Parental Divorce and Depression:

Long-Term Effects on Adult Children

Naomi Wauterickx
Anneleen Gouwy
Piet Bracke

ABSTRACT. Experiencing a parental divorce in childhood can have a

significant impact on depression in adulthood. Investigating this rela-
tionship among 4,727 men and women of the Panel Study of Belgian
households, we found not only a direct influence of parental divorce on
depression, but also an indirect effect through specific relationship char-
acteristics in adulthood. Separate analyses of respondents involved in a
partner relationship yielded similar results: Parental divorce has a large
impact on depression through relationship commitment and financial
measures in adulthood. These Belgian results support international stud-
ies. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery
Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: <docdelivery@haworthpress.
com> Website: <http://www.HaworthPress.com> © 2006 by The Haworth Press,
Inc. All rights reserved.]

KEYWORDS. Parental divorce, depression, divorce in Belgium, adult

children of divorce, depression and divorce

INTRODUCTION

Divorce, together with its causes and implications, continues to be an

interest field for research. The break up of the marital bonds concerns
Naomi Wauterickx, PhD, Anneleen Gouwy, PhD, and Piet Bracke, PhD, are with
the Department of Sociology, University of Ghent, Belgium.
Address correspondence to: Piet Bracke, Department of Sociology, University of
Ghent, Universiteitstraat 4 - B-9000 Gent, Belgium (E-mail: Piet.Bracke@UGent.be).
Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, Vol. 45(3/4) 2006
Available online at http://www.haworthpress.com/web/JDR
© 2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1300/J087v45n03_03 43
44 JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE

not only the partners, but also the children. Therefore, it is important to
pay attention to the consequences of a divorce on children, in both the
short and long terms. Although a great deal of attention is focused on the
negative consequences in the short term, the conclusion is frequently
drawn that these can subside in the course of the years, because of the spe-
cific behavioral characteristics of the child and certain life experiences
(Louis and Zhao 2002). Nevertheless, cross-sectional and longitudinal
research up to twenty years after the parental divorce shows that impor-
tant differences continue to exist between children of divorced parents
and children of intact families. Only in the last ten years has more atten-
tion been devoted to a possible explanation for these long-term conse-
quences, and mediating factors, which on both the economic and relational
levels, appear to exercise a decisive influence (Amato and Sobolewski
2001; McLeod 1991; Ross and Mirowsky 1999; Dronkers 1997).

LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES
OF PARENTAL DIVORCE

Although the relations between a parental divorce, on the one hand,

and the social, mental and financial life of the children in adulthood, on
the other hand, have already been repeatedly described, a clear unravel-
ing of different interactions between these mechanisms is lacking. A
change occurred here in the 1990s under the influence of Amato (1991).
His research stressed the direct general relation between the experience
of a parental break-up and growing symptoms of depression in adult-
hood. One shortcoming of the general model, however, is the absence
of possible indirect effects. This was broached by the work of McLeod
(1991). Although a much greater emphasis was here placed on the inter-
mediary importance of socio-economic and relational qualities in adult-
hood, the results seemed to be based only on married men and women.
This entails restrictions, nonetheless; for, we have strong reasons to sup-
pose that children of divorced parents will opt to cohabitate instead of
marriage, either as a matter of choice, or because of the consequences of
their own divorce, whereby the consequences of a parental divorce on
relational characteristics are underestimated.
A theoretical and methodologically well-underpinned work with em-
phasis on the actual mediating effect of economic and relational charac-
teristics on the relation between parent divorce and depression appeared
in 1999 (Ross and Mirowsky 1999). The total effect of a parental divorce
 Wauterickx, Gouwy, and Bracke 45

appears to be reflected, in full agreement with the life course perspec-

tive, by a low socio-economic status and problems in interpersonal rela-
tionships. A shortcoming of this work, however, was that it neglected
differences in the sexes. Irrespective of non-significant interaction ef-
fects, differences between men and women can be expected (see below).
The most recent, most comprehensive study in this field of research
once again comes from Amato’s hand (Amato and Sobolewski 2001).
This study brings in not two, but three mediating paths: socioeco-
nomic considerations (education and income), the relation instability
(marital status and previous marital history) and the quality of the parent-
child relationship (the bonding with the mother and the father). Once
again, no separate analyses were carried out according to sex, and once
again, respondents with a partner were not studied separately.

Parental Divorce and Depression

It can be generally assumed that adults with divorced parents report

a lower level of well-being (Amato and Keith 1991), are depressive
(Amato 1991; Chase-Lansdale, Cherlin and Kiernan 1995; McLeod
1991; Rodgers 1994), have more emotional problems (Cherlin, Chase-
Lansdale and McRae 1998; Cherlin, Kiernan and Chase-Lansdale 1995;
Dykstra 2000) and are less satisfied with different social and family-re-
lated aspects of life (Glenn and Kramer 1985).
Previous explanations were geared chiefly to the “individuation” and
“parenting” theory (Aquilino and Supple 2001; Conger and Chao 1996)
and Bowlby’s attachment theory (Holman and Birch 2001). A second
type of explanation is the existence of a possible intergenerational transfer
of depression by a genetic predisposition to certain anti-social charac-
teristics, health ailments and/or other personality characteristics (Bhrol-
chain 2001; Conger and Chao 1996; Dykstra 2000).
A possible sociological theoretical framework is the aforementioned
“life course perspective” (Dykstra 2000; Feng et al. 1999; McLeod
1991). The key notion of this theory is that events early in life can deter-
mine the further development of the course of life to a high degree. Ross
and Mirowsky (1999) speak of a “Life Course Disruption Hypothesis.”
This hypothesis states that a parental separation affects depression in
adulthood because it interrupts the socio-economic status and the forma-
tion of interpersonal relations. We continue to follow this route through-
out the rest of this study. To this are linked three explanations concerning
the relation between parental separation and a greater depressive nature
46 JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE

in adulthood: the socialization method, economic deprivation and the

family-stress model (Amato 1991; Amato and Booth 2001; Amato and
Keith 1991; Amato and Sobolewski 2001). In general, they explain the
link between separation and depression on the basis of mediating fac-
tors such as a dramatic drop in the standard of living, the deprivation of
a role model and stressing living conditions.

