Parental Divorce Case Study

Over time, children learn how to mediate arguments between their adult parents in order to seek a communicative agreement. This function, among others, puts children in a place where they feel as if they need to choose a side, one parent or the other. The reason this occurs is because their parents’ demand-withdraw pattern... ... middle of paper ... ...e a greater communication satisfaction within the post divorce family unit. It can be concluded that the complex changes in life circumstances that an adolescent experiences throughout and after a divorce can alter relations with one or both parents. Main factors such as children feeling caught between parents and inappropriate parental divorce disclosures can effect parent-child relations in both positive and negative ways.

Dealing with conflicts between parents during divorce causes children to lose their sense of security. Children feel secure when they are with both of their parents. If this feeling of security is diminished, children will have a slight possibility of developing psychological disorders. Children with divorced parents tend to be alone or have fewer friends because of the separation of their parents. Divorce and separation are emotional processes in which the child is affected just as much as are the parents.

Here is where the child learns to function ... ... middle of paper ... ...d by their parent's divorce but also have negative side effects later on in adulthood (issue 8 pg 146). Developmental psychologist Hetherington agrees that divorce can be harmful to a child's development but that they ultimately overcome it. Eventually they will overcome it, but this is most likely to happen past stage 6, in middle adult hood after one has decided whether or not they want to spend their life with someone. Erickson's theory of personality development can help one realize the stages which are mostly affected by a parent's divorce. The stages affected are stages 3, initiative versus guilt, stage 4 industry versus inferiority, stage 5, identity versus confusion, and finally intimacy versus isolation.

What is known for sure is that divorce affects children. Trust and relationships are affected by parents divorcing. The definition of trust is the belief that someone or something that is reliable; a dependence on something future. Divorce affects the level of trust and can change how trust is managed in relationships. Trust is shaken when the child loses the the security of both parents living together, and girls and boys react differently to the divorce.

Should parents stay in marriage instead of divorce for the sake of the children? Yes, in my opinion the parents should stay in marriage for the sake of the children because they need to think about the damage they are doing to their children’s life. Overall the decision to divorce is the parent’s opinion based on the situation he/she is in, According to Helpguide.org “Conflict between parents-separated or not- can be very damaging for kids.” (Helpguide.org).

In addition to assisting children through the trauma of divorce and educating their parents, the reduction in instances of the parents returning to court and prolonging the divorce proceedings, or relitigation as it is termed in the research, is viewed as an overall benefit from the programs (Brewster, K., Beck, C. A., Anderson, E. R., & Benjamin, G. H., 2011). The effects of divorce on children can being immediately detrimental, as well as have long-term effects on their health and socialization. The effects of parental conflict on children can result in anxiety, depression, and disruptive behavior; as adults they are more apt to have higher rates of divorce and maladjustment in their own adult relationships. While adjusting to shifts in the family institution, children are at risk for experiencing increased problems in school, peer relationships, and rebelling against authority. Upon learning of a separation or impending divorce, children tend to suffer more so from the consequences of parental animosity and hostilities than they do from the divorce (Brewster et al., 2011).

Between 1966 and 1976 the divorce rate in the United States doubled. Currently 32% of children in the United States do not live with two married parents, this remains a highly significant number of children living in single-parent or reconstituted households”(Rich, Molloy, Hart, Ginsberg and Mulvey, 2001 p.163). Divorce can be an emotional bumpy rollercoaster ride for children and parents. Children many times become pawns in bad separations and divorces. The children are sometimes forced to join sides or even choose side.

The results of the study show that there is a indirect effect of parental divorce on children and their romantic relationships, especially concerning father-daughter relationships. In families where the parents are still together, relationships with the father were significantly related to satisfaction in the children’s romantic relationships. Now, we will look at the different effects of parental divorce and marital conflict on young adult romantic

Divorce can have both positive and negative affect on children’s life. According to statics, majority of parents divorce when the children are below eighteen. During this time, children are growing physically, socially, emotionally, morally ,and spiritually. Children don’t know what is going around them. Statics also say, half of the American children witnesses break up of their parents.

Sometimes divorce can be the best thing for the couple as well as the child. If a marriage is only there for the child then that could affect them just as much as a divorce (65). The outcome on how serious the effects are on a child after divorce can vary. It is all revolved on how the parents handle the divorce; what decisions and choices they chose to make will change the way the child is affected. When it comes down to it, “you can choose to see your family as rearranged, or you can choose to see it as broken” (62).