The impact of divorce and subsequent father absence on children's and adolescents' self-concepts.

The self-concepts of 406 grade school and junior high school students were assessed in this study. It was found that children and adolescents who had experienced father loss through divorce and whose mothers hadnot remarried demonstrated significantly lower self-concepts than those who were from intact families. Interestingly, children and adolescents who had experienced father loss through divorce and whose mothers had remarried were found to possess lower self-concepts than those from intact families, but this difference was not statistically significant. These findings were found across grade levels (i.e., grades 3-8) and for both sexes. The importance of these findings are discussed in light of current trends toward an increasing divorce rate and an increasing presence of stepfathers in American families.