CAPÍTULO IV. DISCUSIÓN Y CONCLUSIONES
Ecuación 24: Fórmula para obtener el peso corregido del agregado grueso
As this abundance of research shows, children’s adjustment after di- vorce is helped by many things—intelligence and an ability to roll with the punches, good mental health and parenting skills on the mother’s part, meaningful contact with both mother and father, coop- eration between the parents, limited life stress, and ample social sup- port. These things are not all equal and independent; they act together, their effects cumulate, and some of them undoubtedly are more im- portant than others.
Many people have asked which ones matter most. One attempt to weigh the different factors mathematically indicated that what helps children most are the things that most directly involve them—their re- lationships with both their parents, the fights they see erupt, and the social support they feel they have.117These factors were more than twice as important as factors farther removed from the child and the divorce—positive stable events, financial security, and social support received by the residential parent. Another way to try to figure out what is most important is to see which factors appear most consistently in different studies. Using this strategy, Robert Emery concluded that the most important factor for the child is having a good relationship with the residential parent, in which the two communicate about the divorce and the parent provides loving and consistent care.118Next in order of importance in his list were the manner in which parents ex- press (and hide) their conflicts, the family’s economic standing, and
the child’s contact and relationship with the nonresidential parent. These seem like reasonable suggestions, and the most important factor—a good relationship with the custodial parent—appears con- sistently using the two methods of weighing factors. However, other reviewers have concluded that attempts to estimate the relative contri- butions of different factors lead to conflicting results, futile controver- sies, and misleading conclusions—because statistics differ from sam- ple to sample and vary across methods and analyses. Moreover, different factors are likely to come into play at different points in the life of the child and the divorce.119Researchers have not conducted a single, definitive study in which all these factors were assessed and compared, so we cannot lay out a map identifying all the various routes to optimal adjustment. However, the hints we have from the research literature are sufficient to illustrate the complexity of the issue.
First, there is evidence that the different factors are related to each other. External stresses are related to parents’ abilities to cooperate and coparent; for example, parents cooperate more if they have more money.120In turn, parents’ cooperation is related to how involved they are with the children; when there is more cooperation (and less con- flict) between the parents, noncustodial fathers have more contact with the children.121 Fathers also have more contact with their chil- dren if they have more money and higher education.122In addition, children’s relations with both their parents tend to be connected; ado- lescents who feel closer to their noncustodial fathers also usually feel closer to their custodial mothers.123These associations suggest that there is an integrated “package” of factors that promotes adjustment, consisting of economic well-being and continued closeness and coop- eration between parents and children.
Second, not only are these different factors related, but their ef- fects are mediated by yet another factor—the quality of the custodial parent’s parenting. That is, the way that parental conflict and coopera- tion and economic circumstances actually influence the child seems to be through their effect on the custodial parent’s behavior. For example, in a study of recently divorced families, higher conflict between the parents led to mothers being more rejecting of their children, which, in turn, led to children having more internalizing and externalizing prob- lems.124In two other studies, parental conflict was related to poor par-
enting by the mother (reflected in a poor mother-child relationship), which was then related to increased psychological problems for adoles- cents and children.125In addition, research shows that economic stress leads to poor parenting, which in turn leads to impaired psychological and academic functioning in children and adolescents—in general.126 Thus it seems that effective parenting practices are the key to children’s postdivorce adjustment.
Third, these factors are connected because one of them moderates the effect of another; that is, the effect of one depends on the level of the other. This is the case for conflict and contact; parental conflict moderates the effect of the child’s contact with the father. As we dis- cussed earlier, if parents are cooperative, more conflict with Dad is likely to improve the child’s adjustment; if parents are in conflict, more contact may harm the child.
Finally, these adjustment factors are cumulative, that is, they sum together, so that children who are fortunate enough to experience more of them do better. For example, children who are intelligent and easy- going, and who have well-adjusted custodial mothers who provide them with effective discipline and care, and involved fathers who give them more than trips to Disneyland are likely to do better than chil- dren who have only one or two of these advantages. In one study, a comprehensive model that included the financial security of the fam- ily, the child’s relationships with both parents, the level of conflict be- tween the parents, and the social support the child had available ex- plained more of children’s adjustment than the individual components did.127
Hetherington and her associates suggested that children adjust to divorce best if the following conditions are met:128
The children are less vulnerable to begin with; they have easy temperaments, are intelligent and socially ma- ture, and have few behavior problems before their parents divorce.
They experience less stress and socioeconomic disad- vantage.
They receive effective and conflict-free parenting from a custodial parent who is not distressed and depressed.
They have more contact with their noncustodial par- ent—as long as that parent is competent, supportive, au- thoritative, and not in conflict with the custodial parent. These researchers concluded that all of these factors contribute to chil- dren’s adjustment in complex and interrelated ways; our survey of the research literature leads us to the same conclusion. A graphic represen- tation of the factors that lead to children’s adjustment is presented in Figure -.
Summary
Divorce can have negative effects on children, but many factors help them adjust. Qualities such as being smart and having an easy tem- perament and an optimistic outlook help children negotiate divorce more successfully. Being blessed with parents who are economically stable and psychologically healthy is also a great boon. These parents can provide better rearing environments—one of the most important aids to children’s successful postdivorce adjustment. When parents are involved in their children’s activities, express warmth and affection,
and provide appropriate supervision and guidance as well as authorita- tive discipline, children are buffered from the adversities of divorce. Parenting programs can help the parents improve these parenting skills and thereby help their children as well. Another helpful factor is chil- dren’s continuing contact with a noncustodial father, but regular con- tact of high quality and a positive father-child relationship matter more than the mere frequency of visits. Contact with Dad is more likely to have a positive effect if the parents get along. Parents shielding children from parental conflicts and developing a cooperative copar- enting strategy help the children cope effectively. Children also find the adjustment to divorce easier if they experience fewer stressors, such as relocation, litigation, and changes in custody. A network of sup- portive neighbors, friends, relatives, classmates, and even an adult mentor can help ease children’s transition through the divorce, and professionals can provide school programs, therapy, and advice to help them navigate the postdivorce terrain. These factors act together to ease children’s challenging tasks. Only by appreciating the operation of multiple factors can we begin to understand children’s postdivorce adjustment.