Journal of Family Psychology

2003, Vol. 17, No. 2, 169 180

Copyright 2003 by the American Psychological Association, Inc.

0893-3200/03/$12.00
DOI: 10.1037/0893-3200.17.2.169

Family and Legal Indicators of Child Adjustment to Divorce Among

Families With Young Children
Marsha Kline Pruett, Tamra Y. Williams, Glendessa Insabella, and Todd D. Little
Yale University
This research used structural equation modeling to examine relations among family dynamics, attorney involvement, and the adjustment of young children (0 6 years) at the time of
parental separation. The article presents baseline data (N 102 nonresidential fathers and
N 110 primary caretaking mothers) from a larger longitudinal study. Results showed that
the effects of parental conflict on child outcomes were mediated by paternal involvement, the
parent child relationship, and attorney involvement. A scale assessing parental gatekeeping
yielded two significant factors: Spouses Influence on Parenting and Positive View of Spouse.
Paternal involvement was related to childrens adaptive behavior, whereas negative changes
in parent child relationships predicted behavior problems. Mothers who experienced greater
psychological symptomatology were less likely to utilize an attorney, which in turn predicted
greater internalizing problems in their children.

Despite a generation of divorce research providing evidence of the developmental risks faced by children of divorcing families, we still know relatively little about families with very young children. Yet these families represent
one of the most vulnerable subgroups of separating and
divorcing families. The challenges of infancy, toddlerhood,
and preschool developmental eras are heightened by parental separation and divorce, as the childs needs for security,
trust, autonomy, and patience that characterize this early
period of life meet head on with the exhaustion and stress
that often accompany divorce.
Qualitative research suggests that divorcing families with
young children face significant challenges and risks, which
result in children under age 6 experiencing substantial emotional distress and adjustment problems at the time of the
marital dissolution (Wallerstein & Blakeslee, 1989; Wallerstein & Kelly, 1980). Young children are likely to appraise
the reasons for the divorce less realistically, to blame themselves more readily, to feel anxiety about abandonment, and
to be less likely to utilize the protective resources of other

people (Hetherington, Bridges, & Insabella, 1998). Furthermore, approximately 55% of the divorced or separated
women in the United States with children under 6 years of
age live below the poverty line (Teachman & Paasch, 1994).
These children spend more hours in day care (of often less
than optimal quality) and are less likely to be cared for by
their father when their mother is working (Whiteside, 1995).
Because parents with young children are often younger
themselves, they may be less educated and less mature than
their older counterparts. Given the stresses that young children and their divorcing parents face, it is not surprising that
divorcing families comprise the largest consumers of courtrelated family services (Depner, Cannata, & Ricci, 1995;
M. K. Pruett & Bailey, 1998).
However, the long-term sequelae of these stresses are less
clear. Recent meta-analytic research of 67 studies conducted
throughout the 1990s involving children across a broad
range of ages (preschool to college age) reveals that disparities in academic achievement, psychological adjustment,
and self-concept between children with divorced and married parents have increased since the 1980s (Amato, 2001).
Unlike studies of older children, which have shown consistent negative effects of divorce on childrens and adolescents behavior, social interactions, psychological wellbeing, and academic performance (Amato, 2001; Cherlin et
al., 1991; Guidubaldi, Perry, & Nastasi, 1987; McLanahan
& Teitler, 1999), the evidence linking marital dissolution to
longer term outcomes among younger children is less consistent. On the one hand, younger children may be at greater
risk for long-term social and emotional adjustment problems than older children (Zill, Morrison, & Coiro, 1993).
Reliable data show elevated clinical symptoms at adolescence among children whose parents divorced when they
were young, regardless of the socioeconomic or cultural
status of the family (Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1983). On the
other hand, Amato and Keith (1991) reported in their metaanalysis that the negative effects of divorce on measures of

Marsha Kline Pruett, Tamra Y. Williams, Glendessa Insabella,

and Todd D. Little, Division of Law and Psychiatry, School of
Medicine, Yale University.
Tamra Y. Williams is now at Riverbend Community Health,
Concord, New Hampshire, and Todd D. Little is now at the
Department of Psychology, University of Kansas.
The research for the Collaborative Divorce Project was supported by the Smith-Richardson Foundation, along with the
Pritzger Foundation and the Roslyn and Jerry Meyer Foundation.
We also wish to acknowledge the collaborative support of the
Connecticut Support Services Divisions of the Superior Court,
Family Division.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to
Marsha Kline Pruett, Division of Law and Psychiatry, School of
Medicine, Yale University, 34 Park Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06508. E-mail: Marsha.Pruett@po.state.ct.us

169

170

PRUETT, WILLIAMS, INSABELLA, AND LITTLE

academic achievement, behavior, psychological adjustment,

self-concept, and social competence appeared to be less for
young children than for older ones. A follow-up metaanalysis (Amato, 2001) did not include preschool children
but showed stronger negative effects on academic achievement for primary school than secondary school children,
and weaker effects for the younger children on psychological adjustment variables. Clarke-Stewart, Vandell, McCartney, Owen, and Booth (2000) reported data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Study of Early Child Care, which assessed over 1,000
children from ages 0 3 years from intact, never married,
separated, and divorced families. Parent and child functioning were assessed before and after marital disruption. When
maternal education and family income were controlled in
statistical analyses, children from divorced, separated, or
never married families performed more poorly across age
groups only on tests of cognitive ability. Not surprisingly,
maternal depression, anxiety, and stimulation/support of the
child but not marital statuswere significant predictors
of child adjustment.
Concerns about young children and divorce often center
on the childs capacity to form secure attachments to both
parents in the context of coparenting arrangements. It is
possible that young children of divorce are at risk for
attachment disorders in early childhood (Solomon &
George, 1999). Focusing on the young childs relationship
to both parents rather than attachment per se, K. D. Pruett
and Pruett (1999) found that children 6 years or younger
were concerned about the security and stability of their
relationship with both parents and about their own physical
and emotional safety. Wolman and Taylors (1991) research
suggests that 5 years after divorce disputes, psychological
effects on the child can persist with sufficient severity to
require psychotherapy or medical treatment. Given the
dearth of knowledge about young children in divorcing
contexts, it remains imperative to identify the factors that
maximize childrens chances of successful coping and adjustment during separation and post-divorce.

