A Pilot Study of African American Children's Cognitive and Emotional Reactions to Parental Separation

Abstract

The present study surveyed 76 black American third through sixth graders who had experienced a parental separation. Children's problematic beliefs about separation were sigdicantly and positively related to teacher reported problem behavior (r = .30, p = .01). Post hoc analyses suggested that children who blame themselves seem to have particular difficulty adjusting to the separation. Children who had more positive reactions to the separation were more empathic (r = .22, p = .05). Finally, the recency of the separation was significantly associated with children's acceptance of the separation (r = .42, p = ,002) and how positively they felt about it (r = .34, p = .01). These findings underscore the importance of children's appraisal in interventions with children of separated parents. [Article copies available from.The Haworth Documenf Delivery Ser- vice: 1-800-342-9678.] This paper reports results from a preliminary study of African American children's cognitive and emotional responses to parental separation. To date, most research on children's response to parental

Parental Predivorce Relations and Offspring Postdivorce Well‐Being

“…Presumably, escape from a high‐conflict marriage benefits children because it removes them from an aversive, stressful home environment. In contrast, a divorce that is not preceded by a prolonged period of overt discord may represent an unexpected, unwelcome, and uncontrollable event, an event that children are likely to experience as stressful (Amato, 1987; Bussell, 1995; Duran‐Aydintug, 1997; Grych & Finchan, 1990; Healy et al, 1993; Jacobson, 1978; Kim et al, 1997). Divorce under these circumstances represents a major change in what may otherwise have been a secure and (from a child's perspective) seemingly well‐functioning family.…”

“…Several studies indicate that children who place the blame for the divorce on themselves tend to be more poorly adjusted (Bussell, 1995). Healy, Steward, and Copeland (1993) studied primary school children 6 months after parental separation and found that one third reported some feelings of self‐blame.…”

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The New Beginnings Program for Divorcing and Separating Families: Moving From Efficacy to Effectiveness

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