Participation rates in parenting programs are typically low, severely limiting the public health significance of these interventions. We examined predictors of parenting program enrollment and retention in a sample of 325 divorced mothers. Predictors included intervention timing and maternal reports of child, parent, family, and sociocultural risk…

Research on children's adjustment following divorce suggests that the choice of custodial parent may be an important factor. To examine the process by which parents decide on custody of their children in a divorce, a sample of divorcing couples (N=55) drawn from a large urban county and three rural counties, participated in tape recorded…

Increased divorce rates, longevity in multi-generational families, and activism by older persons are a part of the context in which the role of grandparents in the family, an overview of grandparent visitation statutes, and controversy about visitation rights are discussed. The history and characteristics of grandparent visitation statutes, the…

Despite the rapidly rising divorce rate and the importance of the divorce settlement agreement for the spouses' financial and emotional well-being, factors influencing the effectiveness of divorce negotiations have received very little attention. To assess the major determinants of successful divorce negotiations between divorcing spouses and…

Compared the parenting one year after divorce of 28 joint-custodial fathers and 54 noncustodial fathers. Indicators of fathers' involvement were contact with the children and shared responsibility and decision making. Indicators of paternal involvement showed joint-custody fathers were more involved than noncustodial fathers in postdivorce…

Two types of bias in the attribution process are the responsibility bias, in which individuals tend to assume more than their objective share of responsibility, and unrealistic optimism, in which individuals tend to assume that future outcomes will be positive. In order to investigate these self-serving biases among married and divorced…

The impact of divorce on children seems to vary according to the child's age. Previous studies on the impact of divorce on children have generally focused on pre-schoolers and elementary-age children. Since more long-term marriages are ending in divorce, attention should also be given to adolescent and adult children of divorce. Subjects (N=26)…

As the divorce rate continues to rise, increasing attention is being paid to the impact of parental divorce and remarriage on the children from these families. A study was undertaken to investigate the impact of family process and organization, in intact, divorced, and stepfather families. Subjects were 36 families (12 families from each group)…

To systematically test previous assumptions about grief in widows and divorcing women, 410 separated, divorced, or widowed women, between the ages of 23 and 76, with at least one child, completed the Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist, the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory--Form C, the Attachment Index, and the…

This retrospective cohort study assessed the relationship of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) to other categories of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as childhood abuse, neglect, and parental separation/divorce. Adults reporting CSA experienced a 1.6- to 3.4-fold greater likelihood of experience each category of ACE. The ACE score was also…

Contested child custody cases between divorcing parents provide a context in which particular ideologies of the family are articulated, reproduced, and legitimized in legal practices. The relationship between legal and extralegal categories was examined in a review of 32 divorce cases, 13 from family court and 19 from circuit court. Data came from…

Divorce and remarriage may pose special problems for the grandparent-child-grandchild relationship. The kinship relationships after divorce have not been institutionalized; there are not generally accepted forms of behavior. To examine the role of grandmothers in the divorce of their children, 50 parent-grandmother pairs were interviewed. The…

This literature review found little information on the marital status of parents of gifted children and widespread perceptions that most gifted children live in intact, middle to upper-middle class families. The need for data on possible under-nomination of children of divorce in programs for the gifted and on the validity of current…

Increasingly, young American women are engaged in multiple roles, combining job and family responsibilities. To investigate the links between role groups (employment, marriage, parenthood), and pressures, satisfactions, and physical health among young women, a subsample of 162 white women, aged 18 to 34, drawn from the 1978 Health in Detroit…

Although few people bring their psychological problems to mental health professionals, research in the area of 'natural' help is rudimentary. To investigate the process and effectiveness of natural professional groups in helping individuals experiencing marital disruption, 42 helpers (14 mental health professionals, 14 divorce lawyers, and 14…