The Effect of Later Life Parental Divorce on Adult-Child/Older-Parent Solidarity: A Test of the Buffering Hypothesis

Paul A. Nakonezny, Joseph Lee Rodgers, Jon F. Nussbaum

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

The present study examined the effect of later life parental divorce on solidarity in the relationship between the adult child and older parent. This examination was achieved by testing the buffering hypothesis. A cross-sectional quasiexperimental pre-post treatment design was used (Cook & Campbell, 1979), with retrospective pretests and data from 100 adult-child/older-parent dyads. The ANOVA results show that the mother/adult-child relationship with a higher degree of predivorce solidarity responded to later life parental divorce with less disruption of affectional solidarity and associational solidarity than those with a lower degree of predivorce solidarity. Thus, the current research provides modest evidence (for the mother/adult-child relationship) to support the buffering hypothesis. We found no evidence of a buffering effect for the father-child relationship.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1153-1178
Number of pages26
JournalJournal of Applied Social Psychology
Volume33
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2003

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Social Psychology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The Effect of Later Life Parental Divorce on Adult-Child/Older-Parent Solidarity: A Test of the Buffering Hypothesis'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this