l, and/or academic functioning) associated with divorce may be different for Hispanic children than for the samples of children studied (mostly Anglo or black). In other words, there is a need for research that examines whether existing findings on the effects of divorce on children generalize to Hispanic children.
The purpose of this study is to provide, at least in part, such an examination. Specifically, the study examines intellectual achievement and whether Hispanic children of divorce experience the same or different levels of maladjustment in this area as do Anglo Children of divorce.
Is there reason to believe that in comparison with Anglo children, Hispanic children may experience different levels of adjustment problems, particularly in the area of intellectual achievement, when their parents divorce? The literature indicates that there are reasons to believe that the negative effects of divorce may be more debilitative to Hispanic children than to Anglo-American children.
One reason why Hispanic children may have more adjustment problems than Anglo children relates to the fact that there are extremely strong cultural bonds between members of Hispanic families; in other words, family plays a strong role in the cultural (Ramirez & Hosch, 1991). These close ties could increase children's feelings of depression, deprivation, and loneliness when divorce disrupts the family.
Moreover, many Hispanic families are Catholic (Moyerman & Forman, 1992), a religion that teachers that divorce is a sin. Therefore, there is a chance that parental divorce could be viewed by children as something morally wrong, a perspective that could increase the feelings of guilt and hostility toward parents that are so often felt by children of divorce (Papalia & Olds, 1994).
One area of the literature that specifically relates to the study conducted here is the research on divorce which indicates that most divorces end up severely ...