Date of Award:

5-2001

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Human Development and Family Studies

Department name when degree awarded

Family and Human Development

Committee Chair(s)

Kathleen W. Piercy

Committee

Kathleen W. Piercy

Committee

Randall M. Jones

Committee

Brent C. Miller

Abstract

This study examines how the experience of a parent's divorce during adolescence affects young adult women's attitudes about relationships, marriage and divorce.
Research questions looked at how participants felt about marriage, their relationship with their parents following the divorce, and how the experience of parental remarriage shapes attitudes about marriage. Fifteen young adult women were interviewed.

The most significant findings were that experiencing a parental divorce leads to
fee lings of ambivalence about marriage. Religious beliefs and positive role models can alleviate some of the negative feelings about marriage that may be present following a parental divorce. Experiencing parental conflict and acting as a middleman between parents during the divorce process contributed to negative feelings about relationships and marriage. Many of the women had negative experiences with their father's remarriage and yet they wished that their mothers would remarry.

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47780f9fe40ea9c926756f52fced0bda

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