Bertoni Anna, Carrà Elisabetta, Iafrate Raffaella, Zanchettin Alice, Parise Miriam
Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy.
Department of Sociology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy.
Health Soc Care Community. 2018 Jul;26(4):e571-e577. doi: 10.1111/hsc.12573. Epub 2018 Apr 11.
After separation or divorce, people generally experience a deterioration of health, not only in terms of physical well-being but also in terms of emotional and social well-being. In addition, when separated, individuals are parents as well and they are concerned with the well-being of their children. The main task for separated parents is to maintain a parental alliance (coparenting) for the sake of their children's well-being. Social support is a critical resource, which helps parents face their new life condition, promoting their psychological well-being. In recent years in Italy, many associations targeting separated and divorced parents have been founded: They support ex-partners during and after separation and are active in defending their rights. These associations are voluntary associations/non-profit organisations and self-help groups, which are constituted by parents themselves who associate to support each other in the tasks connected with separation. The present study investigated, with an explorative aim, the role of these associations for separated parents' well-being and coparenting abilities. In particular, drawing on a sample of 318 Italian separated parents (73.30% fathers; 26.70% mothers) belonging to a formal association targeting separated parents, the study analysed whether and how the perception of being supported by the association was related to psychological and relational well-being and to coparenting. Results showed that the more parents perceived to be supported by the association the less they were depressed, the more they were satisfied with the relationship with children and friends, and the more they displayed coparenting abilities. Our findings suggest that social support from these associations is a resource for separated parents' health.
分居或离婚后，人们通常健康状况会变差，不仅体现在身体健康方面，还包括情感和社会福祉方面。此外，分居时，个人同时也是父母，他们会关心孩子的幸福。分居父母的主要任务是为了孩子的幸福维持一种父母联盟（共同养育）。社会支持是一种关键资源，它能帮助父母面对新的生活状况，促进他们的心理健康。近年来在意大利，许多针对分居和离婚父母的协会成立了：它们在分居期间及之后为前伴侣提供支持，并积极维护他们的权利。这些协会是志愿协会/非营利组织和自助团体，由父母自己组成，他们联合起来在与分居相关的任务中相互支持。本研究以探索为目的，调查了这些协会对分居父母幸福感和共同养育能力的作用。特别是，该研究以318名属于一个针对分居父母的正式协会的意大利分居父母为样本（73.30%为父亲；26.70%为母亲），分析了协会支持感是否以及如何与心理和人际关系幸福感以及共同养育相关。结果表明，父母越觉得得到协会的支持，他们就越不容易抑郁，对与孩子和朋友的关系就越满意，并且越能展现出共同养育能力。我们的研究结果表明，这些协会提供的社会支持是分居父母健康的一种资源。
