Post-divorce adjustment, coparenting and somatisation: Mediating role of anxiety and depression in high-conflict divorces

Abstract

BackgroundDue to the overlap of somatisation with other psychiatric symptomatology and the difficulty of making a clear diagnosis, few studies have focused on somatic symptoms after divorce. Moreover, their results are controversial and do not provide a conclusive differentiation according to gender. Objective: The present study is based on the hypothesis that psychological difficulties of adjustment to divorce and coparenting are linked to somatic symptomatology, in a sample of high-conflict divorcees, considering anxious and depressive symptoms as mediating factors. The role of some control variables was considered: marital status, level of education, time elapsed since separation, type of custody, frequency of contact with the children, and type of relationship with the ex-partner. In addition, the differential role of gender was studied. MethodA path analysis was carried out with the IBM SPSS AMOS 28 programme. ResultsIts results supported the relationship between psychological difficulties of adjustment to divorce and somatisation, as well as the mediating role of anxiety. A direct relationship between coparenting and somatisation was also found. These results were invariant in men and women, although specific differences were identified in the impact of anxiety. LimitationsAs a preliminary study, it is not without limitations. Firstly, it can be noted that it is a homogeneous sample with similar socio-demographic characteristics. Furthermore, the instruments used are general screening tests, and it could be interesting to incorporate more specific assessment tools. ConclusionsThis study supported the link between the conflictive divorce and the somatic symptomatology, leading to further research.