Journal of Divorce & Remarriage

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The Effect of Negative and Positive Childhood

Divorce Experiences on Professional Performers

Brent Fladmo & Katherine M. Hertlein

To cite this article: Brent Fladmo & Katherine M. Hertlein (2017) The Effect of Negative and
Positive Childhood Divorce Experiences on Professional Performers, Journal of Divorce &
Remarriage, 58:8, 584-598, DOI: 10.1080/10502556.2017.1347860

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/10502556.2017.1347860

Published online: 02 Aug 2017.

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JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE
2017, VOL. 58, NO. 8, 584–598
https://doi.org/10.1080/10502556.2017.1347860

The Effect of Negative and Positive Childhood Divorce

Experiences on Professional Performers
Brent Fladmo and Katherine M. Hertlein
Marriage and Family Therapy Program, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
The purpose of this study was to provide an in-depth analysis of Anxiety; dancers; divorce;
performers; self-esteem
divorce by comparing levels of depression, anxiety, self-esteem,
and availability of resources between professional performers who
were children from divorces considered negative, divorces consid-
ered positive or neutral, and professional performers raised in 2-
parent households. The results of this study indicated that perfor-
mers raised in divorced families reported more depression, more
anxiety, and lower levels of self-esteem than those who were raised
in intact families. Additionally, results indicated that those who
were raised in neutral to positive divorced families reported less
depression, less anxiety, and higher levels of self-esteem than did
those stemming from negatively divorced families. Implications for
treatment and directions for future research are presented.

Emotional expression through participation in creative arts is a well-documented

strategy among educators and mental health practitioners (Stuckey & Nobel,
2010). Creative activities have been used to improve the psychological well-being
of those recently diagnosed with cancer whose symptoms include depression,
anxiety and fear (Green & Young, 2015; Puig, Lee, Goodwin, & Sherrard, 2006),
trauma (Desmond, Kindsvatter, Stahl, & Smith, 2015; Smilan, 2009), short-term
mood improvement (Dalebroux, Goldstein, & Winner, 2008), and the assessment
and reduction of conflict (Goldblatt, Elkis-Abuhoff, Gaydos, Rose, & Casey, 2011).
Creative therapies such as those related to movement and performance have been
applied to assist those who have experienced emotional trauma. Dance therapy, for
example, assists in the management of the positive symptoms of schizophrenia
(Lee, Jang, Lee, & Hwang, 2015). Dance therapy is a recommended treatment at
last as an adjunct to traditional psychotherapy, as it has shown improvements in
quality of life, self-esteem, and coping (Strassel, Cherkin, Steuten, Sherman, &
Vrijhoef, 2011). The theory behind emotional expression and creative arts
designed to treat emotional trauma is that there is value in the expression of
one’s trauma, and that its value is in its contribution to healthy adjustment
(Desmond et al., 2015; Levy, 2014).

CONTACT Brent Fladmo bfladmo@gmail.com 4505 S Maryland Pkwy, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA.
© 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
 JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE 585

Trauma and psychological distress have also been researched within the
context of divorce. Although there is some diversity in children’s reactions to
divorce, research has generally found that children from divorced families
with high conflict have historically tended to exhibit more psychological
maladjustment problems including depression, spiritual suffering, depres-
sion, anxiety, and inner anger compared to children from intact or noncon-
flict divorce (Amato, 2010; Amato, Kane, & James, 2011), although whether
these issues persist into adulthood might not be universal and is subject to
debate (Lansford, 2009). Emotional trauma is broadly characterized as a
combination of feeling both out of control and intensely anxious (Swart,
2014). This is typically a condition diagnosed after one perceives or experi-
ences a life-threatening event. For many children, the experience of their
parents’ divorce constitutes such an event (Cavarovic-Gabor, 2008). Children
might feel powerless over the state of their parent’s relationship and helpless
to change their circumstances that are the result of the divorce such as living
arrangements, schools, extracurricular activities, and friends. They might feel
anxious or fearful about the uncertainty in the future and respond in ways
that feel as if they can again be in control of their lives.
The value of emotional expression through the arts has been used to combat
emotional trauma. What is unclear, however, is whether the participation in
creative arts (or similar activities designed to assist one in processing some of
the trauma of divorce) has any impact on the negative effects of high-conflict
divorce. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were
differences in self-reported ratings of self-esteem, depression, and anxiety in
professional performers.