Predictors of Child Adjustment

It is generally accepted that two critical factors negatively
impacting children of divorce are marital and parental conflict and destabilized parent child relationships (e.g., see
summaries of Amato, 2000; Kelly, 2000). In addition to
their influences on child adjustment, marital and parental
conflict have been shown to have differential effects on the
mother child and father child relationships (Cox, Paley, &
Harter, 2001; Frosch, Mangelsdorf, & McHale, 2000).

Parental Conflict
Childrens capacities to adjust to their parents divorce
are seriously compromised when the children are exposed to
ongoing parental conflict (Bolgar, Zweig-Frank, & Parish,
1995; Davies & Cummings, 1994; Emery, 1994; Johnston
& Roseby, 1997; Kline, Johnston, & Tschann, 1991; Petersen & Zill, 1986; Vandewater & Lansford, 1998). Paren-

tal conflict has been associated specifically with internalizing and externalizing behavior problems (Buehler et al.,
1998), self-blame, and shame in children (Grych & Fincham, 1993). Children from high-conflict families also have
been found to exhibit signs of stress and fearfulness, poorer
interpersonal skills, insecure attachments, and generalized
insecurities (Davies & Cummings, 1994; Johnston &
Roseby, 1997; K. D. Pruett & M. K. Pruett, 1999). Equally
important for young children, marital and parental conflict
are consistent precursors to poorer parent child relationships after divorce, with less discipline and higher discord
noted (Kelly, 1998, 2000; Kline et al., 1991; Tschann,
Johnston, Kline, & Wallerstein, 1990).
Commonly, parental conflict increases when parents are
negotiating their rights and obligations (e.g., economic,
coparenting) through the legal system (Hetherington, 1993).
The divorce process within the institutional context of the
judicial system can be described as a culture of litigation in
which parents opposing positions become exacerbated
through the adversarial process (M. K. Pruett & Bailey,
1998). The system augments family struggles that have
neither clear facts nor standards on which to base decisions
when two parents have differing viewpoints. The result is a
metastatic process in which conflict spreads and feeds on
itself, sustaining or increasing the negative family dynamics
the divorce was intended to dissipate. The role of attorneys
cuts both ways during the legal process: Having an attorney
can help parents navigate smoothly, or it can contribute to
their financial strains and stresses attendant to the divorce
process (M. K. Pruett & Jackson, 1999).

Parent-Child Relationships
Clinical vulnerabilities of parents become clinical realities once family dynamics get entangled in the legal system.
Separated and divorced adults consistently report greater
psychological distress than married or never married adults
(Hope, Power, & Rodgers, 1999; Kitson & Morgan, 1990;
Wade & Cairney, 2000). In turn, depression and anxiety can
lead to a diminished capacity to parent and poor adjustment
in children (Clarke-Stewart & Hayward, 1996; Pett, Wampold, Turner, & Vaughan-Cole, 1999). Disruptions in warm
but authoritative parenting capacities or a conflicted relationship with the primary residential parent have been associated with lower academic achievement, less social competence, increased internalizing and externalizing problems,
and lower self-esteem (DeGarmo & Forgatch, 1999; Kelly,
2000; Tschann et al., 1990).

Paternal Involvement
The role of the nonresidential parent in child adjustment
is also believed to be salient, but the findings show a
complex pattern of interconnected factors. Because mothers
still tend to be the primary caretakers of children (Demo &
Acock, 1993; Lamb & Oppenheim, 1989; Pleck, 1997),
researchers have typically equated the status of nonresidential parent with the father. In one study, children from lower
conflict families reported a better adjustment to the divorce,

SPECIAL ISSUE: YOUNG CHILDRENS ADJUSTMENT TO DIVORCE

and their adjustment was even better when there was a high
level of father involvement (Amato & Rezac, 1994). In their
meta-analysis of 63 studies of noncustodial fathers, Amato
and Gilbreth (1999) found that authoritative parenting style
(supportive and nonthreatening parental control) was significantly associated with better child outcomes such as
higher academic achievement and fewer externalizing and
internalizing problems.
In the divorce literature, diminished fathering has traditionally been the focus of empirical work. Only recently
have researchers also examined the depth and breadth of
paternal involvement after divorce, not to mention the creativity many men have applied to sustain their relationships
with their children. In the general fathering literature, a link
is consistently found between active fathering and adaptive
child behavior, especially in social and academic domains
(see K. D. Pruett, 2000). Thus, a critical dimension of the
divorce process remains how to maximize quality parent
child relationships and minimize parental conflict after divorce, especially during the divorce process itself.

171

in divorced or separated couples with children. Although

the majority of research on gatekeeping has focused on
married families, divorce and post-divorce conflict may
provide fertile ground for furthering our understanding of
the family dynamics inherent in gatekeeping. Strict gatekeeping may result in less involvement by the nonresidential parent, more primary parent child conflict, and feelings
of insecurity in the child regarding his or her relationship
with the less seen parent (usually the father) (Doherty, 1998;
Kelly, 2000).
However, the effects of gatekeeping as discussed in the
divorce literature have remained primarily at the theoretical
level. In divorcing and separating families, the role played
by level of parental conflict may be a critical variable for
consideration. Primary caretaker parents may use involvement with the child as a reward or punishment depending on
how they were treated by their ex-spouses during the marriage. Such ideas have not been expressly tested, nor have
the constructs of gatekeeping in separating/divorcing families been empirically investigated as they have been in
married, dual earner samples (Allen & Hawkins, 1999).

Gatekeeping
Especially among families with young children, a critical
element of parental conflict and paternal involvement is the
gatekeeping that occurs between parents. Gatekeeping refers both to facilitative and inhibitory functions exercised by
one or both parents that determine who will have access to
their children, and the nature of that access. The psychological literature has emphasized the primary role of mothers in raising young children, and their role as gatekeepers.
Maternal gatekeeping has been defined as a set of beliefs
and behaviors that inhibit a collaborative effort between
fathers and mothers by limiting the mens opportunity for
caring and rearing of their children (Allen & Hawkins,
1999). The mother, in her customary role as primary caretaker, becomes the monitor, permission giver, and controller
of the fathers involvement with the child and the form of
that involvement (Grossman, Eichler, & Winickoff, 1980).
During and after pregnancy, the willingness of the mother to
foster or support her husbands or partners involvement
with their child is key to his level of involvement. The
importance of mothers attitudes in gatekeeping is evident
from research showing that 60% 80% of mothers do not
want their husbands more involved in childrearing, as such
involvement would change the balance of power in the
marriage and the important role mothers ascribe to themselves (Lamb & Oppenheim, 1989; Pleck, 1997). In their
exploration of the role of maternal attitudes on paternal
involvement, Beitel and Parke (1998) found that when
mothers perceived their partners as motivated to engage in
child care responsibilities and, to a lesser extent, as competent to do so, fathers were more involved in child care.
When parents divorce in order to break the spousal connection, the sharing of childrearing provides an opportunity
and a responsibility to remain connected. Negotiating who
does what with regard to child care is a complicated task, in
married or intact relationships (C. P. Cowan & Cowan,
1992) and may be equally difficult, albeit in different ways,

Purpose of the Study

The family law literature is replete with acknowledgments that the current legal system regarding divorce is
costly in terms of families (particularly the childrens)
emotional and economic well-being (e.g., Medved, 1989;
Sarat & Felstiner, 1995). This study was motivated by the
view that the custody context provides a unique setting in
which to initiate preventive interventions with families during this vulnerable transition. Although review articles and
meta-analytic studies summarize current knowledge regarding divorce and child outcomes (Amato, 2000, 2001; Kelly,
2000), the literature lacks a cohesive conceptualization of
how specific variables that have been found to be related to
specific aspects of child functioning operate among young
children. The direct and indirect relations among variables
related to child functioning are still undetermined for very
young children and their parents.
The present study is part of a larger longitudinal investigation examining the effects of a collaborative divorce
intervention for families with children ages newborn
through 6 years, on child, parent, and legal outcomes. Using
structural equation modeling, we offer a model of the relations among key divorce dynamics in families with young
children, including parental and legal variables, as well as
child outcomes prior to the collaborative intervention. A
goal of the study was to test the hypothesis that after
controlling for child age and parental distress, parental
conflict would be predictive of negative changes in parent
child relationships, stricter gatekeeping, and less father involvement. We also expected a negative relationship between maternal gatekeeping and paternal involvement.
Further, we anticipated that parental symptomatology
would be predictive of a poorer parent child relationship.
With respect to child outcomes, we expected father involvement to predict child adaptive behavior, whereas parent
child distance and discord would predict child behavioral

172

PRUETT, WILLIAMS, INSABELLA, AND LITTLE

problems. We further expected that parental conflict would

be associated with the use of attorneys (as a proxy of the
adversarial climate) and that the utilization of an attorney
would have an additional negative impact on child behavior
problems. Finally, since much divorce research has assessed
womens reports or mens, but not both, we tested whether
the relations among the variables in the model were the
same for both mothers and fathers of young children.

Method
Participants
The Project was designed to assess the effectiveness of a comprehensive intervention and prevention program for children, ages
newborn through 6 years of age, and their families during the
initiation of divorce proceedings for married couples or during the
development of parenting plans and child support arrangements for
nonmarried couples. Court clerks, parents attorneys, the Family
Court judges, or Family Services personnel from two Connecticut
court districts cooperated with the Collaborative Divorce Project in
recruiting participants, as either intervention recipients or comparison families. Eligible families were invited to participate voluntarily in an assessment of an innovative court project designed to
help families with young children steer a course through the legal
system with less adversarial and expensive legal costs, as well as
improved coparenting relationships and childrens psychosocial
adjustment. Inclusion criteria included (a) a child 6 years or under
in the family who was the biological child of the parties, (b) no
substantial history of substance use, and (c) no significant history
of physical spousal or child abuse within the family. Families were
enrolled at the beginning of their legal proceedings. The majority
of families had just separated, and the others were in the planning
phase of doing so.
Of the 161 families in our longitudinal sample, we included in
this study only those in which mothers were the primary residential
parent. The final sample included data from 102 fathers and 110
mothers (85% Caucasian, 4% Latino or Hispanic, 11% other). Of
the children, 59% were boys and 41% were girls. The parents
relationships averaged approximately 8 years, ranging from 0.5 to
26 years. Nonmarried couples (n 23 mothers, n 20 fathers)
reported themselves as significantly involved with one another; all
but two lived with their partner at the time of conception. Average
educational attainment for parents was generally high school graduation, a year of college, or some specialized training. Yearly
incomes were measured in discrete intervals. Mothers yearly
income averaged between $18,001 and $25,000, whereas fathers
income averaged $25,001 to $50,000. Incomes for both mothers
and fathers ranged from under $5,000 per year to over $75,000 per
year, yielding an economically diverse sample.

