Attitudes Towards Children of Divorce Among European Canadian and South Asian Canadian Young Adults: The Role of Divorce Norms and Cultural Identification

Abstract

Since the latter half of the 20th century, divorce has become relatively common in individualist cultures (e.g., European countries), while it is still rather uncommon in collectivist cultures (e.g., South Asian countries). Previous work has found that individuals that stray from marital norms can be stigmatized, but no previous studies have examined the views that people hold regarding children of divorce. The present study (N = 221) explored the extent to which European Canadian and South Asian Canadian young adults stigmatize other young adults from divorced families. While participants from both cultures were not highly stigmatizing, differences in stigma were partially explained by differences in perceived cultural divorce norms. The heritage cultural identification of South Asian Canadians was also found to moderate the relationship between perceived cultural norms and individual stigma. Results point to the importance of perceived social norms and cultural identification when examining the perception of young adults with divorced parents.