Relationships Quick Answers
What is the affect of divorce on children's success in school?
Whether you use children's grades, standardized test
scores, or dropout rates, children whose parents divorce
generally have poorer scores. These results have been
found quite consistently throughout a variety of
research studies over the past three decades.
Importantly, children's actual performance on tests
consistently shows this difference, but results based on
teacher or parent reports are less likely to show this
difference. We believe that both parents and teachers
often underestimate the difficulties a child may be
having in school or may not recognize the problems.
In some cases, it appears that children's
difficulties with school may be caused more by their
behavior than their intellectual abilities. The pattern
may be somewhat different for boys and girls. Boys are
more likely to be aggressive and have problems getting
along with their peers and teachers. These problems may
lead them to spend less time in school or on their
school work. Girls, on the other hand, are more likely
to experience depression, which may interfere with their
ability to concentrate on schoolwork or to put as much
effort into their work. School success has long-term
implications for children's success in life, and so it
is important to find ways to support children from
divorced families.
Robert Hughes, Jr., Ph.D., Former Professor, Department of Human Development & Family Studies, College of Human Environmental Sciences, University of Missouri
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Last update: Tuesday, August 26, 2008
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