The Effects of Divorce on Children's Adjustment

Abstract

Divorce has become one of the most frequent environmental stressors experienced by children. This article reviews present conceptualizations of children's adaptation to divorce. Most notably, researchers have moved away from the view that family structural variables, such as single-parent status, necessitate the development of psychopathology in children. In recent years, investigators have shifted their attention to events that accompany marital dissolution, rather than the event of divorce per se. Such process variables have been identified as more salient correlates of children's adjustment. Additionally, the article examines children's short- and long-term adjustment to divorce, specific problem areas that are common among children from divorced families, and directions for future investigations.