The Effects of Divorce on Perceived Self-Efficacy and Behavioral Control in Elementary School Children

The present study investigated the effects of divorce on children's perceived self-efficacy (child reports) and behavioral control (parental reports). Seventy-six middle class elementary school children from both intact and divorced (disrupted) families participated. A multivariate classification system was employed to obtain behavioral profiles of children. Cognitive, physical, and social aspects of children's perceived self-efficacy, overt interparental hostility and specitic family environment characteristics were assessed. Data were analyzed using a multiple regression model. Divorced families reported being significantly less supportive of one another, as the family environment characteristic of cohesion was found to be a significant predictor of marital/family status. Level of parental conflict and control illustrated a trend toward significance as predictors of marital status. As expected, children who experienced family disruption showed comparatively lower levels of cognitive self-efficacy than those from intact families. However, children from disrupted families displayed comparatively higher levels of physical or athletic self-efficacy. No significant differences between disrupted versus intact families were found in terms of parental reports of children's behavior.