The Effects of Divorce and its Associated Stressors on Children and Adolescents

Four factors were looked at to determine how children of divorce are affected by their parents divorce. The Family Environment Scale (FES) assessed family environment, Social Support Scale for children (SSSC) assessed social support, and the Life Events Checklist (LEC) assessed appraisal of the stressors shown to co-occur with divorce. The Behavioral Assessment Scale for Children, second edition (BASC-2; parent and self-reports) measured the criterion of this study, behavioral and emotional functioning. The sample consisted of 91 children and their parents from the Mankato area public schools. Hierarchical multiple regressions indicated a main effect of the appraisal of co-occurring stressors on participants’ emotional symptoms scores suggesting that the greater the amount of stress experienced the lower the emotional functioning regardless of divorce status. Results did not support the hypothesis that family environment, social support, and appraisal of stressors are protective factors. Nothing indicated that children who experienced divorce were any different than their peers who did not, suggesting that any child who has experienced high levels of stress will likely display functional difficulty