Psychological well-being and academic adjustment of young adult children of divorce (YACOD): a systematic review and meta-analysis

Butler, Jessica (2019) Psychological well-being and academic adjustment of young adult children of divorce (YACOD): a systematic review and meta-analysis. Doctoral (PhD) thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

This study first examines the literature conducted in the past ten years on young-adults who experienced parental divorce in childhood and the associated predictors of adjustment and general well-being using the PRISMA model of systematic reviews. Secondly, based on these findings, a meta-analysis was conducted to identify any robust findings in the research that has been published on this topic. A total of 53 articles were included in the systematic review and 21 were included in the meta-analysis. Results demonstrate that it is not the event of parental divorce itself that presents a challenge to many young-adults in the later years, but rather extraneous factors such as lower amounts of parental support, higher parental conflict, and lower parental well-being. Despite the high degree of dispersion and variability present in the studies that were included in the analysis, results indicate that there were lasting mental health implications including depression and behavioural concerns. The most important factors in mitigating any long-term negative consequences include more parental support, high quality parent-child relationships, less parental conflict, and healthy coping styles of these young-adults.

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