This investigation comparatively examines coping strategies and maladaptive behavior in elementary schoolchildren who have experienced parental divorce and their peers from nondivorced families. A sample of 122 elementary school children and their parents participated in this study. Half the sample was from families where marital disruption had occurred, and the remainder was from homes with no previous history of marital separation. Although children from the two family configurations demonstrated differences in problem behaviors, no significant between-group differences with respect to children's coping strategies were noted. The frequency and effectiveness of children's coping strategies were found to vary as a function of the time since marital disruption.
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