Children's Behavior and Mental Health Following Parental Divorce

The presence of behavioral disturbances and psychiatric symptoms (mental health); the reactions to the information about the divorce, and the self-image among 113 children were investigated 2-8 weeks after their parent's application for divorce. As a reference group for the mental health, 300 children from intact homes were used. No significant differences in behavioral disturbances/symptoms in total were found between the groups, between sexes, or between different age groups. However, 25% of the reported individual disturbances/symptoms had appeared or intensified at the time for the divorce, while 20% had disappeared or diminished. Strongest reactions to the information about the divorce were shown by children aged 7-13 years. The boys showed a more positive self-image compared to standardized norms. No significant diiference was found for the girls. In conclusion, the divorce per se did not seem to cause any shortterm mental health problems in the children.     

Moderators of Women's and Children's Adjustment Following Parental Divorce

This research sought to determine the strongest moderators of the relationship between the crisis of parental divorce and the psychosocial adjustment of divorced women and their dependent children. The current relationship with the ex-husband was the best predictor of divorcees' adjustment, while divorcees' happiness in their former marriages was most strongly related to their children's adjustment. The results were discussed in terms of their implications for the identification of and interventions with "high risk" divorced families.     

Parental Divorce and College Students: The Impact of Family Unpredictability and Perceptions of Divorce

The impact of parental divorce, perceptions of divorce, and family unpredictability on the locus of control, interpersonal trust, and assertiveness of college students (n = 115) was studied. Roughly 27% of participants came from divorced homes; they did not differ significantly from participants from nondivorced homes on locus of control, trust, or assertiveness. However, negative perceptions of parental divorce were associated with a more external locus of control. Aspects of maternal unpredictability related to lower trust yet higher assertiveness. Participants with divorced parents reported more unpredictable finances and somewhat more unpredictable meals growing up. Implications for adjusting to divorce are discussed.     

Children's Definitions of Family Following Divorce of Their Parents

As children adapt to new, non-biologically based family forms as a result of the high incidence of divorce in the United States, new definitions of family may develop. This paper reports results from an anthropological study of children's definitions of their families following divorce of their parents. Interviews were conducted with 29 children of white, middle-class, divorced parents as part of an ongoing study of the effects of divorce on families. These children's definitions of their families fell into five, progressively more expansive types, from a limited, household definition to an expansive type including biological, legal, and non-kin. Children's use of criteria beyond biology or law to define their reconstituted families after divorce of their parents illustrates the voluntary nature of American kinship systems.     

Estimating the Effects of Parental Divorce and Death With Fixed Effects Models

The authors used child fixed effects models to estimate the effects of parental divorce and death on a variety of outcomes using 2 large national data sets: (a) the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort (kindergarten through the 5th grade) and (b) the National Educational Longitudinal Study (8th grade to the senior year of high school). In both data sets, divorce and death were associated with multiple negative outcomes among children. Although evidence for a causal effect of divorce on children was reasonably strong, effect sizes were small in magnitude. A second analysis revealed a substantial degree of variability in children's outcomes following parental divorce, with some children declining, others improving, and most not changing at all. The estimated effects of divorce appeared to be strongest among children with the highest propensity to experience parental divorce.     

Family Members' Narratives of Divorce and Interparental Conflict: Implications for Parental Alienation

This study focused on the internal dynamics of family members who experience divorce and interparental conflict. Interparental conflict and triangulating children increase the likelihood of alienating children from a parent. Narrative interviews with members of three families were used to explore meaning structures. Results showed how parents and children thought, felt, and created meaning about their experiences; how family members responded to conflict and behaviors associated with parental alienation; and how they viewed family relationships. Metalevel findings suggested each family member held dichotomous views and used cognitive and behavioral control response strategies. Thus, parental alienation stems from a relational dynamic and needs to be addressed from a family systems perspective.     

Comparing the Effects of Amount of Conflict on Children's Adjustment Following Parental Divorce

This study examined the immediate and short-term effects on children of the conflict (as reflected by the level of court involvement) their family experiences during divorce proceedings. Families going through various levels of divorce (dissolution, divorce with little litigation, moderate litigation, and high levels of litigation) were investigated. Seventy-six parents (31 men and 45 women) between the ages of 22 and 53 who had children ranging in age from 2 to 17 years old participated. The Divorce Adjustment Inventory–Revised was completed by the parents immediately following the divorce hearing and again 6 months later. Results indicated that families experiencing a higher level of conflict (as measured by level of court involvement) displayed more family conflict or maladjustment, less favorable divorce conditions and child coping ability, and less positive divorce resolution. Implications of the study and indications for future research are discussed.     

Family Therapy Following the Death of a Child*

The reactions of the entire family system to the death of a child are examined. The case illustrates therapeutic interventions dealing with changes in family structure, guilt and mourning processes in parents, anxiety and other reactions of children, and the cognitive confusion of both children and adults. The problems for the therapist in working with a family following the death of a child are discussed.     

