Transcript The role of hepatic cytochrome P

Parental Divorce and Negative Well-Being Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Forgiveness
Kimberly M. Jorgensen, B.A., Loren L. Toussaint1, Ph.D.,
University of Northern Iowa, Luther College1
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of parental
divorce on the well-being of college students. Of particular
interest was the potential role of forgiveness in mediating these
associations. Children with divorced parents may be susceptible
to problems in adjustment especially when conflict exists (Simons,
Whitbeck, Beaman, & Conger, 1994; El-Sheikh & Elmore-Stanton,
2004).
Both trait and state forgiveness have been cited as either directly
or indirectly relating to variables such as divorce, parent-child
relationships, conflict, and mental health (e.g., Bonach & Sales,
2002; Maltby, Macaskill, & Day, 2001; Paleari, Regalia, &
Fincham, 2003). As such, we expected to confirm previous
studies showing poorer outcomes for adolescent children of
divorced parents and also demonstrate that forgiveness mediates
this association.
Hypotheses
We assessed state and trait forgiveness in addition to multiple
indices of health and well-being (e.g., life satisfaction,
somatization, depression, anxiety). We expected that children
with divorced or separated parents would exhibit lower quality
mental health and life satisfaction. We further expected that
forgiveness would mediate the association between parental
divorce status and outcomes of health and well-being.
Conclusions
Results
Our analyses utilized Baron and Kenny’s (1986) guidelines
for establishing statistical mediation (see Figure 1).
First, we established that parent separation/divorce was
associated with our mental health outcomes (see Table 1).
College-aged children of separated/divorced parents
showed lower overall satisfaction with life and greater
problems with interpersonal sensitivity (|rs| = .14 - .24).
Second, via Pearson correlation, we established that
parent separation/divorce was associated with state
forgiveness (r = -.38) and trait forgiveness (r = -.26).
Third, we established that forgiveness predicted unique
variance and accounted for the association between
parent separation/divorce status and the outcomes. This
pattern of associations proved true for conflict, quality of
relationship with father, satisfaction with life, and
interpersonal sensitivity (|s| = .17 - .54).
Finally, it was possible to determine that life satisfaction
was partially mediated and interpersonal sensitivity was
fully mediated by both state and trait forgiveness (see
Table 2).
Figure 1
Method
Forgiveness
Participants
 298 undergraduate students recruited from general
psychology (73.5% women, 26.5% men )
198 (66.4%) came from any non-divorce families
100 (33.6%) had divorced or separated biological parents
Mean age = 18.66 years (SD = .97, range = 18 - 23)
Measures
The findings of the present study confirm previous
work (Amato & Keith, 1991) showing that parent
separation/divorce can have a significant association
with detrimental social and health and well-being
outcomes. There is justification for optimism in that,
children who have higher levels of forgiveness may not
be as negatively affected. Children with higher trait
forgiveness and/or a higher likelihood of state
forgiveness are shown here to be less affected by
divorce with respect to their self-ratings of life
satisfaction and interpersonal sensitivity.
If potent interventions could be designed to facilitate
higher levels of forgiveness in children and
adolescents with separated or divorced parents the
negative consequences might be mitigated. Clinicians
and other interventionists might give consideration to
using forgiveness as an additional intervention
strategy.
Correlations and Intercorrelations between Parental Marital Status and Well-Being Outcomes
Variable
Mean SD
1
2
3
4
0.34
0.47
2. Life Satisfaction
5.37
1.13
3. Somatization
0.54
0.47
0.02
-0.23 ***
4. Obsessive Compulsive
Symptoms
5. Interpersonal Sensitivity
0.81
0.64
0.08
-0.32 ***
0.68 ***
0.75
0.61
0.14 *
-0.40 ***
0.54 ***
0.68 ***
6. Depression
0.62
0.51
0.08
-0.48 ***
0.62 ***
0.71 ***
0.80 ***
7. Anxiety
0.41
0.49
0.04
-0.31 ***
0.70 ***
0.65 ***
0.62 ***
-0.24 ***
Step 3
Step 2
Step 1
Well-Being
Divorce
Table 2
Multiple Regression Analyses
Outcome
Predictor
Life Satisfaction
Divorce Status
Step 1 (β)
-0.28 ***
State Forgiveness
Divorce Status
Forgiveness as hypothesized to mediate the relationship
between parental divorce or separation and children’s
subjective well-being.
Interpersonal Sensitivity
Divorce Status
-0.24 ***
Association for Psychological Science
19th Annual Convention
May 26, 2007
0.16 **
State Forgiveness
Divorce Status
Trait Forgiveness
Note. *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001
Step 2 (β)
-0.13 *
0.39 ***
Trait Forgiveness
(SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen & Griffin, 1985)
(HSCL; Derogatis, Lipman, Rickels, Uhlenhuth, & Covi, 1974)
6
Note. *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001
Well-Being
 Satisfaction with Life Scale
 Hopkins Symptom Checklist
5
1. Divorce Status
(TFS; Berry, Worthington, O’Connor, Parrott, & Wade, 2005 )
(EFI; Subkoviak, Enright, Wu, Gassin, Freedman, Olson, &
Sarinopoulos, 1995)
Amato, P.R. & Keith, B. (1991). Parental divorce and the well-being of
children: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 110, 26-46.
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable
distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic,
and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
Bonach, K., & Sales, E. (2002). Forgiveness as a mediator between post
divorce cognitive processes and coparenting quality. Journal of
Divorce and Remarriage, 38, 17-38.
El-Sheikh, M. & Elmore-Staton, L. (2004). The link between marital conflict
and child adjustment: Parent-child conflict and perceived
attachments as mediators, potentiators, and mitigators of risk.
Development & Psychopathology, 16, 631-648.
Maltby, J., Macaskill, A., & Day, L. (2001). Failure to forgive self and others: A
replication and extension of the relationship between forgiveness,
personality, social desirability and general health. Personality and
Individual Differences, 30, 881-885.
Paleari, F.G., Regalia, C., & Fincham, F.D. (2003). Adolescents’ willingness
to forgive their parents: An empirical model. Parenting: Science and
Practice, 3,155- 174.
Simons, R.L., Whitbeck, L.B., Beaman, J., & Conger, R.D. (1994). The impact
of mothers’ parenting, involvement by nonresidential fathers, and
parental conflict on the adjustment of adolescent children. Journal of
Marriage and the Family, 56, 336-374.
Table 1
Forgiveness
 Trait Forgivingness Scale
 Enright Forgiveness Inventory
References
0.14 *
-0.15 **
∆ R2
0.08 ***
0.13 ***
Partial
0.02 *
0.34 ***
0.17 ***
0.10
0.03 *
-0.16 *
0.02 *
0.03
0.02 *
-0.42 ***
Mediation
0.17 ***
Partial
Full
Full
0.69 ***