Predictors of children's intervention-induced resilience in a parenting program for divorced mothers

This study examined predictors of intervention-induced resilience in children of divorce whose mothers participated in a preventive parenting program. Contextual, maternal, and child factors were examined as predictors of improved child adjustment using two strategies: (a) within-group analyses conducted with program participants and (b) between-group analyses, in which relations in the parenting intervention were compared with those in a control condition. Between-group analyses showed that children were less likely to maintain program gains in externalizing when maternal demoralization was high or when children's self-regulatory skills were low. Implications for program modification and methodology for studying predictors of program benefit are discussed.