Parental Divorce and Socio-Economic Status

A divorce almost automatically leads to a reduced standard of living,

primarily for single mothers. This economic course of women is some-
times indicated with the term “falling from grace” (Furstenberg and
Cherlin 1991). After a divorce and additional loss of income, many single
mothers are financially obliged to move and to work more hours, thus
devoting less time to their children (McLanahan and Sandefur 1994).
The reduced “quality time” with children leads to a situation where di-
vorced parents are less helpful with household chores and supervise so-
cial activities to a lesser degree. The moving and loss of economic
resources also affect the education opportunities of these children
(Amato and Keith 1991). According to sociologists and/or development
psychologists, the diminished social control and inefficient regulations
of the divorced parents in particular have a negative effect on the chil-
dren’s behavior (Barber 2000; Furstenberg and Kiernan 2001).
More specifically, children of divorced parents tend to drop out of
school earlier, are less inclined to attend higher education, and in gen-
eral are less educated (Elder and Russell 1996; McLanahan and Sande-
fur 1994). Furthermore, children of divorced parents can once again be
expected not to be able to commence university studies because the fi-
nancial barriers are still higher. Even the recommendations of educators
for the further educational opportunities are lower for children of di-
vorced parents (Dronkers 1994). In adulthood, these short-term conse-
quences can lead to a higher chance for unemployment, work with a
lower status, a lower income and financial problems (Amato and Keith
1991; Morrison and Ritualo 2000). Dropping out of school may, how-
ever, be a strategy for improving the circumstances of the family after
the divorce (McLanahan 1988); joining the labor force earlier can mean
additional income to the benefit of the family’s economic situation.
In general, there is a clear connection between a broken home and the
ultimate socioeconomic status of the children (performance at school,
occupation and income). Financial tensions increase the attention paid
 Wauterickx, Gouwy, and Bracke 47

to family problems, which can in turn aggravate feelings of frustration,

rage and depression (Conger et al. 1990). We, therefore, expect an indi-
rect link between parental divorce and depression owing to the level of
education, the current income and perception of this income.

Parental Divorce and Relational Characteristics

The breakdown of a marriage often leads to difficulties in forming in-

terpersonal relations for the children involved (Amato and Booth 2001;
Amato and Keith 1991; Amato and Sobolewski 2001; Furstenberg and
Kiernan 2001; McLanahan and Sandefur 1994; Wolfinger 2000). A
number of sociological and psychological explanations are already
available for this. The best known is the socialization theory applied by
Amato and Keith (1991). This model states that negative effects from a
divorce are the result of dysfunctional learning experiences associated
with single-parent families. When the disadvantages of living with one
parent are taken into account, two hypotheses can be formulated, in fact
(McLanahan and Bumpass 1988). On the one hand, there is the “absent
father” hypothesis, that stresses the importance of a father in broken
homes and the consequences for the personality development of the chil-
dren (including girls; cf. Popenoe 1996; Kalmijn and De Graaf 2000);
and on the other, the “supervision” hypothesis (Simons and Johnson
1996) whereby time spent with the mother is essential for parental su-
pervision and social control. Children who as such are not socialized in
the same way as children in two-parent homes, feel more rapidly at-
tracted to their peers with the same rebellious character, which can have
an effect on the later personality and behavior patterns up to adulthood
(Simons and Chao 1996).
Marriage and motherhood mark a transition in the life of young peo-
ple: the formation of a new, procreative family in exchange for the old
nuclear family. Although early marriage can be linked to an early
(read: premarital) pregnancy, there seems to be no increase from early
wedding to family structure (McLanahan and Sandefur 1994). A clear
connection in several studies, however, is the greater chance that chil-
dren from divorced parents have for living together (Amato and
Sobolewski 2001; Furstenberg and Kiernan 2001; Rodgers 1994).
Premarital living together can also be linked to a greater chance of di-
vorce in adulthood (Cherlin, Kiernan and Chase-Lansdale 1995).
White (1990) uses the “kinds of people”-argument: the kind of people
who decide to flout conventions by going to live together are the same
48 JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE

