A study of the effects of divorce on parent-child relationships Nicole Cloutier and Krista Doucette

Does divorce effect parent-child relationships? Hypothesis #1 –We believe that divorce has a negative effect on parent-child relationships. –This is based on what we found in our literature, as well as on our own personal opinions.

Is there a difference in the relationship with the custodial parent? Hypothesis #2 –We believe that the relationship between the parent and child will be better with the custodial parent. –Our reason for this is also because of literature and personal opinions.

Variables Independent variable –whether or not the participants come from a divorced family Dependent variable –the relationship between the parent and child in general, as well as following divorce

Methodology Participants –50 university undergraduate students –25 males, 25 females –voluntary participation –mean age of –15 came from divorced families, 35 came from non-divorced families

Methodology Materials –questionnaire from Thomas, Booth-Butterfield, & Booth-Butterfiled, 1995 –gives us demographic information –also gives us information on the divorce, in situations where the participants come from a divorced family –questionnaire we developed (ERBPC)

Methodology –15 questions asking participants about their relationship with their parents –scored on a Likert scale 1= strongly disagree 5= strongly agree Procedure –all participants were asked to fill out the demographic and relationship questionnaires

Methodology –Participants who came from divorced families were asked to fill out the information on the divorce –Surveys were collected and analyzed Scoring –To determine whether there is a negative or positive parent-child relationship, we added up the scores on our relationship questionnaire

Methodology –These scores were added up for both our divorced group and non-divorced group –the lower the score, the more negative the relationship between parent and child –to test if there is a difference between divorced and non-divorced relationships, we used a independent sample t-test

Methodology –To determine if there was a difference in the relationship of custodial parent compared to the non-custodial parent, we compared scores on certain questions (1, 6, 14 and 2, 7, 15) –these questions asked things such as My mother and I respect each other My father and I respect each other –The lower mean score of the two groups of questions meant that there was a more negative relationship

Methodology The lower mean score of the two groups of questions meant that there was a more negative relationship To evaluate this relationship, we used a paired sample t-test

Results Hypothesis #1 –This hypothesis was supported –t(19.67)=5.74, p<.001 –divorced family (M=46.47, SD=10.30) –non-divorced family (M=63.14, SD=6.94) –since the mean score for divorced is lower than non-divorced, it supports our hypothesis

Results Hypothesis #2 –hypothesis was supported –t(11)=2.33, p<.05 –custodial parent (M=12.08, SD=2.75) –non-custodial parent (M=7.92, SD=3.94) –Since the non-custodial mean score is lower, this indicates a better relationship with the custodial parent, supporting our hypothesis.

Improvements and Limitations Take into consideration deceased parents, step families, children who live with both parents back and forth following a divorce, parents who left and had no contact Use a bigger sample Equal numbers of groups compared –example: same number of divorced and non- divorced participants

Future Research Study gender effects on parent-child relationships Study gender effects on custody parent- child relationships Study effects that being raised by a step parent rather than biological parent may have