Author:
,OLĂRESCU VALENTINA,DICU ADRIANA,
Abstract
The association between family tensions caused by transitions in parental separation and the effects of the child's adjustment to changes in separation has also been established in numerous studies. The aim of this study was to identify personality disorders in preadolescents living in divorced families compared to those in harmonious, non-divorced families, to facilitate the structuring of psychological interventions oriented/focused on ameliorating these disorders. The sample included 125 children with divorced parents and 103 children from organized families (N = 228 respondents). Self-reported data were collected using the Millon Pre-Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MPACI), authors Theodore Millon, Ph.D., DSc, Carrie Millon, Ph.D., Robert Tringone, Ph.D., Seth Grossman, PsyD. and Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children (HiPIC), authors I. Mervielde, Ph.D. Filip de Fruyt, Ph.D to capture trends in preadolescent personality traits in the context of divorce. The results obtained on personality characteristics of children from divorced families showed significantly differentiated scores on emerging personality patterns compared to the results reported by children from non-divorced families. Specifically, both on the MPACI, the preadolescents showed impaired psychological development in general, an imbalance in the emerging personality pattern (consistent presence of Conformist,Inhibited, Unstable patterns) and on the HiPIC with respect to Emotional Stability, Extraversion, Imagination and Conscientiousness. Our results help to complete the theoretical and practical bases of psychological science with information on the specific disorders that can be caused in children exposed, directly or indirectly, to conflict situations between their divorced parents.