Interaction of Time and Children on Distress (Fig. 2)

1. Non-parents recover faster than parents following divorce Darlynn M. Rojo-Wissar, Spencer C. Dawson, Ryan D. Davidson, David A. Sbarra, Connie J.A. Beck, Matthias R. Mehl & Richard R. Bootzin Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ, United States Introduction Results Discussion • This study is unique in that it addresses how having children impacts the recovery from the breakup of a marriage for divorcing individuals. • Half of all marriages in the US end in divorce (Demo & Fine, 2010). • Most current research focuses effects of divorce on children while little research is available on how having children may impact the divorcing parents. • Previous research shows that contact with former partner is associated with stalled recovery following a break up (Sbarra & Emery, 2005). • Couples with joint children are shown to have more antagonistic contact than couples without children (Fischer, De Graaf, & Kalmijn, 2005). • Research Questions: • How does having children impact contact with former spouse over time following a separation? • How does having children impact recovery over time following a separation? Figure 1. Interaction of Time and Children • Contact with Ex-Partner • 46 (66%) of participants had weekly or greater contact with ex-partner at baseline. • 39 (56%) of participants had weekly or greater contact with ex-partner at five month follow-up. • Participants with Children • 40 (54%) of participants had children with their ex-partner Parents have more contact with ex-partner than non-parents at 5-month follow up, with no difference at baseline. Non-parents were more likely to decrease contact with ex-partner over time. The level of contact in parents may be dictated by the children and co-parenting needs, whereas, levels of contact in non-parents may be dictated by other less stable factors. When individuals did not have children they improved more quickly than those with children from baseline to five-month follow up. For parents, there is no relationship between contact and distress. However, for non-parents, those with weekly or greater contact are less distressed. Future research should address the direction of this relationship. It may be that the increased contact leads to decreased distress, or that decreased distress leads to increased contact. Future research should also address participants’ desire for contact with the ex-partner. Contact may have different meaning if it is mandatory compared to voluntary. The impact of the ages of the children, and whether or not the examined parent has custody of their children should be investigated in future studies as well. Limitations to this study include a modest sample size and limited information regarding the context of the contact. • Interaction of Contact and Children • There was no significant difference between participants with and without children and contact at baseline. • Participants with children were significantly more likely to have greater than weekly contact with their ex-partner at follow-up than those without children, χ2 (1) = 12.31, p<.001. • Interaction of Time and Children on Contact (Fig. 1) • There was a significant effect of the interaction of time and having children on the amount of contact participants had with their ex-partner, such that non-parents were more likely to decrease contact over time, while parents remained the same F(1,68)=8.67, p<.01. Figure 2. IESR Methods • Impact of Events Scale • Baseline • Mean = 31.25; SD = 17.84; range = 1-63 • Five-Month Follow Up • Mean = 22.11; SD = 18.42; range = 0-77 • Participants • 74 individuals who had physically separated from their ex-partner within 5 months and completed measures at baseline and 5-month follow-up. • Demographics • Average age = 45 (SD = 10.4) • 52 female; 22 male • Majority (64%) identified as White (Non-Hispanic); 26% identified as Hispanic • Median education = Bachelor’s degree • Median income = $35,000 through $49,999 • Average length of marriage: 12.66 years (SD = 9.58) • Average length of separation: 3.88 months (SD = 2.4) • Measures • Impact of Events Scale Revised (IES-R) • The IES-R is a measure of distress (e.g., avoidance, hyperarousal, intrusive memories) in reaction to a stressful event. • 22 items; 5-point Likertscale • IES-R score interpretation • 1-11: little to no symptoms • 12-32 some symptoms • 33+: may meet criteria for a clinical disorder • Reported frequency of contact with ex-partner, dichotomized as weekly or greater or less than weekly. Interaction of Time and Children on Distress (Fig. 2) After controlling for baseline IESR, the main effect of children on IESR at 5-month follow up was significant, F(1, 64) = 4.03, p < 0.05. The main effect of contact and the interaction between children and contact were not significant, p’s > 0.3. Parameter revealed that IESR at 5-month follow-up was 69% of baseline levels, and that parents scored 6.98 points higher than non-parents (Cohen’s d = 0.38). Figure 3. Children, Contact, and Distress References Demo, D. H., & Fine, M. A. (2010). Beyond the average divorce. Thousand Oaks, CA US: Sage Publications, Inc. Fischer, T. C., De Graaf, P. M., & Kalmijn, M. (2005). Friendly and Antagonistic Contact Between Former Spouses After Divorce: Patterns and Determinants. Journal Of Family Issues, 26(8), 1131-1163. Sbarra, D. A., & Emery, R. E. (2005). The emotional sequelae of nonmarital relationship dissolution: Analysis of change and intraindividual variability over time. Personal Relationships, 12(2), 213-232. Children, Contact, and Distress (Fig. 3) After controlling for children, the effect of contact on IESR trended toward significance, such that less than weekly contact was associated with higher levels of distress, F(1, 74) = 3.56, p = 0.0629. The interaction of children and contact trended toward significance after controlling for the main effects of both, such that there was no effect of contact on IESR in parents, among non-parents, less than weekly contact was associated with higher levels of distress, F(1, 74) = 3.52, p= 0.0645.  The data for this project was collected under HD069498-02 (RB).