Longitudinal Changes in Children's Behavior toward Custodial Parents

Abstract

This exploratory report is a follow-up of a group of initially separated single-parent families. The focus is on children's observed behavior toward three categories of custodial parents and on these parents' self-reported satisfaction with their children. Two and a half years had elapsed between the first and the second interviews. During that period parental satisfaction had increased for low-income and high-income custodial mothers, while custodial fathers' satisfaction remained high. Observed children's behavior fluctuated in father-headed families but only in terms of positive behavior. Observed children's behavior had improved in high-income mother-headed families and had improved dramatically in low-income mother-headed families. However, a case-by-case analysis of the data showed the improvement in the latter instance to be greatly related to the departure, in half of these families, of one or two children. The smaller aggregates of less disruptive children remaining in these households contributed to raise both their mothers' parental satisfaction and the level of positive family functioning. Remarried and single-parent families also are examined comparatively, and it is suggested that children's behavior may be a variable predictive of maternal remarriage at a later date.