The Impact of Parental Divorce on College Students' Intimate Relationships and Relationship Beliefs

Abstract

Abstract The present study examined the impact of parental divorce on college students from divorced and intact families on measures of intimacy and relationship beliefs. Analyses indicated that students from divorced families did not experience lower levels of intimacy than children from intact families. With the exception of one relationship belief, students from divorced families did not hold more dysfunctional relationship beliefs than students from intact families. While not directly pertinent to the hypotheses, variables mediating adjustment to divorce were examined, several of which had rarely been previously assessed, including social support, level of stress, and amount of attachment to parents.