Children's concepts of family: Early latency aged children in divorced and intact families

The present study was designed to determine whether concepts of family differ significantly in children from divorced families as compared with children from intact families. Subjects included 22 children from divorced families and 22 children from intact families, all aged six to eight. Children from divorced families were of particular interest since their concepts of family might be expected to change with the transformation of family structure. Measures consisted of the Kinetic Family Drawing, Parent Traits Checklist, and the Family Roles Questionnaire. The results indicated differences in family concepts between early latency aged children in divorced and intact families. Fathers were more often omitted from family drawings, descriptions of parental attributes were more extreme, and stronger preferences for the involvement of both parents in family activities were expressed. Gender differences showed boys more likely to omit fathers and to rate parents negatively. Paternal visitation frequency also affected parent ratings.