There has been a wide variety of research conducted on the negative effects on children post-divorce, which include delinquency, low self-esteem, behavioural problems and negative social relationships (Amato and Anthony, 2014). Some studies, however, have shown that these negative effects can be counteracted if there are favorable conditions offered to the children of divorce in the post-divorce period (Haimi and Lerner, 2016). For example, children who are given supportive environments following divorce, mothers who were more engaged and sensitive to their children’s needs over their own needs or emotions, and children who resided in households with higher socio-economic status showed better coping mechanisms, especially when post-divorce mediation was involved (Weaver and Schofield, 2015). It is largely understood that divorce does have psychological effects on children and, in most cases, effects on the parent-child relationship (Haimi and Lerner, 2016). Gaining a deeper understanding of the elements in post-divorce situations that lead to decreased negative effects on the child should be given continued research, especially for children within lower-socioeconomic levels that do not have access to as many resources as their peers. The following qualitative study will use a self-reporting questionnaire to determine methods of parental interactions with children following divorce that lead to higher positive effects throughout childhood and adolescence.
Research method
Data Collection
The research that will be used to collect data is a 37 question, self-reported questionnaire that will be administered to participants. The questions will be closed-ended and give multiple choice answers for the participants to respond to. It is believed that by asking close-ended, multiple choice questions, I can gain better comparable insights from the participants to their peers, in order to understand what elements in their parent-child relationships are similar for those that exhibit more positive coping mechanisms compared to negative coping mechanisms.
Unit of Analysis
The unit of analysis are children ages ten to seventeen. It is believed that this group of participants will be more cognitively aware of the elements in their parent-child relationship and will be capable of fully answering the questions asked in the survey. The concern with using younger children in the self-reported questionnaire are that there may be higher rates of inconclusive results or skewed data that may negatively affect the overall results. It is for this reason that I have opted to use children ages ten to seventeen for participation in the study.
Sampling Method
The sample method to be used is stratified random sampling. This will ensure that there are equal numbers of participants who are from divorced families, and equal amounts of participants from families who have not experienced divorce. The concern that was raised over using simple random sampling was that there would be an imbalance between children from divorced households vs. non-divorced households, which may skew the data. One of the key aspects of this qualitative study is to compare the parent-child relationships in households of divorce compared to non-divorced households, to see what similarities can be attributed to the parent-child relationships and not to the divorce itself. Without using a stratified sampling method, there will be no way to guarantee that the participants from both subgroups are proportional. For the purposes of this study, parents who are separated will be included in the divorced subgroup and parents who cohabitate but have never legally married will be included in the non-divorce subgroup.
Sample Size
The sample size will be 500 participants, with 250 from divorced households and 250 from non-divorced households. This sample size was chosen so that there would be enough participants with varying/similar parent-child relationships to draw conclusions between the data received from the questionnaire. To obtain the sample, participants will be drawn from the local school system between grades five through twelve. It is assumed that there will be some students whose parents do not sign the consent form (see Appendix A.), so a total of 700 surveys will be distributed, assuming that there will be at least 200 surveys that are not completed or consent not given by the parents/guardians. The survey will be a take-home survey, and collected from the teachers on school campuses the following week, giving students enough time to submit their surveys to their teachers, along with the completed and signed consent forms. Teachers will be contacted directly through schools within the local district and for the teachers who approve of taking part in the study will administer the questionnaires and consent forms to the students on campus. The questionnaires will then be picked up from the classrooms by the researcher and/or research assistant the next week. The responses to the survey will be confidential and not include the participant’s names or identifying information.
Hypotheses
1. Participants who have positive parent-child relationships with both parents, regardless of their parent’s marital status, will be less likely to show markers of low self-esteem and delinquent behaviors.
2. Children who have poor relationships with one or both parents will exhibit higher negative effects, including low self-esteem and delinquent behavior, regardless of whether the parents are divorced or not.
3. Children of divorce who have stronger maternal bonds and positive elements within the maternal parent-child relationship will be less likely to exhibit negative effects (i.e. low self-esteem and delinquent behaviors).
Variables
The dependent variables being used in this study are the parent-child relationships, child’s self-esteem, and the child’s behavior. The independent variables in this study are the marital status of the parents (married/cohabitating and divorced/separated). A control variable is not being used for this study.
