Some authors have suggested that the effects of divorce are not so dire as suggested by the majority of recent studies. One argument is that children of divorce may be subject to negative reporting. For example, teachers, knowing that a child’s parents are divorced, may be quick to notice negative characteristics; or they may be biased and treat a child badly, provoking negative reactions.301 Bosman and Weipke admit that children living with their mothers but not their fathers show lower academic achievement than do children living with both parents, but they suggest this may be the result of labelling by teachers.302 Negative reporting and negative treatment of children of divorce by teachers and others in authority no doubt occur, but are they so pervasive as to cast in doubt the results of most studies on the effects of divorce? Most of the studies cited above either do not depend on reporting by third parties or use such reporting only along with other criteria. As to negative reactions by teachers and others to children of divorce, were this behaviour common among teachers they would be reacting negatively to a large percentage of their students. When a significant percentage of students in most classrooms are from “broken homes”, it seems unlikely that many teachers would single out such students for negative treatment. On the contrary, awareness that a student is from a broken home is likely to move a teacher to treat the student with extra kindness or at least forbearance. Johnson gives a somewhat positive view of children coping with divorce.303 Amato’s review of the literature of the 1990’s notes that, along with the abundant literature spelling out the adverse effects of divorce on children, there are many extraneous factors that make matters better or worse.304 Wells and Rankin admit that there is a correlation between parental divorce and delinquency of children, but claim that much of the argumentation in
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Amato, Paul, “The ‘child of divorce’ as person prototype: bias in the recall of information about children in divorced families” Journal of Marriage and Family 523(1991) 59-69; Wadsworth, Michael, Roots of Delinquency: Infancy, Adolescence and Crime, pp. 120 & ff. 302 Bosman, Rie, and Louwes Wiepke, “School careers of children from one-parent and two-parent families” Netherlands Journal of Sociology 24(1988) 117-31. 303 Johnson, Coleen Leahy, Ex Familia: Grandparents, Parents and Children Adjust to Divorce, New Brunswick, New Jersey, Rutgers University Press, 1988. 304 Amato, Paul, “The consequences of divorce for adults and children” Journal of Marriage and Family 62(2000) 1269-87.
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