ABSTRACT
Although a general agreement exists among researchers that divorce does negatively impact academic achievement for children, there is a considerable degree of variation among sociologists, psychologists, and educators regarding just how much of an effect divorce creates. Unfortunately, a large portion of this disagreement may find its roots in the methodology used in the studies themselves rather than a large degree of variance in the effects of divorce and remarriage. For example, in the 1960s most studies on the effects of divorce did not sufficiently control for SES (Hetherington, Camara, and Featherman, 1981). As a result, effects attributed to divorce were high (Amato and Keith, 1991; Salzman, 1987). Herzog and Sudia (1971) criticized many early studies for not sufficiently controlling for SES. In response to these criticisms, studies in the 1970s frequently incorporated substantive controls for SES. In their meta-analyses, Amato and Keith (1991) and Salzman (1987) noted that the effects of divorce on academic achievement and other measures dropped substantially during the 1970s. Amato and Keith (1991) asserted that this trend indicated that because of the increased acceptance of divorce, its negative influences may be receding. Although this constitutes a possible explanation for the drop in effects, the sudden and sharp nature of the drop may point to other explanations.
