Threshold of Withdrawal from Schoolwork among Children of Divorced Parents

The principal aim of the present study was to examine whether there is a difference of withdrawal threshold between children of divorced parents and children from intact families as regards schoolwork. Three different school-type tests, designed to be long and frustrating, were administered to two groups of children. One group consisted of 31 children of divorced parents (15 boys and 16 girls); the second consisted of children from intact families and was of equal size and had a matching number of children of both sexes. There were three dependent variables: level of achievement, level of determination and the time spent on the test. The main results show that children of divorced parents have lower levels of achievement and lower withdrawal thresholds than do children from intact families. These findings are presented in the context of a consideration both of the children's experience and interpretation of their parents’ divorce and of the generalisability of the concept of withdrawal threshold.