Is Divorce Really Bad
for Children?
How Can We Actually Tell?
Dan Berry
Divorce in America
50’s - 60’s: 85% of kids in 2 parent homes
1998: 68% of kids in 2 parent homes
Children in homes with divorce: social,
psychological, intelligence issues
Divorce and Children
Divorced Families: 52% lower income and 27%
lower food consumption
30% remarry within 6 years
21% drop in income, 6% drop in food
consumption
Never-Married Family
Poor, black, uneducated
Year after marriage, food consumption
rises by 17%, then falls back to normal
6 years of marriage, 70% rise in income
Unilateral Divorce
1960’s: transition began as a simplification
Children: .65 fewer years of education,
3.2% less income
Get married earlier, get separated more
Parental Death
Parental death: less endogenous source
of family dissolution
Lack of father means greater likelihood
son will not marry
Parental presence does not affect
economic well-being later on
Half-Siblings
Small sample size: only 442 pairs of half
siblings
20 of 33 indicators of adolescent wellbeing
negative for siblings but 74% less with half-
siblings factored in
Most significant impact: stepfather hurts
stepchild’s GPA
Conclusion
Difficult to prove causation vs. correlation
Loss of a father’s presence seems to be
the most significant factor
Multi-generational effects: research
needed