ABSTRACT
Over the past thirty-five years a considerable degree of research has emerged indicating that parental divorce and remarriage generally exert downward pressure on the academic achievement of children (McLanahan & Sandefur, 1994, Wallerstein & Lewis, 1998). Some social scientists believe that the reason for these findings may rest with the fact that children of divorce usually spend less time with both biological parents overall (Wallerstein & Lewis, 1998). As a result, in these families there tends to be less parental involvement in education. Research has consistently indicated that a higher level of parental involvement often produces increases in the academic achievement of children (Deslandes et al., 1997, Mau, 1997, Villas-Boas, 1998). In recent years, family scientists have sought to examine family factors that might neutralize the effects of parental divorce and remarriage. Some social scientists have suggested the parents and/ or stepparents of divorce who are actively involved in school and in the education of their children may not experience the downward effects that divorce and remarriage usually exert on the academic achievement of children (Bronstein et al., 1994, Hetherington, 1992). They believe that if one considers the effects of parental involvement, the effects of parental divorce and remarriage will disappear. The purpose of this study is to examine whether considering the effects of parental involvement on the academic achievement of children will cause the effects of divorce and remarriage to disappear.
