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Journal of Adolescence
**This is a prospective Norwegian study of a group of adolescents with an experience of parental divorce or separation (n=413)(n=413) and a comparison group without this experience (n=1758)(n=1758). Mean age at T1 was 14.4 years and mean age at T2 was 18.4 years. Parental divorce was prospectively associated with a relative change in anxiety and depression, subjective well-being, self-esteem, and school problems. Considering boys separately, parental divorce was prospectively associated only with school problems. Among the girls, divorce was prospectively associated with all variables. The effect of divorce on relative change was partially mediated by paternal absence.
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SSRN Electronic Journal
Divorce is a gateway event that is implicated in most life trajectories that lead to departures from the “nuclear family”, a category defined by the CDC as a married father and mother with their own biological or adoptive children. This review summarizes the research literature documenting consistently lower well-being for children in non-nuclear family situations, including single parents, remarried step-families, cohabiting parents and same-sex partnerships. Children in post-divorce arrangements exhibit poorer health and well-being on almost every indicator examined. Research has focused on three main negative outcomes: poverty, higher rates of emotional and behavioral problems, and reduced educational attainment.
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Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
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Journal of Social Issues
In this study, the psychological structure of the family after divorce is seen as mediating the impact of divorce upon children. Divorce affects primary bonds with parents, presents challenges to conceptions of social reality, and creates stress which interferes with normal development. The effects of divorce upon child behavior (peer relations, stress, aggression, work effectiveness at school) were examined through two contrasting research strategies: 1) a comparison of the behavior of children in divorced and intact families, and 2) analysis of the association between family processes and child outcomes in intact and divorced families. Family processes examined were: (a) the affective relationships between the father and mother, (b) the affective relationships between the child and each parent separately, and (c) for divorced families, the amount of contact between child and non-custodial parent. For divorced and intact groups combined, the relationships among family members appeared to be more potent influences on child behavior than was marital status. The negative effects of divorce were greatly mitigated when positive relationships with both parents were maintained. The child's relationship with the non-custodial parent (father) was as important as the continuing relationship with the mother. Implications for research and for public policy are discussed.
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Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy
