Lilly Damen
Chapman University
Topic
The effects of parental marital status and student gender on the self-esteem of school-aged children.
Purpose
This is an explanatory study. The purpose of this study is to determine if children whose parents are divorced have different levels of self-esteem than those students whose families remain intact, and to determine if gender has an impact on the self-esteem levels of these students. The results of these studies can be used to implement and intervention program both for parents and students affected by this phenomena. The implementation of such programs is beneficial primarily to the students’ emotional, social, and academic well-being. A successful, proactive intervention may be accomplished by educating school professionals on the effects of divorce on the students’ self-esteem, provide them with the proper tools to support, motivate, and perhaps assist in having a counter-effect on their students’ self-esteem. It is also important to educate academic professionals and help them become aware of any stereotypes they may have about children from “broken homes”.
Population to Be Studied
School-aged children at an elementary school will be surveyed. The students’ teachers will also be surveyed about their students’ self-esteem. Approximately one hundred students will participate in the survey.
Independent Variable
The independent variables will be whether or not the student’s parents are divorced, the gender of the student, and the age the student was when the parents divorced.
Dependent Variable
The dependent variable will be the level of self-esteem of the school-aged student.
Design
This will be a cross-sectional/correlational study between the marital status of school-aged students’ parents and their levels of self-esteem.
Procedure
A questionnaire will be distributed to the students and their teachers at an elementary school. Written consent from the administrative staff, teachers, and parents will be requested before conducting this survey. The student survey may include, but not be limited to questions based on various self-esteem scales. These responses will be coded on a level of 1-5, with five indicating high levels of self-esteem.
Anticipated Results
(1) School-aged children whose parents are divorced will show lower levels of self-esteem than school-aged children whose parents are not divorced. (2) Female school-aged children will have higher levels of self-esteem than their male counterparts will.
Review of Relevant Literature
Although the divorce rate in the year 2005 was lower than it has been since the 1970s, divorce continues to disrupt millions of children’s lives every year (Bureau). According to a report issued by the National Marriage Project at Rutgers, only 63% of America’s children grow up with both biological parents (Bureau). Many studies indicate that divorce has a great social, educational, and psychological effect on our children. Children of divorced families often experience more school problems, including lower grades and attendance. As they get older, they are also more likely to engage in adolescent sexual activity, marry at a younger age, have early teen pregnancies, and young failed marriages (Furstenberg, 1990).
While several studies have demonstrated the detrimental effects of divorce on children’s self-esteem and self-concept, the long term, permanent effects of these continues to be questioned. In a twenty-year longitudinal study, Constance Ahrons found that most children were able to adapt after their parents divorces (Schneider, 2009). However, it should be noted that this group of subjects’ self-evaluation was still considerably lower than that of the subjects’ in families which had remained intact.
Additional research continues to substantiate the relationship between marital status and self-concept and self-esteem. Beer (1990) found that 11 boys and 10 girls, in the fifth and sixth grades, from divorced homes scored significantly lower on a self-concept scale (The Way I Feel About Myself) than did 16 boys and 21 girls from non-divorced homes. While studying pre-adolescent self-esteem, Studer (1993) found that subjects from non-divorced homes had higher self-esteem than did their counterparts from divorced homes.
Although the majority of the research supports the relationship between parental divorce and lower self-esteem, two studies do not. Allen, Stoltenberg and Rosko (1990) found that the participants’ self-image was not negatively affected by divorce. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the data for said studies were collected two to eight weeks after the parents had filed for the divorce. This amount of time may have not been enough time for the impact of their parents decision to fully be absorbed by the children. In addition, Amato (1988) investigated the effects of family structure and interpersonal conflict on the self-esteem of college students and found that interpersonal conflict but not family structure was related to lower self-esteem. Due to the fact that the study was performed using college students, these individuals may have recovered from the initial impact that divorce had on them. However, there is sufficient evidence that divorce can substantially and lastingly affect individuals. Therefore, further investigation into the self-esteem of school-aged children and the effects of divorce on these students is necessary.
In accordance to previously cited studies’ findings about the negative effects of divorce on a child’s self-esteem and self-concept, it is logical to deduce that students whose parents are divorced will score lower on a self-esteem test than those whose families are intact. It is also important to consider the weight that gender may have on these results. It has been considered an issue in a majority of these studies on divorce. However, there is previous research on gender differences regarding divorce that is still considered questionable. There is evidence showing that boys are more vulnerable to conflict prior, as well as after the divorce (Bauserman, 2002). Since in most studies the majority of children are in mother-custody households, an educated, competent, female role model who maintains an occupation of some status could be a strong model for girls regarding self-concept and self-esteem. However, if boys identify with Dad as a male role model, but are living with mom who might be less dependent on the husband and critical of him, the boys might have lower self-esteem. In other words, after the separation girls remain with the parent with whom they most identify, boys are often with the parent with whom they feel less identification.
