Factors related to stress in divorces with child custody

Abstract

This paper presents a study with 78 adults in situations of divorce and child custody in the Public Defender's Office of Sergipe, Brazil in order to verify the occurrence of stress symptoms. The application of the Stress Symptoms Inventory, validated by Lipp, revealed that 71.8% of the participants experienced stress, and 51.8% of these were in the resistance phase and 82.1% predominantly presented psychological symptoms. Stress levels were related to being a woman (Odds Ratio = 6.43; Confidence Interval = 2.58 - 21.63; p = 0.001) and job instability (c2 = 7.972; p = 0.019). The age of the oldest child at the time of divorce is also related to stress: the older the child, the less likely the occurrence of stress (Odds Ratio = 0.925; Confidence Interval = 0.86 - 0.98; p = 0.03). The conclusion is the there is a need for family preventive interventions in order to support marital bonds, facilitating relational arrangements required during the time of separation.

Keywords

• Child custody
• Divorce
• Stress