ed by the Orientation To Life Questionnaire) of these now adult children of divorce was not significantly different than that of their peers from intact homes. However, a significant negative relationship (r =.23, p <$001) was found between parental conflict and sense of coherence. In this regard, it was found that parents in conflict following a divorce negatively affect the stability of their children's orientation toward life, as adults.
Also, significant positive correlations were found between sense of coherence, the quality of the father-child relationship (r =.36, p <.001) and the quality of the mother-child relationship (r =.35, p <.001). Specifically, it was found that the better the quality of the relationship, the greater the adult child's sense of coherence. Findings also indicated that among the adult children, men had a significantly higher sense of coherence than women, a fact that may possibly indicate that males handle conflict following parental divorce better than do females.
Based on findings, Retterath (1994) recommended that when divorce was associated with a good deal of parent conflict, the family should consider therapy in an effort to decrease the effects of the behavior on their children. It was also recommended that parents go out of their way to maintain strong quality relationships with their children despite any negative feelings toward the spouse.
Research Related To Parental Attitudes
There has been a small amount of research on whether parental attitudes impact upon the attitudes of children in a manner that lasts into adulthood. For example, Glass, Bengtson, and Dunham (1986) examined the extent to which the attitudes of parents in the areas of gender roles, politics, and religion affected the attitudes eventually held by their adult children in relation to these issues.
While it was found that parents' attitudes and behaviors in these areas were similar to their children, ...