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With divorce rates rising (Kennedy & Ruggles, 2014), it is important to consider the impact of parental marital status on children and adolescents. In this study, we looked at whether children's relationships with their parents differ based on their parents being married or divorced/separated. We hypothesized that a child's perceived relationship with their parents would be significantly influenced by parental marital status, such that those whose parents are divorced will demonstrate a negative relationship with the perception of their parents. Using data collected from the longitudinal New England Study of Suburban Youth (NESSY), we ran correlational analyses as well as an analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine whether different aspects of attachment (Alienation, Communication, and Trust), measured with the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment \u2014 Revised for Children (IPPA-R) were significantly linked to parental marital status (Luthar & Barkin, 2012). Using our sample size of 489 students in the twelfth grade, we divided the groups into children with married parents (414) and children with divorced or separated parents (75). An ANOVA produced a significant difference between children's perceived relationship with their father and parental marital status; the adolescents' perception of the father's Alienation, Communication, and Trust were negatively associated with divorce. However, the child's perceived relationship with their mother was similar across both groups. These results suggest further research is needed to determine the effects of a child's perception of their relationship with their father during development, in particular in situations when parents have divorced before high school graduation.
ContributorsSmith, Paulina A. (Co-author) / Smith, Travis W. (Co-author) / Luthar, Suniya S. (Thesis director) / Ciciolla, Lucia (Committee member) / Curlee, Alexandria (Committee member) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / College of Letters and Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Affluent children have been previously understudied and considerably neglected in developmental research due to the notion that they are "low risk." There is limited empirical research exploring the effects of parent involvement in affluent youth: specifically, the importance of the adolescent's perception that their mother/father do not spend as much time with them as they would like. The goals of the study were to explore the role of this dimension of perceived parental involvement in anxious-depressed symptoms, somatic symptoms, rule breaking behaviors and substance use with upper-class suburban youth. The sample was taken from the New England Study of Suburban Youth Cohort (NESSY) (Luthar & Latendresse, 2005b) consisting of 252 high school students in the 12th grade located in an affluent community in the Northeast. Results showed that the participants who indicated their fathers could have dinner with them more often if they tried presented significant group differences in anxious-depressed symptoms, somatic symptoms, and rule breaking behaviors while substance use trended towards significant. Thus, these data demonstrate that parent-child relationships are not only important for infant and child development, but are also an integral part of development of adaptive behaviors during adolescence. In addition, the data suggest the benefits from having strong, supportive, and stable relationships with not only mothers but with fathers as well. Results from post hoc analyses revealed perceived absence of fathers at dinnertime affects the adolescent more than the perceived absence of mothers at dinnertime. Finally, teens who indicated a need to spend more dinnertimes with their father may be suffering from a lack of open communication and opportunities to discuss social and emotional issues that are conducive to adolescent development and adjustment.
ContributorsOjeda, Johanna Alyssa Quiambao (Author) / Luthar, Suniya (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Curlee, Alexandria (Committee member) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12