Divorce and Child Behavior Problems: Applying Latent Change Score Models to Life Event Data

Abstract

Effects of parents' divorce on children's adjustment have been studied extensively. This article applies new advances in trajectory modeling to the problem of disentangling the effects of divorce on children's adjustment from related factors such as the child's age at the time of divorce and the child's gender. Latent change score models were used to examine trajectories of externalizing behavior problems in relation to children's experience of their parents' divorce. Participants included 356 boys and girls whose biological parents were married at kindergarten entry. The children were assessed annually through Grade 9. Mothers reported whether they had divorced or separated in each 12-month period, and teachers reported children's externalizing behavior problems each year. Girls' externalizing behavior problem trajectories were not affected by experiencing their parents' divorce, regardless of the timing of the divorce. In contrast, boys who were in elementary school when their parents divorced showed an increase in externalizing behavior problems in the year of the divorce. This increase persisted in the years following the divorce. Boys who were in middle school when their parents divorced showed an increase in externalizing behavior problems in the year of the divorce followed by a decrease to below baseline levels in the year after the divorce. This decrease persisted in the following years.In the United States, approximately 50% of marriages end in divorce (Kreider & Fields, 2002), and 1 million children experience their parents' divorce each year (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1999). Whether and how parents' divorce affects children's adjustment is of concern to parents, clinicians, and policymakers. There is a large body of empirical research addressing these questions. Some researchers have taken extreme positions suggesting either that divorce Requests for reprints should be sent to Patrick S. Malone, Center for Child and Family Policy, Box 90545, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-0545. malone@alumni.duke.edu. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptStruct Equ Modeling. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2010 March 4. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript has no measurable effects on children (Harris, 1998) or that the effects of divorce on children are quite debilitating (Wallerstein & Blakeslee, 1989;Wallerstein & Kelly, 1980). However, most researchers take an intermediate position (see Cherlin, 1999).Several methodological issues complicate the interpretation of findings to date. The most common approach to the question of whether divorce affects children's adjustment has been to compare mean levels of adjustment of children whose parents have divorced to those whose parents have not divorced. Meta-analyses of 92 studies conducted in the 1950s through 1980s (Amato & Keith, 1991) and 67 studies published in the 1990s (Amato, 2001) show that children whose parents have divorced have poorer adjustment in a number of domains than do children whose parents have not ...

Evaluation of a school-based intervention programme for South African children of divorce

“…However, some research supports the notion that gender and age may have significant effects on children"s general adjustment to divorce, with boys scoring moderately higher than girls on externalising behaviours, while the opposite is true for internalising behaviours (Amato, 2001;Amato & Keith, 1991;Malone et al, 2004;Rodgers & Rose, 2002). In a study done by Malone et al (2004), it was found that boys who were in elementary school when their parents divorced, showed an increase in externalising behaviour problems in the year of the divorce, which continued in the years thereafter.…”

“…Malone, Lansford and Castellino (2004) have found that children who have experienced the life event of a divorce are at high risk for exhibiting both internalising and externalising problems. According to Hetherington (1999), the extent of risk for divorced children is at least twice that of children from continuously married parents, with the largest effects seen in externalising symptoms, such as conduct disorders, anti-social behaviour and problems with authority figures and parents (Kelly & Emery, 2003).…”

Psychosocial adjustment and physical health in children of divorce

“…Malone et al 55 apontam as crianças do sexo masculino que vivem a separação parental como as que registram mais comportamentos de externalização na escola, sobretudo no ano da separação parental, com uma descida até os níveis basais um ano após a ruptura conjugal, comparativamente às crianças do sexo feminino. Essas condutas são habitualmente associadas a baixos níveis de produção de cortisol.…”

“…Este mesmo meio, rico em estressores susceptíveis de cronicidade, facilmente interfere na resposta fisiológica ao estresse, o que, por sua vez, tem impacto na saúde física 79 e psicológica da criança 46,55 .…”

Post-Divorce Parental Conflict and Adolescents’ Delinquency in Divorced Families

“…The high number of divorced families over the past decade has raised concern regarding the effect of divorce on children and adolescents (Amato, 2000;Kelly, 2003;Hetherington, 2003;VanderValk et al, 2004). Researchers have found that parental divorce place children and adolescents at greater risk of adjustment problems (Amato & Keith, 1991;Amato, 2000;Kelly, 2000;Hetherington, 2003;Kelly & Emery, 2003: Dimitrieva et al, 2004: Santrock, 2007 especially externalizing problems such as aggression, antisocial behavior problems and delinquency, and internalizing problems such as depression, anxiety and self-esteem and low level of academic performance (Hetherington et al, 1993;Amato, 2001;Malone et al, 2004;Demuth & Brown, 2004;Lansford et al, 2006). Studies in recent decade has focused on understanding the processes by which parental divorce affects children and identifying a variety of protective and vulnerability factors which moderate or mediate these effect.…”