Results Of Massive Study On Parenting Practices
During Divorce
December 11, 2007
New research is challenging the notion that parents who divorce necessarily
exhibit a diminished capacity to parent in the period following divorce. A
large, longitudinal study conducted by University of Alberta sociology professor
Lisa Strohschein has found that divorce does not change parenting behavior, and
that there are actually more similarities than differences in parenting between
recently divorced and married parents.
The study used data from the 1994 and 1996 cycles of the National Longitudinal
Survey of Children and Youth (NSLCY) to compare changes in parenting practices
between 208 households that divorced between the first and follow up interview
and 4796 households that remained intact. Strohschein looked at three measures
of parenting behavior (nurturing, consistent, and punitive parenting) to tap
into the different ways that divorce is believed to disrupt parenting practices.
Her results show that there are no differences between divorced and stably
married parents for any parenting behavior either before or after a divorce has
occurred.
"My findings that parenting practices are unrelated to divorce appear to
fly in the face of accepted wisdom," states Strohschein. "Undoubtedly,
some parents will be overwhelmed and unable to cope with the demands of
parenting in the post-divorce period, but the expectation that all parents will
be negatively affected by divorce is unfounded."
"This study is important because governments in both Canada and the US have
allocated considerable resources over the past decade to provide parenting
seminars on a mandatory or voluntary basis to parents who legally divorce,"
says Strohschein. "Although these programs do assist parents and children
in adjusting to divorce, it is equally clear that not all parents will be well
served by such programs. For those who work directly with families during the
divorce process, this means making greater effort to build on the existing
strengths of parents."
"Researchers need to shed much more light on the predictors of parenting
behavior in the post-divorce period so that this knowledge can be used to design
programs that effectively target the real needs of divorced parents," says
Strohschein.
This study appears in Family Relations.
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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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Source: Kris Connor
University of Alberta
Medical News Today: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com
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