Sample
The initial sample (N=315 cases/families) was drawn at random from six courts in South Wales and the South West of England namely: Swansea, Cardiff, Newport, Bristol, Yeovil, Exeter. Together these courts gave a mix of city, town and country increasing the likelihood of the sample being representative of divorce cases in England and Wales.
Each case involved at least one child aged between 8-14 years and had been granted decree nisi between January and August 1997.The last criterion allowed us to meet one of our distinctive research objectives - it enabled us to talk with children whilst divorce was still a recent event, on average within 15 months of decree nisi being granted.
From the initial sample 30.4% families agreed to participate, 35.9% opted out, 28.6% for reasons unknow did not reply, and 5.1% had moved and could not be traced.
The final population consisted of 104 children - 51 boys and 53 boys - from 70 families. Siblings in the target age range were included if they wished to take part. The 70 resident parents also participated.
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