Performers, general psychological distress, and effects of divorce

A plethora of research suggests significant social, physical, and psychological
challenges, and occupational stress for those employed within the creative
industries (Ackermann, Kenny, O’Brien, & Driscoll, 2014; Barbar, De Souza
Crippa, & De Lima Osório, 2014; Voltmer et al., 2012). Several authors have
cited the prevalence of mental health problems among professional performers
(Kyaga et al., 2013), especially compared to their nonperforming peers (Vaag,
Bjorngaard, & Bjerkeset, 2016). Orchestral musicians and opera singers
showed a higher mental distress prevalence than the general population
(Voltmer et al., 2012). Likewise, a study on Brazilian musicians indicated
increased psychopathology indicators and performance anxiety, as well as
social anxiety, and depressive symptoms (Barbar et al., 2014), and Australian
musicians reported higher levels of social phobia, depression, and posttrau-
matic stress disorder (Ackermann et al., 2014).
In addition to these stresses already experienced by performers, those who
come from divorced families could experience additional stress. Published
586 B. FLADMO AND K. M. HERTLEIN

research in the late 1990s and early 2000s concluded that adult children of
divorced parents experienced increased depression, anxiety, and antisocial beha-
viors compared with adults with married parents (Short, 2002); more recently,
research suggests the long-term, negative outcomes initially proposed might not
be as widespread or lasting, and instead poor outcomes are related to the type of
divorce experienced. Consequently, the existence of stress on a performer who has
experienced high-conflict divorce as a child might exacerbate his or her psycho-
logical distress. Valence is affected by parents’ level of functioning, their pattern of
interaction, and the parent–child relationship (Amato, 2010; Gustavson, Nilsen,
Ørstavik, & Røysamb, 2014; Holt, 2016). Most divorces reported high levels of
conflict and the amount of conflict experienced by those involved in the divorce is
as traumatic as the divorce itself (Davidson, O’Hara, & Beck, 2014; Haddad,
Phillips, & Bone, 2016). This conflict jeopardizes the child’s well-being (Amato,
2010; Joyce, 2016). In turn, parents are less likely to use effective child-raising skills
and expose their children to more hostility, detrimental conflict resolution styles,
and less positive interaction with their parents, which in turn relate to depression
in their children (Baxter, Weston, & Qu, 2011).

Performers, self-esteem, and effects of divorce

When the performer is on stage, the appearance is paramount. Regardless of
what physical or emotional pain exists, the producer and the audience want to
see a perfect image (i.e., makeup, hair, costume, attitude, physique; Reel,
SooHoo, Jamieson, & Gill, 2005). The audience is not paying to see the perfor-
mer’s emotional state or the result of a leg injury. Unfortunately, this idea of
perfection can create a template for the performer’s daily life (Filaire, Rouveix,
Pannafieux, & Ferrand, 2007; Jaque, 2014). It might be easier for one to hide
behind a well-decorated pristine mask than to face physical and emotional
ailments; therefore, performers might glide through life repressing emotions
and physical pain to continually compete for a position as a professional
entertainer, which could exact a cost on the performer over time (Bonanno,
Papa, Lalande, Westphal, & Coifman, 2004).
The self-esteem of a performer could be rooted in their youth as the level
of self-esteem could be affected by early experience of success at auditions
(Barnett, 2006). The auditioning process to be cast requires a certain level of
self-esteem. A producer will hire confident performers, not performers who
appear to suffer from depression, frustration, anxiety, disappointment, and so
on (Gardelle, Corre, & Mamassian, 2016). Not only does the audience
member want to be entertained by quality entertainers, but the producer
wants to select performers with talent and confidence enough to learn and
execute the choreography well. Hence, if the performer noticeably suffers
from esteem issues, the likelihood of dancing professionally will most likely
be minimized.
 JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE 587