Theory
The theory that the hypotheses are based stems from the idea that children’s actions are largely influenced by the strength of the parent-child relationship, regardless of whether parents are divorced or not. The time and attention that parents give their children, especially mothers, plays a large role in the child’s self-esteem and social behaviors. When those relationships are lacking in sympathy and/or support, however, the child will most likely act out and/or have lower self-esteem. The study will analyze whether or not children of divorce are more likely to bounce back from their changed family structure without negative effects if they have strong bonds remaining with both parents, rather than one or none. This will be compared against the responses from children whose parents are still married and the parent-child relationship that exists with one or both parents. Much of the focus of research for children of divorce bases negative outcomes in a child’s behavior or self-esteem as being a product of the divorce, not a product of the parent-child relationships, regardless of marital status. By focusing on the parent-child relationship rather than divorce, more insights can be gained on working with families of divorce to strengthen the parent-child relationships with one or both parents, rather than focusing on the changes that directly impact the family structure (i.e. custody).
Survey
1. What is your age?
2. Are your parents divorced/separated or still living together?
3. If your parents are divorced, which parent do you live with?
a) Mother
b) Father
c) N/A
4. Would you say that you had a stronger relationship with your mother, father, or both?
5. How many hours per week do your parents help you with your homework, or review your homework with you?
a.) 0-2 hours
b.) 3-5 hours
c.) 6-8 hours
d.) 8 hours or more
6. How many hours per week, on average, do you spend time with your parents doing leisure activities?
a) 0-2 hours
b) 3-5 hours
c) 6-8 hours
d) 8 hours or more
7. Do you spend time each week with your mother on a hobby or interest you both share? (Y/N)
8. Do you spend time each week with your father on a hobby or interest you both share? (Y/N)
9. Do you think that talking to your mother about your day is:
Very Important
Important
Neutral
Not Very Important
Not Important
10. Do you think that talking to your father about your day is:
Very Important
Important
Neutral
Not Very Important
Not Important
11. Do you think that you are closer with your mother or your father?
12. Who do you turn to first, your mother or father, if you have problems at school?
13. Do you think that you spend more time with your mother, your father, or equal amounts of time with both?
14. What is your general mood?
Happy
Okay
Anxious
Depressed
Sad
Angry
15. Do you think you are quick to change your mood if something does not go your way? (Y/N)
16. Would you say that you experience positive or negative feelings most of the time?
17. Would your friends say that you are mostly positive or mostly negative?
18. Do you think that your parents impact your mood, or that you are more impacted by other people or events?
19. Have you skipped school or classes in the past six months without telling your parents? (Y/N)
20. Have you gotten in trouble at school, or sent to the principal’s office, in the past six months? (Y/N)
21. How does your mother respond when you get into trouble?
Very Angry
Angry
Neutral
Understanding
Very Understanding
22. How does your father respond when you get into trouble?
Very Angry
Angry
Neutral
Understanding
Very Understanding
23. Do you think that your mother takes time to hear your side of the story when you do something you shouldn’t have? (Y/N)
24. Do you think that your father takes time to hear your side of the story when you do something you shouldn’t have? (Y/N)
25. How do you feel when you get in trouble with your parents?
Angry
Embarrassed
Upset
Guilty
Not Bothered
26. How would you rate your self-esteem?
Very low
Low
Neutral
High
Very High
27. If your parents are fighting, do you feel it is your fault? (Y/N)
28. Have you ever wanted to run away from home to get attention? (Y/N)
29. Do you find yourself acting out if your parents have been busy or preoccupied with something else? (Y/N)
30. Would you say that your mother is mostly positive or mostly negative?
31. Would you say that your father is mostly positive, or mostly negative?
32. Do you think your parents pay more attention to you if you get into trouble or if you are well behaved?
33. Do you wish one or both of your parents would spend more time with you? (Y/N)
34. Do you wish you spent less time with one or both of your parents? (Y/N)
35. Do your parents worry too much about you? (Y/N)
36. Do you get annoyed with your parents for asking too many questions about what you have been up to? (Y/N)
37. Which of your parents do you think you are most like?
a) Mother
b) Father
c) Neither
Budget/Timeline
The costs of this study are estimated to be $800. These costs would are based on the materials needed for printing the survey and consent forms as well as the costs for hiring two research assistants to help with the data collection and analysis, and money spent for transportation to the schools within the school district whose classrooms are participating in the study. It is estimated that this study would take six weeks to complete. One week to contact all of the local schools and get consent to administer the study from the teachers. One week to distribute and collect the surveys and consent forms from the participants, and four weeks to analyze the data received.