中華心理衛生協會

This paper provides an overview of research published in journals listed in the Social Science Citation Index on the intergenerational transmission of divorce and marital instability. The goal was to review historical development of the topic and make suggestions for future research. Content analysis was applied to analyze the era, topic, source and method. The main research theories, findings, contributions, and limitations were identified. Results of the analysis showed that this topic has been examined for at least two decades. Most articles explored the intergenerational transmission of divorce rather than transmission of marital instability and both (intergenerational transmission of divorce and marital instability). The ”Journal of Marriage and Family” published the most papers on these three topics. Most researchers applied a quantitative approach. Some used longitudinal databases and some collected their own longitudinal data. The main theories applied were the socialization model, the life course perspective, and the genetic model. The intergenerational transmission of divorce and marital instability has been established; however, transmission is indirect through multiple mediators rather than direct. Taiwanese researchers should use this foundation to conduct our own studies on this topic.