Dr. Rossi compares the socioemotional adjustment of children with divorced parents to that of children from intact homes. She finds that children with divorced parents are not as well adjusted as are their counterparts from intact homes. Dr. Rossi, however, failed to assess the amount of parental conflict the children had witnessed. This variable could account for the children's poorer adjustment. In Dr. Rossi's study, the variables of divorce and parental conflict are __________.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Dr. Rossi's failure to assess the amount of parental conflict that the children had witnessed means that the variable of parental conflict may be confounded with the variable of divorce. This means that it is difficult to determine whether the poorer socioemotional adjustment of children with divorced parents is due to the divorce itself, or to the parental conflict that often accompanies divorce.

Dr Rossi Compares the Socioemotional Adjustment of Children with Divorced