A Case Study of Three Children from Single-Parent Divorced Families

Abstract

The problem. The problem of this study was to describe the home and school behavior patterns of children from two single-parent divorced families. The procedure. A case study of three children from two single-parent divorced families was conducted for a period of ten months. Formal and informal observations and interviews were the methods used to gather data on behaviors identified in the literature of adolescent and later-latency children of divorce. Findings. The behaviors of the two adolescents that were consistent with the literature were related to their role with the parents, their perceptions of the divorce, their adjustment, and their school performance. The behaviors of the later-Latency child that were consistent with the literature were related to the layering response; feelings; mastery by activity and play; anger, fears, and phobias; responsibility for the divorce; shaken sense of identity; loneliness and loyalty conflicts; somatic symptoms; changes in school performance; changes in the parent-child relationship; and empathy. Conclusions. The children in this study had many of the behavioral difficulties identified in the literature as common for their age group.