تفاوت های جنسیتی در پیامدهای اقتصادی طولانی مدت طلاق والدین

Abstract This paper reports tests of the broad hypothesis that there are gender differences in the long-term impact of parental divorce on the offsprings' achievement motivation and achievement behaviors. The hypothesis was tested with a sample of approximately 700 white men and women who wrote adequate protocols for the Thematic Apperception Test that was given in the 1976 survey of Americans' mental health. Principle inferences were that, holding control variables constant, parental divorce (1) raises the achievement motivation of daughters but does not lower it for sons, (2) lowers the earnings of daughters who work but has no effect on the earnings of sons. Through marriage, the offspring of divorce are able to attain the family income of the offspring of an intact family.

. Introduction More than thirty years ago, psychologists (Veroff et al., 1960) hypothesized that divorce has asymmetric consequences for the achievement motivation of children: weakening it for sons and strengthening it for daughters. The argument underlying their hypothesis rested on assumed role model effects. In a divorce, typically the mother gets custody of the children. This implies the loss of a son's role model. In families where the father is the prime wage earner, the loss of the role model also deprives a son of his model for achievement. If the mother assumes the function of prime wage earner, a daughter's model for achievement is strengthened. However these role model effects are also extant in the case of a father's death. Only in the case of divorce can they be exacerbated by resentment of the father. For a boy, loss of his model for achievement coupled with resentment can dampen his positive motivation for success. For a girl, resentment of the father `can reinforce a need for feminine independence and self-reliance' (Veroff, et. al., p. 27.) The purpose of this paper is to test the hypothesis of asymmetric consequences of divorce on the long-term economic success of offspring. Two broad hypotheses are tested: first, that there is a gender difference in the impact on achievement motivation, and second, that there is a gender difference in the impact on achievement behaviors. The paper adds to the behavioral findings of previous research by estimating the impact of parental divorce on components of the adult offspring's reported family income; i.e., on own earnings and on the spouse's contribution to family income, if any. The paper would not have been possible without the 1976 survey of Americans' mental health (Veroff et al., 1982) which gathered detailed economic as well as psychological data. All survey respondents were asked questions about parental family structure, educational attainment, labor force participation, personal income and family income. About one-third were given a Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), the instrument used to measure motivation.1 Although the achievement motive (McClelland et al., 1953) was the focus of Veroff's hypotheses, the affiliation and power motives (Heyns et al., 1958; Winter, 1973) are necessary to explain outcomes for family income. The sample on which the paper is based is comprised of about 700 men and women.2 A search of the literature on divorce revealed that, although there had been studies of gender differences in the long-term economic impact of parental divorce, none had controlled for the effects of divorce on achievement motivation. A meta-analysis of thirty-seven studies conducted from 1950 through the 1980s (Amato and Keith, 1991) found that men and women whose parents were divorced experienced a lower material quality of life than adults whose biological parents were continuously married and that, in general, there were no significant gender differences in the decrement.3 The studies variously measured material well-being by income, assets held, housing quality, welfare dependency, and perceived economic strain. The decrement was less in the 1980s than in earlier time periods and more severe for whites than for blacks. In the discussion of their results, Amato and Keith noted that their findings were contrary to studies of children which tend to show that the boys in divorced families experience more problems than do girls. It seems likely that the Veroff et al. hypothesis was grounded in the studies of children. While the effects of divorce have been ameliorated over time, they remain significant. For example, McLanahan and Sandefur (1994) found that 31% of children from families in which the parents were divorced or permanently separated failed to graduate from high school, compared with 13% of children from families with no disruption.4 The economic impact of dropping out of high school persists for a lifetime through its effect on earnings and family income. High school drop outs have significantly lower age-earnings profiles and lower family incomes than graduates. An important part of the effect on family income is attributable to positive sorting by education in the marriage market. The body of the paper follows. In Section 2, the model which was used to test the hypotheses is specified. In Section 3, the results of the statistical tests are reported. In Section 4, an explanation is offered for the findings concerning economic behavior. Conclusions concerning the achievement motive and achievement behaviors are given in Section 5.

5. Conclusions The data from the 1976 survey of Americans' mental health are consistent with the hypothesis that divorce raises the achievement motivation of daughters. However, they result in rejecting the hypothesis that divorce lowers the achievement motivation of sons. The achievement motive was a significant determinant of the level of education. It affected earnings and family income through its effect on the level of education but did not have a direct effect on those outcomes. Resentment of the father increased the probability of dropping out of high school for both genders. The data were not consistent with the hypothesis that being reared in a female headed household would strengthen a daughter's achievement motive or behavior. In fact, the data showed that having a working mother would discourage a daughter from labor force participation. The data were not consistent with the hypothesis that loss of the father as a role model would dampen a son's achievement motive or occupational success. In fact, the data suggest that substitute male role models gave their stepsons the incentive to marry and to be especially productive. Married men whose father had died or who had left their mother had higher earnings and family income than other men, holding education and the other independent variables constant. Marriage was a key to economic success for both genders. A disturbing finding was that the offspring of divorce seem to have pursued economic success at the expense of their children. The sons of divorce allocated less time to child care than other men, and the daughters of divorce were less likely to take satisfaction in their children's achievements than other women. The implication is that divorce affects grandchildren as well as children. These are long term consequences indeed!