Abstract
Although divorce rates are trending downwards, one million children are estimated to be affected by divorce in the United States in a given year. Research has found that child exposure to interparental conflict within the context of divorce puts children at risk for developing negative mental health outcomes and has identified various protective factors that may mitigate these harmful effects. However, research has neglected to understand the relationship between these variables in children of color. The present study examines the relationship between interparental conflict within the context of divorce and mental health outcomes among a large sample of ethnically minoritized youth, ages 13-18, with divorced parents (N=922). It also examined potential protective factors: child coping style, parent-child relationship quality, and racial-ethnic identity. Results indicated that exposure to interparental conflict within the context of divorce increased the risk of internalizing disorders by 1.23x and externalizing disorders by 1.22x for youth of color. None of the protective factors examined were found to be effective in mitigating these harmful effects. However, results indicated that children exposed to interparental conflict and who have a poor relationship with their mother are at the highest risk for poor mental health outcomes, particularly externalizing disorders. These results offer important insights into where the field of psychology can intervene effectively to mitigate these harmful effects. It is clear that more research is needed to identify protective factors that buffer against the negative mental health effects of interparental conflict within the context of divorce for children of color.