Procedure
Once both parents consented to participate, they completed
questionnaires regarding family demographics, parents and childrens adjustment, legal outcomes, custody arrangements, nonresidential parents involvement, and quality of the coparenting and
parent child relationships. Mothers and fathers completed each
measure, except for the dependent measure of childrens adaptive
behavior. Interviews with a trained clinician were conducted over
the telephone, typically with custodial parents, to obtain ratings of
adaptive behavior with the Vineland Screener (Sparrow, Balla, &
Cicchetti, 1984). Parents were paid $50 for their participation at

each assessment. We used information only from the initial assessment for this study because follow-up data are not yet
available.

Measures
Background and Family Climate Variables
Three background variables, length of marriage/relationship,
length of separation, and parents socioeconomic status, were
examined. However, in the interest of parsimony and because of
their lack of influence in the context of this study, they were not
included in the primary model. Age of the child was calculated at
the time of the baseline assessment.
Parental conflict. Conflict between parents was scored as the
average of multiple measures of parental conflict drawn from items
in the Acrimony Scale (Emery, 1997), the Discuss and Share
Decision-Making Scale (Ahrons, 1981), and the Content of Conflict Checklist (Johnston, 1996). From the Acrimony Scale we
included the items from the Relationship with Former Spouse
subscale that assess areas of potential conflict between separated or
divorced parents (e.g., Visitation is a problem between me and
their mother/father and I feel hostile toward my childrens
mother/father). Items are rated on a 4-point scale. Questions from
the Discuss and Share Decision-Making Scale address issues of
hostility and lack of cooperation between spouses (e.g., How
often is the underlying atmosphere [between spouses] one of
hostility or anger? and Do you and your spouse have basic
differences of opinion about issues related to childrearing?).
Items were rated on a 5-point Likert scale. The Content of Conflict
Checklist is a 17-item measure of the extent of parental disagreement regarding childrearing issues, such as coparenting and access
arrangements, discipline, daily care, and trust and support for the
other parents involvement with the child. Each item is measured
on a 5-point Likert scale (1 false and 5 true). Internal
consistency of the composite parental conflict construct was high
(Cronbachs .90).
Parental symptomatology. To assess the levels of parent
symptomatology, we employed the 53-item, self-report Brief
Symptom Inventory (Derogatis, 1993). The inventory assesses
nine primary symptom dimensions, including somatization,
obsessive-compulsive thoughts and behaviors, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid
ideation, and psychoticism. Parents rated how much discomfort
each symptom had caused them in the past 3 months using a
4-point scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 4 (extremely) ( .97).

Intermediary Variables
Father involvement. To assess level of father involvement, we
used Ahronss (1981) 10-item checklist of Nonresidential ParentChild Involvement in this sample of nonresidential fathers. Various parental responsibilities are queried on a 5-point scale (1
never, 2 rarely, 3 sometimes, 4 often, 5 always) to reflect
how involved the nonresidential father has been with his child.
Responsibilities include discipline, dressing and grooming, holiday celebrations, running errands for the child, religious and moral
training, and taking the child for recreational activities ( .93).
Parents noted when an item was not relevant to them or their child.
Negative changes in parent child relationship. To assess
changes in the parent child relationship, we used Maccoby,
Mnookin, and Depners (1993) 10-item, 5-point Likert measure of
the parent child relationship developed for the Stanford Child
Custody Study. Parents reported on changes in the emotional

SPECIAL ISSUE: YOUNG CHILDRENS ADJUSTMENT TO DIVORCE

distance in their relationship with their child, as well as changes in
expectations for their child, play time, patience, consistency, and
the childs compliance since parental separation. Higher scores
indicate more distance and difficulty between parents and their
child ( .84).
Use of an attorney. To indicate whether an attorney was used
by each parent we used a dichotomous variable, with 0 no
attorney involved and 1 attorney involved. Each parent in the
study chose either to move through the court process pro se
(representing themselves) or to hire an attorney. A total of 64% of
fathers and 69% of mothers had retained and utilized an attorney.
Attorney involvement was not correlated with socioeconomic status, which thus had no effect on hiring a lawyer.
Gatekeeping. Maximum-likelihood extraction with an oblique
rotation was used to factor analyze the 19-item measure of the
gatekeeping measure developed for the Collaborative Divorce
Project. An optimal three-factor solution was retained. Correlations among the three factors ranged from .07 to .36, indicating a
distinct set of gatekeeping constructs. Three items comprised each
factor.
The first factor, Enhancing Spouses Parenting ( .78), assessed the degree to which parents valued the importance of the
other parent and fostered their (ex)-spouses involvement in their
childs life. Items that loaded on this factor included the following:
It is part of my job as a parent to positively influence my childs
relationship with his/her other parent; It is my job to help my
spouse be the best parent he/she can be to our child; and In order
to best take care of my child, it is important for me to positively
influence my childs relationship with my spouse. Theoretically,
it is assumed that such valuing would be an important determinant
in the decision to open the gate to, facilitate, the childs access
to the other parent.
The second factor, Positive View of Spouse ( .73), contained items measuring the positive feelings about the other parent
from the marriage and the effects of affection for a child on a
parents view of his or her spouse. Factor items included the
following: During my marriage, the closer I felt to my child, the
closer I felt to my spouse; During my marriage, my spouse
helped me be the best parent I could be; and The closer I feel to
my child now, the closer I feel to my spouse.
This factor speaks to motivation for gate opening or closing. We
theorized that when a parent feels the other parent was a positive
force in the marriage and in the childs life (e.g., a positive
identification between child and other parent exists), he or she will
be more inclined to leave the gate open after divorce.
The third factor, Spouses Influence on Parenting ( .68),
measures parents assessment of the support they received from a
spouse during the marriage and its impact on their past and present
parenting. It contains the items: During my marriage, the support
I received from my spouse affected my ability to parent my child;
The way my spouse treated me during the marriage (good or bad)
affected my confidence as a parent; and My feelings about my
spouse affect my ability to parent my child.
This factor, too, speaks to the motivations for gate opening or
closing. When a parent views the other spouse as powerful and as
having used that power to support or hinder their own parenting
ability or confidence, they will be inclined to monitor access to the
child after separation and divorce more strictly or openly. There is
a potential to repay the other spouse (positively or negatively) for
their support during the marriage.