Along with the technical and physical demands of dance, aesthetic require-
ments concerning body image far surpass the body’s functional requirements,
a status that contributes to the development of anxiety disorders, body image
issues, and eating disorders (Estanol, Shepherd, & MacDonald, 2013).
Performers can succumb to cultural pressures concerning weight and body
image, forcing them to conform to the stereotypical and predetermined
expectations by those who hire performers and those who watch their perfor-
mances (Hausenblaus & Carron, 1999). This adds to the performer’s struggles
to meet the unrealistic and often perfectionistic standards of others. Those who
do not meet the ideal body image composition are quickly deselected from
participation in the profession of a show (Pierce, Daleng, & McGowan, 1993).
In addition to the natural emphasis self-esteem plays in the life of a performer
(Swart, 2016), there might also be additional impacts and self-esteem issues to
overcome in performers whose parents have divorced. Research has indicated that
parental divorce can negatively affect a child’s self-esteem (Amato et al., 2011) and
can be associated with destructive behavioral and psychological impacts, such as
antisocial behavior, disruptive behavior, sociability disturbances, and aggressive
behaviors (Martínez-Pampliega et al., 2015), the consequences of which might
further disrupt self-esteem. Self-esteem is also negatively affected by unhealthy
parental relationships and destructive conflict related to divorce, resulting in poor
intimate relationships, less development in academia, and continuing problems
with internalization and externalization (Davies, Martin, & Cicchetti, 2012).
Further, a parent’s constant striving for the loyalty and approval of the child
produces a triadic relationship, resulting in a negative effect on a child’s self-
esteem due to his or her attempts to please both parents (Haddad et al., 2016).

Purpose and hypotheses

Although there is diversity in children’s reactions to divorce, research has
generally found that children from divorced families tend to exhibit more
psychological maladjustment problems including depression, spiritual suffering,
depression, anxiety, and inner anger compared to children from intact families,
independent of type of divorce (Amato et al., 2011). The purpose of this study
was to determine whether there were differences in self-reported ratings of
depression, anxiety, and self-esteem in professional performers. Specifically,
we were interested in whether the quality of the divorce differentially affected
children from divorces considered negative (including high-conflict), divorces
considered positive or neutral, and professional performers raised in two-parent
households. It was hypothesized that professional performers who come from
divorced families suffer more from depression, anxiety, and lower self-esteem
than professional performers from intact families. Specifically, the research
focused on answering two questions:
588 B. FLADMO AND K. M. HERTLEIN

(1) Are professional performers from divorced families more depressed

and anxious, and do they have lower self-esteem, than professional
adult performers from intact families?
(2) Are professional performers from neutral to positive divorced families
different from those from negative divorced families?

Role of the researcher

Living in an entertainment town, many therapists in our area (including ourselves)
have seen a fair number of performers in our practices. Therefore, we wanted to
provide some information to those therapists who work in such areas where they
might see a number of performers. In addition, the first author was previously a
performer for 13 years, traveling to 97 countries and performing in every U.S. state.
It was at this time that the first author noted a significant amount of stress
experienced by this population.

Method
This study compared adults who were children from divorces considered
neutral to positive, adults who were children from divorces considered nega-
tive, and adults who were raised in two-parent households. Divorces consid-
ered neutral to positive were defined as an amicable relationship between
parents, minimal outward displays of anger, fair custody arrangement, and
lack of child’s involvement in parental disputes. Divorces considered negative
were defined by a highly conflictual, tumultuous relationship between parents,
excessive and regular outward displays of anger, an unfair custody arrange-
ment, and parental disputes involving the child. Those who were from intact
families reported never-separated or never-divorced parents.

