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Emotion regulation processes in post-divorce parental relationships are analysed using thematic qualitative analysis. In two separate interview episodes, three and five years post-divorce, 55 people were interviewed: 10 couples and 35 individuals. Two themes emerged on how parents deal with their negative emotions after divorce. The first theme, emotion regulation flexibility, reveals how some parents effectively regulate negative emotions following the divorce. The second theme, emotion regulation rigidity, reveals that other parents retain feelings of anger, hostility, and resentment following the divorce as a consequence of dysfunctional emotion regulation strategies. This allows a deeper understanding of the processes of emotion regulation in family conflict, which may be easily applied in most therapeutic orientations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article was to examine how people arrived at the decision to divorce. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with twelve couples in which both agreed the relationship was in trouble and at least one partner was seriously considering divorce. We found that initiating informants used cognitive, interactional and preparatory strategies, aiming at reconstructing the mental representation of the partner, the self, the relationship, as well as of the divorce option. Non-initiating partners sometimes used resistance strategies. Results are discussed in terms of dynamics between partners, identity making process and implications for family practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]