Learning Resources  Required Readings Clarke-Stewart, A., & Parke, R. D. (2014). Social development (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Chapter 7, “Family: Early and Enduring Influences” (pp. 188–222) Social Development, 2nd Edition by Clarke-Stewart, A.; Parke, R. D. Copyright 2014 by John Wiley & Sons - Books. Reprinted by permission of John Wiley & Sons - Books via the Copyright Clearance Center. Denham, S. A., Bassett, H. H., & Wyatt, T. (2015). The socialization of emotional competence. In J. Grusec & P. Hastings (Eds.), The handbook of socialization (2nd ed., pp. 590–613). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Handbook of Socialization, 2nd Edition by Grusec, J.; Hastings, P. Copyright 2015 by Guilford Publications, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Guilford Publications, Inc. via the Copyright Clearance Center. Dunsmore, J. C., Her, P., Halberstadt, A., & Perez-Rivera, M. B. (2009). Parents’ beliefs about emotions and children’s recognition of parents’ emotions. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 33 (2), 121–140. Hoyt, W. T., Fincham, F. D., McCullough, M. E., Maio, G., & Davila, J. (2005). Responses to interpersonal transgressions in families: Forgivingness, forgivability, and relationship-specific effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89 (3), 375–394. Apted, M., & Lewis, C. (Producers). (2013). 56 up [Motion picture]. United Kingdom: ITV Studios. Discussion: Effects of Divorce on Children’s Social and Emotional Development Many parents who divorce are concerned about the implications of their decision for their children. Scientists have also wondered about the effect of divorce on children and have conducted many studies addressing that question. Judith Wallerstein was the principal investigator on a groundbreaking study of families experiencing divorce. Wallerstein, who from 1966 to 1992 was a senior lecturer at University of California at Berkeley as well as a researcher and practitioner, received a grant for a short-term study to examine how healthy people living in the best of circumstances coped with divorce. Her desire in conducting this study was to help others cope with divorce. Wallerstein's study was one of the first studies that documented the short- and long-term effects that families of divorce experience, making her work deserving of our attention here. Initially, Wallerstein began her study with two beliefs that were prevailing at the time in the early 1970s: Divorce was a brief crisis that would resolve itself.      In other words, “time heals all wounds.” The divorce rate would drop. Wallerstein’s study involved 60 families with 131 children of varying ages (Wallerstein & Lewis, 2004). The families who participated in the study had just recently decided to divorce; they were contacted through letters distributed by divorce attorneys inviting the families to participate. The sample was a homogeneous group of well-educated, white, middle- to upper-class parents with no documented emotional pro.

1. Learning Resources
Required Readings
Clarke-Stewart, A., & Parke, R. D. (2014).
Social development
(2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Chapter 7, “Family: Early and Enduring Influences” (pp. 188–
222)
Social Development, 2nd Edition by Clarke-Stewart, A.; Parke,
R. D. Copyright 2014 by John Wiley & Sons - Books. Reprinted
by permission of John Wiley & Sons - Books via the Copyright
Clearance Center.
Denham, S. A., Bassett, H. H., & Wyatt, T. (2015). The
socialization of emotional competence. In J. Grusec & P.
Hastings (Eds.),
The handbook of socialization
(2nd ed., pp. 590–613). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Handbook of Socialization, 2nd Edition by Grusec, J.; Hastings,
P. Copyright 2015 by Guilford Publications, Inc. Reprinted by
permission of Guilford Publications, Inc. via the Copyright
Clearance Center.
Dunsmore, J. C., Her, P., Halberstadt, A., & Perez-Rivera, M.
B. (2009). Parents’ beliefs about emotions and children’s
recognition of parents’ emotions.
Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 33
(2), 121–140.

