Parental Divorce, Emotional Security, and Family Satisfaction in Emerging Adulthood: The Role of Attachment and Emotional Disengagement

Parental divorce constitutes a salient relational context associated with emotional adjustment and family functioning in emerging adulthood. Drawing on Attachment Theory and Emotional Security Theory, this cross-sectional study examined associations between parental divorce or separation, attachment patterns, emotional security, emotional disengagement, and perceived family satisfaction. The sample comprised 496 Spanish female university students aged 18–30 years, recruited during the 2024 academic year; 28% reported parental divorce or long-term separation (n = 139), and 72% came from intact families (n = 357). Parental divorce referred to legal divorce or stable separation occurring prior to adulthood. Participants completed standardized self-report measures of adult attachment, family satisfaction, family stress, and emotional security. Attachment styles were identified using k-means clustering, retaining a two-cluster solution (secure = 46.2%; insecure = 53.8%). MANOVA results indicated that participants from divorced families reported higher family stress (η²ₚ = .096), worry (η²ₚ = .074), and emotional disengagement (η²ₚ = .024), alongside lower family satisfaction (η²ₚ = .053) and emotional security (η²ₚ = .036). Secure attachment was associated with greater family satisfaction (η²ₚ = .100) and emotional security (η²ₚ = .086), and lower stress-related outcomes. Spearman correlations showed strong associations among emotional security, disengagement, and family satisfaction. Mediation analyses, estimated as statistical models of indirect effects using bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals, indicated that emotional disengagement was associated with lower family satisfaction both directly (β = –0.42) and indirectly via reduced emotional security (β = –0.65). These findings are consistent with an indirect-effect model rather than causal inference. Results underscore the relevance of attachment and emotional security in perceived family functioning, particularly in the context of parental divorce.

Keywords: parental divorce, emerging adulthood, adult attachment, emotional security, family satisfaction, emotional disengagement.