Examining the Effects of Divorce on the Academic Achievement of Children

Abstract

Over the past thirty years, one of the primary concerns facing researchers examining the effects of divorce on the academic achievement of children has been how to best control for socioeconomic status (SES). Prior to 1971, many researchers did not control for SES at all. Herzog and Sudia (1971) argued that adequately controlling for SES was essential for obtaining accurate effects for divorce. In recent years, several social scientists (Cherlin, Kiernan, and Chase-Lansdale, 1995; Allison and Furstenberg, 1989; Milne, 1989) have gone a step further and argued that a predissolution control for SES, when available, is preferable to a postdissolution control for SES. For divorce nearly always causes a drop in the income element of SES. Yet it is not clear whether using a predissolution control for SES really yields effects for divorce that are different than one would obtain if a postdissolution control for SES is used. Using the NELS 1988-92 data set, this study examines whether using a predissolution control for SES yields a different pattern of effects than when a postdissolution control is used (versus when no control for SES is used). The results indicate that using a predissolution control for SES does yield a different pattern of effects than when a postdissolution control is used. The advantages and disadvantages of each means of controlling for SES are discussed.

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