kind of people who feel less bound to the “institution of marriage” and
consequently are more positive about a divorce. Also, without taking
into account the previous relation history, the general conclusion is
that there is a greater chance for divorce for children of divorced par-
ents, compared with those of parents who have stayed married (Keith
and Finlay 1988; McLanahan and Bumpass 1988; McLeod 1991).
People also frequently refer to the “intergenerational transfer of a di-
vorce.” A cited explanation (Christensen and Brooks 2001; McLanahan
1988) is the greater recognition of the divorce option: children from bro-
ken homes are more inclined to end the marriage instead of solving re-
lation problems in a constructive way.
In order to unravel the effect of parental divorce on one’s own rela-
tionship, it is more interesting, depending on the problems, to take cer-
tain qualities of relations into consideration than the actual divorce.
Examples are the relation quality (Holman and Birch 2001; McLeod
1991) and the relational involvement (Amato and DeBoer 2001). Wolf-
inger (2000) has shown that multiple transitions in childhood, such as
parental divorce and step parenting, diminish the relational involvement
in later life. Barriers and alternatives influence the chance for marital
stability leading up to one’s own divorce significantly more in children
from broken versus intact homes (White 1990). Similarly, objective
economic circumstances such as income, economic pressure and work
instability, have an indirect influence on marital interactions, owing to
the pressure that occurs when attempting to meet social needs with
improper means (Conger et al. 1990).
In general, there is a clear link between a parental divorce and various
characteristics of an intimate relationship in adulthood. Effects on the
marriage quality and the marriage involvement can ultimately result in a
lower well-being when these children become adults. We therefore ex-
pect an indirect link between parental divorce and depression through
the current marital status and, in the case of involvement in an intimate
relationship, through specific relational characteristics.

Sex Differences

Are boys and girls influenced differently by a parental divorce over

a longer period? Education psychologists distinguish two types of be-
havior problems or “coping styles” (Raschke 1988) as reaction to stress
(Furstenberg and Cherlin 1991): Internalizing (depression, anxiety,
isolating behavior) and externalizing (aggression, disobedience, lying).
 Wauterickx, Gouwy, and Bracke 49

Boys in conflict-ridden families show primarily externalizing prob-

lems. Girls, immediately after the divorce, show fewer problems at first
glance. But this conclusion is premature, as girls tend to internalize their
problems, with lowered self-esteem and well-being as a result. This
continues to surface in adulthood, known as the “sleeper effect” (Rodgers
1994; Spruijt, De Goede and Van Der Valk 2000). Why does this hap-
pen? Perhaps women are more included to assume maternal attitudes
after the parental divorce (McLeod 1991). It can also be that these
negative attitudes come to the surface only when the daughters them-
selves enter a relationship at an (young) adult age. A third possible
explanation is that the more negative effects on women are a compensa-
tion for the absence of a male role model in childhood (McLanahan and
Bumpass 1988).
The specific dynamics between men and women in a partner relation-
ship are also of importance, when sex differences are considered. It is
possible, that it is not so much the parental divorce, but characteristics in
their own relation, that have a strong influence on the current living cir-
cumstances of individuals in a partner relationship. The reported relation
satisfaction for women is lower than for men (Jacquet and Surra 2001)
also because women from divorced families are clearly at a greater dis-
advantage as regards their interpersonal skills (Rodgers 1994). There
are also various indications that the significance attached by men and wo-
men to their financial possibilities in intimate relations are sex-related.
Deutsch et al. (2003) have, for example, found that the more men earn,
the more they feel appreciated and the more thankful their partners are.
When women contribute more to the family income than men, they re-
port a higher role tension, with significantly lower marital satisfaction
(Perry-Jenkins, Seery and Crouter 1992). Just as important is the finan-
cial situation of men and women when the relationship is ended. It has
been repeatedly established that women experience greater financial
disadvantage from a divorce than men (Bracke 1998). It is worth asking
whether these negative influences have not subsided, owing to the in-
creased participation of women in the labor market in the last decades.
Bradbury and Katz (2002) have concluded, however, that the loss of the
man’s financial contribution is too great to be compensated fully by di-
vorced women.
Owing to the existing results in connection with sex-differentiated
effects of one’s own and parental divorce, all analyses in this study are
carried out separately for men and women. Although this can generate
duplicate information, another study (Conger et al. 1990) has shown
that such a method does not yield great distortions.
50 JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE

RESEARCH DESIGN

Sample and Data

The seventh data wave of the Panel of Belgian Households (PSBH)1

has been used to broach these issues. The PSBH is a representative ran-
dom sample of Belgian private households, in which all members aged
16 and older are included. Compiled in 1998, the data used for these
analyses contain information on 4,614 respondents aged 19 to 54,
whose parental marital status is known. The age restriction was intro-
duced because information on the work situation and the intimate rela-
tion would not be excessively distorted by age. In general, we have data
on 2,226 men and 2,388 women of an average age of 37.1 and 36.7, re-
spectively. Women differ from men in this sample as regards their occu-
pation (more unemployed and part-time workers) and marital status
(more divorced and married women and never-married men). With re-
gard to the entire sample, the majority of the respondents are married
(61.4%), yet a significant part of those not married are living together
(11.1%). It must be said in general that the group of respondents with di-
vorced parents is small in this sample (11.3%). This should not consti-
tute a stumbling block, however, because this target group can be
expected to be larger in course of time.
For the second part of the analyses, we concentrate only on respon-
dents who are married and/or are living together. Because information
concerning the parental marital status was also needed, in the end 3,344
individuals were included in this sub-sample: a total of 1,599 men and
1745 women of an average age of 37.7 and 36.7, respectively. There are
no differences as to household income, because of the pooled income
flow. Only 9.5% of individuals with a partner in this sample are children
of divorced parents, an indication that when confronted with parental
divorce in childhood, a partner relationship does not seem so interesting.

Measurement

Dependent Variable

We measured unipolar depression using a modified version of the

Health and Daily Living Form global depression scale (Moos et al.
1985). This scale measures depression by the frequency (0 = Never; 4 =
Often) with which respondents experienced 17 symptoms during the
previous three months. The items relate to the criteria for the diagnosis
 Wauterickx, Gouwy, and Bracke 51

of major depression as determined by the Diagnostic and Statistical

Manual DSM-III-R. For the present purpose, two items were omitted.
An item about crying was left out, because crying occurs much less in
men (Schaeffer 1988; Bracke 1996). An item, indicating “physical
complaints,” was removed because of a lack of face validity. The scores
on the remaining 15 items were averaged to obtain the final depression
score. We used mean substitution to create complete data for those re-
spondents whose data were incomplete for five or fewer items of the de-
pression scale. Because the frequency distribution of the scale showed a
significant positive skew, the natural log was employed to avoid violat-
ing the normality assumption of certain statistical procedures.

