ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on possible effects of divorce upon offsprings' cognitive development, especially in the realm of schooling. Psychologists distinguish between cognitive and affective variables. Cognition includes thought, beliefs, and information processing, whereas affect includes feelings and emotions. The empirical research concerning the relation between single mothering and school performance has been reviewed many times. One meta-analysis of 137 studies published through 1986 reviewed research using intelligence tests, scholastic aptitude tests, achievement tests, and school grades, and considered the amount of difference between single-mother and two-parent groups. Standardized tests are frequently considered superior to grades as a measure of cognitive capabilities. School grades reflect the ability to adapt to the expectations of teachers and to the system and should be considered an index of scholastic adjustment. Some school behaviors, like absences and tardiness, may be studied by collecting data from records in the permanent files.
