Effects of Parental Divorce on Adolescent Adjustment and Well-Being
This paper reviews a study by Størksen et al. (2006) examining the effects of parental divorce and parental distress on adolescent psychological adjustment and well-being in Scandinavian populations. Drawing on data from the HUNT II study in Nord-Trøndelag, Norway, the paper outlines the study's epidemiological framework, independent and dependent variables, methodology, and key findings. Topics addressed include gender differences in adjustment outcomes, the relationship between age and symptom severity, academic and conduct problems, and the limitations of cross-sectional research design. The paper highlights the significance of extending divorce research to Scandinavian contexts, where prior data were scarce.
- Introduction: Study purpose, variables, and central hypothesis
- Literature Review and Theoretical Framework: Epidemiological framework and prior divorce research
- Methodology: HUNT II sample, data collection, and participant grouping
- Findings and Strengths: Key results, gender patterns, and study strengths
- Limitations and Significance: Methodological limits and contribution to Scandinavian research
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What makes this paper effective
- Clearly identifies independent and dependent variables upfront, providing the reader with a precise analytical framework before the literature and methodology are introduced.
- Balances strengths and limitations honestly, acknowledging recruitment bias and the inability to separate pre-divorce conflict from divorce effects — a sign of critical engagement with the source study.
- Grounds the rationale for the study in a real gap in the literature — the absence of Scandinavian-specific research — giving the paper a focused and defensible purpose.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates structured research critique: it does not merely summarize findings but evaluates the study's methodological choices, including the use of cross-sectional data, self-reporting instruments, and the public registry linkage of family members. This move — explaining why a method was chosen alongside its trade-offs — is a core skill in graduate-level research analysis.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a conventional research-review structure: introduction (purpose and variables), literature (theoretical framework and prior work), methodology (participants and data collection), findings (results, strengths), and a closing section on limitations and broader significance. Each section maps directly onto a standard empirical article critique, making the organizational logic easy to follow and replicate.
Introduction
The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of divorce or separation on an adolescent's psychological adjustment, investigate whether there are any gender differences in the effect of divorce, assess the impact of time on the adolescent after divorce, and examine the effect of divorce on the adolescent after controlling for parental symptoms of depression and anxiety (Størksen, Røysamb, Holmen, & Tambs, 2006).
The independent variables for this study were divorce and parental distress. These two variables were selected because the researchers wanted to establish the effect of divorce on adolescents and compare it to that of adolescents whose parents had not divorced or separated. Adolescents who had grown up with one parent were included in the no-divorce group, since they had only ever known a single parent. Parental distress was used to determine the impact it would have on an adolescent and to compare it to that of a parent who does not experience distress.
The dependent variables for this study were symptoms of anxiety and depression (SCL-5), subjective well-being (SWB), academic performance, conduct, and dissatisfaction. Academic performance, conduct, and dissatisfaction were treated as school-related problems. The researchers wanted to determine the effects of divorce on Scandinavian adolescents across these five variables and compare them to those of adolescents whose parents had not divorced. This would allow the researchers to determine whether parental divorce has any measurable effect on an adolescent's life outcomes.
In this study, the researchers hypothesized that divorce has a direct effect on adolescent distress and resultant school problems.
References
Størksen, I., Røysamb, E., Holmen, T. L., & Tambs, K. (2006). Adolescent adjustment and well-being: Effects of parental divorce and distress. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 47(1), 75–84.
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