Social support of children of divorce: Direct and stress buffering effects

This study examined the direct and stress-buffering effects of support from family adults, nonfamily adults, family children, and nonfamily children on the adjustment of 104 children of divorce. For children's reports of adjustment, significant stress-buffering (i.e., Stress x Support) interactions for support from family adults and support from nonfamily adults occurred. The lower the level of social support, the stronger the positive relation between stress and adjustment problems. In addition, at high levels of stress, children with high support from nonfamily and family adults reported fewer adjustment problems than did children with low support. However, at the lowest level of stress, children with high support from nonfamily adults were significantly more poorly adjusted than were children with low support. For parental reports of children's adjustment, support from family adults was marginally positively related to adjustment whereas support from nonfamily adults was inversely related to adjustment. Implications for intervention programs for children of divorce are discussed.

[1]  J. Wallerstein,et al.  Surviving The Breakup: How Children And Parents Cope With Divorce , 1980 .

[2]  S. Wolchik,et al.  Social Support and Children of Divorce , 1985 .

[3]  R. Felner,et al.  Social support in high-risk adolescents: Structural components and adaptive impact , 1982, American journal of community psychology.

[4]  L. A. Kurdek,et al.  Dimensions and Correlates of Mothers' Divorce Experiences , 1983 .

[5]  Manuel Barrera,et al.  Distinctions between social support concepts, measures, and models , 1986 .

[6]  B. Nastasi,et al.  The role of selected family environment factors in children's post-divorce adjustment. , 1986 .

[7]  A. Stolberg,et al.  Cognitive and Behavioral Changes in Children Resulting from Parental Divorce and Consequent Environmental Changes , 1984 .

[8]  A. Stolberg,et al.  Individual, Familial and Environmental Determinants of Children's Post-Divorce Adjustment and Maladjustment. , 1987 .

[9]  M. Cochran,et al.  Child Development and Personal Social Networks. , 1979 .

[10]  L. A. Kurdek.  Social Support of Divorced Single Mothers and Their Children , 1988 .

[11]  S. Monroe.  Life events assessment: Current practices, emerging trends. , 1982 .

[12]  M. Barrera,et al.  Toward a multimethod approach to assessing the effects of social support , 1984, American journal of community psychology.

[13]  R. Burke,et al.  Benefits to Adolescents of Informal Helping Relationships with Their Parents and Peers , 1978 .

[14]  B. Wilcox,et al.  Conceptual and Theoretical Dilemmas Facing Social Support Research , 1985 .

[15]  M. Kovács.  Rating scales to assess depression in school-aged children. , 1981, Acta paedopsychiatrica.

[16]  JoAnne L. Pedro-Carroll,et al.  Perceived Competence, Self-Esteem, and Anxiety in Latency-Aged Children of Divorce , 1985 .

[17]  G. Vining,et al.  Data Analysis: A Model-Comparison Approach , 1989 .

[18]  T. Reischl,et al.  Social networks and developmental psychopathology: a comparison of adolescent children of a depressed, arthritic, or normal parent. , 1985, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[19]  Myra J. Wise.  The aftermath of divorce , 1980, American journal of psychoanalysis.

[20]  P. Thoits.  Social support as coping assistance. , 1986, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[21]  E. M. Hetherington,et al.  Divorce: a child's perspective. , 1979, The American psychologist.

[22]  T. Achenbach.  The Child Behavior Profile: I. Boys aged 6--11. , 1978, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[23]  C. Reynolds,et al.  What i think and feel: A revised measure of children's manifest anxiety , 1978, Journal of abnormal child psychology.

[24]  C. Mcloughlin,et al.  The Impact of Parental Divorce on Children: Report of the Nationwide NASP Study. , 1983 .

[25]  S. Braver,et al.  The stressors of children's postdivorce environments. , 1988 .

[26]  L. A. Kurdek,et al.  An integrative perspective on children's divorce adjustment. , 1981, The American psychologist.

[27]  T. Wills,et al.  Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. , 1985, Psychological bulletin.

[28]  L. A. Kurdek,et al.  Adjustment of young adolescents in two-parent nuclear, stepfather, and mother-custody families. , 1988, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[29]  C. Edelbrock,et al.  The Child Behavior Profile: II. Boys aged 12-16 and girls aged 6-11 and 12-16. , 1979, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[30]  J. Siegel,et al.  The nature and importance of attachment relationships to parents and peers during adolescence , 1983, Journal of youth and adolescence.

[31]  Jacob Cohen,et al.  Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences , 1979 .

[32]  B. Compas,et al.  A prospective study of life events, social support, and psychological symptomatology during the transition from high school to college , 1986, American journal of community psychology.

[33]  M. Barrera,et al.  The structure of social support: a conceptual and empirical analysis. , 1983, Journal of community psychology.

[34]  A. Spirito,et al.  The children's depression inventory: a systematic evaluation of psychometric properties. , 1984, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[35]  J. Santrock,et al.  Father Custody and Social Development in Boys and Girls , 1979 .

[36]  Arie Nadler,et al.  Recipient reactions to aid , 1982 .

[37]  M. Zimmerman.  Methodological issues in the assessment of life events: A review of issues and research , 1983 .

[38]  R. Hess,et al.  Post‐Divorce Family Relationships as Mediating Factors in the Consequences of Divorce for Children , 1979 .