Paul R. Amato

Parental divorce and the well-being of children: a meta-analysis.

This meta-analysis involved 92 studies that compared children living in divorced single-parent families with children living in continuously intact families on measures of well-being. Children of divorce scored lower than children in intact families across a variety of outcomes, with the median effect size being .14 of a standard deviation. For some outcomes, methodologically sophisticated studies yielded weaker effect sizes than did other studies. In addition, for some outcomes, more recent studies yielded weaker effect sizes than did studies carried out during earlier decades. Some support was found for theoretical perspectives emphasizing parental absence and economic disadvantage, but the most consistent support was found for a family conflict perspective.

Children of divorce in the 1990s: An update of the amato and keith (1991) meta-analysis

The present study updates the P. R. Amato and B. Keith (1991) meta-analysis of children and divorce with a new analysis of 67 studies published in the 1990s. Compared with children with continuously married parents, children with divorced parents continued to score significantly lower on measures of academic achievement, conduct, psychological adjustment, self-concept, and social relations. After controlling for study characteristics, curvilinear trends with respect to decade of publication were present for academic achievement, psychological well-being, self-concept, and social relations. For these outcomes, the gap between children with divorced and married parents decreased during the 1980s and increased again during the 1990s.

Explaining the Intergenerational Transmission of Divorce.

This study uses national longitudinal [U.S.] data to explain the intergenerational transmission of divorce. Parental divorce is associated with an increased risk of offspring divorce especially when wives or both spouses have experienced the dissolution of their parents marriage. Offspring age at marriage cohabitation socioeconomic attainment and prodivorce attitudes mediate modest proportions of the estimated effect of parental divorce. In contrast a measure of interpersonal behavior problems mediates the largest share of the association. The findings suggest that parental divorce elevates the risk of offspring divorce by increasing the likelihood that offspring exhibit behaviors that interfere with the maintenance of mutually rewarding intimate relationships. Data are from the Study of Marriage Over the Life Course. (EXCERPT)

The Impact of Family Formation Change on the Cognitive, Social, and Emotional Well-Being of the Next Generation

How have recent changes in U.S. family structure affected the cognitive, social, and emotional well-being of the nations children? Paul Amato examines the effects of family formation on children and evaluates whether current marriage-promotion programs are likely to meet childrens needs.

People's Reasons for Divorcing Gender, Social Class, the Life Course, and Adjustment

We used national panel data collected between 1980 and 1997 to classify 208 peoples open-ended responses to a question on why their marriages ended in divorce. Infidelity was the most commonly reported cause, followed by incompatibility, drinking or drug use, and growing apart. Peoples specific reasons for divorcing varied with gender, social class, and life course variables. Former husbands and wives were more likely to blame their ex-spouses than themselves for the problems that led to the divorce. Former husbands and wives claimed, however, that women were more likely to have initiated the divorce. People who attributed the cause of the divorce to the relationship itself, rather than to internal (self) or external factors, tended to have the best postdivorce adjustment.

Father-Child Relations, Mother-Child Relations, and Offspring Psychological Well-Being in Early Adulthood.

Two major social changes have focused attention on the role of fathers. First, the massive movement of married women into the paid labor force disrupted the traditional division of labor within the nuclear family. With 67% of married mothers with children under 18 in the paid labor force, mothers now share the breadwinning role with their husbands (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1992, Table 621). Correspondingly, many people now believe that fathers should be more involved in providing care to their children, especially when mothers are employed full-time (Thornton, 1989). The belief that fathers should be more involved with children is based on two reasons: (a) It is more equitable to mothers, and (b) it benefits the children (Hochschild, 1989). In spite of these shifts in attitudes, time budget studies show that fathers still spend relatively little time in child care and rarely take sole responsibility for their children (Lamb, 1987; Pleck, 1985). Even when mothers are employed full-time, they spend twice as much time in housework and child care as do fathers (Hochschild, 1989; Pleck, 1985).The second major change has been a decline in the prevalence of the nuclear family and a corresponding increase in mother-only families, due to a rise in both divorces and nonmarital births. Currently, the majority of children in the United States will spend some portion of time in single-parent families, usually with their mothers (Norton & Glick, 1986). This trend has problematic implications for relations between fathers and children. Many nonresident fathers have relatively little contact with children and either fail to pay child support or pay less than they should (Furstenberg, Nord, Peterson, Zill, 1983; Seltzer & Bianchi, 1988). Furthermore, Eggebeen and Uhlenberg (1985) demonstrated that the postponement of marriage, the decline in fertility, and the increase in divorce have resulted in men spending decreasing proportions of their lives coresiding with children.Changes in gender roles and attitudes, and the growing divergence in the lives of men and children, lead to questions about the significance of fathers in childrens lives. Available evidence regarding the importance of fathers (reviewed below) is surprisingly ambiguous. This article contributes new data on the significance of the father-child relationship, in particular the contributions fathers make to the psychological well-being of young adult children. In particular, I address whether the father-child relationship is associated with offspring well-being independently of the mother-child relationship. I also examine whether the salience of fathers is moderated by offspring gender, parental divorce, marital status, parenthood, or employment. Finally, I consider whether relations with stepfathers are related to offspring well-being.LITERATURE REVIEWTwo positions can be constructed from available research. The first holds that fathers are key figures in the lives of most children. In contrast, the second position holds that fathers are peripheral figures in the lives of most children.FATHERS ARE IMPORTANTSeveral types of research support the notion that fathers are important. One cluster of studies examines correlations between father involvement and child outcomes. This research, reviewed by Lamb (1987), Radin and Russell(1983), and Snarey (1993, Chapter 6), is generally supportive of the role of fathers. Father involvement and nurturance are positively associated with childrens intellectual development; this is particularly true when fathers are interested in childrens academic outcomes, assist with homework, and have high educational expectations for their children. In addition, father involvement and nurturance are positively associated with childrens social competence, internal locus of control, and the ability to empathize. More generally, authoritative parenting (involving warmth and a moderate degree of control) by both parents is associated with psychological and social adjustment among children (Rollins & Thomas, 1979). …

