Effects of Parental Infidelity on Adult Children's Relational Ethics With Their Partners: A Contextual Perspective

Schmidt, Alexandra E.; Green, Mary S.; Sibley, David; Prouty, Anne M.

doi:10.1080/15332691.2014.998848

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 38 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The implications of the findings from this study echo Schmidt et al's (2016) recommendations for addressing relational dynamics related to parental infidelity through family therapy. Moreover, these findings offer empirical support for Schmidt et al's supposition that clients who have experienced parental infidelity may struggle with feeling caught in loyalty conflicts.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Emerging Ideas. Rumination's Mediating Effect on Feeling Caught and Well‐Being After Parental Infidelity

Thorson

2020

Family Relations

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective This brief exploratory study, guided by family systems theory, examined whether rumination mediated the relationship between adult children's experience of triangulation (i.e., feeling caught) and well‐being after parental infidelity. Results On the basis of responses from 215 adult children whose parents engaged in infidelity, adult children's well‐being and their feelings of being caught between parents was mediated by rumination. Moreover, the relationship between these variables was not conditional on whether adult children's parents divorced or remained married after infidelity. Implications These findings provide an initial understanding of the impact of parental infidelity on adult children. Further, they suggest that future research should examine family discourses that promote or mitigate rumination because family interactions greatly influence offspring's experiences with this transgression.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Emerging Ideas. Rumination's Mediating Effect on Feeling Caught and Well‐Being After Parental Infidelity

Thorson

2020

Family Relations

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although several authors have written about using contextual therapy to address the problem of infidelity in couple and family therapy (e.g. Adams and Maynard, ; Mauldin, ; Shaw, ), only one other published empirical study from Schmidt, Green, Prouty, and Sibley (, In Press) has explored the relationship between infidelity and relational ethics. That study focused on the relationship between parental infidelity and horizontal relational ethics between participants and their partners.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of parental infidelity and interparental conflict on relational ethics between adult children and parents: a contextual perspective

Schmidt

Green²,

Prouty

2015

Journal of Family Therapy

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Little research in the couple and family therapy field has specifically addressed the influence of infidelity on members of the family outside the couple subsystem. The purpose of this exploratory quantitative study was to utilize the lens of contextual therapy to explore the influence of parental infidelity and inter-parental conflict on the vertical relational ethics of adult children (N = 703), including subscales measuring trust and justice, loyalty and entitlement. Results from multiple regression analyses demonstrated that both higher levels of inter-parental conflict and the occurrence of parental infidelity were associated with lower levels of vertical relational ethics, which often takes the form of decreased trust among family members and an increased potential for loyalty conflicts. Implications for addressing relational dynamics related to parental infidelity through systemic family therapy, as well as recommendations for future research, are discussed.Practitioner points • Therapeutic assessment should examine how transgenerational infidelity and conflict patterns between partners influence parentchild relationships. • Acknowledge young and adult children who feel caught in a split loyalty between parents and how they cope with these loyalty conflicts. • Engage clients in dialogue concerning how to restore the balance of offering and receiving care, support, and connection within family's unique cultural context.

show abstract

“…Further exploring the intergenerational influences of parental infidelity on the romantic relationships of adult offspring, a limited amount of research has taken a more systemic approach by adopting the 'contextual therapy model' framework and exploring the role of 'relational ethics' (Boszormenyi-Nagy & Krasner, 1986). This framework explores how the act of parental infidelity, a clear violation of trust and loyalty, may influence adult offspring's perceptions of relational ethics within their own romantic relationships (Schmidt et al, 2016). Relational ethics within relationships of individuals of the same generation, i.e.…”

Section: Adult Romantic Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the lived experience of parental infidelity

Salih¹

2021

Journal of Family Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The current study explored the lived experience of parental infidelity; how individuals make sense of this experience and what its' implications are. Qualitative data were collected from individual, semi-structured interviews with six adult participants. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis methodology was used and a critical realist epistemological stance was taken. Analyses revealed findings of four master themes: adultification, challenges in romantic relationships, the psychological experience and the pathway to healing. These master themes were subcategorized into super-ordinate themes as follows: adultificationbecoming an emotional carer and awareness of parental sexuality, challenges in romantic relationshipsfear of abandonment and relationship breakdown, intergenerational transmission of infidelity and differentiation, the psychological experiencean everlasting pain, the sense of self and loss: detachment and disconnection, the pathway to healingrestoration through destruction, perspective: intellectualization and understanding and honesty and openness. Theoretical, research and clinical implications alongside limitations and ideas for future research are discussed.

show abstract

Effects of Parental Infidelity on Adult Children's Relational Ethics With Their Partners: A Contextual Perspective

Cited by 12 publications

References 38 publications

Emerging Ideas. Rumination's Mediating Effect on Feeling Caught and Well‐Being After Parental Infidelity

Emerging Ideas. Rumination's Mediating Effect on Feeling Caught and Well‐Being After Parental Infidelity

Effects of parental infidelity and interparental conflict on relational ethics between adult children and parents: a contextual perspective

Exploring the lived experience of parental infidelity

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About