Siblings' Reactions to Parental Divorce

Because previous studies of children and divorce have typically included only one child per family, little is known about how siblings in the same family experience their parents' divorce. Three samples, totalling 49 pairs of white middle-class adolescent and preadolescent first-born and second-born siblings whose parents were separated no more than 24 months, were studied to assess the relation between siblings' divorce adjustment and the relation between siblings' general behavioral adjustment. Siblings' self-reports and custodial mothers' ratings of each sibling were obtained. For both sets of data, siblings' scores were positively related; when differences were found, older siblings were better adjusted than younger siblings. Based on siblings' self-report scores, relative to younger siblings, older siblings had a better understanding of the divorce, fewer problematic beliefs regarding the divorce, a better understanding of conflict resolution, and a more internal locus of control. Relative to boy/boy dyads, girl/girl dyads had a better understanding of both the divorce and conflict resolution. Based on mothers' ratings, older siblings had more positive reactions to the divorce and were less dependent on adults than younger siblings. There was no support for the position that second-born children with older brothers would show enhanced adjustment.     

Family Divorce and Separation

No abstract available for this article.     

The Parental Divorce Transition:

The Double ABC-X Model of family stress was used to develop a theoretical model of the parental divorce transition. Interview data from 125 former spouses with children were analyzed to investigate the relationship between divorce-related stressors and post divorce well-being. Divorce-related stressors included economic, housing, legal, parent-child, and former spouse components. Well-being included self-esteem, parenting satisfaction, and economic well-being. Using multivariate regression the results indicated that parents' divorce transition was characterized by major role shifts. For custodial mothers, economic well-being correlated negatively with legal stressors. Other significant independent variables were income during marriage, employment, education, number of children, and her remarriage. For noncustodial fathers, parenting satisfaction was correlated negatively with legal and parent-child stressors.     

Noncustodial Mothers Following Divorce

Historically women have been responsible for pro- viding the primary care of their children. This notion of responsi- bility for the care and well-being of children is central to the definition of motherhood. When mothers relinquish custody of their children prior to their 18th birthday, they elicit suspicions of deviance and nonnormality. There are an estimated 500,000 to 1,200,000 noncustodial mothers in the United States, with approxi- mately 75% being voluntary relinquishers. This chapter identifies, through a review of the social science literature on maternal noncustody and examination of a specific study, the broad range of reasons for becoming a noncustodial mother, as well as provides a clearer picture of the noncustodial mother-child relationship pursuant to relinquishment. An overall theme from the literature was a general societal disapproval regarding maternal custody relinquishment, which in the study described, negatively affected respondents self- perceptions. This study describes the social situation of women who voluntarily gave up custody of one or more biological children. Retrospective data identifying the factors influencing custody relinquishment and the events leading up to giving up custody are examined. Relationships between noncustodial mothers and their children are ex-plored pursuant to relinquishment, as well as the extent to which mothers regretted giving up their children. A sample of 130 noncustodial mothers responded to a 137-item life history questionnaire and three clinical assessment scales. One- hundred-and-two of the participants engaged in two- to five-hour interviews. Findings revealed that approximately 86% of the respon- dents cited multiple reasons for custody relinquishment. Financial considerations, emotional problems, threats of legal custody fights, and being in a destructive relationship with mate emerged as the most frequently reported reasons for giving up one’s children. The reasons for relinquishment as well as how the decision was handled with children had the greatest impact on the mother-child relation- ship. Almost 97% of the mothers actively maintained relationships with children following relinquishment. Seventy percent of those sampled were satisfied with their decision to relinquish in retrospect. Finally, recommendations for policy and practice were discussed. Agency and legal policies and procedures should reflect a sensitivity to conditions under which most mothers relinquish their minor chil- dren, especially a supportive national family policy. The provision of a child or family allowance, compulsory court-based mediation, and a more uniform state-to-state support enforcement are recom- mended. Practitioners need to employ contextually-specific interac- tions for noncustodial mothers and their families, as high anxiety may characterize the emotions of this variable type of single parent. Professionals interacting with potential noncustodial mothers should provide for them to make a more informed and less pressured deci- sion regarding relinquishment.     

Noncustodial Fathers Following Divorce

Noncustodial fathers are men whose parental rights and obligations have been altered through judicial action, usually accompanying marital separation and divorce. In the majority of divorces, physical and legal custody of children is taken from fathers and reassigned to mothers only. Despite the curtailment of their decision-making authority and despite the limitations imposed on their day-to-day presence in their children’s lives, in the majority of divorces fathers retain the duty to provide economic support for their minor children. The bulk of quantitative research on the post-divorce involvement of men as noncustodial fathers is structured by explora- tion of the interrelationships among these parameters: child custody awards, visitation privileges and performance, child support awards and compliance, and child well-being. The documentation of important linkages between child support compliance and child outcome have focused both social science and legislative attention on means to foster greater paternal acceptance of responsibility for children. Research using open-ended interviews and smaller surveys of limited samples have been of great importance in providing a richer understanding of the noncustodial father-child relationship. To retain(or for some, to build for the first time) a meaningful paternal relationship, men are challenged to find new ways to confront issues of autonomy, connectedness and power. However, societal supports for moving beyond the traditional polarization of genders and roles through which families have been organized are sorely lacking. The ways in which men respond to the changes precipitated by divorce are influenced by a number of factors related to their own self-definition as well as to the broader social context in which they operate. In order to design psychoeducational or therapeutic interventions that allow noncustodial fathers to adapt in ways that are beneficial to themselves and ultimately to their children, an awareness of these factors is imperative.     