Independent Variables

Parental Divorce. Information concerning the marital status of the

parents was collected on the basis of the following retrospective ques-
tion: “Did you, as a child/young person go through your parents’ defini-
tive separation?” A zero score implies that the parents are still together;
and a score of one, that the parents are divorced. It also means that chil-
dren whose parents were once separated temporarily and/or parents, who
are in a conflict-ridden relationship, are categorized under intact families.
Sex. A very important variable is of course sex and so the analyses are
usually carried out separately for men (= 0) and women ( = 1).
Control. Control variables are age (in years) and specifically for re-
spondents with a partner, the divorce of in-laws and partner depression.
The study has shown that a transfer of feelings takes place between part-
ners in an intimate relationship (Jacquet and Surra 2001).

Mediating Variables

Socio-Economic Status. There are three measurements in general of

the current socioeconomic status of the adult respondents. First, the ed-
ucation level is operationalized to the highest diploma obtained. In
general, there are nine categories ranging from no diploma to a graduate
degree. The two other measurements are the objective and subjective
financial situation. The objective comprises the net household income
of the couple on an annual basis divided into seven categories. The
subjective financial situation or more precisely, the experiencing of
subjective financial problems, was measured on the basis of the following
question (6 answer categories): “A household can have different sources
of income, and several members of that household can contribute to it.
52 JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE

With the income of your household in mind, do you find it very difficult
(1), difficult (2), rather difficult (3), rather easy (4), easy (5) or very easy to
make ends meet?”
Relational Characteristics. For the relational characteristics, it is
necessary to divide variables for the sample in general and partners (liv-
ing together and/or married) in particular. To measure the marital status
of all respondents, two dichotomized variables are compiled: “divorced”
with category 1 for individuals who have never been married and have
no partner and 0 for all others, and “single” with category 1 for individu-
als who never married and have no current partner, and 0 for all others.
For individuals who at the time of the survey were involved in an inti-
mate relation, information was obtained on the relation type in which
they were involved (living together or married), the previous relation
history (sum of the number of broken off living-together situations and
divorces) and the relational involvement. This latter variable is a sum-
med up scale of six items where both partners were asked whether they
found this to be a very bad (1), bad (2), good (3) or very good (4) de-
scription of their current relation. 2 Cronbach’s alpha for these six items
together is 0.68.
Methods
In the following analyses, which in the first instance pertain to data of
all respondents and later to respondents who are married/living to-
gether, the influence of a parental divorce is checked against various eco-
nomic variables and relational characteristics. Depending on the mea-
suring level of the dependent respondents, this is carried out on the basis
of an OLS or logistical regression analysis. The next step is to check the
effect of parental divorce on the later mental health as well as, directly or
indirectly, via the current financial situation, as specific relational charac-
teristics. To clarify the specific effect of these indirect paths, the intermedi-
ating variables are introduced gradually in the regression analysis.

RESULTS

General Effect of Parental Divorce

Parental Divorce and SES and Marital Status
When we take a look at the influence of a parental divorce on various
aspects of life (Table 1), we immediately notice that one’s own chance
 a
TABLE 1. Regressions of Socioeconomic Status and Interpersonal Relations on Parental Divorce

Men Women

Divorcedc Singlec Degreeb OFSb SFSb Divrocedc Singlec Degreeb OFSb SFSb

Parental 0.747** ⫺0.105 ⫺0.831*** ⫺0.451*** ⫺0.502*** 0.700** ⫺0.080 ⫺0.641*** ⫺0.335*** ⫺0.435***
divorce
(2.570) (0.588) (⫺5.322) (⫺6.710) (⫺6.540) (3.113) ( 0.453) (⫺4.643) (⫺5.347) (⫺5.887)
[2.110] [0.900] [2.014] [ 0.923]
Age 0.082*** ⫺0.183*** ⫺0.012* 0.004 0.001 0.065*** ⫺0.188*** ⫺0.039*** 0.003 ⫺0.003
(6.944) (21.158) (⫺2.384) (1.829) (0.271) (7.274) (19.988) (⫺8.494) (1.505) (⫺1.410)
Constant ⫺6.330 4.896 4.985 2.620 3.984 ⫺5.148 4.537 5.946 2.584 4.057
R2 0.025 0.286 0.014 0.025 0.020 0.025 0.245 0.034 0.014 0.014

*p > 0.05; ** p > 0.01; *** p > 0.001.

OFS: Objective financial situation.
SFS: Subjective financial situation.
a
Bivariate regression analyses for ordinal and interval variables, logistic regression for dichotomous dependent variables.
b
Unstandardized regression coefficients with t-values between brackets.
c
Unstandardized regression coefficients with the square root of the Wald-statistic between brackets. Odds ratios are given between rectangular brackets (only
for parental divorce).

