Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Fear of Abandonment as a Mediator of the Relations Between Divorce Stressors and Mother–Child Relationship Quality and Children's Adjustment Problems

  • Published:
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study examines whether fear of abandonment mediates the prospective relations between divorce stressors and mother–child relationship quality and adjustment problems of children of divorce. Participants were 216 children, ages 8–12, and their primary residential mothers. Children reported on divorce stressors and fear of abandonment; mothers and children reported on mother–child relationship quality and internalizing and externalizing problems. Structural equation models indicated that Time 1 fear of abandonment mediated the relation between Time 1 divorce stressors and Time 2 internalizing and externalizing problems. Time 1 fear of abandonment also mediated the relation between Time 1 mother–child relationship quality and Time 2 internalizing and externalizing problems. Implications of these results for understanding variability in children's postdivorce adjustment problems and interventions for divorced families are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist/4–18 and 1991 Profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.

    Google Scholar 

  • Achenbach, T. M., & Edelbrock, C. (1983). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist and Revised Child Behavior Profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen, J. P., & Land, D. (1999). Attachment in adolescence. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research and clinical applications. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen, J. P., Moore, C. M., Kuperminc, G. P., & Bell, K. L. (1998). Attachment and adolescent psychosocial functioning. Child Development, 69, 1406-1419.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amato, P. R., & Keith, B. (1991a). Parental divorce and the well-being of children: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 110, 26-46.

    Google Scholar 

  • America's Children. (1998). Key national indicators of well-being. Washington, DC: Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arizona State University Preventive Intervention Research Center. (1985). The divorce adjustment project externalizing scale. Tempe, AZ. Unpublished document, Arizona State University, Program for Prevention Research.

  • Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497-529.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bentler, P. M. (1990). Fit indexes comparative in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 238-246.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bentler, P. M. (1995). EQS structural equations program manual. Encino, CA: Multivariate Software, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bollen, K. (1989). Structural equations with latent variables. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss: Vol. 3. Loss. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss: Vol. 3. Loss. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1969/1982). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bretherton, I. (1995). Attachment theory and developmental psychopathology. In D. Cicchetti & S. L. Toth (Eds.), Rochester Symposium on Developmental Psychopathology: Vol. 6. Emotion, cognition, and representation (pp. 231-260). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bretherton, I., & Munholland, K. A. (1999). Internal working models in attachment relationships: A construct revisited. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research and clinical applications. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Camara, K. A., & Resnick, G. (1987). Marital and parental subsystems in mother-custody, father-custody, and two-parent households: Effects on children's social development. Advances in Family Intervention, Assessment and Theory, 4, 165-196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cassidy, J., & Shaver, P. R. (1999). Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chase-Lansdale, P. L., Cherlin, A. K., & Kiernan, K. E. (1995). The long-term effects of parental divorce on the mental health of young adults: A developmental perspective. Child Development, 66, 1614-1634.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cherlin, A. J. (1992). Marriage, divorce, remarriage. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, R. D. (1977). Detection of influential observation in linear regression. Technometrics, 19, 15-18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dozier, M., Stevenson, A. L., Lee, S. W., & Velligan, D. L. (1991). Attachment organization and familial overinvolvement for adults with serious psychopathological disorders. Development and Psychopathology, 3, 475-489.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, S. (1983). Aggregation and beyond: Some basic issues on the prediction of behavior. Journal of Personality, 51, 360-392.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eron, L. D. (1980). Prescription for reduction of aggression. American Psychologist, 35, 244-252.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fogas, B. S., Wolchik, S. A., & Braver, S. L. (1987, August). Parenting behavior and psychopathology in children of divorce: Buffering effects. Paper presented at the American Psychological Association Convention, New York.

  • Gardner, R. A. (1976). Psychotherapy with children of divorce. New York: Jason Aronson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, M. T. (1999). Attachment and psychopathology in childhood. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (pp. 469-496). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayduk, L. (1987). Structural equation modeling with lisrel, essentials and advances. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hetherington, E. M. (1999). Should we stay together for the sake of the children? In E. M. Hetherington (Ed.), Coping with divorce, single parenting, and remarriage: A risk and resiliency perspective (pp. 93-116). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hetherington, E. M., Clingempeel, W. G., Anderson, E. R., Deal, J. E., Stanley Hagan, M., Hollier, E. A., et al. (1992). Coping with marital transitions: A family systems perspective. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 57(2/3, Serial No. 227).

  • Hetherington, E. M., Cox, M., & Cox, R. (1982). Effects of divorce on parents and children. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), Nontraditional families: Parenting and child development (pp. 233-285). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horowitz, L. M., Inouye, D., & Siegelman, E. Y. (1979). On averaging judges' ratings to increase their correlation with an external criterion. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 47, 453-458.

    Google Scholar 

  • Judd, C. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1981a). Process analysis: Estimating mediation in treatment evaluation. Evaluation Review, 5, 602-619.

