Date of Award

1994

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Art

First Advisor

Marilyn Patterson

Second Advisor

Jessie B. Harris Jr.

Third Advisor

Pamela Nickels

Abstract

The differences in the effect of divorce on children were examined. The researcher specifically looked at the difference in the two variables of age and gender to determine if parental divorce had more of an impact on one sex than the other, and/or on a child of one age group compared to a child of a different age group. Seventy-nine divorced, un-remarried mothers completed a forty-two item questionnaire which assessed if the parental divorce impacted the child and if so in what manner. The children discussed in the questionnaire responses ranged in age from three to seventeen years old. There were a total of forty males and thirty-nine females discussed by their parent on the questionnaire. The subjects were also divided into three age groups according to the childs' age. There were eighteen preschool-aged children, thirty-two elementary-aged children, and twenty-nine adolescent-aged children examined through the use of the questionnaire.

The questionnaire utilized a three point-response format which required the parent to determine whether or not their child feels, thinks, or behaves as the statement implies. To determine if there is a difference in the scores of the questionnaires in regard to gender, a t-test and Levene's test of equality of variance were run. The results of the t-test conclude that there is a significant difference in the scores of the questionnaires of males and females. The Levene's test confirmed that it is unlikely that males in the population would have the same scores on the questionnaire as females in the population. The male scores, on average, were approximately twenty points higher than the female scores. The researcher concluded that male children in the population are more negatively effected by parental divorce than female children in the population.

A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to determine if there is a difference in the scores on the questionnaires in regard to age. The elementary age group scores were on average higher than the other two age groups with the preschool age group scoring the second highest, and the adolescent age group having the lowest average score on the questionnaire; however the one-way ANOVA showed that the difference in the scores was not significant. Therefore, it was concluded that in the population, the scores on the questionnaire related to divorce would not be different in regard to the childs' age. The researcher interpreted the results and concluded that there is no difference in the effects of divorce on children in regard to their age.

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