“Feeling caught” as a mediator of adolescents' and young adults' avoidance and satisfaction with their parents in divorced and non-divorced households

Numerous researchers have argued that divorce may not have as much of an impact on children's relationships with their parents as the degree of interparental con.ict (e.g., Ahrons Amato, Loomis, &Booth, 1995). In the current model the degree to which adolescents and young adults felt caught between their parents was tested as a mediator between divorce and children's avoidance and satisfaction with them. The results revealed that divorce was largely associated with avoidance and satisfaction through children's feelings of being caught, which were a function of their parents' demand—withdraw patterns, communication competence, and other variables. When divorce was removed from the model, the specific relationships in the model applied to children of divorced and non-divorced households. Nevertheless, children of divorce reported greater avoidance, feelings of being caught, greater parental demand—withdraw patterns, less parental communication competence, less closeness, and less satisfaction than children from first marriage families. The. t of the model as a function of the age of the child is also discussed.