Perceived parental marital satisfaction and divorce: Effects on sibling relations in emerging adults

The current study is an examination of how parental marital satisfaction and divorce relates to sibling relationships in emerging adulthood. Participants were 116 men and 189 women between the ages of 19 and 33. Participants were administered questionnaires regarding their parental marital satisfaction and divorce, sibling closeness, sibling communication, and sibling support. Results indicated that individuals from non-divorced families were closer to their siblings, communicated more with their siblings, and received greater levels of support from their siblings compared with individuals from divorced families. Additionally, perceived parental marital satisfaction was found to be a significant predictor of total sibling communication, closeness, and support. Finally, perceived parental marital satisfaction was found to mediate the relationship between parental divorce and total sibling support and between parental divorce and total sibling closeness.