Parental marital status and adolescents' optimism about their future

J Youth Adolesc. 1982 Oct;11(5):345-54. doi: 10.1007/BF01540373.

Abstract

This article reports the results of a questionnaire survey of a representative random sample of all the schooled French-speaking adolescents of Montreal (N=4539). The sample included adolescents from legally intact homes, separated or divorced homes, and homes in which a parent was deceased. Three indicators of future success were included; adolescents from both types of broken families were less optimistic on all three dimensions than were adolescents from intact families. These results are discussed within a socioeconomic framework.