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Background of the problem
There is legitimate public concern for children whose parents divorce. No longer uncommon, divorce permeates every corner of society. The U.S. Census Bureau (1980) reported a 79% increase in the number of single-parent families since 1970. Divorce rates have doubled since 1970 and tripled since 1960 (Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families, 1983). About 9 million children, one of every seven, experience parental divorce, and by 1990 33% of our children may experience family dissolution before age 18 (Glick, 1979).
Despite a recent surge of interest in the effects of divorce on the lives of children (Wyman, Cowen, Hightower, & Pedro-Carroll, 1985), the number of controlled studies that have been carried out has been disappointing in view of the urgency of the problem (Levitin, 1979). Potentially damaging effects on children's adjustment include increased likelihood of aggressive, undercontrolled behaviors (Emery, 1982; Felner, Farber, & Primavera, 1983; Stolberg & Anker, 1984), anger at the parents for breaking up the family (Wallerstein & Kelly, 1974), fear, depression, and guilt (Hetherington, 1979), more sexual behavior, delinquency, and subjective psychological symptoms (Kalter, 1977), and more anxiety, lower cognitive competence, and fewer social supports (Marsden, 1969; Pearlin & Johnson, 1977; Wyman et al., 1985).
The negative impact of such factors may be more pervasive and enduring for boys than for girls (Guidubaldi, Cleminshaw, Perry, & McLoughlin, 1983; Kurdek, Blisk, & Siesky, 1983), despite some contrary evidence (Copeland, 1985; Kurdek & Berg, 1983). Boys from divorced families have shown more behavior disorders and problems at home and in school, and it appears that they receive less support and nurturance than girls (Hetherington, Cox, & Cox, 1978; Santrock, 1975; Santrock & Trace, 1978).
In 1973 a survey was carried out of male schizophrenic patients who had become long-stay residents in Leverndale Hospital, Glasgow, ‘long-stay’ being defined as having been continuously in hospital for more than three years (Todd et al, 1976). The patients were recruited from a four year cohort of admissions in the years 1967 to 1970 inclusive. In the following years there have been many changes in the provision of facilities and in clinical practice. In some countries, such as Italy, the USA and England, there has been a strong drive to reduce long-stay populations along with the closure of some mental hospitals. In Scotland the process has been much more gradual, possibly reflecting the differences in preexisting provisions and patterns of care.
Teachers' comments in the childhood school records (grades K-12) of 143 psychiatric patients and their matched controls were coded along 23 bipolar dimensions. Two methods of grouping these scales were compared: rational clusters and factor analysis. Factor analysis yielded more numerous and narrowly defined behavioural groupings. Schizophrenics, personality disorder patients, neurotics, and depressives were compared to their matched controls on each of the cluster and factor scores. Both schizophrenics and personality disordered patients were significantly less agreeable in childhood than their respective controls. Pre-schizophrenics also were significantly more unstable. Depressives were more independent than their controls, while neurotics did not differ significantly in any respect from normals in childhood. The data suggest that schizophrenia may have specific developmental patterns of possible aetiological or early diagnostic significance.
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