Divorce and psychological stress.

While research on adjustment to divorce has been extensive, the paucity of studies assessing stress before and after divorce has kept the relation between psychological stress and martial dissolution unclear. Conflicting findings cast some doubt on the utility of using a crisis model to study divorce. Analysis of three-wave panel data from a national sample of persons married in 1980 indicates that the crisis model is appropriate for understanding adjustment to divorce. Comparisons of divorced persons with married persons show a predivorce rise in stress which then returns to levels comparable to those reported by married individuals. No evidence was found supporting the idea that a high level of psychological stress is a general cause of divorce or that dissolution resulted in more or less permanent elevation of psychological stress. Findings support the hypothesis that predivorce resources and outlooks influence the amount of stress experienced in the two years immediately following divorce. Below median family incomes, no post-high school experience, and wife not in the labor force put divorcing individuals at a disadvantage. Individuals reporting few premarital troubles and beliefs in the immorality of divorce also appear to experience heightened stress in the two years following divorce.

Consequences of relationship status and quality for subjective well-being

This study examined the links among relationship status, relationship happiness, and a latent measure of subjective well-being. Using the study of Marital Instability over the Life Course, we found that married individuals reported the highest level of subjective well-being, followed (in order) by individuals in cohabiting relationships, steady dating relationships, casual dating relationships, and individuals who dated infrequently or not at all. Individuals in happy relationships reported a higher level of subjective well-being than did individuals in unhappy relationships, irrespective of relationship status. Even with relationship happiness controlled, however, relationship status was associated with subjective well-being. A longitudinal analysis suggested that shifting into more committed relationships was followed by improvements in subjective well-being. Little support was found for the assumption that people with a high level of well-being select themselves into more committed relationships.

Marital Happiness, Marital Duration, and the U-Shaped Curve: Evidence from a Five-Wave Panel Study

Previous research suggests a U-shaped pattern of marital happiness over the life course, with happiness declining in the early years of marriage and rising in the later years. Most prior studies have been limited by the use of cross-sectional data or nonprobability samples. In contrast, the present study is based on data from a national, 17-year, 5-wave panel sample. Using cross-sectional data from the first wave, we replicate the U-shaped relationship between marital happiness and marital duration. In an analysis based on a fixed-effects pooled time-series model with multiple-wave panel data, we find declines in marital happiness at all marital durations and no support for an upturn in marital happiness in the later years. The relationship between marital happiness and marital duration is slightly curvilinear, with the steepest declines in marital happiness occurring during the earliest and latest years of marriage. When other life-course variables are controlled, a significant negative effect of marital duration on marital happiness remains. For most marriage cohorts, marital happiness declined more in the 1980s than in the 1990s, suggesting a period effect. This study provides evidence that the U-shaped pattern of marital happiness over the life course is an artifact of cross-sectional research and is not typical of U.S. marriages.

Family Processes in One-Parent, Stepparent, and Intact Families: The Child's Point of View.

In a study of the effects of divorce and remarriage on the adjustment and development of children, primary school children (n = 172) and adolescents (n = 170) reported on processes in three types of families: mother-custody one-parent, mother-custody stepparent, and intact two-parent. Children reported similar levels of support and punishment from mothers, regardless of family type. Compared with children in intact families, children in one-parent families reported less father support, less father control, less father punishment, more autonomy, more household responsibility, more conflict with siblings, and less family cohesion. Stepfathers were said to provide less support, control, and punishment than biologicalfathers in intact families, although stepfather involvement was positively associated with the number of years stepfamilies had been together.