Attrition among families of divorce: patterns in an outpatient psychiatric population.

The accelerated divorce rate has greatly increased the number of children of divorce. In addition, the children and families of divorce are proportionately overrepresented in populations seeking child guidance and psychiatric services. However, the patterns in the use of such services by these families has been unexamined. In our study we find no differences in the use of outpatient psychiatric services between families where both biological parents are present and families of divorce. A closer look at the divorced families reveals that recently divorced mother-headed families more frequently interrupt both the evaluation and treatment phases of clinic contact. Several clinical patterns are described which help explain the finding and it is suggested that the traditional child guidance model may not be the most suitable intervention modality in working with these families. Statements on the accelerated divorce rate are now commonplace. The break-up of so many marriages has led to a new sociological classification--children of divorce--and their ranks increase by more than 1,000,000 a year with predictions of ever greater numbers in the future (Bane, 1979). Research efforts of just a few years ago This article is reprinted with permission from the Journal of the Academy of Child Psychiatry, Vol. 21, 1982, pp. 409-413. James Rembar, PHD, is with the Department of Psychiatry, New York HospitaI-Corneit Medical Center, Westchester Division, 21 BloomingdaIe Road, White Plains, NY 10605. Jack Novick and Nell Kalter are with the University of Michigan. Reprints requests should be directed to Dr. Rembar international Journal of Family Therapy 5~4), Winter "1983 @1983 Human Sciences Press 227