Parental Divorce and Children’s Attachment Security: Downstream Effect on Peer Relations
Abstract
Children’s first years of school are a sensitive period when peer groups form and early adjustment can set trajectories for inclusion or isolation. Drawing on attachment theory and process-oriented models of family change, this review synthesizes evidence that divorce-related processes, shape children’s attachment security, which in turn forecasts peer functioning at school entry. Specifically focused on caregiving organizations and the interparental climate. Studies indicate that frequent infant overnights without coordinated routines are associated with higher mother–child insecurity, and that ongoing post-divorce conflict increases children’s fear of abandonment. In intact families, hostile marital dynamics undermine, and positive engagement supports, preschool attachment security via spillover to parenting. Meta-analytic and longitudinal findings link early attachment security to peer competence, with self-regulatory capacities (e.g., executive function) providing a plausible mechanism. Within classrooms, teachers can operate as secondary secure-base figures; attachment-relevant behaviors such as constructive negotiation with teachers relate to higher peer acceptance and visibility. The evidence supports a two-setting strategy: at home, emphasize predictable routines, coordinated co-parenting, and conflict reduction; at school, strengthen teacher sensitivity, warm structure, and explicit coaching of regulation and positive negotiation. Together, these practices can stabilize children’s sense of security and promote peer inclusion during the transition to formal schooling.
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