Alsoconsidered are the outcomes to be long-term in that they were measured 8 years after temperament was observed in 100% of the samples, and 4 or more years postdivorce in 68% of the samples (and 2or more years postdivorce in 82% of the samples). As time since divorce could not be kept constant for an entire sample, it was included as a control variable in all analyses where family statuseffects were tested (Bray, 1988; Hetherington, 1987).Of 976 families interviewed in 1975, 805 had biological mothers and fathers and were maritally intact. These families comprised the eligible sample for a current study. In 1983when the children were ages 9 to 18, 699 or 86.8% of the 1975 eligible families were reinterviewed. Youngest children from poor urban families were slightly more likely to be lost; otherwise,demographic characteristics closely matched those of the 1975 eligible sample as tested by chi-square analyses. Of those reinterviewed, 648 (92.7%) of the 699 families fulfilled study criteriafor retention in the current study; 508 families had remained married (intact families), 99 had divorced or separated with single mothers retaining custody of the study children (single custodialmother or SCM families), and 41 had divorced with custodial mothers remarrying (stepfamilies). The remaining 51 families were eliminated because the mothers were no longer living with thechildren (21), the mothers had been widowed (13), the mothers had obtained more than one divorce (6), the fathers were institutionalized (6), or data were incomplete (5). Of the 140 divorcedfamilies, 11 separated or divorced within 1 year after the 1975 assessment and 129 (92%) separated or divorced 1 or more years after the 1975 assessment. Average interval between the 1975assessment and separation or divorce was 3 1/2 years.By mapping the nature of stresses that divorce creates for children, we can attempts to fill the gap left by the absence of societal expectations...
