This research explored the perceptions of people with respect to children from divorced families. The hypothesis tested held that people, subsequent to hearing stories about children from divorced families, would recall more negative attributes about male children from divorced families than about female children from such families.
The hypothesis was not supported by the experimental findings because more negative attributes were not recalled in relation to male children of divorce as opposed to female children from such families. This finding is in opposition to the findings of both Santrock and Amato. One explanation for the difference in findings of this experiment and the Santrock and Amato studies may be the character of the subjects who were college students in this experiment as opposed to professional teachers in the Santrock and Amato studies. Sample selection for this experiment was a major methodological flaw that likely skewed the research results. As it turned out, however, the experimental results were not statistically significant at p<.05, and thus are virtually meaningless in any event.
This research explored the perceptions of people with respect to children from divorced families. The hypothesis tested held that people, subsequent to hearing stories about children from divorced families, would recall more negative attributes about male children from divorced families than about female children from such families. LITERATURE REVIEW
An unstable family life, an absence of effective parental involvement, and economic deprivation are but a few of the factors affecting the children of divorce partners. Academic performance, cognitive functioning, social development, and physical and psychological security are but a few of the aspects of a child's life which may be adversely affected by divorce.
Booth, Johnson, White, and Edwards, (1986, pp. 421 442) conducted a study to determine why divorce and mari...