Participants
Participants were 112 professional performers in a local urban area known
for entertainment. Based on their perception of their parents’ marital status,
participants classified themselves into one of three categories (intact families,
neutral to positive divorce, and negative divorce). Because this study used a
convenience sample, equal sample sizes among the three study groups could
not be guaranteed. Therefore, data were poststratified by randomly selecting
participant responses to ensure equal sample sizes in the three groups.
 JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE 589

Procedure
A recruitment flyer was placed backstage at local shows in an urban, down-
town area where there was access to stage performers. The results were
placed back in a provided manila envelope, sealed, and submitted to the
researcher. The participants were given instructions for completing the
questions from the graduate student at a southwestern metropolitan univer-
sity who administered the questionnaires. The questionnaires were a combi-
nation of a few different surveys, and took the participants approximately
10 minutes to complete. Approval from the University of Nevada Las Vegas
Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects was
attained prior to data collection.

Instruments
Demographic information form
Participants completed a demographic information form including the following
information: age, gender, nationality, parental divorce, age at parental divorce,
number of siblings, highest level of completed education, grade-point average,
highest level of mother’s and father’s education, and where the participant was
currently performing.

Rosenberg self-esteem scale

One of the most widely used measures for global self-esteem is the Rosenberg Self-
Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965). It is a combination of 10 items that
measure the individual’s overall feelings of self-acceptance and self-worth.
Rosenberg (1965)reported that the “scale is internally reliable and unidimensional
and appears to have face validity” (p. 30). Typically, test–retest correlations are in
the range of .82 to .88. Demonstrating excellent validity and reliability, this brief
scale has been shown to be effective across a variety of different scale groups and
ages (Francis & Wilcox, 1995). Participants are presented with four response
categories: strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree. The Cronbach’s
α was assessed at .86.

Burns Depression Checklist

To measure depression, the Burns Depression Checklist will be used. It is a highly
accurate and reliable instrument consisting of 14 items. A list of feelings are listed
after each question, and only one check is allowed for each question. The ques-
tionnaire is then rated according to the sum of the answers. The highest score for
the questionnaire is 100, indicating strong symptoms of depression. The lowest
score, 0, indicates no symptoms of depression (Burns, 1989). The answers are
scored on a 4-point scale: 0 (not at all), 1 (somewhat), 2 (moderately), and 3 (a lot).
The scoring results are as follows: 0 to 4 indicates minimal or no depression; 5 to
590 B. FLADMO AND K. M. HERTLEIN

10 signifies borderline depression; 11 to 20 represents mild depression; 21 to 30

signifies moderate depression; and 31 to 45 indicates severe depression. The
Cronbach’s alpha was satisfactory (α = .90).

Burns Anxiety Inventory

Measuring anxiety, the Burns Anxiety Inventory (BAI) is a popular and well-
researched instrument that has excellent reliability and internal consistency.
Thirty-three symptoms of anxiety are measured and placed in three categories:
anxious feelings, anxious thoughts, and somatic manifestations of anxiety.
Participants use a scale to record the severity of each symptom. The options are
0 (not at all), 1 (somewhat), 2 (moderately), and 3 (a lot). Their scores are then
added to create a total score, ranging from 0 to 99. The score represents the level of
anxiety the individual reported. The higher the score, the higher level of anxiety
the individual is experiencing. Interpretations of the scale include minimal or no
anxiety (0–4), borderline anxiety (5–10), mild anxiety (11–20), moderate anxiety
(31–50), and extreme anxiety or panic (51–99; Burns, 1989). With a test–retest
correlation of .53 (p < .0001) in a group of 211 outpatients studied over a 12-week
period, the BAI is a moderately stable measure (Burns, 1989). The Cronbach’s
alpha level for this test was .94.
To test for possible mean differences between professional adult perfor-
mers who come from intact families, professional adult performers who
come from neutral to positive divorced families, and professional adult
performers who come from negative divorce families, multivariate analyses
of variance (MANOVAs) were used. In cases where the MANOVA yielded
significant differences, post-hoc comparisons were conducted. When the data
did not conform to the assumptions for MANOVA, nonparametric tests,
specifically the Kruskal–Wallis and the Mann–Whitney U test, were used.

