Nondivorced Parents Research Articles

Relationships Between Coping Resources and Strategies in Children with Divorced and Nondivorced Parents

Relationships between psycho-social coping re- sources (i.e., self-referent thought, coping styles, problematic beliefs about divorce, family environment) and coping strategies in elemen- tary school age children are examined. Half of the sample of children were living in the sole custody of a no~emarried parent and the remainder of children were from intact homes. Indeed, a distinct pattern of relationships between children's coping resources and strategies emerged according to family configuration.

General and Test Anxiety, Shyness, and Grade Point Average of Elementary School Children of Divorced and Nondivorced Parents

116 boys and girls in elementary Grades 4, 5, and 6 were administered the General Anxiety Scale, Test Anxiety Scale, and the Shyness Scale. Their GPAs were obtained from school records as were Normal Curve Equivalents from the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills given the previous school year. Children of divorced parents (n = 31) had lower GPAs than children of nondivorced parents (n = 85). The girls had higher GPAs and general anxiety scores than the boys. The students who scored lower on test anxiety had higher Normal Curve Equivalents. Pearson correlations were significant for scores on Test Anxiety with those on general anxiety (r = .57), GPA (r = -.25), and Normal Curve Equivalents (r = -.26). Normal Curve Equivalents correlated significantly with GPA (r = .66), but shyness did not correlate significantly with any other measure.

Psychosocial coping resources in elementary school-age children of divorce.

The psychosocial coping resources of elementary school-age children living in the sole custody of a divorced single parent were compared with those of their peers living with nondivorced parents. Children of divorced parents were found to have lower levels of self-efficacy, self-esteem, and social support, and less effectual coping styles. Contact with the noncustodial parent was found to have a positive influence on their attitudes toward divorce.

Developmental differences in children's understanding of marriage, divorce, and remarriage

One hundred and nineteen children in kindergarten, second, and fourth grades, living with never divorced biological parents or with divorced mothers, were interviewed with both open-and close-ended questions about their understanding of, and evaluative attitudes toward, marriage, divorce, remariiage, and stepfamilies. Results indicate clear developmental differences in children's understanding of these issues and in their opinions about marriage, divorce, and stepfamilies. No differences were found, however, between the understanding of children with divorced and nondivorced parents, or between boys and girls. Although children with divorced parents were more likely than children with nondivorced parents to expect themselves to divorce in the future, no other differences were found in their attitudes. Results are discussed within a constructivistic perspective of children's acquisition of social knowledge.

Depression, self-esteem, suicide ideation, death anxiety, and GPA in high school students of divorced and nondivorced parents.

131 subjects from a small north central Kansas high school participated and completed the Beck Depression Scale, Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory short form with the Lie scale included, the Death Anxiety Scale, and the first 11 questions of the Beck Scale of Suicide Ideation. Background information collected from each subject included age, grade, marital status of parents, and sex. Grade point averages (on a 4-point scale) were taken from the students' files. On death anxiety girls had a significantly higher mean than boys while freshmen's and sophomores' scores were significantly higher than those of juniors and seniors but there was no difference between means of students of divorced and nondivorced parents. On self-esteem and GPA children of divorced parents scored significantly lower than children of nondivorced parents, but there was no difference between the sexes on self-esteem. On GPA girls scored significantly higher than boys. On depression the children of divorced parents scored higher than children of nondivorced parents but there was no sex difference.

Specific and diversive curiosity in gifted elementary students.

Twenty-nine gifted students in Grades 2 to 6 from the small school districts in north central Kansas completed the Maze test and the Which-to-Discuss test. Background information such as age, sex, grade, and marital status of parents was also collected. There were no significant differences between boys and girls or for students from divorced and nondivorced parents on either the Which-to-Discuss test (specific curiosity) or the Maze test scores (diversive curiosity). The students scored significantly higher on the former test than chance guessing which suggests the students were displaying specific curiosity. Scores of these gifted students on these two tests of curiosity were significantly and positively correlated.

Specific and Diversive Curiosity and Depression in Junior High School Students of Divorced and Nondivorced Parents

124 junior high school students (Grades 5 to 8) from a small school district in north central Kansas completed the Beck Depression Scale, the Maze test, and the Which-to-Discuss test. Background information, such as age, sex, grade, and marital status of parents, were also collected. There were no significant differences between boys and girls of divorced and nondivorced parents or across grades for scores on the Which-to-Discuss (specific curiosity) and depression, but boys scored significantly higher on the Maze test (diversive curiosity). No differences were noted between the students of divorced and nondivorced parents or across grades. Scores on Which-to-Discuss test and Maze test were not significantly correlated, but scores on one Maze test and depression correlated positively and significantly. When these students scored as more depressed, although in the normal range, they tended to score higher on diversive curiosity.

Aggression, alcohol dependency, and self-consciousness among high school students of divorced and nondivorced parents.

134 high school students from a small high school in north central Kansas completed the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale, Fenigstein, et al.'s Self-consciousness Scale, and Zaks' Aggression Scale. Analyses of variance showed significant differences between boys and girls but not among grades. On the aggression and alcohol measures boys scored higher than girls, but lower on public self-consciousness. Youth of divorced parents scored significantly higher than those of nondivorced parents on aggression, private self-consciousness, and general self-consciousness. Aggression scores were significantly and positively correlated with those on the alcohol and private self-consciousness scales. When students' alcoholism scores indicate problems with alcohol, their scores on aggression indicate greater aggression and their private self-consciousness scores indicate sensitivity toward events in their environment, then having concerns about inner self can inhibit the action required for change. MacAndrew scores correlated significantly and negatively with scores on social anxiety about self-consciousness. When MacAndrew scores indicated problems with alcohol, the students' scores on social anxiety about self-consciousness suggested confidence in social settings, being at ease interacting with people. The present study involved students from a single rural district so increased understanding will require more extensive research if strategies for prevention and intervention are to be developed and utilized.

SPECIFIC AND DIVERSIVE CURIOSITY IN GIFTED ELEMENTARY STUDENTS

Twenty-nine gifted students in Grades 2 to 6 from the small school districts in north central Kansas completed the Maze test and the Which-to-Discuss test. Background information such as age, sex, grade, and marital status of parents was also collected. There were no significant differences between boys and girls or for students from divorced and nondivorced parents on either the Which-to-Discuss test (specific curiosity) or the Maze test scores (diversive curiosity). The students scored significantly higher on the former test than chance guessing which suggests the students were displaying specific curiosity. Scores of these gifted students on these two tests of curiosity were significantly and positively correlated.

DEPRESSION, SELF-ESTEEM, SUICIDE IDEATION, DEATH ANXIETY, AND GPA IN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS OF DIVORCED AND NONDIVORCED PARENTS

DEPRESSION, SELF-ESTEEM, SUICIDE IDEATION, DEATH ANXIETY, AND GPA IN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS OF DIVORCED AND NONDIVORCED PARENTS

Relation of divorce to self-concepts and grade point averages of fifth grade school children.

Data from 31 children (age 10.7 yr.) of divorced parents showed lower self-concept scores on the Piers-Harris Children's Self-concept Scale than 19 children of nondivorced parents, although the two sets of scores fall within the expected range.

Effects of Divorce upon School Self-Esteem and Achievement of 10-, 11-, and 12-Year-Old Children

17 children of divorce who were between the ages of 10 and 12 yr. were compared with 60 similarly aged peers of nondivorced parents on four self-esteem measures, defined by the Coopersmith, and one achievement measure, the Stanford Achievement Test. Neither multivariate effects nor univariate differences were observed.