The Development of Depressive Symptoms in Young Adults of Divorce - Dissertation Example

?Maternal and Paternal Influence on the Development of Depressive Symptoms in Young Adults of Divorce In the current advent of innovation and globalization, with shrinking distances and integrated economies, family structures and relationship patterns are also undergoing a paradigm shift. Throughout the world, there has been an observed increase in the rates of divorce in the last several decades and studies have revealed that in the United States only, approximately half of first time marriages will terminate in the form of a divorce, resulting in disrupted families and troubled childhood experiences for children belonging to such families (Hetherington & Stanley-Hagan, 1997 cited in Finley & Schwartz, 2007). Divorce has been shown to have a profound effect on the members of the involved families, which are both short term and long term and can range from temporary behavior and adjustment problems to jeopardized lifelong relationships (Riggio, 2004 cited in Finley & Schwartz, 2007). The impact of a divorce is the greatest on the children of the divorced parents, who experience several problems later on in life including substance abuse, lower academic performance, ajustment problems and behavioral and emotional issues (D'Onofrio, et al., 2007). It is well documented that children belonging to disrupted families are at a higher risk of devleoping depressive symtpoms later in life as compared to those belonging to intact families (Gilman, Kawachi, Fitzmaurice, & Buka, 2003). There are several contirbuting factors which play a role in the development of depressive symptoms amongst young adults whose parents are divorced. Amongst these the age of the individual when the divorce occurred, the presence of parental conflict prior to the divorce, detrimental parenting practices, adverse socioeconomic conditions, the degree of parental involvement and nurturance, amongst others (Gilman, Kawachi, Fitzmaurice, & Buka, 2003; Finley & Schwartz, 2007; D'Onofrio, et al., 2007; Amato, 1994). Timing of parental divorce and the onset of depression amongst young adults: The age of the individual at the time when the parents underwent a divorce is an important factor in determining the onset of depressive symptoms in young adults. Gilman et. al (2003), in their study of risk factors for depression in early adulthood revealed that children whose parents underwent a divorce when they were aged between 0-7 years were at a 50% higher risk of depression than children belonging to intact families (Gilman, Kawachi, Fitzmaurice, & Buka, 2003). In contrast, another study which compared the onset of depressive symptoms amongst young adults whose parents got divorced between three different age groups, viz. before-school age; latency period, i.e. 7-12 years and adolescent age group (7-12 years), found that depression rates were highest amongst boys who were aged between 7-12 years when their parents got divorced (Palosaari & Aro, 1994). However, no such association was found for girls. The role of parental involvement and nurturance: Divorce usually results in broken families, custodial conflilcts and adjustment problems all of which have detremental effects on the psychological well being of the offsprings. Following a divorce, one of the parents usually becomes non-residential, most oftenly, the father. An important outcome measure of several studies focusing on the impact of divorce is the desired level of paternal involvement and nurturance (Finley & Schwartz, 2007). Involvement has been defined as ‘extent to which parents participate in various aspects of their children’s lives (Finley, Mira, & Schwartz, 2008)’ while nurturance refers to ‘warmth and acceptance received from parents (Finley, Mira, & Schwartz, 2008)’. Till date, most studies conducted in this regard have focused on the levels of paternal involvement only since mostly it is the mother who gets the custody of the children and there is a paucity of data on the role of maternal involvement in the development of depresison amongst offsprings post-divorce. Parental roles can be broadly categorised into two main themes, viz. instrumental and expressive. Traditionally, mothers are required to fulfill expressive functions such as providing emotional support, caregiving, spending time with children and overlooking all aspects of their lives (Finley, Mira, & Schwartz, 2008). On the other hand, fathers are required to fulfill mainly instrumental functions such as supporting the family financially and disciplining the children (Finley, Mira, & Schwartz, 2008). It has been found that in comparison to maternal involvemnet and nurturance, paternal involvement plays a greater role in determining the adjustment, psychological well being and other long-term life outcomes of individuals (Vazsonyi, 2004; Williams & Kelly, 2005 cited in Finley & Schwartz, 2007). Several studies have elucidated that individuals belonging to disrupted families often desire more involvement from their fathers than they actually received. Similarly, individuals who percieved that they received