2. Hoyt, W. T., Fincham, F. D., McCullough, M. E., Maio, G., &
Davila, J. (2005). Responses to interpersonal transgressions in
families: Forgivingness, forgivability, and relationship-specific
effects.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89
(3), 375–394.
Apted, M., & Lewis, C. (Producers). (2013).
56 up
[Motion picture]. United Kingdom: ITV Studios.
Discussion: Effects of Divorce on Children’s Social and
Emotional Development
Many parents who divorce are concerned about the implications
of their decision for their children. Scientists have also
wondered about the effect of divorce on children and have
conducted many studies addressing that question. Judith
Wallerstein was the principal investigator on a groundbreaking
study of families experiencing divorce. Wallerstein, who from
1966 to 1992 was a senior lecturer at University of California at
Berkeley as well as a researcher and practitioner, received a
grant for a short-term study to examine how healthy people
living
in the best of circumstances
coped with divorce. Her desire in conducting this study was to
help others cope with divorce. Wallerstein's study was one of
the first studies that documented the short- and long-term
effects that families of divorce experience, making her work
deserving of our attention here.
Initially, Wallerstein began her study with two beliefs that were
prevailing at the time in the early 1970s:
Divorce was a brief crisis that would resolve itself. In other

3. words, “time heals all wounds.”
The divorce rate would drop.
Wallerstein’s study involved 60 families with 131 children of
varying ages (Wallerstein & Lewis, 2004). The families who
participated in the study had just recently decided to divorce;
they were contacted through letters distributed by divorce
attorneys inviting the families to participate.
The sample was a homogeneous group of well-educated, white,
middle- to upper-class parents with no documented emotional
problems prior to the divorce. Wallerstein chose this sample
because, in many cases, these families were considered to be
“divorced under the best circumstances.” She thought that a
group of healthy, privileged people who had little stress other
than divorce would successfully work out their problems, and
by studying these families, she could pass along the insight she
learned to other families in similar situations. Having this
sample of families allowed Wallerstein to examine the effects of
divorce on families without factors such as poverty and racism
that make coping with a divorce more difficult. Further:
None of the adults had a history of emotional disturbance; if
they did, they were not allowed to be a part of the study.
The children in the study were at an appropriate grade level
in school and had not been referred for mental health services.
In general, these families were functioning well prior to the
divorce.
Wallerstein initially expected the study to end in a year.

4. Surprisingly, when she conducted a follow-up study at 18
months post-divorce, a length of time in which she expected
individuals would have readjusted from the divorce, she found
that most families were still in crisis. Many parents were still
angry, and their lives were not back together. Similarly, a
number of children “seemed to be on a downward course.” For
example, their relationships with peers worsened, and some
were having behavior problems at school.
Because of the upheaval still evident in many of these families’
lives, Wallerstein received funds to study these families for
another 5 years. Over 90% of the families agreed to continue
participating in the study.
Five years after beginning the study, Wallerstein found the
following:
Wallerstein’s Long-Term Findings
Child Findings
Parent Findings
33% of the children were doing well. They were
successfully maintaining positive relationships with both
parents and had no school or peer problems.
40% of the children were significantly worse off than

5. before the divorce, including acting out, sleep problems,
and peer and school problems.
The majority of children still hoped their parents would
reunite, even in the face of their parents’ remarriages.
The majority of children felt that their parents had given
priority to their needs over their children’s needs.
75% of women were more content with life than before the
divorce, compared to 50% of men.
50% of men and 25% of women felt just as unhappy or
more unhappy since the divorce.
Based on these findings, Wallerstein decided to seek funds for a
10-year follow-up of these families. Conventional wisdom
around divorce says that as parents put their lives back together,
children’s lives will also improve. That is not what Wallerstein
found, however. Circumstances that enrich an adult’s life do not
necessarily trickle down to the children. In fact, only 1 in 10
children in the study experienced relief when their parents
divorced.
Wallerstein’s study was groundbreaking in its exploration of the
effects of divorce on children’s social and emotional
development. For this Discussion, you explore what research
has found since this seminal study.
To Prepare:

6. Choose two of the following aspects of social and emotional
development:
Relationship with and interactions between mother, father,
siblings
Quality of peer relationships
Empathy
Expression of emotion
Emotion regulation (e.g., impulse control)
Romantic relationship formation/success
Choose a developmental stage to focus on in this Discussion
(e.g., preschool years, middle childhood, adolescence, emerging
adulthood). (
Note:
If you choose emerging adulthood, please make sure you
focus on the development of individuals 18–25 whose parents
are divorcing.)
Consider how divorce has been shown to impact that aspect
of development in the short and long term.
By Day 4
Post
an analysis of how divorce has been shown to impact the aspect
of social and emotional development that you selected, both

7. within the first 2 years after the divorce as well as long term
(e.g., into adulthood). Reference at least two peer-reviewed
articles beyond this week’s Learning Resources to support the
arguments you present in your post.