TABLE 3 (continued)
Women
Parental Divorce ⫺0.481** ⫺0.379 ⫺0.049 ⫺0.183a ⫺0.057 0.191*** ⫺0.642**
(⫺2.581) ( ⫺1.867) (⫺0.625) (⫺1.948) (⫺1.447) (4.841) (2.968)
[0.506]
Divorce ⫺0.117 ⫺0.761*** ⫺0.225** ⫺0.251** ⫺0.052 0.162*** ⫺0.656**
parents-in-law
(⫺0.598) (⫺3.592) (⫺2.761) (⫺2.577) (⫺1.287) (3.932) (2.937)
Age ⫺0.053*** ⫺0.021** 0.014** ⫺0.003 ⫺0.005*** 0.003* 0.111***
(⫺8.215) (⫺2.949) (⫺2.761) (⫺0.830) (⫺3.767) (2.194) (1.293)
Constant 6.509 5.367 2.319 4.176 3.389 0.001 ⫺1.970
R2 0.041 0.013 0.0 25 0.006 0.010 0.026 0.100
a: p = .052
relationship than sons from intact families. This is in line with the
intergenerational divorce transfer, corroborative results, which already
have been cited (see Tables 1 and 2). One last interesting observation
concerns the influence of a parental divorce on the current financial sit-
uation. Men have a lower household income and the subjective assess-
ment of that income is more negative when their parents divorced while
they were children. Additional analyses (no table) qualify this picture:
These long-term consequences for men can be tempered by staying
childless or acquiring their own dwelling. Among women, surprisingly,
it is not the parental divorce, but that of the in-laws, that is decisive for
their own financial situation. This implies that adult women, irrespec-
tive of the growing emancipation, are still highly dependent on the
financial situation of their partner, and especially in economically
adverse situations.
Men Women
Model 1 Model 2 Model 1 Model 2
Parental divorce 0.022 0.010 0.052* 0.035
(0.790) (0.346) (2.007) (1.407)
Divorce parents-in-law 0.026 0.005 0.024 0.003
(0.947) (0.188) (0.890) ( 0.118)
Age 0.002 0.001 ⫺0.002 ⫺0.002a
(1.452) (0.778) (⫺1.604) (⫺1.960)
Educational degree ⫺0.004 ⫺0.006 0.005 ⫺0.002
(⫺0.934) (⫺1.340) (1.168) (⫺0.393)
Educational degree (partner) 0.015*** 0.014** ⫺0.001 0.001
(3.187) (3.095) (⫺0.189) ( 0.343)
Objective financial situation 0.004 ⫺0.004 0.025* 0.023*
(0.390) (⫺0.381) (2.509) (2.376)
Subjective financial situation ⫺0.038*** ⫺0.026*** ⫺0.033*** ⫺0.025***
(⫺4.699) (⫺3.392) (⫺4.492) (⫺3.501)
Type of relationship
0.022 ⫺0.016
(0.876) (⫺0.664)
Relationship history 0.029 ⫺0.002
(1.670) (⫺0.140)
Relationship involvement ⫺0.031*** 0.037***
(⫺4.866) (-6.295)
Depression partner 0.325*** 0.293***
(12.159) (12.297)
a: p = .050
* p > 0.05, ** p > 0.01, *** p > 0.001.
aggravates depression (Table 4). For men and women together, a low
relational involvement aggravates depression. This is bad news for men
in particular: information from Tables 3 and 4 makes it clear that men
with divorced parents are less involved in their current relationship
which leads to mental problems.
The relation solidarity and one’s own assessment of the household
income in adulthood, influenced by the parental marital status, plays an
Wauterickx, Gouwy, and Bracke 61
Conclusions
Corijn (1999) has shown that the number of divorces in Belgium, es-
pecially after the 1994 amendment4 of the relevant legislation has in-
creased sharply. A study of the effects of this radical event in the lives of
those concerned (including children) cannot be shoved to the side. In
Belgium too, we find proof that parental divorce exerts serious influ-
ence on depression in adulthood by disrupting the socio-economic and
relational development of these children. It thus appears, in the first in-
stance, that children, especially girls, with divorced parents are quicker
to divorce in adulthood. In connection with mental health, we see that
one’s own divorce increases depression both indirectly (through the pa-
rental divorce) and directly. Here, a distinction can be drawn between
men and women: Women report more mental problems as a result of a
62 JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE
Alternative Explanations
fers can provide divorced mothers with a level of income equal to that
before the actual divorce.
A good delineation of the various forms of family is essential in this
type of study. Children raised in single-parent families can be children
of divorced parents or of a widowed parent. Research (Mack 2001;
McLeod 1991) has shown that experiencing a parental divorce during
childhood has a far more negative effect on the current relation quality
and the depression of the adult children than the loss of a parent. A dis-
tinction can moreover be drawn between children who grow up in a sin-
gle-parent versus a recomposed family. The remarriage of the parent
with child custody rights makes it possible to obtain a family income
equivalent to that before the parental divorce, thereby raising the social
capital of the separated children and abating the long-term conse-
quences (Fokkema 2001; Furstenberg and Cherlin 1991; Morrison and
Ritualo 2000). On the other hand, several transitions (divorces and/or
marriages) appear to aggravate the negative consequences in the long
term (Amato and Booth 2001; Spruijt, De Goede and Van Der Valk
2000; Wolfinger 2000). It is, therefore, important to draw a clear dis-
tinction between children from these different forms of family. Other-
wise, the effects found could be an underestimation of the existing
negative long-term influences. A conflict-ridden parental relation can
also have important consequences on the well-being of the children (cf.
Raschke 1988). In an intense conflict, a divorce can be expected to have
positive effects on the well-being of the children (Amato, Loomis and
Booth 1995). Because of this, moderate effects of a parental divorce
were found in this study too.
A subsequent remark concerns the choice of the most important
(read: most relevant) mediating factors. Put another way: Which long-
term effects are the most pertinent in respondents whose parents are di-
vorced? This study stressed economic and relational characteristics;
these are work instability (Conger et al. 1990) and work involvement
(McLanahan and Sandefur 1994) on the economic-financial level and
marriageable age (Keith and Finlay 1988; Raschke 1988), confidence
(King 2002), age when first child is born (Cherlin, Kiernan and Chase-
Lansdale 1995; Popenoe 1996) and specific marital values (Keith and
Finlay 1988). Another important mediating variable, which was not in-
cluded in this study, is the child-parent relation. It has repeatedly been
observed that a parental divorce weakens the bond between parent and
child up to adulthood (Amato and Sobolewski 2001; Holman 2001;
King 2002; Spruijt, De Goede and Van Der Valk 2000).
Wauterickx, Gouwy, and Bracke 65
NOTES
1. With thanks to Dimitri Mortelmans and the entire PSBH-team for supplying the
data.
2. These six items are: “We hid nothing from each other,” “we spend most of our
free time together,” “we usually agree, certainly on important things,” “we always
discuss our differences of opinion,” “we are often in the company of friends, we visit a
great deal and our house is always open for them,” and “we have a lot of contact with
family.” This contrasts to an earlier supposition that having a daughter as opposed to a
son increases the chance of divorcing (Simons and Chao 1996). This can be explained
by the greater involvement of the father in the upbringing of a son.
3. This dichotomized variable “depression” is given a score 1 when the answer to
the first item (you feel depressed) is “regularly” or “often” and furthermore, the same
answer categories are to be found on 4 of the 15 depression items in all; in all other
cases, the score 0 is given.
4. The Belgian Act of June 30, 1994 relative to the divorce proceedings entails a
considerable reduction of the divorce proceedings.
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