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Divorce and Children

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Divorce and Children
Divorce and Children, Affects of By: Joy Parr The Affects of Divorce on Children As a child, there are many things that affect a view, memory, opinion, or attitude. Children have many of their own daily struggles to cope with, as peer pressures are an example. As an adult, we sometimes forget what it is like to be a child dealing with some of the childhood pressures. Many parents do not realize how something like divorce could possibly affect their children as much as it does themselves. As the case may be, children are strongly affected by divorce. Some react differently than do others, but all experience some kind of emotional change. Exposure to a highly stressful major life change event on children, which may overwhelm children 's coping capacity, and thus compromising favorable adjustments (Garmezy, Masten, & Tellegen, 1984; Gersten, Langner, Eisenberg, & Simcha-Fagan, 1977; Rutter, 1983). Research has indicated that this is particularly true for children in the circumstances surrounding parental divorce, and in the immediate aftermath (see reviews by Emery, 1982, 1988; Hetherington & Camara, 1984). Compared to children of intact families, many children of recently divorced families are reported to demonstrate less social competence, more behavioral problems, more psychological distress, and more learning deficits (Amato & Keith, 1991a; Hetherington, 1972; Hetherington, Cox, & Cox, 1979, 1982; Peterson & Zill, 1983, 1986; Wallerstein & Kelly, 1980), and are over-represented in referrals to clinical services (Guidubaldi, Perry, & Cleminshaw, 1984; Kalter, 1977). Further, an accumulating body of evidence from longitudinal studies of divorce supports continuity of negative affects beyond the 2-year postdivorce crisis period in a substantial minority of children and adolescents (Guidubaldi & Perry, 1984, 1985; Hetherington & Anderson, 1987; Hetherington & Clingempeel, 1992; Hetherington, Cox, & Cox, 1985, 1987, 1991), as well as the reemergence or emergence of


Cited: Amato, P.R., & Keith, B. (1991a). Parental divorce and the well-being of children: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 110, 26-46. ibid. (1991b). Parental divorce and the well-being: A meta-analysis. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53, 43-58. Atkeson, B. M., Forehand, R., & Rickard, K. M. (1982). The effects of divorce on children. In B. B. Lahey & A. E. Kazdin (Eds.), Advances in clinical child psychology (Vol. 5, pp. 255-281). New York: Plenum Press. Baumrind, D. (1991a). Effective parenting during the early adolescent transition. In P. A. Cowan & E. M. Hetherington (Eds.), Family transitions (pp 111-164). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. ibid. (1991b). The influence of parenting style on adolescent competence and substance abuse. Journal of Early Adolescence, 11, 56-94. Block, J. H., Block, J., & Gjerde, P. F. (1986). The personality of children prior to divorce: A prospective study. Child Development, 57, 827-840. Bray, J. H. (1988). Children 's development in early remarriage. In E. M. Hetherington & J. D. Arasteh (Eds.), The impact of divorce, single parenting and stepparenting on children (pp. 279-298). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. ibid. (1990). Impact of divorce on the family. In R. E. Rakel (Ed.), Textbook of family practice (4th ed., pp. 111-122). Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders. Brody, G., & Forehand, R. (1988). Multiple determinants of parenting: Research findings and implications for the divorce process. In E. M. Hetherington & J. Arasteh (Eds.), Impact of divorce, single parenting and stepparenting on children (pp. 117-134). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Camara, K. A., & Resnick, G. (1988). Interparental conflict and cooperation: Factors moderating children 's post-divorce adjustment. In E. M. Hetherington & J. Arasteh (Eds.), Impact of divorce, single parenting and stepparenting on children (pp. 169-196). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Caspi, A., Elder, Jr., G. H., & Herbener, E. S. (1990). Childhood personality and the prediction of life-course patterns. In L. Robins & M. Rutter (Eds), Straight and devious pathways from childhood to adulthood (pp. 13-35). New York: Cambridge University Press. Cohan, P., & Brook, J. S. (1987). Family factors related to the persistence of psychopathology in childhood and adolescence. Psychiatry, 50, 332-344. Emery, R. E. (1982). Interparental conflict and the children of discord and divorce. Psychological Bulletin, 92, 310-330. ibid. (1988). Marriage, divorce, and children 's adjustments. Developmental clinical psychology and psychiatry: Vol. 14. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Farrington, D., Loeber, R., & Van Kammen, W. B. (1990). Long-term criminal outcomes of hyperactivity-impulsivity-attention deficit and conduct problems in childhood. In L. Robins & M. Rutter (Eds.), Straight and devious pathways from childhood to adulthood (pp. 62-81). New York: Cambridge University Press. Forehand, R., Long, N., & Brody, G. (1988). Divorce and marital conflict: Relationship to adolescent competence and adjustment in early adolescence. In E. M. Hetherington & J. Arasteh (Eds.), Impact of divorce, single parenting and stepparenting on children (pp. 155-167). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Garmezy, N., Masten, A. S., & Tellegen, A. (1984). The study of stress and competence in childhood: A building block for developmental psychopathology. Child Development, 55, 97-111. Guidubaldi, J., & Perry, J. D. (1984). Divorce socioeconomic status, and children 's cognitive-social competence at school entry. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 54, 459-468. ibid. (1985). Divorce and mental health sequelae for children: A two-year follow-up of a nationwide sample. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 24, 531-537. ibid & Cleminshaw, H. K. (1984). The legacy of parental divorce: A nationwide study of family status and selected mediating variables on children 's academic and social competencies. In B. B. Lahey & A. E. Kazdin (Eds.), Advances in clinical child psychology (Vol. 7, pp. 109-151). New York: Plenum Press. Hetherington, E. M. (1987). Family relations six years after divorce. In K. Pasley & M. Ihinger-Tallman (Eds.), Remarriage and stepparenting today: Research and theory (pp. 185-205). New York: Guilford Press. ibid. (1991a). Families, lies, and videotapes. Journal of Research on Adolescence, I, 323-348. ibid. (1991b). The role of individual differences and family relationships in children 's coping with divorce and remarriage. In P. A. Cowan & M. Hetherington (Eds.), Family transitions (pp. 165-194). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. ibid. (1993). An overview of the Virginia Longitudinal Study of Divorce and Remarriage with a focus on early adolescence. Journal of Family Psychology, 7, 39-56. ibid. & Anderson, E. R. (1987). The effects of divorce and remarriage on early adolescents and their families. In M. D. Levine & M. D. McAnarney (Eds.), Early adolescent transitions (pp. 49-67). Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath. ibid. & Camara, K. A. (1984). Families in transition: The process of dissolution and reconstitution. In R. D. Parke (Ed.), Review of child development research: The family Vol. 7 (pp. 398-439). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ibid. & Clingempeel, W. G. (1992). Coping with marital transitions. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development (vol. 57, No. 2-3, Serial No. 227). ibid., Cox M. & Cox, R. (1979). Play and social interaction in children following divorce. Journal os Social Issues, 35, 26-49. ibid. (1982). Effects of divorce on parents and children. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), Nontraditional families: Parenting and child development (pp. 233-288). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. ibid. (1985). Long-term effects of divorce and remarriage on the adjustment of children. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 24, 518-530. Johnston, J. R., Campbell, L. E. G., & Mayes, S. S. (1985). Latency children in post-separation and divorce disputes. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 24, 563-574. Kalter, N. (1977). Children of divorce in an outpatient psychiatric population. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 47, 40-51. ibid. (1990). Growing up with Divorce: Helping your child avoid immediate and later emotional problems. NY: The Free Press. Klein, R. G., & Mannuzza, S. (1991). Long-term outcome of hyperactive children: A review. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 30, 383-387. Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1987). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer. Luepnitz, D. A. (1979). Which aspects of divorce affect children. Family Coordinator, 28, 79-85. Maccoby, E. E., Buchanan, C. M., Mnookin, R. H., & Dornbusch, S. M. (1993). Postdivorce roles of mothers and fathers in the lives of their children. Journal of Family Psychology, 7, 24-38. Mannuzza, S., Klein, R. G., Bonagura, N., Malloy, P., Giampino, T. L., & Addalii, K. A. (1991). Hyperactive boys almost grown up. Archives of General Psychiatry, 48, 77-83. O 'Leary, K. D., & Emery, R. E. (1984). Marital discord and child behavior problems. In M. D. Levine & R. P. Satz (Eds.), Middle childhood: Development and dysfunction (pp. 345-364). Baltimore: University Park Press. Olweus, D. (1980). Familial and temperamental determinants of aggressive behavior in adolescent boys: A casual analysis. Developmental Psychology, 16, 644-660. Peterson, J. L., & Zill, N. (1983, April). Marital disruption, parent-child relationships, and behavioral problems in children. Paper presented at the meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development. ibid. (1986). Marital disruption, parent-child relationships, and behavior problems in children. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48, 295-307. Plomin, R. E. (1993). Interface of nature and nurture in the family. In W. B. Carey & S. C. McDevitt (Eds.), Prevention and early intervention: Individual differences as risk factors for the mental health of children (pp. 179-189). Reid, W. J., & Crisafulli, A. (1990). Marital discord and child behavior problems: A meta-analysis. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 18, 105-117. Rutter, M. (1987). Psychosocial resilience and protective mechanisms. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 57, 316-331. Thomas, A., & Chess, S. (1980). The dynamics of psychological development. New York: Brunner/Mazel. Wallerstein, J. S., & Kelly, J. (1980). Surviving the break-up: How children actually cope with divorce. New York: Basic. Zill, N., Morrison, D. R., & Coiro, M. J. (1993). Long-term effects of parental divorce on parent-child relationships, adjustment, and achievement in young adulthood. Journal of Psychology, 7, 91-103. Word Count: 2778
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