Adult Children of Divorce : Stress and Well-Being

Sammanfattning: Parental divorce has not only been associated with negative long-term effects for children of divorce (CD), but also for adult children of divorce (ACD). ACD more often have poorer mental well-being than adult children of marriage (ACM). Neurological research further suggests that ACD have lower baseline levels of the “stress hormone” cortisol. However, research of Swedish ACD is extremely sparsely. Therefore, the study’s aim is to examine the possible long-term effects of Swedish ACD. Do ACD have lower well-being and experience more stress than ACM? A sample of 227 Swedish participants (81 ACD and 146 ACM) were included. The majority (75.7%) were between 18-30 years old, 157 females and 70 males. An online survey including the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Temporal Satisfaction with Life Scale (TSWLS), and questions about the parental divorce was distributed via social media. Independent t-tests and one-way ANOVA analysis were performed to compare ACD’s and ACM’s results. The study found that ACD rated their well-being (satisfaction with the past) (p ≤ .001), and stress (p ≤ .019), significantly lower than ACM. Moreover, female ACD perceived more stress than female ACM (p ≤ .010), and male ACD (p ≤ .015). The group between 10-14-year-old at the time of the divorce rated significantly lower well-being (past) (p ≤ .035). In conclusion, the study suggests that Swedish ACD also suffer from long-term effects of divorce. Future research ought to investigate the matter further.