Family Conflict and Emotional Adjustment among Adolescents after Parental Divorce
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Parental divorce was examined as a continuing change in family relationships rather than a single legal event. This research use integrative qualitative review on family conflict and adolescent emotional adjustment after divorce. The reviewed studies showed that adjustment was shaped less by divorce status alone than by the relational conditions surrounding separation. Persistent interparental conflict, triangulation, boundary diffusion, unstable parent contact, and pressure to take sides were repeatedly associated with emotional insecurity and poorer adjustment. Adolescents responded differently depending on the quality of parenting, the degree of cooperation between parents, and the stability of relationships across households. Support from teachers, peers, and trusted adults also reduced vulnerability when family routines were unsettled. Emotional adjustment therefore appeared as a relational process tied to security, belonging, and the adolescent's position within a reorganized family. The findings suggested that support after divorce should focus on reducing adolescents' exposure to adult conflict and preserving reliable relationships rather than treating divorce itself as the sole source of emotional difficulty.
Article Details
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Cao, H., Fine, M. A., & Zhou, N. (2022). The divorce process and child adaptation trajectory typology (DPCATT) model: The shaping role of predivorce and postdivorce interparental conflict. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 25(3), 500–528. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-022-00379-3
Corral, S., Herrero, M., Sanz Vázquez, M., Cormenzana, S., & Martínez-Pampliega, A. (2026). Latent profiles of divorce adaptation in high conflict settings: Relations with parental and child adjustment. Current Psychology, 45, 751. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-026-09307-y
Finkelstein, I., & Grebelsky-Lichtman, T. (2022). Adolescents in divorced families: The interplay of attachment patterns, family environment, and personal characteristics. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 63(2), 120–149. https://doi.org/10.1080/10502556.2021.1993017
Glucklich, T. (2023). Dispute intensity, parent-child relationships and child functioning: Analysis of social workers’ reports on families with high-intensity parental disputes. Child Abuse & Neglect, 144, 106342. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106342
Hugh-Jones, S., Atkins, R., Gillibrand, S., Wilding, A., Munford, L., & Sutton, M. (2025). Does the timing of parental divorce or separation impact adolescent and young adult mental health differently by gender? Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 11, 101264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2024.101264
Jabbour, N., Abi Rached, V., Haddad, C., Salameh, P., Sacre, H., Hallit, R., Soufia, M., Obeid, S., & Hallit, S. (2020). Association between parental separation and addictions in adolescents: Results of a national Lebanese study. BMC Public Health, 20, 965. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09108-3
Lan, X., & Mastrotheodoros, S. (2024). Teacher autonomy support and internalizing problems of adolescents from divorced and intact families: Moderation by personality typologies. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 55, 182–194. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-022-01392-x
Lan, X., & Sun, Q. (2022). Exploring psychosocial adjustment profiles in Chinese adolescents from divorced families: The interplay of parental attachment and adolescent’s gender. Current Psychology, 41(9), 5832–5848. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01097-1
Murniasih, F., & Irvan, M. (2023). Promoting resilience in adolescents from divorced family: The role of social support and self-efficacy. Journal An-Nafs: Kajian Penelitian Psikologi, 8(2), 278–293. https://doi.org/10.33367/psi.v8i2.4346
Obeid, S., Al Karaki, G., Haddad, C., Sacre, H., Soufia, M., Hallit, R., Salameh, P., & Hallit, S. (2021). Association between parental divorce and mental health outcomes among Lebanese adolescents: Results of a national study. BMC Pediatrics, 21, 455. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-021-02926-3
O’Hara, K. L., Cummings, E. M., & Davies, P. T. (2024). Interparental conflict and adolescent emotional security across family structures. Family Process, 63(1), 265–283. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12872
O’Hara, K. L., Rhodes, C. A., Wolchik, S. A., Sandler, I. N., & Yun-Tein, J. (2021). Longitudinal effects of postdivorce interparental conflict on children’s mental health problems through fear of abandonment: Does parenting quality play a buffering role? Child Development, 92(4), 1476–1493. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13539
Pang, X., Feng, C., Xue, H., Rozelle, S., & Wang, H. (2024). Associations of parental divorce with student mental health and academic outcomes: A quantitative study in rural China. Journal of Affective Disorders, 363, 579–588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.07.059
Raley, R. K., & Sweeney, M. M. (2020). Divorce, repartnering, and stepfamilies: A decade in review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 82(1), 81–99. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12651
Rejaän, Z., van der Valk, I. E., & Branje, S. (2022b). The role of sense of belonging and family structure in adolescent adjustment. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 32(4), 1354–1368. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12694
Rejaän, Z., van der Valk, I. E., & Branje, S. (2022a). Postdivorce coparenting patterns and relations with adolescent adjustment. Journal of Family Issues, 43(7), 1739–1759. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X211030027
Rejaän, Z., van der Valk, I. E., & Branje, S. (2024). Adolescents’ belonging in post-divorce families: Examining residential and digital contact with mothers and fathers. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 34(2), 568–583. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12920
Rejaän, Z., van der Valk, I., Schrama, W., & Branje, S. (2024). Parenting, coparenting, and adolescents’ sense of autonomy and belonging after divorce. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 53(6), 1454–1468. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-024-01963-2
Rich, E., Butler-Kruger, L., & Roman, N. (2023). Exploring strategies to support adolescent mental health after parental divorce: A scoping review. Youth, 3(1), 428–436. https://doi.org/10.3390/youth3010029
Tay-Karapas, K., Guzmán-González, M., Gómez, F., Comino, P., Salaberria, K., & Bahamondes, J. (2024). An attachment-based pilot program to promote adolescent adjustment to parental divorce. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 18, 44. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-024-00729-9
Tullius, J. M., De Kroon, M. L. A., Almansa, J., & Reijneveld, S. A. (2022). Adolescents’ mental health problems increase after parental divorce, not before, and persist until adulthood: A longitudinal TRAILS study. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 31(6), 969–978. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-020-01715-0
van Dijk, R., Mastrotheodoros, S., van der Valk, I. E., Branje, S., & Deković, M. (2025). Daily and half-yearly associations between boundary diffusion and parent-adolescent relationship quality after divorce. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 54, 383–399. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-024-02064-w
van Dijk, R., van der Valk, I. E., Deković, M., & Branje, S. (2020). A meta-analysis on interparental conflict, parenting, and child adjustment in divorced families: Examining mediation using meta-analytic structural equation models. Clinical Psychology Review, 79, 101861. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101861
van Dijk, R., van der Valk, I. E., Deković, M., & Branje, S. (2022). Triangulation and child adjustment after parental divorce: Underlying mechanisms and risk factors. Journal of Family Psychology, 36(7), 1117–1131. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0001008
van Dijk, R., van der Valk, I. E., Vossen, H. G. M., Branje, S., & Deković, M. (2021). Problematic internet use in adolescents from divorced families: The role of family factors and adolescents’ self-esteem. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(7), 3385. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18073385
Van Eldik, W. M., de Haan, A. D., Parry, L. Q., Davies, P. T., Luijk, M. P. C. M., Arends, L. R., & Prinzie, P. (2020). The interparental relationship: Meta-analytic associations with children’s maladjustment and responses to interparental conflict. Psychological Bulletin, 146(7), 553–594. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000233
Zakhour, M., Haddad, C., Salameh, P., Al Hanna, L., Sacre, H., Hallit, R., Soufia, M., Obeid, S., & Hallit, S. (2023). Association between parental divorce and anger, aggression, and hostility in adolescents: Results of a national Lebanese study. Journal of Family Issues, 44(3), 587–609. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X211054468