Sex differences in children's response to parental divorce: 1. Research methodology and postdivorce family forms

Abstract

This two-part review documents inconsistencies in the empirical basis for the hypothesis that boys are more negatively affected than are girls by parental divorce. An attempt is made to move beyond a global hypothesis to one specifying circumstances for the pattern. Part 1 asks whether methodological adequacy or postdivorce family forms in the studies help explain the discrepancy across studies that examine sex differences in children's response to parental divorce. Part 2, reviewing other possible sources for the discrepancy, will appear in a forthcoming issue of this Journal.