Dependent Variables: Child Outcomes

Adaptive behaviors. Vineland scores were obtained from a
shortened version of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale known

173

as the Vineland Screener (Sparrow et al., 1984). The Vineland

Screener ( .97) provides an adaptive behavior composite
measure of child functioning in four skill areas: Communication
(e.g., speaks in full sentences); Daily Living Skills (e.g., washes
and dries face without assistance); Socialization (e.g., follows
school and facility rules); and Motor Skills (e.g. walks as a
primary means of getting around). Three different versions of the
Screener assess age-appropriate skills for infants/toddlers ages
newborn to 2 years, preschoolers ages 3 to 5 years, and school-age
children (6 to 12 years). Each domain was assessed in the various
versions, except for Motor Skills which are not assessed for
children 6 years and older. Responses to items are scored as 2
yes, usually, 1 sometimes or partially, 0 no, never, N no
opportunity for behavior to be exhibited, and DK dont know.
Vineland scores were standardized across all participants.
Internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Measures of internalizing behaviors and externalizing behaviors were obtained with
the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach & Edelbrock,
1983) given to each parent. Two versions were used according to
the age of the child (2 to 3 years or 4 years and up). CBCL scores
were not obtained for the youngest children in our sample. In the
toddler version (Achenbach, 1992), internalizing behaviors were
summed statements from both the Anxious/Depressed scale of 11
items (e.g., clings to adults or too dependent) and the Withdrawn
scale of 14 items (e.g. doesnt get along with other children).
Externalizing behaviors reflect the sum of two scales, Aggressive
Behavior, consisting of 15 items (e.g., hits others), and Destructive Behavior, consisting of 11 items (e.g., gets into everything).
In the older child version of the CBCL, internalizing behaviors
(n 31 items) are drawn from three scales: Withdrawn (e.g.,
would rather be alone than with others), Somatic Complaints
(e.g., feels dizzy), and Anxious/Depressed (e.g., feels worthless
or inferior). Externalizing behaviors include 33 items regarding
Delinquent Behavior (e.g., lying or cheating) and Aggressive
Behavior (e.g., threatens people). Scores from both problem
composites were standardized across participants. These two
scales of child behavior problems have high internal consistency
(Internalizing, .82; Externalizing, 92) in the current
sample and have demonstrated testretest reliability (Achenbach,
1991). It is also known that these two domains of childrens
behavior problems are significantly intercorrelated (r .60).

Analytic Procedures
Missing values for all variables ( 5% of the data) were
imputed using a saturated regression equation (i.e., each variable is
regressed on the matrix of all possible variables within the data set,
except the variable itself). Outliers were also identified using the
saturated regression equation (i.e., any data point outside the 99%
confidence interval surrounding the regression line) and were
reweighted to normalize their influence (for details, see Lopez &
Little, 1996; Tabachnick & Fidell, 1989).
We employed a two-group (mothers vs. fathers) path analysis
with LISREL 8.5 (Jo reskog & So rbom, 2001) to test our substantive hypotheses. We also examined mean-level differences using
means structures analyses with LISREL (Little, 1997). Conducting
the analyses separately for mothers and fathers had the dual
advantage of identifying any differences between the two parents
as well as providing a cross-validation framework for all estimated
paths.
To evaluate the overall model fit, we relied on the maximum
likelihood chi-squared statistic for which a nonsignificant value is
desired. A nonsignificant chi-square value for the model indicates
that the specified path relationships reproduce the observed

.01
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Note: Data for fathers are above the diagonal, and data for mothers are below the diagonal. CBCL Child Behavior Checklist.
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.02
.01

.07
.16
.01
.30**
.17
.05
.19*
.28**

.17
.14
.16
.37**
.13
.07
.21*
.37**

.11
.28**
.30**
.30**

11
10

.33**
.18
.05
.19
.04
.02
.19
.03

9
8

.14
.21*
.07
.18

.16
.10
.30**
.03

.19*
.01
.13
.05

.14
.03
.32**
.22*
.03
.37**
.43**

4
3
2
1

3.2
1.6

Fathers
M
SD
Mothers
M
SD

The results of the best-fitting model assessing the relations among our variables of interest are presented in Figure
1. The final model revealed an excellent fit, 2(98, N
212) 97.5, p .49.
As children became older, their involvement with their
fathers increased ( .17, p .05), and their adaptive
behavior skills increased ( .42, p .01). In addition to
the strong direct effect of child age on the Vineland, we