Results
Demographics
The sample used for this study consisted of 112 professional adult performers
who were contracted in a production represented by performers from 17 shows.
Data were collected and participants were grouped according to their parental
marital status: negative divorce, neutral to positive divorce, or intact family.
Owing to unequal sample sizes among the three parental marital status cate-
gories, the lowest number of responses in a category, professional performers
from negative divorced families, was chosen to be the determining sample size
for the data analysis. A random selection of 37 out of 65 from the category of
professional performers who were raised in intact families and 38 out of 42 from
professional performers who were raised in neutral to positive divorced families
was then chosen. Thus, the categories became more equal: 37 from negatively
 JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE 591

Table 1. Participants.
Intact family (IF) Neutral to positive Negative divorce Total
(n = 37) (NPD) (n = 38) (ND) (n = 37) (n = 112)
Male 15 14 14 43
Female 22 24 23 69
Less than high school 3 1 3 7
High school diploma 10 13 11 34
Some college 8 6 17 31
4-year college 16 17 5 38
Advanced degree 0 1 1 2
Note: N = 112.

divorced families (ND), 38 from neutral to positive divorced families (NPD),

and 37 from intact families (IF).
Sixty-nine women (61.6%) and 43 men (38.4%) voluntarily participated in
this study (Table 1). This female-heavy representation was anticipated
because the majority of performers working in the productions are female.
The range of performer’s ages varied from 19 to 40. The performer’s overall
mean age was 28.97 (SD = 5.81). Within the three groups, the mean age of
the participants was similar for the IF, NPD, and ND groups. The IF group
reported a mean age of 28.30 (SD = 5.21), and the mean ages for the NPD
and the ND groups were 30.03 (SD = 6.48) and 28.57 (SD = 5.64), respec-
tively. Fifty-eight percent of the participants identified themselves as White
or Caucasian. Hispanics represented 8.9% of the participants, and the
remaining participants were other ethnic minority groups (i.e., African
American, Italian, Black/White, Asian, Cuban, Native American, Pilipino,
Pacific Islander, Romanian, Hawaiian, Swedish, English, Australian, French,
Russian, Korean, Spanish, and Polish). The majority of the performers
(93.7%) reported high school completion. Nearly two thirds (63.4%) had
either a college degree or completed some college. Participants who experi-
enced a negative parental divorce were less likely to complete a 4-year college
degree than the NPD and the IF groups.

Hypothesis testing
Multivariate analyses were performed to simultaneously test hypotheses related
to the four scales listed. Data were first tested for normality; unfortunately, data
were sufficiently skewed that the assumption of normality could not be met
(Shapiro–Wilk statistic, all p < .05). Therefore, data were rank-transformed prior
to analysis. A nonparametric MANOVA was used to test for differences in the
participant’s ratings of depression, anxiety, and self-esteem. It should be noted
that both nonparametric and parametric MANOVAs yielded similar results;
however, results of the nonparametric analysis are provided owing to the
violation of normality assumptions necessary to appropriately interpret
592 B. FLADMO AND K. M. HERTLEIN

parametric results. In addition to using MANOVA and nonparametric proce-

dures, post-hoc analyses were calculated using a Bonferroni adjustment to
protect against Type I errors. Three comparisons were run for each dependent
variable. Therefore, the new p ≤ .018. Finally, once differences were discovered,
the Mann–Whitney U test was used to determine where the differences were
between the mean ranks of each scale.

Depression
Results indicated that Hypothesis 1 was supported: The intact group had
significantly lower scores on the instrument than either of the divorced groups
(p < .001). Hypothesis 2 posited that performers from the ND group would
report significantly higher levels of depression than performers from the positive
to neutral divorced families. Again, Hypothesis 2 was supported. Performers in
the ND group scored a mean of 31.51 on the scale, which was significantly
different at the p < .001 level than the NPD group (M = 23.50; see Table 2).