inadequate nurturance from their parents were found to have lower self esteem, troubled relationships, higher dissatisfaction and greater psychological issues throughout their lifespan (Schwartz & Finley, 2010). Divorce results in the disruption of family structure creating the ‘divided world’ effect (Finley & Schwartz, 2010). Surveys have revealed that in almost 85% of the divorce cases, the mother gets the primary custody of the children. This results in compromised father-child relationships (Fabricius, 2003; Marquardt, 2005). A child’s relationship with their father is unique from that with the mother. It has been observed that father involvement is directly correlated with an individual’s subjective well being, and children belonging to divorced parents, who have been deprived of this aspect of paternal care, display a desire for greater father involvement (Finley & Schwartz, 2007). A review of literature reveals that there is a positive correlation between paternal involvement and several measures of psychological well being such as overall life satisfaction, lower levels of depression and emotional distress (Allen & Daly, 2010). Moreover, it has also been found that females are more likely to desire greater father involvement, in particular more expressive functions on the part of their father, as compared to their male counter parts (Finley & Schwartz, 2007). Thus, it can be concluded from the synthesis of findings of the existing literature that parental nurturance and involvement (in particular, the father’s) are important factors in determining an individual’s psychological well being after divorce of the parents. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that if maternal and paternal nurturance and involvement play a role in the development of depression amongst young adults whose parents underwent a divorce, then individuals who scored lower on the Nurturant Father and Mother Scale and the Father and Mother Involvement Scale would have lower levels of self esteem, satisfaction with their relationship with their mother and father, lower self worth and higher levels of depression. Purpose of the study: This study aims to elucidate the relationship between (i) the level of parental (both maternal and paternal) involvement and nurturance (ii) the age of the offspring when the parental divorce occurred and the development of depressive symptoms amongst young adults. Significance of the study: Till date, most of the studies conducted to examine the impact of parental involvement and nurturance on the psychological well being of the offsprings. There is a paucity of data examining the role of maternal nurturance and involvement in the psychological outcomes of individiuals after a divorce. This study is amongst the first few studies of its kind examining the role of the nurturance and involvement of both the parents in the psychological outcomes of young adults after a divorce. Moreover, since young adulthood is a period of transitionto maturity for most individuals, during which individuals are mature enough to have a clear perspective and reflections on their life events and their impact on their lives, it is pluasible to focus on young adults. Thus, this study will serve to fill the gaps in the existing literature regarding the role of age at the time of parental divorce and the role played by parental nurturance and involvement in the development on negative psychological outcomes, such as depressive symptoms amongst young adults. References Allen, S., & Daly, K. (2010). The Effects of Father Involvement: A Summary of the Research Evidence. Father Involvement Initiative . Amato, P. (1994). Life-span adjustment of children to their parents' divorce. The Future of Children , 143-164. D'Onofrio, B. M., D'Onofrio, E. T., Turkheimer, E., Emery, r. E., Maes, H. H., Silberg, J., et al. (2007). A Children of Twins Study of parental divorce and offspring psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry , 667-675. Finley, G. E., & Schwartz, S. J. (2007). Father Involvement and Long Term Young Adult Outcomes: The differential contributions of divorce and gender. Family Court Review , 573–587. Finley, G. E., & Schwartz, S. J. (2010). The Divided World of the Child: Divorce and Long-Term Psychosocial Adjustment . Father Knowledge Centre Europe . Finley, G. E., Mira, S. D., & Schwartz, S. J. (2008). Perceived Paternal and Maternal Involvement: Factor Structures, Mean Differences, and Parental Roles. Fathering , 62-82. Fabricius, W. V., & Braver, S. L. (2003). Non-child support expenditures on children by nonresidential divorced fathers: Results of a study. Family Court Review, 41, 321–336. Gilman, S. E., Kawachi, I., Fitzmaurice, G. M., & Buka, S. L. (2003). Family Disruption in Childhood and Risk of Adult Depression. The American Journal of Psychiatry , 939–946. 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Marriage and Family Review, 35(3/4), 161–187. Williams, S. K., & Kelly, F. D. (2005). Relationships among involvement, attachment, and behavioral problems in adolescence: Examining father’s influence. Journal of Early Adolescence, 25, 168–196. Read More