Variable

Structural Relations and Gender Differences Among

the Variables

Table 1
Summary Statistics of Path Model Variables

The means and variances of mothers and fathers selfreports were equivalent for half of the variables, with exceptions noted below. The mean differences offer additional
information about the variables for interpretation purposes
but had no effect on the actual path analyses. Nonresidential
fathers felt they were significantly more involved with their
children than perceived by the mothers. Fathers reported a
more negative change in their relationships with their children than did custodial mothers. Nonresidential fathers had
higher means on gatekeeping variables than did the mothers
across all three domains. Thus, fathers reported that mothers
were stricter gatekeepers than vice versa, in accord with our
theory.
In addition, variances were lower for mothers reports as
compared with fathers reports for the negative changes in
parent child relationship and the Vineland scores. Again,
the slightly lower variances of these two measures did not
affect any individual differences relationships. As noted
above, the intercorrelations among variables indicated autonomous constructs. Generally, the intercorrelations
among variables for mothers and fathers were equal across
gender groups.

.07
.24*

.07

Mean and Variance-Level Differences

.06

.23*
.44**

For the purposes of independent replication of our analyses, the means, standard deviations, and correlations
among the variables are presented in Table 1. In general, all
constructs were well differentiated and uncorrelated with
each other, with the exception of the Internalizing and
Externalizing behavior scales from the Child Behavior
Checklist (r .60), which have been well-documented to
be highly correlated. The purpose of the path analysis was
to evaluate how well our hypothesized model predicting
child and parental outcomes fit the data set and to test for
motherfather differences using a two-group path analysis
model.

.10
.02
.16

Results

Childs age
Parents symptomatology
Parental conflict
Negative changes parentchild
relationship
5. Father involvement
6. Enhancing spouses parenting
7. Positive view of spouse
8. Spouses influence on parenting
9. Use of attorney
10. Vineland Adaptive Behavior
11. CBCL Internalizing
12. CBCL Externalizing

variance covariance relationships accurately and efficiently.

Between-group differences (i.e., comparisons between mothers
and fathers) were examined using the chi-square difference test.
For this test, the significance of the drop in fit is evaluated to
determine whether constraining any paths between males and
females to be equal in magnitude is warranted. A nonsignificant
drop in fit indicates that any constrained paths are statistically
equivalent.

.08
.26**
.17
.33**

PRUETT, WILLIAMS, INSABELLA, AND LITTLE

1.
2.
3.
4.

174

SPECIAL ISSUE: YOUNG CHILDRENS ADJUSTMENT TO DIVORCE

175

Figure 1. Path relationships among family and legal context variables and child outcomes. Chi
square analysis revealed an excellent model fit, 2(98, N 42) 97.5, p .49. All beta weights
are significant at the .01 level, with the exception of betas .18 and lower, which were significant at
the .05 level. Correlations within the path model were significant at the .01 level (.23) and at the
.05 level (.16). For mean differences listed, negative scores denote fathers reporting higher than
mothers on scale. Solid lines reflect relations that were significant and equivalent for both mothers
and fathers. Dotted lines depict paths that are significant only for nonresidential fathers; dashed lines
represent significant effects only for mothers. P-C parent child relationship; CBCL Child
Behavior Checklist.

found a mediated effect of age through increased nonresidential father involvement that also enhanced childrens
adaptive behaviors ( .15, p .05). These paths were
equivalent across both mothers and fathers reports.
As hypothesized, parents symptomatology was also an
important factor within the model. Greater symptomatology
for either parent was associated with negative changes in the
parent child relationship ( .39, p .01). In addition,
mothers with more symptoms were less likely to use the
services of an attorney ( .23, p .01) and more likely
to perceive their spouses support or lack thereof as an

influence on their parenting (Spouses Influence on Parenting) ( .27, p .01). Fathers psychological well-being
did not affect gatekeeping or the likelihood of attorney
involvement.
We had expected that after controlling for the childs age
and parental symptomatology, parental conflict would be
predictive of less involvement of nonresidential fathers with
their children, gatekeeping, and negative changes in the
parent child relationship. Across both mothers and fathers groups, increased levels of parental conflict predicted
less nonresidential father involvement ( .37, p .01).

176

PRUETT, WILLIAMS, INSABELLA, AND LITTLE

Additionally, higher levels of parental conflict predicted a

less positive view of spouse ( .24, p .01). Only by
fathers accounts did increased levels of parental conflict
predict difficulty between nonresidential fathers and their
children ( .43, p .01). Parental conflict had no effect
on the mother child relationship. As expected, higher levels
of marital conflict also increased the likelihood of involving
an attorney in the divorce or custody proceedings ( .22,
p .01).
Neither parental conflict nor parental symptomatology
directly predicted childrens behavior problems. For both
mothers and fathers, negative changes in the parent child
relationship served as the best predictor of childrens problem behaviors, for both internalizing ( .22, p .01) and
externalizing ( .31, p .01) symptoms. For nonresidential fathers, the discord and distance within the father
child relationship mediated the effect of parental conflict on
childrens problem behaviors. Mothers reported fewer child
internalizing symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, or
somatic complaints, when attorneys were involved in their
legal case ( .17, p .05); however, this relationship
did not hold true for fathers.

