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…

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…

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…

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…

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…