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Parental Divorce: Long‐term Effects on Mental Health, Family Relations and Adult Sexual Behavior
Author(s) -
Jónsson Friðrik, H.,
Njarðvik Urður,
Ólafsdóttir Guðlaug,
Grétarsson Sigurður
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.743
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1467-9450
pISSN - 0036-5564
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9450.00177
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , sexual intercourse , affect (linguistics) , mental health , balance (ability) , sexual behavior , clinical psychology , demography , psychiatry , population , communication , neuroscience , sociology
Specific long term effects of parental divorce were examined in a sample of 179 Icelanders, 20 to 30 years of age. The participants answered the Borromean Family Index, the Affect Balance Scale and a number of questions on sexual behavior and attitudes towards marriage and divorce. Results showed that compared to adults whose parents remained married, those of divorced parents reported more negative emotional experiences at the time of the study and had looser family ties. They also had greater number of short love affairs, had their first love affair at a younger age, had a greater number of sexual partners, and were younger at the time of their first sexual intercourse than adults whose parents remained married.