Talking About Divorce: The Association With Adolescent Adjustment and the Role of Gender.

Abstract

This study investigated the correlation between talking about divorce and adolescent adjustment (i.e. levels of internalizing and externalizing problem behavior) and whether gender plays a role in this association. The results indicate that the number of persons with whom the divorce was discussed is not related to adolescent adjustment. Furthermore, higher levels of satisfaction were related to lower levels of internalizing problem behaviors. However, contrary to the hypotheses, the more satisfied adolescents were about the conversation, the higher their reported externalizing problems Finally, results show that there is no significant sex difference in the association between talking and adolescent adjustment. Thus, having satisfactory conversations could be an important protective factor for the development of internalizing problem behaviors for both males and females, and may therefore contribute to adolescent adjustment.