Parent-child relationship quality and individual well-being in adulthood: the differential effects of childhood family structure

This study addresses the limitations of previous research on single-parent families by using data from the first wave of the National Survey of Families and Households to examine the long-term consequences of parental divorce and parental death as two specific types of childhood family disruptions. When compared to respondents raised by both biological parents, respondents raised by widowed parents reported significantly lower levels of contemporary parent-child relationship quality, but not lower levels of self-confidence or higher levels of psychological distress. Childhood family structure failed to demonstrate a significant influence on parent-child relationship quality, but had a negative effect on self-confidence and a positive effect on psychological distress when respondents raised by widowed parents were compared to respondents raised in intact families. While respondents who had experienced different types of family disruptions in childhood did not differ in terms of reported parent-child relationship quality, those who were raised by widowed parents reported significantly lower levels of self-confidence and higher levels of psychological distress than respondents who were raised by divorced parents. There was also some evidence that the association between childhood family structure and adult well-being was moderated by contemporary parent-child relationship quality and gender of the respondent. These findings were discussed within the context of a theoretical framework which was based on the life course perspective and incorporated aspects of attribution theory and social learning theory. Taken together, the results from this study provided strong evidence for the importance of distinguishing between different types of family disruptions when examining the influence of childhood family structure on adult outcomes