Parental Divorce, Parent-Child Ties, and Health: Explaining Long-Term Age Differences in Vulnerability

Previous research highlights the importance of parental divorce in affecting health and well-being. This study focuses on the specific stages of the life course by examining the effects of childhood and adolescent parental divorce on adult children. This work analyzes whether early parental divorce influences multi-dimensional views of parent-child ties (e.g. support, strain, contact), alcohol use, and mental health in the long-term. Results from an Americans' Changing Lives survey show that compared to adolescent parental divorce, experiencing childhood parental divorce has more negative impacts on family relationships and drinking, but not with depression (N = 2,060). This project spotlights that parental divorce among minor children has consequences for dynamic parent-child relationships and adult health across the life course, and suggests greater attention should be given to childhood adversities.