Post-Divorce Parental Conflict and Adolescents’ Delinquency in Divorced Families

This study reviews several empirical researches which highlight the effect of post-divorce parental conflict as one of the most important factors on adolescents’ delinquency in divorced families. Research consistently shows that parental conflict affects parental relationship and this poor parental quality may transfer into poor parent-child relationship that may negatively influence adolescent functions and behaviors. Research showed that adolescents who are exposed to post-divorce parental conflict are at increased risk for high level of delinquency. Positive associations between parental conflict and adolescent delinquency have been accounted for by parental rejection or withdrawal, parental hostility toward adolescents, lack of parental warmth, and corporal punishment and parent-adolescent conflict.