53
54 JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE

of divorcing in adulthood is highly dependent on whether one’s parents

were divorced. More specifically: the chance that an individual will di-
vorce is twice as high for men and women who experienced a parental
divorce as children. Put another way, 12.5% of children from broken
homes, compared with 9.1% of children from intact families in our sam-
ple are already divorced. This difference is more pronounced among
women: 14.5% of women from broken homes versus 10.2% of women
from intact families were divorced at the time of the survey (the figures
for men are10.2% versus 8.0%) (no table).
Having had divorced parents is connected, in a negative way, also to
subsequent education considerations and the financial situation. Once
they become adults, their highest diploma, net household income, and
subjective assessment of that income are lower in comparison with peo-
ple who grew up in intact families. The question can be raised whether
the intergenerational transfer of the chance for divorce is not the real ex-
planation for the connection between parental divorce and the lower fi-
nancial situation. Additional analyses (no table) show, however, that
although the level of education and one’s own divorce are important in-
dicators for the household income and the subjective assessment there-
of, the parental divorce continues to exercise an independent effect on
these financial indicators.

Parental Divorce and Depression

Men and women who lived through a parental divorce when they
were children, are decidedly more depressive than people who have not
gone through such an experience (Model 1, Table 2). This result is at
least noteworthy, in view of the fact that the average time that has lapsed
since the event in this sample is twenty-one years. The connection be-
tween parental divorce and depression is stronger for men, including af-
ter control of age, but the difference is small. Striking in general are the
low explained variance percentages (R2) resulting from this regression
analysis. Such results however are found in comparable studies (Aqui-
lino and Supple 2001; Amato and Sobolewski 2001; Keith and Finley
1988; Mack 2001). This can be explained in part by the small number of
adults with divorced parents for whom sufficient information is present.
On the other hand, it is possible that alternative theories can explain the
proposed connection. In general, we ask: Which variables explain indi-
rectly the link between a parental divorce and depression?
In the first instance, we find that children with divorced parents di-
vorce sooner themselves. Literature concerning the intergenerational
 Wauterickx, Gouwy, and Bracke 55

TABLE 2. Regression of Depression Scores on Parental Divorce, Controlled

for the Divorced and Single State (Model 1) and Controlled for the Educational
Degree and Financial Problems (Model 2)

Men Women
Model 1 Model 2 Model 1 Model 2
Parental divorce 0.057* 0.049* 0.045* 0.035
(2.518) (2.114) (2.210) (1.751)
Age ⫺ 0.001 ⫺ 0.001 ⫺ 0.002* ⫺0.002*
(⫺ 0.642) (0.729) (⫺2.077) (⫺2.175)
Divorced 0.089** 0.086** 0.123*** 0.090***
(2.745) (2.614) (5.068) (3.551)
Single 0.023 0.020 0.006 ⫺ 0.003
(1.150) (0.994) (0.301) (⫺ 0.161)
Educational degree 0.002 0.003
(0.466) (1.015)
Obj. financial situation 0.018* 0.012
(2.144) (1.573)
Subj. financial situation ⫺ 0.037*** ⫺ 0.041***
(-5.410) (⫺6.669)
Constant 0.633 0.727 0.795 0.916
2
R 0.008 0.022 0.016 0.034

* p > 0.05; ** p > 0.01; *** p > 0.001.

transfer of separation/divorce is once again confirmed with this result.

Children of divorced parents often report a lower marriage quality and
are much more positive about divorce as a solution to marital problems.
Nevertheless, this more positive attitude in no way diminishes the nega-
tive mental consequences of one’s own divorce. Can it therefore be that
a parental divorce and one’s own divorce can each exert an independent
effect on depression? The results from Table 2 confirm as much. The
mental health of men and women suffers from the experience of a paren-
tal divorce, but is also strongly influenced, in a negative way, by one’s
own divorce. The results show a small sex-related difference once again.
Men experience more trouble from the parental divorce than their own
divorce, whereas women are more depressive when they themselves
56 JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE

break up with their partner. This could be explained by the drastic finan-
cial consequences of their own divorce, which for women are always
more detrimental (Bracke 1998). Table 2 shows that a second important
mediating variable, the negative subjective assessment of the financial
situation, fosters the depressive behavior of men and women.
To summarize, the study of this population shows that going through
a parental divorce in childhood can have negative influences on mental
health up to adulthood. This applies only for both men and women, and
is independently noticeable, including after the decidedly strong impact
of one’s own divorce experience and/or financial problems. It was ear-
lier stated that only few respondents divorce themselves in the end. The
next question that we can then ask ourselves is: Can the presence of a
stable relationship counter the negative effect of a parental divorce?

Effect of Parental Divorce in Relations

Parental Divorce, SES and Relational Characteristics

In Table 1, we already saw that children of divorced parents experi-

ence very negative effects into adulthood. We find comparable results
also for children of divorced parents who are currently in a heterosexual
relationship (Table 3). Because respondents with a partner are treated
separately in this second part of our analyses, it is possible to go deeper
into relational characteristics and their influence on the relation between
parental divorce and depression. Consequently, relational involvement,
previous relation history and the type of partner relation are included as
intermediating variables in the analyses.
An initial observation is that children of divorced parents prefer liv-
ing together, when they become adults, over the traditional wedding.
The chance of living together for men and women with divorced parents
increases further, when the partner too is a child of divorced parents.
Furthermore, for both men and women, a parental divorce during their
childhood contributes to a greater chance of relation break-ups in adult-
hood (both for those living together and for those who are married). Ad-
ditionally, the number of broken relationships for women increases when
the partner is also a child of divorced parents. This implies that women
with a history of multiple marital relations acquire a negative reputation
to a certain degree among men without divorced parents, which has an
effect on a specific partner selection.
The next finding from the results in Table 3 is that sons of divorced
parents, but not daughters, report lower involvement in their current
 TABLE 3. Regressionsa of Socioeconomic Status and Interpersonal Relations on Parental(-in-law) Divorce for Men,
Women and Their Partners