Anxiety
In the case of anxiety, Hypothesis 1 was partially supported. Performers from the
IF group scored a mean of 44.20 (see Table 2). The NPD (M = 50.05) and the ND
(M = 65.43) groups scored significantly higher in levels of anxiety. Thus, differ-
ences exist among the three groups (p < .001). Specifically, differences exist
between the IF and ND groups (p < .001), and significant differences do not
exist between the IF and the NPD groups (p = .035). Hypothesis 2, that performers
from the ND group would report significantly higher levels of anxiety than
performers from the NPD group, was supported. Performers in the ND group
scored a mean of 65.43 on the scale, which was significantly different at the
p < .001 level than the NPD group, who scored a mean of 50.05 (see Tables 2 & 3).

Self-Esteem
In the case of self-esteem, the results did not fully support Hypothesis 1
(see Tables 2 & 3). The Kruskal–Wallis test indicated there was a difference
in mean scores among the three family groups (p < .001). Specifically, there

Table 2. Mean and Standard Deviation of Depression, Anxiety, and Self-Esteem.

Intact family (IF) Neutral to positive (NPD) Negative divorce (ND)
M SD M SD M SD
Depression 19.88 5.12 23.50 5.68 31.51 7.64
Anxiety 44.20 11.04 50.05 11.81 65.43 14.33
Self-esteem 16.23 4.41 14.82 3.88 19.08 4.38
Note: N = 112.
 JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE 593

Table 3. Mean Rank of Depression, Anxiety, and Self-Esteem Using Kruskal–Wallis and
Mann–Whitney U.
Intact Neutral to Negative
family positive divorce
(IF) (NPD) (ND) Kruskal–Wallis Mann–Whitney U
(n = 37) (n = 38) (n = 37) Statistic Significance Comparison Significance
Depression 34.70 51.92 83.00 42.192 p < .001* IF vs. NPD p = .008*
NPD vs. ND p < .001*
IF vs. ND p < .001*
Anxiety 37.61 49.26 78.82 37.196 p < .001* IF vs. NPD p = .035
NPD vs. ND p < .001*
IF vs. ND p < .001*
Self-esteem 53.70 43.37 72.78 15.932 p < .001* IF vs. NPD p = .161
NPD vs. ND p < .001*
IF vs. ND p = .011*
Note: N = 112.
*Significant at p < .018.

were differences between IF and ND participants (p = .011, MIF = 16.23,

MNPD = 14.82). There were no significant differences, however, between IF
and NPD participants (MND = 19.08, p = .161). Therefore, this hypothesis
was partially supported. Performers in the NPD group scored a mean of
14.82 on the scale, which was significantly different at the p < .001 level
than the ND group, who scored a mean of 19.08. Because there were
significant differences between the NPD and the ND groups, Hypothesis
2 was fully supported.

Discussion and implications

This study is the first of kind to pioneer the opinions of professional performers
with their experiences of divorce or nondivorce milieus. It distinguishes three
separate categories (professional performers from intact families, professional
performers from neutral to positive divorced families, and professional perfor-
mers from negatively divorced families) and compares their self-reported levels
of depression, anxiety, and self-esteem. The results of this study demonstrate
that special attention needs to be paid to this specific population. The experience
of a divorce in children (particularly those who have experienced negative
divorce) contributes to maladjustment and in some cases, more symptoms of
depression, consistent with the previous literature (Haddad et al., 2016). Then,
as the child becomes an adult performer, the experience in the professional
world can contribute to his or herdepressive state. Hence, the performer is
attempting to manage depression, anxiety, and self-esteem across two different
fronts: his or her family of origin and his or her professional life.
Results of this study confirm the hypothesis that performers who experienced
divorce as children, regardless of whether that divorce was positive or negative,
demonstrated higher levels of depression and anxiety than performers from
594 B. FLADMO AND K. M. HERTLEIN

