ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the results of a 6-year follow-up of a longitudinal study of the effects of divorce on parents and children. A substantial body of both clinical and research literature has accumulated which shows that most children experience their parents' divorce as a stressful life event and exhibit short-term developmental disruptions, emotional distress, and behavior disorders. The original sample was composed of 144 middle-class white children and their parents. Half of the children were from divorced, mother- custody families, and the other half were from nondivorced families. All longitudinal analyses involve only the original sample; however, cross-sectional analyses of child adjustment and of the relationship between child adjustment and life change 6 years following divorce utilize the expanded sample. The paternal measures in the divorced families must be viewed with caution, since they involve noncustodial fathers, many of whom are seeing their children infrequently and who may have little opportunity to observe their children's behavior.