Degreeb Degree Obj. financial Subj. financial Relationship Relationship Type of partner
partnerb situationb situationb involvementb historyb relationshipb

Men
Parental Divorce ⫺0.849*** ⫺0.303 ⫺0.231** ⫺0.284** ⫺0.095* 0.252*** ⫺0.684**
(⫺4.014) (⫺1.559) (⫺2.817) (⫺2.930) (⫺2.424) (5.655) (3.117)
[0.505]
Divorce ⫺ 0.457* ⫺ 0.435* 0.073 ⫺0.201* ⫺0.017 0.100 ⫺0.766***
parents-in-law
(⫺2.240) (⫺2.329) (⫺ 0.923) (⫺2.141) (⫺0.441) (2.338) (3.568)
Age ⫺0.024** ⫺ 0.058*** 0.014*** ⫺0.007* ⫺0.005*** 0.005** 0.106***
(⫺3.117) (⫺8.274) (4.860) (⫺1.987) (⫺3.784) (3.010) (9.807)

Constant 5.541 6.797 2.288 4.357 3.374 ⫺ 0.060 ⫺2.012

2
R 0.017 0.044 0.026 0.010 0.011 0.028 0.100

57
58
TABLE 3 (continued)

Degreeb Degree partnerb Obj.financial Subj.financial Relationship Relationship Type of partner

situationb situationb involvementb historyb relationshipb

Women
Parental Divorce ⫺0.481** ⫺0.379 ⫺0.049 ⫺0.183a ⫺0.057 0.191*** ⫺0.642**
(⫺2.581) ( ⫺1.867) (⫺0.625) (⫺1.948) (⫺1.447) (4.841) (2.968)
[0.506]
Divorce ⫺0.117 ⫺0.761*** ⫺0.225** ⫺0.251** ⫺0.052 0.162*** ⫺0.656**
parents-in-law
(⫺0.598) (⫺3.592) (⫺2.761) (⫺2.577) (⫺1.287) (3.932) (2.937)
Age ⫺0.053*** ⫺0.021** 0.014** ⫺0.003 ⫺0.005*** 0.003* 0.111***
(⫺8.215) (⫺2.949) (⫺2.761) (⫺0.830) (⫺3.767) (2.194) (1.293)
Constant 6.509 5.367 2.319 4.176 3.389 0.001 ⫺1.970
R2 0.041 0.013 0.0 25 0.006 0.010 0.026 0.100
a: p = .052

* p > 0.05; ** p > 0.01; *** p > 0.001.

a
Bivariate regression analyses for ordinal and interval dependent variables, logistic regression for dichotomous dependent variables.
b
Unstandardized regression coefficients with t-values between brackets.
c
Unstandardized regression coefficients with the square of the Wald statistic between brackets. Odds ratios are given between rectangular brackets (only for
parental divorce).
 Wauterickx, Gouwy, and Bracke 59

relationship than sons from intact families. This is in line with the
intergenerational divorce transfer, corroborative results, which already
have been cited (see Tables 1 and 2). One last interesting observation
concerns the influence of a parental divorce on the current financial sit-
uation. Men have a lower household income and the subjective assess-
ment of that income is more negative when their parents divorced while
they were children. Additional analyses (no table) qualify this picture:
These long-term consequences for men can be tempered by staying
childless or acquiring their own dwelling. Among women, surprisingly,
it is not the parental divorce, but that of the in-laws, that is decisive for
their own financial situation. This implies that adult women, irrespec-
tive of the growing emancipation, are still highly dependent on the
financial situation of their partner, and especially in economically
adverse situations.

Parental Divorce and Depression

When the direct effect of a parental divorce on mental health is stud-

ied for men and women involved in an intimate relation (Table 4, Mod-
els 1 and 3), there seems to be a weak association for women, and none
for men. Yet, a sex-related difference can be observed. This becomes
clearer when odd ratios are calculated (no table). Women have 35%
more chances of being depressive in adulthood (when this variable is
used in dichotomized form3), when one is the child of divorced parents
versus non-divorced parents. The direct effect subsides even further
when controlled for relational involvement and the mental health of the
partner (Models 2 and 4). In other words, the smaller relational involve-
ment and greater depression of the partner are crucial for the mental
health of women with divorced parents.
The economic and relational variables for men and women are intro-
duced gradually in a regression model: first the socio-economic vari-
ables (Model 1), and then the relational characteristics (Model 2). Among
men, the partner’s level of education is highly decisive for the mental
health, which corresponds to the thesis that men involved with a woman
with a higher diploma felt threatened, and that can have negative reper-
cussions on depression (Tzeng and Mare 1995). Of interest is also the
positive effect of the (perceived) financial situation of the family on
mental health. In general, we see that men and women faced with the
negative consequences of a parental divorce in adulthood assess their fi-
nancial situation in negative terms, independently from their level of
education and actual household income (Table 3), which ultimately
60 JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE

TABLE 4. Regression of Depression Scores on Parental (in-law) Divorce Con-

trolled for Age, Educational Degree and Financial Problems (Model 1) and
Controlled for Relationship Variables and Depression of the Partner (Model 2)

