Date of Award

Spring 5-27-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology (PhD)

Department

Clinical Psychology

First Advisor/Committee Member

Jenny Lee Vaydich

Second Advisor/Committee Member

Thane Erickson

Third Advisor/Committee Member

Andrea Eaton-Lupas

Abstract

The divorce process is a stressful, transitional period that is widely experienced by families in the United States. This process incites a variety of stressors and deleterious family dynamics that impact children and adolescents. The divorce literature has identified parental conflict as a significant contributor to youth outcomes following divorce. Therefore, researchers have aimed to investigate the specific dynamics occurring during interparental discord that may influence youth. Triangulation, or the involvement of children in parental disagreements, has been found to mediate the relationship between parental conflict and adolescents’ internalizing symptoms. Adolescents may be particularly vulnerable to triangulation due to increases in social and familial expectations that occur alongside this period of maturation and development. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to examine the predictive relationship between triangulation and adolescents’ emotional symptoms during the divorce process. Secondly, this study sought to examine the potential moderating roles of peer relationship difficulties and prosocial behavior due to the importance of social factors during adolescence. The current sample included 157 parents who were engaged in the divorce process within the past 5 years. Parents reported on triangulation dynamics utilizing the triangulation subscale of the Children’s Perception of Interparental Conflict Questionnaire (Grych et al., 1992). Additionally, parents were asked to report on their adolescents’ peer relationship difficulties, prosocial behavior, and emotional symptoms using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman, 1997). Results of the analyses indicated that triangulation and peer relationships difficulties positively predicted adolescents’ emotional symptoms, while prosocial behavior negatively predicted these symptoms. On the other hand, peer relationship difficulties and prosocial behavior were not found to moderate relationship between triangulation and adolescents’ emotional symptoms. Overall, the results of this study may inform therapeutic interventions for clinicians supporting adolescents experiencing the divorce transitional period.

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