ABSTRACT
The effect of parental divorce on children has, over the last 2 decades, become a major area of concern to both professionals and the general public, paralleling the alarming rise in the divorce rate during that time. A substantial amount of research has addressed the effect of divorce on children, resulting in the conclusion that children often are affected negatively; however, most investigators are now moving beyond the notion that parental divorce has the same effect on all children. Numerous factors associated with divorce are being proposed as important mediators of child adjustment (Atkeson, Forehand, & Rickarad, 1982; Emery, 1982; Hess & Camara, 1979; Santrock & Madison, 1985) and will likely prove critical in understanding the effects of parental divorce. Studies that do not control for such variables (e.g., interparental conflict, age) may be masking many significant relationships. Wallerstein and Kelly (1974), for example, reported that the effects of divorce on child adjustment vary according to the child's age, thus identifying one distinct contributor to adjustment.
