Timing of Parental Divorce, Marriage Expectations, and Romance in Taiwan

Abstract

Using data from the Taiwan Youth Project (TYP), this study attempts to delineate the effect of parental marital disruption and parental conflict on children’s romantic relationship formation as well as marriage expectations in young adulthood. In particular, a special effort is made to distinguish the timing of parental divorce and parental conflict on the process of forming intimate relationships. Young adults who experienced parental divorce at or before age 12 are compared with those whose parents divorced during adolescence. The results show that the effect of parental divorce and conflict on young adults’ outcome varies by the age of the child when parental divorce occurred. Young adults who experienced parental divorce during adolescence are more likely to report without marriage expectation. On the other hand, children whose parents divorced at or before age 12 are more likely to be involved in romantic relationships and to have more boy/girl friends. The implications of the changing family structure on future family systems are briefly discussed.