The Effect of Later Life Parental Divorce on Adult-Child/Older-Parent Solidarity: A Test of the Buffering Hypothesis

The present study examined the effect of later life parental divorce on solidarity in the relationship between the adult child and older parent. This examination was achieved by testing the buffering hypothesis. A cross-sectional quasiexperimental pre-post treatment design was used (Cook & Campbell, 1979), with retrospective pretests and data from 100 adult-child/older-parent dyads. The ANOVA results show that the mother/adult-child relationship with a higher degree of predivorce solidarity responded to later life parental divorce with less disruption of affectional solidarity and associational solidarity than those with a lower degree of predivorce solidarity. Thus, the current research provides modest evidence (for the mother/adult-child relationship) to support the buffering hypothesis. We found no evidence of a buffering effect for the father-child relationship.