The possibility that teachers’ perception about a student’s self-esteem may be influenced by a stereotype on their part regarding the student’s parental marital status was investigated in a study conducted at the University of Texas. Thirty teachers were shown a video tape about an 8-year-old boy. The video focused on the social interaction of this child. Half of the teachers were given a background information sheet indicating that he was from a divorced home, while the other half were told that his parents were not divorced. The teachers predicted what the student’s behavior would be in several social situations. The results revealed that the subjects rated the child whom they believed was from divorced parents more negatively than they rated those who believed the child’s family was intact (Santrock, 1978). This information is crucial in providing students with an environment that is conducive for growth and free of any hindering stereotypes.
Self-esteem is something with which children of divorce struggle. While the age of the child at the time of the divorce may have an impact on the child’s ability to cope, the amount of time that passes following the divorce may not have much of an impact on the self-esteem of the individual. Bynum (1996) investigated the temporal relationship of divorce with self-esteem of children and assessed differences in self-esteem between children of divorced families and children of intact families. The self-esteem of 60 children, ages 13-18 years old, from divorced homes was measured. There was no significant positive correlation between the passage of time and higher self-esteem among these children. Taking this information into account, one can assume that if the passage of time does not help to alleviate some of the detrimental effects of divorce, than individuals will grow up to be adults with emotional problems, such as low self- esteem, that have resulted from their parents’ divorce. Therefore, it is crucial to implement an educational support program as early on as elementary school in order to alleviate, and shorten the time of some of the distress a child may experience from a divorce.
Divorce can certainly have long-lasting effects on people of all ages. It can cause overall emotional distress, depression, pessimism about the future, anxiety, agitation, irritability, aggression and alienation (Eleoff, 2003). If these emotional barriers are not dealt with and treated, they will have long-lasting, detrimental effects on the individual. It is possible that individuals may never fully recover from the effects of their parents divorce (Armistead, 1995). Therefore it is important to identify and target students early on in order to provide them with the necessary support to help them cope with these effects immediately and in the long run.
Several factors such as age and gender may also affect the amount of emotional distress that a person whose parents are divorced or separated will experience. Although divorce rates have slowed down since the 1970s, they are still at staggering levels and millions of children have to cope with the effects of it. With continued commitment to research in this area, we may be able to develop more competent intervention programs and methods for helping these individuals in their time of emotional distress, and somewhat lessen the excruciating effects that divorce can have on these individuals.
References
Armistead, L. (1995). Predicting Interpersonal Competence in Young Adulthood: The Roles of Family, Self, and Peer Systems During Adolescence. Journal of Child and Family Studies , 445-460.
Bauserman, R. (2002). Child Adjustment in Joint-Custody Versus Sole-Custody Arrangements: A Meta Analytic Review. Journal of Family Psychology , 91-102.
Beer, J. (1990). Relationship of Divorce to Self-Concept, Self-Esteem, and Grade Point Average of Fifth and Sixth Grade School Children. Psychological Reports, Vol 65 , 1379-1383.
Bureau, U. C. (n.d.). Divorce Magazine . Retrieved December 3, 2010, from US Divorce Statistics: www.divorcemag.com
Bynum, M. (1996). Children of Divorce and Its Effects on the Self-Esteem.
Eleoff, S. (2003, November). An Exploration of the Ramifications of Divorce on Children and Adolescents. Retrieved December 3, 2010, from Divorce Effects on Children: www.childadvocate.net
Furstenberg, F. (1990). Divorce and the American Family. Annual Review of Sociology , 392-403.
S.F. Allen, C. S. (1990). Perceived Psychological Separation of Older Adolescents and Young Adults from Their Parents. A Comparison of Divorced Versus Intact Families. Journal of Counciling and Development , 57-61.
Santrock, J. W. (1978). ffects of Children's Family Structure Status on the Development of Stereotypes by Teachers. Journal of Educational Psychology Vol 70 , 754-757.
Schneider, A. J. (2009, May 12). Children's Adjustment to Divorce: Fostering Resilience. Retrieved December 3, 2010, from Relationships: www.missourifamilies.org
Studer, J. (1993). A comparison of the Self-Concepts of Adolescents from Intact, Maternal Custodial, and Paternal Custodial Families. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage , 219-227.
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