Adult children of divorce and their attitudes towards romantic long-term relationships : comparison between genders

Individuals who have experienced their parents’ divorce often encounter adverse effects that shape their attitudes and views toward romantic relationships. The current research strived to examine if adult children of divorce and individuals from intact families have significantly different attitudes toward romantic long-term relationships by using the Revised Adult Attachment Scale, consisting of two subscales: anxiety and avoid. Furthermore, the study also explored whether there were any gender differences in these attitudes. In total, 176 participants took part in the study by responding to an online survey. Findings revealed that adult children of divorce experience more anxiety and avoidance toward romantic long-term relationships compared to individuals from intact families. Additionally, the analysis revealed that females experience more anxiety than males toward romantic long-term relationships. However, there was no significant difference between the genders in terms of avoidance of romantic long-term relationships. Moreover, there was no relationship between family structure (intact families vs. divorced families) and gender regarding anxiety and avoid subscales. For future studies, it would be optimal to examine whether different types of divorces have diverse effects on the attitudes of adult children of divorce toward romantic relationships and how these effects can be minimized. Keywords: adult children of divorce, intact families, romantic long-term relationships, gender, revised adult attachment scale

Author dc:creator

• Rakel Sif Mánadóttir 2002-

Contributors dc:contributor

• Háskólinn í Reykjavík

• Sálfræði
• Hjónaskilnaðir
• Börn
• Fjölskyldugerðir
• Ástarsambönd
• Kynjamunur
• Psychology
• Adult children of divorced parents
• Families
• Interpersonal relations
• Sex differences

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1946/47533

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:skemman.is:1946/47533