intact families. These findings challenge the recent assertions made in the
scholarly literature that the negative outcomes experienced after a positive or
neutral divorce dissipate after time (e.g., Lansford, 2009). That finding is not
supported for this population. Specifically, we discovered performers from intact
families had lower levels of depression, higher levels of anxiety, and lower levels
of self-esteem than those who reported their parents’ divorce was positive, who
in turn, had lower levels of depression than those who reported their parents’
divorce was negative. This finding is consistent with other literature suggesting
parents who are more maladjusted transfer this in some way to their children
(Davidson et al., 2014; Joyce, 2016).
This study provides insight into the factors of divorce that can result in
depression, anxiety, and self-esteem issues, and that adjustment in children
can still be compromised. Our findings can assist researchers and clinicians
in understanding the impact of the divorce, as well as parents’ influence on
their children. Additionally, this information could contribute to a better
understanding of how one’s relational lens might be formed or augmented
due to his or her experience of parental divorce.

Implications for treatment

Clinicians need to be aware that the experience of depression and anxiety
for performers could be qualitatively different from those in the nonper-
forming population. These experiences might exacerbate symptoms related
to the divorce as children, specifically in the areas of depression and
anxiety. Therefore, clinicians are encouraged to carefully evaluate the beha-
vior of performers in therapy. Performers, at a very early stage, learn to
present themselves well. They might appear pristine, with a methodical
vernacular and a well-managed appearance, but the truth could be hiding
behind the well-positioned mask. The therapist must be aware of the
possible mask-like front, the same front that has kept the performer
employed, accepted, and employable, and likely that which could be pro-
tecting a vulnerable self-esteem. Because this mask is required profession-
ally, the performer might continue with the mask in his or her personal life.
Joining with the performer and establishing a trusting relationship is
encouraged and facilitates a connection between the therapist and the
performer. The first few sessions might be a testing trail for the therapist,
with every aspect of the performer appearing immaculately clean and
glossy. It might take a few sessions for the real performer to feel confident
enough to expose himself or herself and remove the mask. Because this
mask is required and demanded professionally, the joining process that
includes the removal of the mask could be a difficult process. The perfor-
mer must feel as if the therapist is genuine and interested in providing the
appropriate guidance while being an effective listener. Because performers
 JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE 595

tend to disclose small pieces of information concerning their lives to

different people, it is important for the performer to have a solid founda-
tion of trust for the therapist to continue therapy.

Limitations
The sample of performers was not randomly selected, and the use of con-
venience sampling as a method of data collection provides a threat to the
external validity of this study. Differences among the performers could have
influenced the reported data. Thus, it is unknown whether differences in
depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and availability of resources exist between
performers who volunteered their participation versus performers who chose
not to participate in the study. Further, we did not ask the performers to
define their understanding of negative divorce, but instead provided a
description and asked them if they fit that description. There could be
variation in what constitutes a negative divorce, and to tease out the different
variations might better explicate results. That being said, although the sample
was not randomly selected, it is an appropriate and purposeful sample for
studying this population. In addition, to provide a definition of negative
divorce might have prevented some participants who believed they had a
negative divorce from participating if they did not meet a definition provided
by us. Therefore, we believe it was appropriate to go with the participants’
experience of their parents’ divorce.

Future research
Future research might choose to consider a replication of this study on a
different sample characteristic, such as sexual orientation, and explore variables
of professional same-sex performers compared to professional heterosexual
performers of divorced parents, as there might already be differences in depres-
sion, anxiety, and self-esteem for this population (Grant et al., 2014). Future
research is needed to determine which specific variables contribute to the
performers’ depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem, given that the findings
for this population might be different from the general population and could
have different implications. Given the research on how those who grew up with
divorced parents approach their romantic relationships differently (Morrison,
Fife, & Hertlein, 2017), more research also needs to be conducted in terms of the
performers’ personal marital status and number of children to identify whether
current family members provide a protective factor or add to the stress experi-
enced by performers. Finally, coping skills have been identified as a key factor in
a child’s adjustment to his or her parents’ divorce (Miller, Kliewer, & Partch,
2010). Future research can focus on the extent to which coping skills have some
bearing on one’s recovery or dedication to his or her performance.
596 B. FLADMO AND K. M. HERTLEIN

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