This study examines the effects of marital disruption on the well-being of children. Unlike most previous studies, the principal investigators conceptualize the process of disruption as beginning well before the parents actually separate and as taking on diverse forms after separation. They will draw on three large-scale, longitudinal studies to examine the effects of the divorce process on children's well being. In each study, the subjects to be analyzed will be those children who were in nondisrupted families at the time of the first child assessment. The well-being at later assessments of children whose families subsequently disrupted will then be compared to the well-being of children whose families remained intact. Within the disrupted group, variations in the post-disruption process (such as contact between the noncustodial parent and the child, or the remarriage of the custodial parent) will be examined. Of special note is that all analyses will include indicators that control for observed differences in well-being that already existed at the first (predisruption) assessment. This study will make an important contribution to our understanding of how family processes affect the lives of children.
