Divorce and child psychological adjustment. First answers to some repeated questions

Abstract

This work attempts to study psychological adjustment in children whose parents are divorced, and their similarities and differences with children whose parents remain married. We studied 96 children, ages 6 to 12, who live with their divorced mothers, and 93 children who live with both parents. Different indicators of psychological adjustment were assessed: academic competence, cognitive and social competence, behaviour problems and self-esteem. Results indicate that: a) children of divorced parents have, on average, a normal adjustment, b) there are differences in favour of children who live with both parents, and c) these differences are minimal and there is a clear overlap between both groups of children.