Divorce is viewed as a national tragedy, particularly for its impact on young children, who lacked any control over the situation yet were most susceptible to its emotional pain and uncertainty. Children lost the security of a home, predictable routines, and loving family members. Innocent lives were transformed forever, often for the worse.…

The authors selected 58 mother-child dyads from divorced and intact families to participate in a study on the impact of divorce on preschoolers' attachment security. The authors explored pathways that lead to security of attachment. They found that mothers from divorced families were younger, had lower income levels, and had lower levels of…

This paper examines three inter-related issues: whether past levels of resources, context and opportunity structures carry long-term consequences for subsequent child attainments and behaviours; whether shocks, or transition events, alter the path of these outcomes in a positive or negative fashion; and what role can be played by policy…