    Google Scholar 

  • Judd, C. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1981b). Estimating the effects of social interventions. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, H. B. (1984). Self-attitudes and deviant responses: Toward the validation of a general theory of deviant behavior. In S. Mednick, M. Halway, & K. Finello (Eds.), Handbook of longitudinal research: Teenage and adult cohorts (Vol. 2, pp. 141-150). New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, N., Gullone, E., Tonge, B. J., & Ollendick, T. H. (1993). Self-reports of panic attacks and manifest anxiety in adolescents. Behavior Research and Therapy, 31(1), 111-116.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kovacs, M. (1981). Rating scales to assess depression in school-aged children. Acta Pacedopsychiatrica, 46, 305-315.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kovacs, M. (1992). Child Depression Inventory: CDI Manual. North Tonawanda, NY: Multi-Health Systems.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kurdek, L. A., & Berg, B. (1987). Children's beliefs about parental divorce scale: Psychometric characteristics and concurrent validity. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 712-718.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal and coping. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipsey, M. (1990). Theory as method: Small theories of treatments. In L. Sechrest, E. Perrin, & J. Bunker (Eds.), Research methodology: Strengthening causal interpretations of non-experimental data (pp. 44-53). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Little, R. J. A., & Rubin, D. B. (1987). Statistical analysis with missing data. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lobovits, D. A., & Hendal, P. J. (1985). Childhood depression: Prevalence using DSM-III criteria and validity of parent and child depression scales. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 10, 45-54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorion, R., Price, R., & Eaton, W. (1989). The prevention of child and adolescent disorders: From theory to research. In D. Schaffer, I. Philips, & N. Enzer (Eds.), Prevention of mental disorders, alcohol and other drug use in children and adolescents (pp. 55-97). Washington, DC: Office of Substance Abuse Prevention Monograph-2 (DHHS Publication No. ADM 90-1646).

    Google Scholar 

  • MacCallum, R. C., & Austin, J. T. (2000). Application of structural equation modeling in psychological research. Annual Review of Psychology, 51, 201-226.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D. P. (1994). Analysis of mediating variables in prevention and intervention research. National Institute of Drug Abuse Research Monograph Series, 139, 127-153.

  • MacKinnon, D. P., Krull, J. L., & Lockwood, C. M. (2000). Equivalence of the mediation, suppression, and confounding effect. Prevention Science, 1, 173-181.

    Google Scholar 

  • Monroe, S. J. (1982). Life events assessment: Current practices, emerging trends. Clinical Psychology Review, 2, 435-453.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrow, J., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1990). Effects of responses to depression on the remediation of depressive affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 519-527.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moskowitz, D. S., & Schwarz, J. C. (1982). A validity comparison of behavior counts and ratings by knowledgeable informants. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 518-526.

