Role of the Father-Adolescent Relationship in Sharing Adolescents' Attitudes Toward Divorce

The closeness of father-adolescent relationships in eleventh grade was examined as a predictor of adolescents' attitudes toward divorce one-year after high school. The sample of 514 European and African American adolescents is drawn from the Maryland Adolescent Development in Context (MADIC) study. Measures included youth reports of the quality of father-adolescent relationships in the 11th grade and adolescents' attitudes toward divorce at age 19. Boys who shared close relationships with their biological custodial fathers, biological noncustodial fathers, and stepfathers felt less likely to divorce in their future marital relationships. No significant findings were observed for girls. Results suggest that adolescent boys who feel close to their fathers-regardless of father type -feel less likely to divorce in the future.