The Effects of Early Parental Divorce on the Sex Role Development of College Students

The present study examined the long term effects of early parental divorce on the sex role development of college students. Two hundred and nineteen undergraduates served as subjects; 84 from families where the parents divorced prior to the subject's tenth birthday, and 135 from families in which the parents had never divorced or separated. While shorter-term studies have indicated disruptions in sex role development in children of divorced parents, the present study failed to support this conclusion. No significant differences were found between subjects from intact and divorced parents on the sex role measures used. Further analysis of the data for subjects from divorced families assessed the possible mediating influence of a)children's age at the time of divorce, b) presence and sex of siblings, and c)post-divorce parental conflict. These factors were found to have an effect on subjects' sex role development.