Discussion
This research used structural equation methodology to
model possible relations among family and legal variables
and outcomes for young children of separating and divorcing families. The proposed model yielded an excellent fit to
the data and mostly cross-validated across mothers and
fathers, with a few notable exceptions (shown in Figure 1).
Overall, the models were far more similar than different,
indicating family processes that are descriptive from either
parents viewpoint. A primary objective of this study was to
test the hypothesis that after controlling for child age and
parental distress, parental conflict would predict less father
involvement, stricter gatekeeping, and more negative
parent child relationships. Negative changes in the parent
child relationship were expected to be predictive of child
behavioral problems, whereas parental involvement was
expected to be related to childrens adaptive skills. Also, we
predicted that maternal gatekeeping would be associated
with less father involvement. With regard to use of attorneys, we expected greater use among higher conflict couples
and, in turn, more behavior problems among the children.
The outcomes of our final model supported most of these
premises. First, parental conflict was indirectly related to
child adjustment through parental involvement, the parent
child relationship, and attorney involvement.
In general, older children had more involved fathers,
which was predictive of better communication, socialization, and daily living skills. This link between father involvement and childrens adaptive skills is consistent with
research on involved fathering in intact families (K. D.
Pruett, 2000). However, parental conflict was an important
predictor of father involvement, such that higher conflict
was associated with less paternal involvement. This finding
is in accord with previous research showing that in the face
of conflict, fathers are more likely to withdraw from their

children than in situations of lower parental conflict (Block,

Block, & Gjerde, 1986; P. A. Cowan & Cowan, 1987;
Howes & Markman, 1989). One pathway in the model
traces parental conflict to lower father involvement, which
in turn was associated with lower overall adaptive functioning by the child. The long shadow of marital conflict that
affects child development (Kline et al., 1991) is thus evident
in the postdivorce parental conflict among these families
with young children. Parental conflict predicts less father
involvement, ultimately affecting young childrens early
socialization and acquisition of necessary life skills. This
link is likely to be especially salient among families with
young children, where fathers own withdrawal in the face
of parental conflict could get exacerbated by maternal influences on fathers opportunities for regular contact with
their children and participation in child-rearing responsibilities (Braver, Wolchik, Sandler, Fogas, & Svetina, 1991).
We theorized that more conflict might lead mothers to bar
fathers from certain kinds of involvement with their children, exercising their gatekeeping functions. Parental conflict also was inversely related to one of our three gatekeeping factors: Positive View of Spouse. The more parents
fought, the less likely they were to experience an affinity for
their partner despite their shared child. This gatekeeping
factor seems to capture a positive identification process
through which spouses judge the support they received from
one another and extend their positive feelings about their
child to each other. This kind of connection underlies positive coparenting, as it helps parents look beyond their
conflicts to the shared role and bond of having a child.
Conflict undermines this aspect of positive family
connection.
Parental conflict led to reports of negative changes in the
parent child relationship, but for fathers only. This finding
is not consistent with some previous research comprised
largely of older children and focused on mothers decreased
warmth and parental authority (e.g., Kline et al., 1991; see
also Kelly, 2000) and may be a function of the very young
ages of the children. The relatively consistent proximity and
intimacy mothers reported to have with their children, and
the childrens neediness as commensurate with their developmental levels, may have buffered the mother child relationships, at this point in time, early in the divorcing process. However, the finding is consistent with research
indicating that fathers withdraw more from their children
under conditions of higher conflict (see Kelly, 2000). One
aspect of this parent child measure is a question about
perceived distance between parent and child since separation. That aspect may be tapping into similar constructs
explored in other research.
Negative changes in both the mother child and father
child relationships were predictive of greater internalizing
and externalizing problems in young children, a common
finding in studies with older children (Roseby & Johnston,
1998; Tschann et al., 1990; see also Kellys, 1998,
discussion).
Whereas parental conflict negatively impacted the father
child relationship, maternal psychological symptomatology
was the best predictor of negative changes in the mother

SPECIAL ISSUE: YOUNG CHILDRENS ADJUSTMENT TO DIVORCE

child relationship after separation. These parents reported

greater difficulty in being consistent with their childs demands, maintaining consistent routines, being patient with
their child, and making time to play with their child. Hence,
it was not the coparenting, but rather mothers own internal
well-being that most powerfully affected their parenting
capacities.
In addition, mothers with greater symptomatology were
more likely to endorse the gatekeeping factor measuring
their spouses influence on their parenting, both during the
marriage and in its aftermath. This finding could stem from
these more vulnerable mothers perceptions that their husbands had more influence over their parenting. Alternatively, it could suggest an actual behavior in which fathers
extend more support and assert more influence on their
spouses parenting in the marriage when they perceive the
mothers as less able to parent in a healthy way on their own.
Either way, the difficulty that less psychologically healthy
mothers have in parenting their young children is manifested in reliance on the ex-spouses support and views. For
mothers and fathers, parental symptomatology indirectly
influenced child behavioral outcomes through the negative
changes in the parent child relationship. This finding is
consistent with research which shows that parental distress
and vulnerability may lead to diminished parenting capabilities, which in turn is associated with poorer child outcomes
(Clarke-Stewart & Hayward, 1996; Pett, Wampold, Turner
& Vaughan-Cole, 1999; Tschann et al., 1990).

