Children of divorce and children of intact families grow up in very different worlds. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects that being a child of divorce has on later adjustment in college. A sample of 95 undergraduate students were administered the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire. Of the 95 students, 18 reported being from divorced families, two reported parental death, and 75 reported their parents still being married. Results indicated that the age a child experiences their parents divorce can have a significant impact on their later attachment to college and social adjustment to college. More specifically, the younger a child was when they experienced their parents' divorce the less attachment to college they reported. Also, children who experienced their parents' divorce before the age of four reported higher social adjustment to college than students who reported experiencing their parents' divorce at age four or older. No significant differences between children of divorce and children of intact families were found on all measures of the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire.
","abstract_html":"<p>Children of divorce and children of intact families grow up in very different worlds. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects that being a child of divorce has on later adjustment in college. A sample of 95 undergraduate students were administered the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire. Of the 95 students, 18 reported being from divorced families, two reported parental death, and 75 reported their parents still being married. Results indicated that the age a child experiences their parents divorce can have a significant impact on their later attachment to college and social adjustment to college. More specifically, the younger a child was when they experienced their parents' divorce the less attachment to college they reported. Also, children who experienced their parents' divorce before the age of four reported higher social adjustment to college than students who reported experiencing their parents' divorce at age four or older. No significant differences between children of divorce and children of intact families were found on all measures of the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Martin, Kimberly"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A. in School Psychology","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Educational Services and Leadership","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Klanderman, John","Dihoff, Roberta"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2004,"date_issued":"2004-05-04T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2004-05-04T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:14:04Z","subjects":["Rowan University--Students; Children of divorced parents--Education (Higher); Student adjustment","Educational Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1191","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Klanderman, John","Dihoff, Roberta"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Martin, Kimberly"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-04-26T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Services and Leadership"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A. in School Psychology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Rowan University--Students; Children of divorced parents--Education (Higher); Student adjustment","Educational Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1191"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Children of divorce and children of intact families grow up in very different worlds. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects that being a child of divorce has on later adjustment in college. A sample of 95 undergraduate students were administered the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire. Of the 95 students, 18 reported being from divorced families, two reported parental death, and 75 reported their parents still being married. Results indicated that the age a child experiences their parents divorce can have a significant impact on their later attachment to college and social adjustment to college. More specifically, the younger a child was when they experienced their parents' divorce the less attachment to college they reported. Also, children who experienced their parents' divorce before the age of four reported higher social adjustment to college than students who reported experiencing their parents' divorce at age four or older. No significant differences between children of divorce and children of intact families were found on all measures of the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Children of divorce versus children of intact families and their adjustment to college"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Klanderman, John","Dihoff, Roberta"],"dc:creator":["Martin, Kimberly"],"dc:date.available":["2016-04-26T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Children of divorce and children of intact families grow up in very different worlds. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects that being a child of divorce has on later adjustment in college. A sample of 95 undergraduate students were administered the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire. Of the 95 students, 18 reported being from divorced families, two reported parental death, and 75 reported their parents still being married. Results indicated that the age a child experiences their parents divorce can have a significant impact on their later attachment to college and social adjustment to college. More specifically, the younger a child was when they experienced their parents' divorce the less attachment to college they reported. Also, children who experienced their parents' divorce before the age of four reported higher social adjustment to college than students who reported experiencing their parents' divorce at age four or older. No significant differences between children of divorce and children of intact families were found on all measures of the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1191"],"dc:subject":["Rowan University--Students; Children of divorced parents--Education (Higher); Student adjustment","Educational Psychology"],"dc:title":["Children of divorce versus children of intact families and their adjustment to college"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Services and Leadership"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A. in School Psychology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:14:04Z"}