The Eye of the Beholder: Attitudes toward divorced parents and perception of children's happiness in Peru and Spain

TL;DR

This study explores how attitudes toward divorced parents in Peru and Spain affect perceptions of children's happiness, finding that extended family members and dark personality traits influence these views.

Contribution

The study introduces extended family perspectives and dark traits as factors influencing attitudes toward divorced parents and child happiness perceptions.

Findings

Extended family members hold more negative attitudes toward divorced parents than the parents themselves.

Mothers exhibit more negative attitudes toward fathers compared to fathers toward mothers.

Negative attitudes toward parents predict perceptions of children's unhappiness.

Abstract

Studies of divorce's effects on children have been oriented toward the parents' characteristics, ignoring their extended families. In the current study we collected data from 414 participants, both divorced parents and the children's extended families in Peru (155) and Spain (259). Participants completed a questionnaire on attitudes toward the parents, and the Short Dark Tetrad questionnaire. Multivariate tests were conducted on participants' responses, showing that negative attitudes toward parents are not very strong but that attitudes toward fathers are more negative than attitudes toward mothers. Custodial parents are perceived less negatively, and parents who share custody are perceived the least negatively. Extended family members hold more negative attitudes against parents than the parents themselves. Mothers have significantly more negative attitudes toward fathers than the fathers towards mothers. Dark traits are a significant predictor of negative attitudes toward the mother but not toward the father. The perception of unhappiness in the child was predicted by negative attitudes toward the parents. Non-parents tend to evaluate both parents more negatively compared to parents' mutual perceptions. There was an effect on dark traits, negative attitudes against parents, and perception of unhappiness in the child. Peruvians scored significantly higher in all variables.

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