adolescents who had previously recovered from or adjusted well to parental divorce (Hetherington, 1991a). Moreover, reports of long-term negative outcomes in offspring beyond the adolescentperiod suggest that the ramifications of parental divorce on adult behavior may be even more deleterious than those on child behavior (Amato & Keith, 1991b; Zill, Morrison, & Coiro, 1993). Theevidence appears to be quite convincing that dissolution of two-parent families, though it may benefit spouses in some respects (Hetherington, 1993), may have far reaching adverse effects for manychildren.The divorce and family systems literature's indicate that negative family processes may be more important predictors of poor adjustment in children than family structure (Baumrind,1991a. 1991b; O'Leary & Emery, 1984). Interparental conflict, for example, is associated with adjustment disturbances in children in both divorced and non divorced families (Camara & Resnick,1988; Johnston, Campbell, & Mayes, 1985; Peterson & Zill, 1986; Reid & Crisafulli, 1990), and is considered to be a critical mediator of divorce effects in children and adolescents (Atkeson,Forehand, & Rickard, 1982; Emery, 1982; Forehand, Long, & Brody, 1988; Luepnitz, 1979). In addition, the stress associated with shifting family roles and relationships in newly divorce familiescontribute to a breakdown in effective parenting practices, which in turn influences adjustment outcomes in children. Decreased levels of warmth, support, tolerance, control, and monitoring, andincreased levels of punitive erratic discipline among recently divorced mothers have been related to problematic adjustment in children (Bray, 1990; Brody & Forehand, 1988; Maccoby, Buchanan,Mnookin, & Dornbusch, 1993). Furthermore, long-term studies of divorce suggest that negative family processes and concomitant stressors may be in operation well after the divorce has occurred,and may become exacerbated when offspring ente...
