ABSTRACT
In the mid-1980s, if asked about the effects of divorce on children’s development, researchers would have responded that stress created by divorce appears to have a markedly negative — although temporary-effect on parents and children. In the last several years, however, the consensus about divorce and its sequelae appears to be evaporating. On one hand, some writers find even greater dangers associated with divorce than had previously been thought. For example, Wallerstein and Blakesly (1989) have questioned previous conclusions about girls’ lesser vulnerability to divorce relative to that of boys, as well as assumptions about the eventual disappearance of stress reactions by children of both sexes. On the other hand, several recent studies comparing children from divorced and intact families have found that family structure accounts for only 3% or less of the variance in many child outcome measures (Allison & Furstenberg, 1989; Slater & Power, 1987). A third set of voices calls for moving away from blanket statements — either positive or negative —concerning the effects of divorce. Hetherington (1989) began her Presidential Address to the Society for Research in Child Development with the following statement, “One of the things that is notable in studies of family transitions is the great diversity in the response of parents and children to divorce and remarriage” (p. 1). Similarly, Demo and Acock (1988) concluded a review of the literature on divorce with the assertion, “It is simplistic and inaccurate to think of divorce as having uniform consequences for children” (p. 642).
