Young Adults’ Religious Attendance/Involvement And Subclinical Distress Levels Regarding Parental Divorce

Social support is an important protective factor against some of the negative outcomes associated with young adults’ parental divorce experiences. The current study examines the difference in levels of reported subclinical emotional distress regarding a parental divorce between college students who attend religious services or are involved in religious practices and those who are absent or uninvolved. 183 University of Arizona students completed questionnaires regarding their experience with parental divorce. One particular section assessed frequency of attendance in religious services and involvement in religious practices, while another examined the participants’ subclinical distress levels regarding their parental divorce, measured by the PFAD scale. Univariate ANOVAs revealed that while there were no significant differences between participants who attended services once a year or less and those who attended services more than once a year on any subscale of the PFAD, there was a significant difference between participants who were involved in religious practices once a year or less and those who were involved in religious practices more than once a year on both the self- and maternal-blame subscales of the PFAD. These findings may assist therapists working with young adults whose parents are divorced in accessing a particular domain of social support