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theses

Divorce has serious implications for a child’s social and emotional development (Pedro-Carroll, 2005). Few of the child-focused interventions that have been developed to address the negative effects of divorce have been extensively evaluated to validate their positive outcomes. One school-based preventive program that has undergone in-depth evaluations with multiple treatment and control groups to document its efficacy among children of different backgrounds is the Children of Divorce Intervention Program (CODIP) (Pedro-Carroll, 2005). While many studies have documented the durability and generalizability of its positive outcomes, there is insufficient qualitative research exploring children’s perceptions of the program. In particular, Pedro-Carroll, one of the program’s developers, has identified a need to explore the active mediating aspects of the program, and the impact of age on children’s perceptions of CODIP. Therefore, through a process evaluation study, involving approximately forty children of divorce who attend two elementary schools in a public school district in New Jersey, this study investigated children’s perceptions of CODIP. The following research questions guided my study: (1) how do students describe their experiences in CODIP? (2) in what ways have students benefited from their involvement in CODIP? (3) which components of CODIP contributed to students’ positive outcomes? (4) which features of the program did students like the most/least? (5) how did participants’ perceptions of the program vary across developmental age groups? My data analysis revealed three main findings: (1) children benefited by learning how to express their feelings, solve divorce-related problems, and be part of a peer support system; (2) the positive group dynamics, strong relationships with facilitators, and experiential aspects of the program contributed to these benefits; and (3) participants offered constructive feedback about environmental conditions and their desire for more hands-on activities. The implications of these findings are considered for program developers and school counselors, and recommendations for modifications to the program and considerations for implementation are offered. While further research needs to be conducted to assess the generalizability of these outcomes, my study gives a voice to CODIP participants, as well as provides a foundation for the potential active mediating elements that account for the program’s success.

ETD_7107

Ed.D.

Includes bibliographical references

by Lauren Senko

doi:10.7282/T3SB47WR

ETD doctoral

The author owns the copyright to this work.