The primary aim of the present study is to examine the concomitants of emotional adjustment and maladjustment in children of divorced parents over a five year period. Data collection for the first year post-separation has already been completed and follow-up data will be collected by the start of the proposed study which will concentrate on the third through fifth year after parental separation. Recent evidence indicates that the continuing post-divorce family relationships are crucial mediators of the effects of stress for children, and that some coping strategies that reduce turmoil in families in the immediate post-separation period may not promote optimal adjustment in the long run. Particular emphasis will be placed on family interaction patterns, parent mental health, and the availability and utilization of social support networks by parents as factors that may intensify or alleviate divorce-related stresses for children. Standardized measures will be used to investigate emotional adjustment, (including self-report inventories for all participants and parent and teacher ratings for children.) Structured interviews will be administered at yearly intervals to children and their parents to study the family variables listed above, and to follow the course of adjustment of possible post-divorce stressors, such as parental remarriage. With 40% of marriages ending in divorce, and 75% of these in families with dependent children, the need for objective, systematically-obtained information about children's post-divorce reactions is crucial. A primary objective of the proposed study is the development of a normative framework of the course of this life crisis for children - a framework which can guide clinicians and educators in preventive and therapeutic work.
| Isaacs, M B (1988) The visitation schedule and child adjustment: a three-year study. Fam Process 27:251-6 |