Men Women
Model 1 Model 2 Model 1 Model 2
Parental divorce 0.022 0.010 0.052* 0.035
(0.790) (0.346) (2.007) (1.407)
Divorce parents-in-law 0.026 0.005 0.024 0.003
(0.947) (0.188) (0.890) ( 0.118)
Age 0.002 0.001 ⫺0.002 ⫺0.002a
(1.452) (0.778) (⫺1.604) (⫺1.960)
Educational degree ⫺0.004 ⫺0.006 0.005 ⫺0.002
(⫺0.934) (⫺1.340) (1.168) (⫺0.393)
Educational degree (partner) 0.015*** 0.014** ⫺0.001 0.001
(3.187) (3.095) (⫺0.189) ( 0.343)
Objective financial situation 0.004 ⫺0.004 0.025* 0.023*
(0.390) (⫺0.381) (2.509) (2.376)
Subjective financial situation ⫺0.038*** ⫺0.026*** ⫺0.033*** ⫺0.025***
(⫺4.699) (⫺3.392) (⫺4.492) (⫺3.501)
Type of relationship
0.022 ⫺0.016
(0.876) (⫺0.664)
Relationship history 0.029 ⫺0.002
(1.670) (⫺0.140)
Relationship involvement ⫺0.031*** 0.037***
(⫺4.866) (-6.295)
Depression partner 0.325*** 0.293***
(12.159) (12.297)

Constant 0.644 0.556 0.833 0.865

R2 0.023 0.152 0.022 0.161

a: p = .050
* p > 0.05, ** p > 0.01, *** p > 0.001.

aggravates depression (Table 4). For men and women together, a low
relational involvement aggravates depression. This is bad news for men
in particular: information from Tables 3 and 4 makes it clear that men
with divorced parents are less involved in their current relationship
which leads to mental problems.
The relation solidarity and one’s own assessment of the household
income in adulthood, influenced by the parental marital status, plays an
 Wauterickx, Gouwy, and Bracke 61

important role in explaining depression in intimate relations. This implies

that views and experiences in adulthood, partially influenced by events
in childhood, are essential for defining the current mental health. An im-
portant element in this story is the partner him/herself. It has already
been suggested (Table 3) that the previous history of the in-laws can
play a role in explaining certain long-term effects, such as the financial
situation of women and the previous relation history of men. In addition
to the parental divorce of the in-laws, we introduced a second “partner
measure” in our analyses, that is, the current mental health of the partner
(model 4). The great influence of the mental health of one partner on the
other is convincing proof that extensive exchange of feelings takes
place in relations through interactions between the partners. This, in
combination with the former indications of the specific partner choice
relative to the parental previous history, can also help to explain the
mechanism of long-term effects. Table 4 clearly shows that the mental
health of the partner has a strong effect on feelings of depression in men
and women and that, only for women, the association between a paren-
tal divorce and depression is hereby reduced in scope.
In the end, an interaction term that combines the parental divorce and
the current age was included in the analyses. This, however, is not sig-
nificant for men or for women, as the degree of explained variance does
not change anything. It can, therefore, be concluded that a parental di-
vorce is stressful for young as well as older men and women.

CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION

Conclusions

Corijn (1999) has shown that the number of divorces in Belgium, es-
pecially after the 1994 amendment4 of the relevant legislation has in-
creased sharply. A study of the effects of this radical event in the lives of
those concerned (including children) cannot be shoved to the side. In
Belgium too, we find proof that parental divorce exerts serious influ-
ence on depression in adulthood by disrupting the socio-economic and
relational development of these children. It thus appears, in the first in-
stance, that children, especially girls, with divorced parents are quicker
to divorce in adulthood. In connection with mental health, we see that
one’s own divorce increases depression both indirectly (through the pa-
rental divorce) and directly. Here, a distinction can be drawn between
men and women: Women report more mental problems as a result of a
62 JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE

divorce, while men experience greater mental problems as a result of a

previously experienced parental divorce. After socio-economic vari-
ables are introduced, the subjective assessment of the financial situation
appears to play an important role too. Children of divorced parents ex-
perience more financial discomfort as a result of the new family situa-
tion, which in later life leads to a negative assessment of one’s own
financial possibilities. This has a negative impact on the mental health
of both men and women. In the end, one’s own chances for divorcing
and the subjective financial situation are two mechanisms that help to
explain a greater tendency for depression among children of divorced
parents.
Although one’s own chances for divorce rise considerably when the
parents are divorced, the number of people who actually do divorce is
small. The question that we asked ourselves was how the presence of a
stable relationship can counter the negative effect of a parental divorce.
The results confirm the story thus: A parental divorce influences the life
of children far into adulthood, including in relations, because of a lower
relational involvement and more pronounced previous relation history,
which is also decisive for the mental health. An important additional
finding, specifically in partner relations, is the influence of the partner
on certain socio-economic and relational characteristics. When a child
of divorced parents enters a relation with someone who has grown up in
similar circumstances, this seems to aggravate the own negative long-
term effects. A certain degree of selectivity comes into place here. Chil-
dren of divorced parents have a greater chance of entering a partner
relationship as a result of the converging views concerning marriage
and relations.

