Extended Family Support: Making a Difference in the Attachment Styles of Adult Children of Divorce

Msichana McDole                     Alicia Limke
Southern Nazarene University   University of Central Oklahoma

Previous research has found that divorce negatively predicts college students' romantic relationships and intimacy (Ensign, Scherman, & Clark, 2006). However, previous studies on adult children of divorce have not included extended family support as an influence on attachment styles. To address this void, the current study examined differences in attachment styles of children of divorced and intact parents and investigated whether extended family social support predicted attachment avoidance and anxiety among adult children of divorce. Simple linear regressions revealed that perceived extended family support did not significantly predict attachment avoidance among adult children of divorce. However, perceived extended family support did predict attachment anxiety, such that the greater the perceived extended family support, the lower the anxiety reported.

Click here for full text "Extended Family Support: Making a Difference in the Attachment Styles of Adult Children of Divorce" by McDole & Limke.