This article was downloaded by: [Northcentral University] On: 17 August 2014, At: 13:32 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Journal of Divorce & Remarriage Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wjdr20 A Review of the Empirical Literature About Child Development and Adjustment Postseparation Margo Anne Kushner a a Salisbury University , Salisbury, Maryland, USA Published online: 05 Oct 2009. To cite this article: Margo Anne Kushner (2009) A Review of the Empirical Literature About Child Development and Adjustment Postseparation, Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 50:7, 496-516, DOI: 10.1080/10502550902970595 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10502550902970595 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. 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DevelopmentKushner and Adjustment Postseparation MARGO ANNE KUSHNER Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland, USA This article provides a substantial review of the empirical data that have steered the work of child custody experts for the last 30 years. Child custody evaluators who are designated the responsibility of designing parenting plans postseparation for children exposed to family breakdown must be capable of sifting through the literature to select valid and reliable data to support their recommendations and plans. This article provides a review of this literature and discusses the methodological impairments in this body of knowledge. KEYWORDS separation, divorce, children, child development, evidence-based practice, research It is estimated that 60% of divorces involve children under the age of 6 (Rogers, 2004). Consequently, researchers and policymakers have devoted considerable energy and attention to the study of these children. An influ- ence on the working role of the child custody evaluator is the scholarly literature pertaining to child development. It is important that child Downloaded by [Northcentral University] at 13:32 17 August 2014 custody evaluators understand the need for evidence-based practice. The following material not only provides a current review of the literature about the influence of separation and divorce on children; it also presents information about the methodological impairments inherent in this body of knowledge. Address correspondence to Dr. Margo Anne Kushner, 632 River Oak Court, Salisbury, MD 21801, USA. E-mail: [email protected] or www.margokushnertherapist.com 496 Child Development and Adjustment Postseparation 497 THE LITERATURE The literature about children’s adjustment in relation to custody and access matters is extensive. (Ahrons, 2004; Amato, 1993, 1994, 2001, 2003; Amato & Keith, 1991; Amato, Loomis, & Booth, 1995; Amato & Wong, 2000; Dunn, Davies, O’Connor, & Sturgess, 2001; Hetherington, 1999b; Hetherington, Bridges, & Insabella, 1998; Hetherington, Cox, & Cox, 1982; Hetherington & Kelly, 2002; Hetherington & Stanley-Hagen, 2000, 2001; Kalter, 1990; Kalter, Reimer, Brickman, & Chen, 1995; Kelly, 2003; Kelly & Emery, 2003; Kelly & Lamb, 2000; Pagani-Kurtz & Deverensky, 1997; Pruett & Pruett, 1998; Pruett, Ebling, & Insabella, 2005; Ram, Finzi, & Cohen, 2002; Roseby & Johnston, 1998; Smart & Neale, 2000; Wallerstein, 1991; Wallerstein & Kelly, 1980; Wallerstein, Lewis, & Blakeslee, 2000; Wallerstein & Lewis, 2004). This material presents a variety of opinions about the subject. Although most studies agree that separation or divorce has a negative relationship with children’s adjustment, they differ about the factors that influ- ence these outcomes. The conclusions drawn can be organized into two cate- gories. The first group deems that these negative consequences interfere with children’s development by affecting their academic and social competence, as well as their emotional and mental stability (Buchanan & Heiges, 2001; Buchanan, Maccoby, & Dornbusch, 1996; Garrity & Baris, 1994; Kelly & Emery, 2003; Pam & Pearson, 1998; Roseby & Johnston, 1998; Stahl, 1999, 2004; Wallerstein, 1991; Wallerstein & Kelly, 1980; Wallerstein et al., 2000; Wallerstein & Tanke, 1996; Warshak, 2001). Other studies explain the nega- tive effects of parental separation by using different factors correlated with divorce (Ahrons, 2004; Amato, 1993, 2000; Amato & Gilbreth, 1999; Amato et al., 1995; Amato & Rezac, 1994; Flowerdew & Neale, 2003; Hetherington, 2003; Hetherington et al., 1998; Hetherington & Kelly, 2002; Hogan, Halpenny, & Greene, 2003; Moxnes, 2003; Pike, 2003). This side of the con- troversy encompasses parental conflict, socioeconomic issues, and parenting issues as significant factors influencing children’s postseparation well-being. Amato (1994) has suggested that the controversy among social scientists about the consequences of divorce for children and the inconsistencies in Downloaded by [Northcentral University] at 13:32 17 August 2014 study results is because of varied sampling strategies, a diversity of outcomes to measure, and a variety of techniques used in obtaining and analyzing data. The past decade has seen a large increase in studies assessing the com- plex variables within marriages that profoundly affect child and adolescent adjustment. These variables include marital conflict, violence, and related parenting behavior. Kelly and Lamb (2000) have stated that children raised by divorced parents, as a group, might have more adjustment problems than do children of never-divorced parents. Yet the view that divorce per se is the major cause of these symptoms must be reconsidered in light of newer research documenting the negative effects of troubled marriages on children. 498 M. A. Kushner During the past decade, there has been an increase in family research studying aspects of marriage and parenting that affect child adjustment and in longitudinal studies that assess children in both married and divorced families. The recent research has involved larger samples, is more sophisti- cated in design and statistical analysis, and provides a complex comprehen- sion of the sources of children’s adjustment problems in both married and divorced families. Several researchers have pointed out that the adjustment problems of children of divorced parents can, in part, be accounted for by the experiences of these children within marriages that later end in divorce (Amato, 2000, 2001; Hetherington, 2003; Hetherington et al., 1998; Kelly, 2000, 2003). Kelly’s work has brought the utility of prior divorce research into question. Historical studies have reported that children whose parents have divorced experienced more adjustment difficulties than children reared in intact familial systems. These studies did not use comparison or control groups of children who had never experienced divorce. Empirical data began to flood the divorce literature in the 1970s. The earliest reports were based on small, nonrepresentative samples. Compari- son groups were rarely used, nor were standardized measures pertaining to adjustment. These data collection techniques made it difficult to generalize about the larger population. Although these studies lacked rigor, they were enthusiastically embraced by a media interested in divorce. Wallerstein and Blakeslee’s (1989) study on the long-term effects of divorce on children received monumental attention. Wallerstein (1991) her- self referred to this attention as “the undifferentiated media focus on the negative outcomes of divorce” (p. 252). A far more helpful approach would have been for the media to report about the maturation process of this body of research and its related improve- ments over the prior few decades. If this had occurred, factors that promote resiliency might have been reported earlier in this scholarly discourse. Numerous social scientists have attempted to unravel the knot of meth- odological problems in child custody research into categories,