Alternative Explanations

In addition to a certain degree of selectivity in the group of respon-

dents and the limited nature of cross-section data, some critical notes
can also be cited.
The long-term effects in this study had to do in particular with de-
pression as an indicator of mental health. We found no significant con-
nection, however, between parental divorce and depression for male
respondents who were married and/or living together. A possible expla-
nation is that men with partners no longer experience a negative health
effect from a parental divorce. On the other hand, the study of depres-
sion may itself lie at the basis of these specific results. The study has
shown that boys in families with a high conflict content showed pre-
 Wauterickx, Gouwy, and Bracke 63

dominantly externalized problems, while girls showed internalized pro-

blems (Furstenberg and Cherlin 1991; Simons and Chao 1996; Fur-
stenberg and Kiernan 2001; Spruijt et al. 2000; Wolfinger 1998; Barber
2000). To study whether men who are married/living together show a
more externalizing instead of internalizing (depressive) behavior, it
would be interesting to be able to include data on drinking behavior, for
instance, in a subsequent analysis. If no noticeable differences between
children from broken homes and from intact families were found, we can
suppose that the marriage functions as a buffer for depressive behavior.
A second alternative explanation stresses the possible presence of
“pre-disruption effects” (Cherlin, Chase-Lansdale and McRae 1998),
which can lead to “reverse causation” (Bhrolchain 2001). This means
that the possible long-term effects are the result of processes, which had
played a role already before the actual parental divorce, such as certain
behavior characteristics of the children and the qualities of the original
family. However, earlier results have found only a limited influence of
such behavior characteristics for the parental divorce (Cherlin, Chase-
Lansdale and McRae 1998; Cherlin, Kiernan and Chase-Lansdale
1995). In addition to behavior characteristics as a substitute for parental
divorce, family characteristics are also sometimes also cited as a cause
of negative long-term effects. As parental sources of financial assistance
can have a positive influence at school and later career possibilities of
children, the financial situation of a family is often used as an alterna-
tive explanation (Fischer and De Graaf 2001; Louis and Zhao 2002; El-
der and Russell 1996). However, research into the connection between
parental divorce and life outcomes of the children concerned has repeat-
edly shown that the level of education and/or of occupational activity of
the parents abates but does not eliminate the relation. Thus, children
from broken homes experience more negative economic and relational
events (Fischer and De Graaf 2001; Dronkers 1997; Dykstra 2000), in-
cluding when the social class of the parent(s) is taken into consider-
ation. It is also possible that other interests play a role as an explanation
for the relations found. Sometimes, no connection is found between pa-
rental divorce and the school career of the children, irrespective of the
social class of the parents, which feeds the false supposition that the so-
cial class of the parents explains the relation as a whole. Wadsby and
Svedin (1996) have pointed to the importance of the financial support of
the government and the diminished stigmatization of children whose
parents are divorced. Morrison and Rituali (2000) have also shown that
the combination of financial contributions from work and social trans-
64 JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE

fers can provide divorced mothers with a level of income equal to that
before the actual divorce.
A good delineation of the various forms of family is essential in this
type of study. Children raised in single-parent families can be children
of divorced parents or of a widowed parent. Research (Mack 2001;
McLeod 1991) has shown that experiencing a parental divorce during
childhood has a far more negative effect on the current relation quality
and the depression of the adult children than the loss of a parent. A dis-
tinction can moreover be drawn between children who grow up in a sin-
gle-parent versus a recomposed family. The remarriage of the parent
with child custody rights makes it possible to obtain a family income
equivalent to that before the parental divorce, thereby raising the social
capital of the separated children and abating the long-term conse-
quences (Fokkema 2001; Furstenberg and Cherlin 1991; Morrison and
Ritualo 2000). On the other hand, several transitions (divorces and/or
marriages) appear to aggravate the negative consequences in the long
term (Amato and Booth 2001; Spruijt, De Goede and Van Der Valk
2000; Wolfinger 2000). It is, therefore, important to draw a clear dis-
tinction between children from these different forms of family. Other-
wise, the effects found could be an underestimation of the existing
negative long-term influences. A conflict-ridden parental relation can
also have important consequences on the well-being of the children (cf.
Raschke 1988). In an intense conflict, a divorce can be expected to have
positive effects on the well-being of the children (Amato, Loomis and
Booth 1995). Because of this, moderate effects of a parental divorce
were found in this study too.
A subsequent remark concerns the choice of the most important
(read: most relevant) mediating factors. Put another way: Which long-
term effects are the most pertinent in respondents whose parents are di-
vorced? This study stressed economic and relational characteristics;
these are work instability (Conger et al. 1990) and work involvement
(McLanahan and Sandefur 1994) on the economic-financial level and
marriageable age (Keith and Finlay 1988; Raschke 1988), confidence
(King 2002), age when first child is born (Cherlin, Kiernan and Chase-
Lansdale 1995; Popenoe 1996) and specific marital values (Keith and
Finlay 1988). Another important mediating variable, which was not in-
cluded in this study, is the child-parent relation. It has repeatedly been
observed that a parental divorce weakens the bond between parent and
child up to adulthood (Amato and Sobolewski 2001; Holman 2001;
King 2002; Spruijt, De Goede and Van Der Valk 2000).
 Wauterickx, Gouwy, and Bracke 65

NOTES
1. With thanks to Dimitri Mortelmans and the entire PSBH-team for supplying the
data.
2. These six items are: “We hid nothing from each other,” “we spend most of our
free time together,” “we usually agree, certainly on important things,” “we always
discuss our differences of opinion,” “we are often in the company of friends, we visit a
great deal and our house is always open for them,” and “we have a lot of contact with
family.” This contrasts to an earlier supposition that having a daughter as opposed to a
son increases the chance of divorcing (Simons and Chao 1996). This can be explained
by the greater involvement of the father in the upbringing of a son.
3. This dichotomized variable “depression” is given a score 1 when the answer to
the first item (you feel depressed) is “regularly” or “often” and furthermore, the same
answer categories are to be found on 4 of the 15 depression items in all; in all other
cases, the score 0 is given.
4. The Belgian Act of June 30, 1994 relative to the divorce proceedings entails a
considerable reduction of the divorce proceedings.

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