Social Support for Divorcing Mothers:

The value of social support in adjusting to divorce has long been assumed; yet recent research is beginning to call the "universality" of this relationship into question. The developmental process of adjustment as well as methodological problems in social support research have limited our knowledge of the actual role of social support in coping with divorce. The present study attempts to address these issues by examining the connection between adjustment to divorce and two specific aspects of social support, social embeddedness and enacted support; focusing particularly on the changes that may occur among these variables in the year following divorce. Thirty-eight mothers were interviewed in the months following their divorces and again, one year later. Results suggest that, contrary to expectations, dense kin-filled networks are associated with lower psychologica1 well-being and more conservative attitudes towards women. More importantly, the results indicate that the provision and receipt of enacted support are highly related to psychological adjustment. These findings are discussed in light of an interesting paradox which may be occurring for divorced mothers in that those individuals who are most likely to provide needed support, i .e., kin, may have constraining effects on mothers' psychological adjustment to the divorce.