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Browsing by Author "Christensen, Elizabeth J., author"

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    Young adults' marital attitudes and intentions: the role of parental conflict, divorce and gender
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Christensen, Elizabeth J., author; Rosén, Lee, advisor; Chavez, Ernie, committee member; Richards, Tracy, committee member; Zimmerman, Toni, committee member
    Previous research has documented the importance of measuring personal and collective attitudes toward marriage and personal intentions to marry. The results of this study add to the literature by helping to further underscore the important relationship between marital attitudes and intentions, and the early childhood experiences of young adults. These results suggest that parental conflict is a better predictor of intentions and attitudes toward marriage than either gender or parental divorce. High to moderate levels of parental conflict were more strongly associated with increased fears/doubts about marriage and lowered intent to marry and high parental conflict was more strongly linked to holding more negative attitudes toward marriage in young adults. The results further underscore the importance of considering the long-term effects that experiencing moderate to high levels of parental conflict as a child may have on shaping negative attitudes. Contrary to expectations, women did not hold more positive attitudes toward marriage in general, nor, did they endorse stronger desires to marry. Results indicated that men are more likely to hold more negative attitudes toward marriage than women. Compared with students whose parents are not divorced, adult children of divorce (ACOD) reported significantly higher levels of conflict in their homes while growing up. These results have important implications for practitioners, particularly those who specialize in premarital counseling.