Are intense negative emotions a risk for complex divorces? An examination of the role of emotions in divorced parents and co-parenting concerns

In this study, we examined whether regular divorces can be distinguished from complex divorces by measuring the intensity of negative emotions that divorced parents report when thinking about their ex-partner. We recruited two groups of parents: n = 136 in a regular divorce, and n = 191 in a complex...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of social and personal relationships 2021-02, Vol.38 (2), p.765-782
Main Authors: Koppejan-Luitze, Heleen S., van der Wal, Reine C., Kluwer, Esther S., Visser, Margreet M., Finkenauer, Catrin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anger
Childrearing practices
Complex
Coparenting
Disgust
Divorce
Emotional regulation
Emotions
Fear & phobias
Guilt
Hate
Negative emotions
Parents & parenting
Rage
Sadness
Self control
Self regulation
Shame
Tests
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Summary:In this study, we examined whether regular divorces can be distinguished from complex divorces by measuring the intensity of negative emotions that divorced parents report when thinking about their ex-partner. We recruited two groups of parents: n = 136 in a regular divorce, and n = 191 in a complex divorce. Based on the existing literature, we predicted that parents in complex divorces experience more intense negative emotions than parents in regular divorces; especially emotions that motivate emotional distancing (contempt, disgust, anger, hatred, and rage) and emotions that impair self-regulation (fear, shame, guilt, and sadness). We also predicted that these emotions would hamper co-parenting, particularly in complex divorces. The results provided support for our predictions, except for fear and sadness. We found that parents in a complex divorce reported more co-parenting concerns than parents in a regular divorce. In contrast to our expectations, the relation between negative emotions and coparenting concerns was stronger among parents in a regular divorce than in a complex divorce. These findings underline the importance of emotions in the divorce trajectory and suggest that especially the intensity of emotional distancing emotions may serve as a screening tool to identify parents at risk for a complex divorce.
ISSN:0265-4075
1460-3608
DOI:10.1177/0265407520972189