Parental Divorce and Child Well-Being

Amato, P.R. & Keith, B. (1991). Parental divorce and the well-being of children: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 110(1), 26-46.

Hypotheses/Research Questions - This fairly complex meta-analysis examined 92 different studies of differences in children's well-being as a function of whether the family is divorced or intact. While no specific hypotheses were tested, the study's basic research questions involved an attempt to estimate the degree of differences in children's well-being across the various studies as well as to examine whether differences in research design (study characteristics) and in different measures of well-being contributed to response variance.

Also, the study attempted to assess which of three theoretical perspectives (Parental Absence Perspective; Economic Disadvantage Perspective; Family Conflict Perspective) best explained the overall findings of the meta-analysis.

Methods. Study methods consisted of meta-analysis techniques. In brief, 92 studies were selected from four behavioral science databases.

All selected studies were comparative (divorce vs. intact families) with at least one quantitative measurement of children's well-being yielding data that allowed for the calculation of a size of impact effect. Effect size was calculated in several different ways depending upon the nature of provided data (i.e. whether data was provided in the forms of means, standard deviations, F rations, t-tests, chi square analyses, etc.)

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d/or child protective services, are taken prior to filing for divorce. 2) Abuse Revealed During The Divorce - These tend to be cases of long-standing sexual abuse that has not been revealed during the period prior to filing for divorce. Reasons for now revealing matters include: a) mother repressed awareness of information and now allows it to surface to consciousness; b) mother did not repress information but is now not afraid to reveal it; and c) the child now feels strong enough to tell authorities. 3) Abuse Precipitated By The Divorce - These cases include situations where there had been prior indications of sexual attraction to children on the part of the abuser. The abuse only occurred during the period when the family was seriously breaking apart because the unstructured situation allowed the abuser free expression of sexual feelings. In some cases, the abusing parent is attempting to control his/her emotional sense of loss over the inevitable break-up through the false intimacy of sexual contact with children. 4) False Allegations During Divorce - These are cases of deliberate lies about abuse, usually told by one of the adults. In some cases, the anger and resentment toward the spouse is so strong, that the parent

Category: Psychology - P