The Effects of Divorce on Children's Personality Development

This article reviews relevant research conducted by developmental psychologists. An attempt is made to distill from the evidence criteria to evaluate the potential consequences of divorce, in order to permit judicious decisions regarding custody. The major considerations identified are the age and sex of the child, the relative willingness and ability of the parents to care for the child, and the nature of the parent-child relationships. There is little support for the assumptions (a) that divorce is necessarily harmful and (b) that custody should always be awarded to mothers.