Relational uncertainty management in adult children of divorce

ABSTRACT

Utilizing uncertainty management theory (UMT) and a multiple goals theory of personal relationships (MGPR) the present study examined how adult children of divorce (ACOD) manage relational uncertainty following parental divorce. In-depth, semi-structured interviews with 25 adult children who had experienced parental divorce when they were 18 years of age or older revealed two, broad types of information acquisition strategies: deliberate (i.e. information-seeking and information-avoiding) and incidental (i.e. incidental information acquisition). Deliberate information acquisition strategies were animated by several goals, including reducing and maintaining uncertainty, avoiding feeling caught, and protection. Alongside goals, various constraints (e.g. target efficacy, coping efficacy) played a role in ACOD’s relational uncertainty management. We discuss these results in relation to their theoretical and practical applications.

KEYWORDS:

• parental divorce
• multiple goals
• relational uncertainty
• parent-adult child relationships
• uncertainty management
• adult children of divorce (ACOD)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Sylvia L. Mikucki-Enyart http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3352-3599

Notes

1. When these new categories echoed findings from previous research, existing labels were used in an effort to promote meaningful comparisons across contexts. For instance, participants’ recollections of ‘being told’ as opposed to ‘seeking information’ paralleled Williamson’s (1998) notion of ‘incidental information acquisition’ (p. 35). Additionally, participants’ reports of avoiding information to avert ‘being stuck in the middle’ mapped neatly onto the notion of ‘feeling caught’ (Afifi & Schrodt, 2003).

2. The present study was focused on information acquisition. As such, we couched our findings within uncertainty/information management scholarship. However, we would be remiss if we did not highlight the parallels between incidental information acquisition (Williamson, 1998) and a similar construct rooted within the broader interpersonal communication landscape – reluctant confidant outlined by communication privacy management theory (CPM; Petronio, 2002). Adult children’s experiences seem to straddle these two ideas as they were told what was often private information against their wishes. This similarity suggests a potentially important intersection between privacy management and uncertainty management that warrants future scholarly attention.