1. Objectifs

Intentions :
The authors want to respond to these questions : « (1) Do parents who experience few conflicts during their break-up continue to enjoy a harmonious relationship afterward? (2) When parents have a conflictual relationship in the first years after separating, do problems eventually subside? (3) Are a family’s characteristics associated with the way a post-separation conflict evolves? » (p. 353)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
« The sample was composed of 123 boys and girls from 8 to 11 years old [from Québec city]. The children and their parents were interviewed on two separate occasions at a 1-year interval. The first interview (time 1) took place 2.5 years after the separation on average. » (p. 353)

Instruments :
Questionnaire

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

« Emphasis was placed on the evolution of the conflict between former spouses rather than on the impact of these conflicts on their children’s well-being. We focused particularly on the children’s opinion about this evolution. » (p. 355) This exploratory study provided some initial answers to the three questions […]. [For the first question,] [i]n the majority of cases the answer is ‘‘yes.’’ In our sample most parents who did not have a high degree of conflict in the beginning remained at this level 1 year later. […] [For the second one,] [t]he answer to this question is ‘‘yes’’ and ‘‘no.’’ Among a third of the families experiencing a high degree of conflict in the first years after the break-up, a decrease in the degree of conflict was observed the following year. That being said, a similar proportion of families showed no observable decrease, their conflicts lasting for years after the break-up of the relationship. [For the third one], [t]he response to this question is ‘‘yes.’’ Light was shed on three variables that were related to the conflict trajectories, namely family income, the degree of agreement at the time of separation, and the quality of the relationship with the mother. » (p. 368-369)