Family Transformations, 1981-1982

Most families were of European American descent and varied widely in terms of social class: the average sample family was lower-middle to middle class; about a fourth were working poor or unemployed; and a few were professionals. Parents who agreed to participate were sent a packet of questionnaires which assessed aspects of family structure and history, parents' own emotional, physical, and social adjustment, parenting style, and perceptions of the adjustment of the focus child.

Parents and children were then interviewed separately. Parents were asked about various aspects of family life since the separation, the history of their marriage and the separation, their daily routine, and the personality, relationships, and experiences of the focus child. Children (both the focus child and other children in the family) were asked about their daily routines, family members, and their feelings about their parents' separation.

After a break, they were administered several standard questionnaires. Parents were given a resource packet and were asked for permission to contact the children's teachers, who were sent the Teacher Form of the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist. A subsample of mothers and children returned for a videotaped play/interaction session.

Identical procedures were followed one year later at Time 2. The Murray Research Archive holds original record paper data from this study. Follow-up is not permitted.