Parents’ new dating relationships after divorce are stressful to both parents and children, particularly when this relationship transition is quickly followed by divorce before family members adjust to new changes. Although parents’ new relationships and dating information are considered to occur at some point, relatively little is known about how divorced parents decide when, how much, and what to share with children. Guided by communication privacy management theory (CPM; Petronio, 2010), we explored if divorced parents’ perceived benefits and risks are associated with the timing of dating disclosures and introduction of new dating partners. Findings suggest that the timing of disclosures and introduction of parents’ dating partners are likely to be affected by parents’ evaluation of possible outcomes. Implications will be discussed.

Objectives

- To examine the association of divorced parents’ perceived benefits and risks of dating with the timing of dating disclosures.
- To examine the association of divorced parents/ perceived benefits and risks of dating and the timing of when new dating partners are introduced to children.
- To explore divorced parents’ perceived benefits and risks of dating.