The effect of divorce on children's self-esteem and social problem solving skills: A comparative study of Denizli in the sample

KARAKAYA, Şeyma. The Effect of Divorce on Children's Self-Esteem and Social Problem Solving Skills: A Comparative Study of Denizli in the Sample, Master Thesis, Ankara, 2018. In this study, it is aimed to determine the effects of divorce on children's self- esteem and social problem solving skills. In line with this purpose, the effects of divorce on self- esteem and social problem solving skills was examined comparatively on children between the ages of 15- 18 whose parents are divorced and not divorced. The survey which was conducted general pooling model, there were 140 people who have divorced parents and 419 not divorced parents in total 559 persons who are trained at the secondary school institutions in Denizli Province in Merkezefendi and Pamukkale districts. The data were collected through Personal Information Form, Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory and D'Zurilla and Nezu Social Problem Solving Inventory in this study. The obtained data were processed in SPSS 20 and statistically analyzed with using Mann Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, Spearman's Correlation tests. As a result of the research; self- esteem and social problem solving skills were found lower for children who have divorced parents than non-divorced parent's children. According to this, divorce has negative effects on children's self-esteem and social problem-solving skills. In this study, there are some suggestions to develop school social work, family counselling, family mediation that have crucial role in minimizing the negative outcomes of divorce and providing children's' adjustment about divorce. Keywords Divorce, Self- Esteem, Social Problem Solving Skills, School Social Work, Family Counselling, Family Mediation