Grandparent Involvement Following Divorce

Divorce rales were associated with the suicide rales, not only of the divorced, but also of the single, married and widowed over the stales of America in 1980, indicating that the divorce rate may function as an indicator of general social malaise.     

Parental Divorce and Child Mental Health Trajectories

A process‐oriented approach to parental divorce locates the experience within the social and developmental context of children's lives, providing greater insight into how parental divorce produces vulnerability in some children and resiliency in others. The current study involves prospectively tracking a nationally representative sample of Canadian children of ages 4–7 and living with two biological parents at initial interview in 1994 (N = 2,819), and comparing the mental health trajectories of children whose parents remain married with those whose parents divorce by 1998. Results from growth curve models confirm that, even before marital breakup, children whose parents later divorce exhibit higher levels of anxiety/depression and antisocial behavior than children whose parents remain married. There is a further increase in child anxiety/depression but not antisocial behavior associated with the event of parental divorce itself. Controlling for predivorce parental socioeconomic and psychosocial resources fully accounts for poorer child mental health at initial interview among children whose parents later divorce, but does not explain the divorce‐specific increase in anxiety/depression. Finally, a significant interaction between parental divorce and predivorce levels of family dysfunction suggests that child antisocial behavior decreases when marriages in highly dysfunctional families are dissolved.     

A Meta-analysis of Parental Satisfaction,Adjustment, and Conflict in Joint Custody and Sole Custody Following Divorce

The literature on parental satisfaction, adjustment, and relitigation in joint custody (JC) versus sole custody (SC) following divorce is reviewed. Findings are summarized for custody differences in parental demographics; time spent with father; the father–child relationship; parental satisfaction with custody; parental adjustment, including self-esteem and parenting stress or burden; conflict between ex-spouses; and relitigation. JC was associated with equivalent or better outcomes than SC in the father–child relationship, parenting stress, parental conflict and relitigation, and overall adjustment. Satisfaction with custody is greatest for both mothers and fathers when they have SC, less in JC, and least for noncustodial parents. Future researchers need larger, more representative samples followed over time.     

Parental Divorce and Interpersonal Trust in Adult Offspring

It has been proposed that recent increases in parental divorce have inhibited the development of trust among offspring. This proposition is tested by examining whether parental divorce is associated with offspring trust in parents, intimate partners, and others. Data come from the Marital Instability Over the Life Course Study. Results reveal that although parental divorce is negatively associated with trust, these effects largely disappear once the quality of the past parent‐teen relationship is taken into account. The one exception is trust in fathers where children of divorce remain at higher risk of mistrust. Trust in parents, intimates, and others is strongly linked to positive parent‐teen relationships regardless of parental divorce. Contemporary relationship experiences also influence trusting intimates and others.     

Attitudes Toward Inheritance Following Divorce and Remarriage

The purpose of this study is to examine attitudes regarding who should be included in wills following divorce and remarriage. Respondents were 268 men and 439 women. In mailed vignettes, they indicated whom they thought should be included in an elder's will. Three variables were examined: (a) family closeness, (b) contact after divorce, and (c) remarriage. Three factors were associated with inheritance obligations: (a) genetic ties, (b) patriarchal lineage, and (c) family ties, which were defined more broadly than genetic relationships. Few respondents mentioned factors such as family closeness and reciprocity. There was little agreement regarding who is and who is not in the family, but inheritance clearly was limited to family. Obligation to include the next of kin in the will supersedes obligations based upon closeness and frequency of contact.     

Divorce Stress and Adjustment Model

One hundred and seven recently divorced men and . women completed a mailed questionnaire eliciting locus of control, difficulties, decision time, and divorce stress and adjustment. Public records were used to obtain demographic data. The path analysis derived final model suggests: (I) Locus of control is related to pre- decision stress, peak stress point, stress intensity, stress duration, and postdivorce stress and adjustment, but unrelated to decision time. (2) The relationship between locus of control and heavy stress chan es over time from an inverse to a direct relationship. (3) Com- pare f to women, men report less predecision stress, shorter predeci- sion periods, lower postdivorce adjustment, and more external Rot- ter Locus of Control scores. (4) Marriage length is directly related to decision time and stress duration, but inversely related to predeci- sion stress, point of peak stress, and postdivorce stress. (5) Childless couples report fewer difficulties, less postdecision stress, and shorter predecision intervals.