The Relationship Between Divorce and Independence in Adolescents
Bryan Cookson
Willem Griffiths
Saeed Shihab
Hank Shipman
AP Psychology: Rowland Hall
The Relationship Between Divorce and Independence in Adolescents
The growing divorce rate in today’s society has undoubtedly influenced the
psychological states and behaviors of the current generation of adolescents. As a result of this
recent fluctuation, there is now a dichotomy between the character of teenagers with divorced
parents and those without. One observational difference between the two is the level of
independence in children post-divorce.
Many studies have analyzed the effects on adolescent’s psychological responses to
divorce, and more specifically, the independence of adolescents post-divorce. For example,
Aseltine (1996, as cited in Amato, 2000) found that “children from divorced families scored
significantly lower on a variety of outcomes, including academic achievement, conduct,
psychological adjustment, self-concept, and social competence” (p. 1278). Children who have
experienced divorce might experience these psychological problems. Although the results might
show that children who have experienced divorce have harder times becoming independent,
there are ways in which children have used various coping mechanisms to adjust to the divorce
and become more independent. Additionally, Samera and Stolberg (1993, as cited in Amato,
2000) found that “children who use active coping skills (such as problem solving and gathering
social support) tend to adjust to divorce more quickly than children who rely on avoidance or
distraction as coping mechanisms” (p. 1281). In other words, children who find active coping
skills have an easier time dealing with the divorce. This mechanism mainly works if the child
confronts the problem head-on and tries to find a solution rather than avoiding it. Based on the
evidence presented, children of divorce can use these coping mechanisms to help them through
the divorce, and ultimately, make them more independent.
Haggerty, Sherrod, Garmezy, and Rutter (1996), who specialize in analyzing the effects
of divorce on children, evaluated a research project on divorce. The experiment involved case
studies with over 13,000 children on 92 different aspects of marriage and divorce. The control
group in the experiment included children with married parents who were evaluated on the 92
psychological aspects, and the experimental group included the children that had divorced
parents who were involved in identical analyses. In their analysis, they concluded “after
separation over time, children’s relationships with their nonresidential parents, most commonly
with their fathers also grow distant and inconsistent” (p.65). As a result of this increased
separation from their fathers, male and female adolescents are forced into a position where they
have to take over some of their father’s household roles. They also noted that, “children’s
relationship with their residential parents are more stable, but they also may become less
supportive and more negative as parents struggle with their own burdens” (p.65). These studies
suggest that while parents are preoccupied with their own issues, they often neglect the issues
of their children. As a result, the children must mature more quickly in order to deal with “grownup” situations. Over time, divorce ultimately results in children who have adapted to become
more self-reliant and independent.
In our experiment, we hope to discover if there is a significant difference in the
independence level of people who have divorced parents and those who have married parents.
We define independence as the level to which individuals are responsible for their own
caretaking. Just to clarify, an adolescent who is more independent is likely to schedule their
own appointments, manage their own money (to some extent), maintain their own schedule, do
their own laundry, etc. To study this we will randomly select student subjects and we will
administer a survey that assesses individuals on their level of independence. At the beginning of
this survey, there will be a question that asks about the marital status of the student’s parents.
The options will be “Married,” “Divorced,” or “Other.” For our primary comparison the control
group will be adolescents with married parents and the experimental group will be adolescents
with divorced parents. In our additional comparison, which settles our confounding variables,
adolescents with married parents will be the control variable and adolescents who answered
“other” for their parents’ marriage status will be the experimental variable. We have to include
this additional category and comparison because some family dynamics cannot be defined
solely by whether or not the parents are married. For example some students may have parents
that were never married or who passed away. These additional variables may cause students to
be more or less independent. Once all of the data is collected, we will construct graphs in order
to analyze the level of independence between adolescents with divorced parents and
adolescents with married parents. The independent variable in the graph comparisons will be
the marital status of the parents, and the dependent variable will be the independence score.
Based on previous studies and our personal observations, we hypothesize that adolescents
whose parents are divorced will show higher levels of independence than adolescents whose
parents are married.
References
Amato, P. R. (2000). The consequences of divorce for adults and children. Journal
of Marriage and Family, 62(4), 1269-1287. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1566735?uid=3739256&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70
&uid=4&sid=21101110197063
Haggerty, R., Sherrod, L., Garmezy, N., & Rutter M. (1996). Stress, Risk, and Resilience in
Children and Adolescents. New York: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from:
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=px9c42qHjAC&oi=fnd&pg=PA64&dq=divorce+and+children%27s+independence&ots=DErvR6
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