COMPUTER INTERVENTION FOR ADOLESCENT CHILDREN OF DIVORCE

This study explored the learning and effects of teens and parents part icipating together in an educational computer divorce adjustment progr am. Thirteen pairs consisting of a child (12-17) and a biological pare nt, who had not been divorced for more than 3 years, volunteer to part icipate in a computer intervention and follow-up study. Volunteers cam e to the computer lab, took a short pre-test and played the computer g ame. A week later a post-test was mailed. One week after the post-test had been mailed, a 10 minute telephone interview with both parent and teen was conducted. Utilizing the divorce computer program did not st atistically improve knowledge needed for divorce adjustment, as this w ell-educated sample had considerable mastery of divorce information pr ior to the study. However, parents and teens reported an increase in u nderstanding and communication and a decrease in conflicts related to the divorce adjustment process as a result of taking the computer inte rvention.