Preventive Group Training Improves Children’s Outcomes after Divorce: A Dutch Quasi-experimental Study

Abstract Worldwide, many children experience parental separation and divorce. This has a significant impact on their well-being, and emotional and behavioral functioning, and calls for prevention. To assess the effects of the Children of Divorce Intervention Program in the Netherlands (CODIP-NL) on 6- to 8-year-olds, we performed a quasi-experimental effect study. The study compared children receiving CODIP-NL (intervention: I, n = 104), children not receiving CODIP-NL but having divorced parents (divorced control: DC, n = 37), and children belonging to non-divorced families (non-divorced cont... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Klein Velderman, Mariska
van Dommelen, Paula
Pannebakker, Fieke D.
Reijneveld, Sijmen A.
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2022
Reihe/Periodikum: Journal of Child and Family Studies ; volume 31, issue 4, page 1069-1078 ; ISSN 1062-1024 1573-2843
Verlag/Hrsg.: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Schlagwörter: Life-span and Life-course Studies / Developmental and Educational Psychology
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-27070665
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02220-x

Abstract Worldwide, many children experience parental separation and divorce. This has a significant impact on their well-being, and emotional and behavioral functioning, and calls for prevention. To assess the effects of the Children of Divorce Intervention Program in the Netherlands (CODIP-NL) on 6- to 8-year-olds, we performed a quasi-experimental effect study. The study compared children receiving CODIP-NL (intervention: I, n = 104), children not receiving CODIP-NL but having divorced parents (divorced control: DC, n = 37), and children belonging to non-divorced families (non-divorced control: NDC, n = 138). Outcomes pertained to children’s positive functioning, emotional and behavioral problems, and well-being. We assessed pre- to post-test differences in change in mother-reported outcomes between the intervention and control groups, and pre- to post-test differences in group leader reports. The intervention led to increases in mother-reported positive functioning ( d = 0.97 I vs. DC; d = 1.04 I vs. NDC), and well-being ( d = 1.00 I vs. DC; d = 0.84 I vs. NDC). Mother-reported child emotional and behavioral problems decreased after participation (total difficulties, d = 0.73 I vs. DC; d = 0.49 I vs. NDC). Group leader-reported pre- to post-test differences ( p ≤ 0.001) pointed in the same directions. Findings support further implementation of CODIP to support children’s positive functioning and well-being, and to decrease emotional and behavioral problems after their parents’ divorce.