    Google Scholar 

  • Múthen, L. K., & Múthen, B. O. (1998). Mplus user's guide: The comprehensive modeling program for applied researchers. Los Angles: Múthen & Múthen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, J. L., & Zill, N. (1986). Marital disruption, parent-child relationships, and behavior problems in children. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48, 295-308.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pitts, S. C., West, S. G., & Tein, J.-Y. (1996). Longitudinal measurement models in evaluation research: Examining stability and change. Evaluation and Program Planning, 10, 383-350.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, W. M. (1992). Depression in children and adolescents. In W. M. Reynolds (Ed.), Internalizing disorders in children and adolescents. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, C. R., & Paget, K. D. (1981). Factor analysis of the revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale for blacks, whites, males, and females with a national normative sample. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 49, 352-359.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, C. R., & Richmond, B. (1978). What I think and feel: A revised measure of children's manifest anxiety. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 6, 271-280.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodgers, B., Power, C., & Hope, S. (1997). Parental divorce and adult psychological distress: Evidence from a national birth cohort: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 867-872.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg, M. (1968). The logic of survey analysis. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross, C. E., & Mirowsky, J. (1999). Parental divorce, life-course disruption, and adult depression. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 1034-1045.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandler, I. N. (2001). Quality and ecology of adversity as common mechanisms of risk and resilience. American Journal of Community Psychology, 29, 19-63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandler, I. N., Tein, J.-Y., & West, S. G. (1994). Coping, stress, and the mental health of children of divorce: A longitudinal study. Child Development, 65, 1744-1763.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandler, I. N., Wolchik, S. A., & Braver, S. L. (1988). The stressors of children's post-divorce environments. In S. Wolchik & P. Karoly (Eds.), Children of divorce: Empirical perspectives on adjustment (pp. 111-144). New York: Gardner.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandler, I. N., Wolchik, S. A., Braver, S. L., & Fogas, B. (1986). Significant events of children of divorce: Toward the assessment of a risky situation. In S. M. Auerbach & A. Stolberg (Eds.), Crisis intervention with children and families (pp. 65-87). New York: Hemisphere.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandler, I. N., Wolchik, S. A., Braver, S. L., & Fogas, B. (1991). Stability and quality of life events and psychological symptomatology in children of divorce. American Journal of Community Psychology, 19, 501-520.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandler, I. N., Wolchik, S. A., MacKinnon, D., Ayers, T. S., & Roosa, M. W. (1997). Developing linkages between theory and intervention in stress and coping processes. In S. A. Wolchik & I. N. Sandler (Eds.), Handbook of children's coping: Linking theory and intervention. (pp. 3-40). New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaefer, E. S. (1965). Children's report of parental behavior: An inventory. Child Development, 36, 413-424.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schafer, J. L. (1997). Analysis of incomplete multivariate data. London: Chapman & Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schafer, J. L., & Olsen, M. K. (1998). Multiple imputation of multivariate missing-data problems: A data analyst's perspective. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 33, 545-571.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwarz, J. C., Barton-Henry, M. L., & Pruzinsky, T. (1985). Assessing child-rearing behaviors: A comparison of ratings made by mother, father, child and sibling on the CRPBI. Child Development, 56, 462-479.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwarz, J. C., & Mearns, J. (1989). Assessing parental childrearing behaviors: A comparison of parent, child and aggregate ratings from two instruments. Journal of Research in Personality, 23, 450-468.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheets, V., Sandler, I. N., & West, S. G. (1996). Assessment of threat appraisals in children of divorce. Child Development, 67, 2166-2182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simons, R. L., Lin, K.-H., Gordon, L. C., Conger, R. D., & Lorenz, F. O. (1999). Explaining the higher incidence of adjustment problems among children of divorce compared with those in two-parent families. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 1020-1033.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simons, R. L., and Associates. (1996). Understanding differences between divorced and intact families: Stress, interaction, and child outcome. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skinner, E. A., & Wellborn, J. G. (1994). Coping during childhood and adolescence: A motivational perspective. In R. Lerner, D. Featherman, & M. Perlmutter (Eds.), Lifespan development and behavior (pp. 91-133). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skinner, E. A., & Wellborn, J. G. (1997). Children's coping in the academic domain. In S. A. Wolchik & I. N. Sandler (Eds.), Handbook of children's coping with common life stressors: Linking theory, research and interventions (pp. 387-422). New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sobel, M. E. (1982). Asymptotic confidence intervals for indirect effects in structure equation models. In S. Leinhardt (Ed.), Social methodology (pp. 290-312). San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sobel, M. E. (1986). Some new results on indirect effects and their standard errors in structure equation models. In N. Tuma (Ed.), Social methodology (pp. 159-186). San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, J. P. (1984). Outliers and influential data points in regression analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 95, 334-344.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stolberg, A. L., & Anker, J. M. (1983). Cognitive and behavioral changes resulting from parental divorce and consequent environment changes. Journal of Divorce, 7, 23-41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tein, J.-Y., Sandler, I. N., MacKinnon, D. P., & Wolchik, S. A. (2000). Testing of mediation when program effects interact with pretest mediator or outcome variables. Paper presented at the 8th annual SPR conference in Montreal.

  • U.S. Bureau of Census. (1996, May). Resident population of the United States: Middle series projections, 1996–2000, by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin, with Median Age. In Current Population Reports (Series P25-1130). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vasey, M. W. (1993). Development and cognition in childhood anxiety: The example or worry. In T. H. Ollendick & R. J. Priz (Eds.), Advances in clinical child psychology (pp. 1-39). New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallerstein, J. S. (1985). Children of divorce: Emerging trends. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 8, 837-855.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallerstein, J. S., & Kelly, J. B. (1980). Surviving the breakup: How children and parents cope with divorce. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolchik, S. A., Ramirez, R., Sandler, I. N., Fisher, J. L., Organista, P. B., & Brown, C. (1993). Inner-city, poor children of divorce: Negative divorce-related events, problematic beliefs and adjustment problems. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 19, 1-20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolchik, S. A., West, S., Sandler, I. N., Tein, J.-Y., Coatsworth, D., Lengua, L. J., et al. (2000). The New Beginnings Program for divorced families: An experimental evaluation of theory-based single-component and dual-component programs. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

  • Wolchik, S. A., West, S., Westover, S., Sandler, I. N., Martin, A., Lustig, J., et al. (1993). The children of divorce parenting project: Outcome evaluation of an empirically-based parenting program. American Journal of Community Psychology, 21, 293-331.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolchik, S. A., Wilcox, K. L., Tein, J.-Y., & Sandler, I. N. (2000). Maternal acceptance and consistency of discipline as buffers of divorce stressors on children's adjustment problems. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 28, 87-102.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Program for Prevention Research, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona

    Sharlene A. Wolchik

  2. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

    Kathryn W. Doyle

Authors
  1. Sharlene A. Wolchik
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jenn-Yun Tein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Irwin N. Sandler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kathryn W. Doyle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wolchik, S.A., Tein, JY., Sandler, I.N. et al. Fear of Abandonment as a Mediator of the Relations Between Divorce Stressors and Mother–Child Relationship Quality and Children's Adjustment Problems. J Abnorm Child Psychol 30, 401–418 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015722109114

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015722109114

Search

Navigation