Browsing by Subject "Emotional attachment"
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
- Results Per Page
- Sort Options
Item Mothers’ emotional attachment to the ex-spouse : the impact on mothers’ depression and parenting practices, co-parenting difficulties, and children’s behavior problems(2018-06-27) DeAnda, Jacqueline S.; Anderson, Edward RobertCompared to non-parents, divorced parents must remain in each other’s lives to facilitate childrearing. Research has shown that conflict is markedly higher for divorced parents than nonparents, which lasts even ten years following divorce. This difference is, perhaps, related to challenges in differentiating current co-parental roles from their previous roles as romantic partners. This task is particularly difficult for those who experience continued longing for their ex-spouses and ongoing rumination over the dissolution of the marriage, a term we refer to as, “emotional attachment.” The primary aims of this study are to examine the consequences of mothers’ emotional attachment to the ex-spouse on children’s behavior problems, as well as investigate mediational models by which the association occurs. I hypothesized that mothers’ lingering attachment will be associated with increased depressive symptoms, disruptions in parenting practices, and co-parenting difficulties, consequently leading to more problematic behaviors in children. The current study used longitudinal, multi-method and multi-informant data of mothers (N = 319) and children (N = 319) following divorce. Using hierarchical linear modeling techniques, results indicated that emotional attachment was significantly associated with increased problem behaviors in children. In addition, mothers’ depressive symptoms mediated the link between mothers’ emotional attachment to the ex-spouse and children’s internalizing and total behavior problems, but did not children’s externalizing behavior problems. Future research is needed to uncover the ways in which mothers’ emotional attachment to the ex-spouse influences children’s externalizing behavior problems. Further implications of mothers’ emotional attachment for children’s behavior are discussed.