Operationalizing the Gatekeeping Construct

The hypothesis pertaining to gatekeeping was not borne
out in the model. Factor analysis of the gatekeeping measure
designed for this study revealed three distinct subcomponents: Enhancing Spouses Parenting, Positive View of
Spouse, and Spouses Influence on Parenting. Allen and
Hawkins (1999) discussed three conceptual dimensions of
gatekeeping: maternal identity confirmation, differentiated
family roles, and standards and responsibility, which they
acknowledge are derived from research on intact relationships. Like the latter dimension, the concepts we targeted
also were focused on parental, especially maternal, attitudes
(see also Beitel & Parke, 1998), but they differ in important
ways. We were focused on the dimensions of gatekeeping
pertaining specifically to the dynamics between separating
spouses that might lead to more liberal or stricter gatekeeping. We focused on the balance between negative views of
the parent as partner and the potential for maintaining a
positive view of the partner as parent to a shared child. We
found that Enhancing Spouses Parenting, or belief in the
importance of fostering the other parents relationship with
the child, did not contribute significantly to the overall
model. Parental conflict and maternal psychological symptomatology predicted less Positive View of Spouse and
greater Spouses Influence on Parenting, respectively. Yet
these factors did not prove to be related to child outcomes.
It is not surprising that the connections between parental
conflict, maternal symptomatology, and gatekeeping factors
do not extend to child outcomes. Until we conduct further

177

research with these new gatekeeping factors, we cannot

ascertain how the presence of these factors affects child
outcomes and under what conditions. Moreover, none of the
factors was simply correlated with father involvement
within the path model. Thus, it remains for further analyses
to better understand how gatekeeping operates in this sample and in what ways the family dynamics tapped herein
play out during the separation and divorce process.

Attorney Involvement
Unexpectedly, maternal psychological symptomatology
had indirect effects on child behavioral outcomes when
mothers used an attorney in their divorce. Mothers with
more psychological symptoms were less likely to have hired
an attorney, which predicted greater internalizing problems
in their children. More healthy mothers may have utilized
attorney expertise to foster protective actions regarding their
children, helping to organize and contain the mothers stress
related to the divorce and/or separation. In contrast, the less
healthy mothers may have taken the divorce process upon
themselves and, hence, upon their children. This finding
held true when socioeconomic status was controlled, indicating that the choice of using an attorney was not solely an
economic decision. These results have important implications for the role of attorneys in a collaborative divorce
model. Many divorcing parents determine their interests and
the interests of their children with the aid of legal counsel.
This research suggests that when mothers who experience
increased psychological vulnerability work with an attorney
during the divorce process, the attorney may help absorb
some of the negative effects of that vulnerability on child
functioning, especially as the parents stress increases during the legal process.
This model demonstrates how marital conflict affects
young child outcomes in families with low to moderate
conflict. In addition, it implicates gatekeeping as part of the
family dynamic in divorce that also contains changes in
father involvement and parent child relationships. However, data are only the first step in a series needed to better
understand the dynamics of families with young children in
the legal system.

Implications for Application and Public Policy

These findings lend impetus for movements to improve
clinical and psycholegal practice and create social changes
in areas of divorce. The results provide information about a
relatively unknown population of special importance in the
field of public health and policy our countrys youngest
children. Given the common experience of parental separation before marriage or after divorce, these young children
will live much of their early life in the shadows of their
parents conflict, separations, and coparenting. Understanding which family dynamics influence their positive adaptation will assist in the development of support programs and
interventions.
With these data, we are beginning to look at processes of
psychology and law as they are intertwined during divorce,

178

PRUETT, WILLIAMS, INSABELLA, AND LITTLE

rather than just existing in tandem. How the introduction of

an attorney into the process impacts psychological and legal
outcomes has important implications for the ways in which
people choose to conduct their legal process. Increasing
awareness of potential avenues for influencing the legal
system is important to families, mental health professionals,
legal professionals, and the public policy leaders who have
been calling for change in the current system on the basis of
individual anecdotes and collective knowledge and experience (Pruett & Jackson, 1999), but without empirical backing. Empirical backing provides the basis for legislative and
social change.
We stand ready to examine how the dynamics elucidated in this study change over time, especially in light of
an intervention implemented through the legal system.
This study presented baseline data from longitudinal research that included a collaborative divorce intervention
and a model of family dynamics prior to the intervention.
Future analyses from these data will focus on how the
collaborative intervention alters family dynamics to affect child and legal outcomes. Indeed, one of the limitations of the present study is that bidirectional relationships between the variables could not be assessed at this
point given that only baseline data were analyzed. We did
test for different models and these pathways were the
only ones borne out by this structural equation model.
The model will be tested with the same sample in the
future to see whether and how pathways change for the
6-month and 15-month follow-up periods. The intervention will attempt to change the institutional context in
which divorce occurs and to examine the impact such
changes have on child and family well-being. In so doing,
it will help inform policymakers interested in judicial
reform about the types of substantive change that are
possible and effective within the legal system.
In addition to child outcomes, more attention will be
given to legal outcomes. Because only cases where the
father was the nonresidential parent were analyzed in order
to assess maternal gatekeeping, legal outcomes such as
custody designations (i.e. joint legal, joint physical vs. joint
legal, sole physical custody) were not included in the model.
In the next iteration of these data, data from attorneys
regarding legal costs, length of divorce, and utilization of
court services will be included.
Tests of the model for different age groups and each
gender will also be considered in forthcoming models.
Within the age group sampled in the current study, it is
possible that various aspects of the family dynamics may
interrelate differently or predict different child outcomes for
younger children in comparison with older children.
Clearly, this study represents a tip of the iceberg. In future
models we hope to examine the impact of frequent overnights and frequent court visits. Step-by-step we begin to
shed light on the black hole of young childrens adaptation
to parental separation and divorce and on the legal processes
that support or hinder parents in their efforts to steer their
children through this early life transition.

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Received December 21, 2001

Revision received May 23, 2002
Accepted June 7, 2002