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Author: Berman, Madeline Carol
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Berman, Madeline Carol
Educational and Affective Results of Divorce on Adolescent School Age Children
Ph.D. Dissertation, Rutgers University, State University of New Jersey, 1983. DAI-B 45/02, p. 718, August 1984
Cohort(s): Young Men, Young Women
Publisher: UMI - University Microfilms, Bell and Howell Information and Learning
Keyword(s): Divorce; Educational Attainment; Marital Disruption; Parents, Single; Variables, Independent - Covariate

This study is designed to determine the effects of divorce on mother custody adolescents on the areas of academic achievement, social performance, attitudes, and a future decision to marry. Models were constructed in accordance with Bronfenbrenner's social dyad and the Becker-Leibowitz economic theories of human development. Major concerns addressed are whether (a) divorce negatively affects these children's performance and (b) whether the variables under examination provide an adequate fit for the Bronfenbrenner and/or Becker-Leibowitz models. The National Longitudinal Survey provides the data base for this study. A subsample of 424 females and 476 males (equal numbers of divorced and nondivorced groups) ages 14-18 was selected. For the Bronfenbrenner model, 'divorce,' 'mother's work' and 'mother's encouragement' were selected as independent variables while 'family income,' 'mother's education,' child's 'IQ' or 'divorce' were examined to test the Becker model. Multiple regression analysis based on path diagrams is used to evaluate the models and to interpret direct and indirect relationships among variables. For both models, children's performance is negatively affected by divorced with greatest impact on the variables 'social deviance,' and 'future marriage' (for girls). For the Bronfenbrenner model, 'years of school completed' is strongly affected by divorce. Although Becker's economic approach yields a greater understanding of the relationships among the variables than does the Bronfenbrenner psycho-social model, the analysis of the data precludes support of either model as a strong predictor of the outcomes of divorce on the child. To effectively assist in the development of children of divorce, educators must understand the effects of the component parts of the models in this study.
Bibliography Citation
Berman, Madeline Carol. Educational and Affective Results of Divorce on Adolescent School Age Children. Ph.D. Dissertation, Rutgers University, State University of New Jersey, 1983. DAI-B 45/02, p. 718, August 1984.