What matters? What does not? Five perspectives on the association between marital transitions and children's adjustment

Am Psychol. 1998 Feb;53(2):167-84. doi: 10.1037//0003-066x.53.2.167.

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of 5 views of factors that contribute to the adjustment of children in divorced families or stepfamilies. These perspectives are those that emphasize (a) individual vulnerability and risk; (b) family composition; (c) stress, including socioeconomic disadvantage; (d) parental distress; and (e) disrupted family process. It is concluded that all of these factors contribute to children's adjustment in divorced and remarried families and that a transactional model examining multiple trajectories of interacting risk and protective factors is the most fruitful in predicting the well-being of children.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adaptation, Psychological*
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Child
  • Child Custody
  • Divorce / psychology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Models, Psychological
  • Psychology, Child*
  • Risk Factors
  • Socioeconomic Factors