Families in High-Conflict Divorces: Parent Outcomes of No Kids in the Middle

Aurelie M.C. Lange; Margreet M. Visser; Catrin Finkenauer; Esther S. Kluwer; Ron H.J. Scholte

doi:10.1080/10502556.2023.2210478

Families in High-Conflict Divorces: Parent Outcomes of No Kids in the Middle

Aurelie M.C. Lange^*, Margreet M. Visser, Catrin Finkenauer, Esther S. Kluwer, Ron H.J. Scholte

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

This study reports on the short-term outcomes of the multi-family group intervention “No Kids in the Middle” (NKM). NKM is aimed at decreasing parental conflicts, hostile attributions about the ex-partner, and perceived social network disapproval of the ex-partner in high-conflict divorces (HCD). Interventions such as NKM are important as persistent parental conflicts can have severe negative consequences for children. For the current study, 167 HCD parents completed questionnaires at the start and end of NKM and at 6-month follow-up. A convenience sample of 136 divorced parents who were not in high conflict completed a single assessment. Their scores were used to define whether the reliable change index (RCI) for the HCD group represented a meaningful change. Parental conflict and social network disapproval of parents in a HCD decreased throughout all assessments. Hostile attributions did not change. The results provide initial evidence that NKM might help reduce conflict in HCD.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	114-129
Number of pages	16
Journal	Journal of Divorce and Remarriage
Volume	64
Issue number	2-4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/10502556.2023.2210478
Publication status	Published - 30 May 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Funding

This study was supported by Kenter Jeugdhulp and de Viersprong as well as by a grant from Stichting Achmea Slachtoffer en Samenleving. We would like to thank all parents and children for their participation in the study and the participating mental health institutions for supporting data collection and their engagement for helping these families. We also thank Kim Schoemaker and Annelies de Kruiff for their invaluable work in the data collection, Margot van der Wart for creating time and space to support the scientific research in a clinical setting, and Marc Delsing for their advice on the statistical analyses. We would also like to thank Justine van Lawick, Erik van der Elst, Elisabeth van der Heide, Wendy de Visser, Flora van Grinsven, and Jeroen Wierstra for their suggestions and ideas in interpreting the results.

Funders	Funder number
Kenter Jeugdhulp and de Viersprong
Stichting Achmea Slachtoffer en Samenleving

Keywords

high conflict divorce
hostile attributions
Parental conflicts
pre-post intervention design
social network disapproval

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10.1080/10502556.2023.2210478

Families in High-Conflict Divorces Parent Outcomes of No Kids in the MiddleFinal published version, 735 KBLicence: Taverne

Cite this

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abstract = "This study reports on the short-term outcomes of the multi-family group intervention “No Kids in the Middle” (NKM). NKM is aimed at decreasing parental conflicts, hostile attributions about the ex-partner, and perceived social network disapproval of the ex-partner in high-conflict divorces (HCD). Interventions such as NKM are important as persistent parental conflicts can have severe negative consequences for children. For the current study, 167 HCD parents completed questionnaires at the start and end of NKM and at 6-month follow-up. A convenience sample of 136 divorced parents who were not in high conflict completed a single assessment. Their scores were used to define whether the reliable change index (RCI) for the HCD group represented a meaningful change. Parental conflict and social network disapproval of parents in a HCD decreased throughout all assessments. Hostile attributions did not change. The results provide initial evidence that NKM might help reduce conflict in HCD.",

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Families in High-Conflict Divorces: Parent Outcomes of No Kids in the Middle

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Bibliographical note

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Keywords

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