Parents' and Adolescents' Communication with Each Other About Divorce-Related Stressors and Its Impact on Their Ability to Cope Positively with the Divorce

Abstract

This study examined how custodial parents and adolescents communicate with each other about their divorce-related Stressors and how this communication impacts their own and the other person's ability to cope positively with the divorce. Interactions between 50 parents and adolescents about their divorce Stressors were coded with outside observers using Burgoon and Hale's (1987) Relational Communication Scale. The results revealed that parents' and children's ways of communicating (i.e., intimacy, receptiveness, depth, composure) about their stress were interdependent. The child's communication was also positively associated with his/her own ability to cope positively with the divorce. On the other hand, the parent's communication was inversely associated with the child's ability to cope with the divorce. Neither the child's communication nor the parent's communication impacted the parent's ability to cope positively with the divorce. These results also held true when the quality of the relationship (i.e., closeness and satisfaction) was controlled for in the model.

Key Words:

• Divorce
• communication
• stress
• positive coping
• custodial parent-child relationships