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The effects of acrimonious divorce on child behaviour
The effects of acrimonious divorce on child behaviour
The effects of acrimonious divorce on child behaviour
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Separation of parents is not easy for children. They feel confused, shattered and all of a sudden became so private of their lives especially to their classmates. This holds true because they have the fear to be judged, they have the worry of not being accepted and included in the circle of friends she wished to belong, started to lie about her family and they are forced to pretend that everything are just alright with his and her family.
Schaffer and Schaffer (1987) said “In assessing why a student may be having difficulty, a teacher or psychologist would of course examine the child's academic setting and intellectual potential. However, it is also essential to take the student's family situation into account since family problems
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They were nursing their own anger, their own depression and they lose the focus to attend to the needs of their children. They believed they should be understood not question and they believed they are a failure of their marriage without looking into their top priority-their own children.
Parental conflict and its effect on children.(2013). “Research has found that following separation and divorce, children are twice as likely to have emotional, social, behavioural and academic problems compared to children from families that are still together. However, this may not be the case in all families”. “High levels of conflict and ill feeling between parents following separation has also been found to have a negative impact on children’s adjustment following their parents’ separation”.
Hois “Control issues will continue to impact the adolescent’s behaviors, especially if he feels a large part of the decisions about his life are out of his control”. “Possible Long Range Effects of the Loss: If the adolescent believes he has lost all control over his life, he is likely to become either suicidal or to act out in a variety of antisocial
Because of his cultural background my father found my brother's poor performance in school incomprehensible. I too was puzzled by my brother's attitude towards school. He and I grew up in the same house with the same parents and the same set of values. Yet, he seemed to not care about school at all. For a long time, my family and I attributed my brother's C's in school and obvious inability to concentrate to laziness and a lack of motivation.
Ann could not manage time effectively because of excessive number of daily tasks, and 24 hours’ time limit. Due to her husband’s extremely busy work schedule, they also cannot spend enough and consistent time together. His schedule also force her to accomplish all household duties by herself like single parent:
With the increase of divorce and the number of children being born out of wedlock, parental alienation continues to grow. With custody laws changing, allowing for equal opportunities for both parents to raise their children, and fathers beginning to fight for their right to be involved, not just every other weekend fathers, custody battles have become increasingly fierce. Another factor contributing to this is the fact that many courts consider who will be more willing to encourage the child to have a heathly and continuing relationship with the other parent.
“Children of divorce are more than twice as likely to have serious social, emotional, or psychological problems as children of intact families…” (Parke, Mary, “Are Married Parents Really Better for Children?” p. 4). Not receiving the support and nurturing that is needed from both parents during adolescents can affect the future decisions made by children at a later stage in their lives. The guidance that is needed for children to make their life long decisions such as continuing education, certain situation thinking processes and decisions. Divorced parents will face loss of income compared to a two parent income, depression, and self-acceptance. Separating mothers and fathers in a childbearing family will lead the mother or father to having to split the roles or replace the role of the other parent in the household while the child might only be allowed to live with one parent for a certain amount of time. Single parent childbearing families face dependency among government support programs while the single parent may or may not be receiving child support that alone is not enough to remove the financial burden that single parents incur. Children often find this difficult having to move back and forth from two homes rather than having one home. Single parents who may later decide to marry often times face large scale problems as a result of becoming blended. This includes methods of parenting
On most occasions, divorces leads to children shifting from one district school to another leading to emotional disruption since they require emotional adjustments. After divorces, when there are second families, there are the unique problems of step families (Howe, 2012). Children may not be comfortable with step families since they may treat them unequally compared to their own children. Research has shown that most children suffer silently under the care of step parents. Subsequent marriages are less likely to work out than first marriages and hence it may require further adjustments to the lifestyles of the children. Studies that even though the subsequent marriages may work for the parents, the same success does not always trickle down to the children and hence they end up getting a raw
The dissolution of a marriage, or ‘divorce’ as it is known, was once an infrequent occurrence and often considered the failure of a wife to maintain a happy marriage (Lewis, 2013). Following a change in legislation in the 1960s that allowed partners to end their marriage without having to provide justification, in conjunction with the sexual liberation movement, the incidence of divorce more than doubled (Wilcox, 2009). According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2012), the number of marriages ending in divorce has continued to rise, however, despite an increase in social acceptance, the negative impact divorce has on children has remained prevalent (Kelly & Emery, 2004). It is imperative for researchers to assess the repercussions of divorce in order to learn how to efficiently minimise the negative impact it has on those involved. Studies have shown that children of divorce often experience high levels of psychological distress due to the alteration of family dynamics, as well as the experience of loss, grief and the fear of abandonment (Kelly, 2000). Such powerful disruptions within a child’s microsystem can result in ongoing behavioural difficulties, as the child may have developed destructive schemas during the times of considerable stress (Kim, 2011). An increase in stress can be detrimental to the child’s social and academic performance, which could contribute to lifelong complications (Potter, 2010). Despite this, it is important to remember that whilst the process of divorce and its aftermath can create significant emotional disturbance for some, it also marks the dissolution of an unhealthy relationship, which can result in the cessation of exposure to negativity, such as arguments and fighting, for others (Strohs...
Children of divorce have a different experience during the holidays, birthdays, and other family events. The process of parental separation alone can pay a toll on a child’s psychological health. Family events may make things awkward around the parents, but that doesn’t even compare to the things children of divorce will have to deal with, even into their adult lives. Constance Matthienssen, author and mother of three, shares in her article “Harry Potter and Divorce Among the Muggles” how her divorce affected her children (“Harry Potter”). Many parents don’t think about a divorce will affect their young children as they grow older, but divorce affects children even into their adult lives. Children of divorce grow to develop negative relationships with their parents, they tend to have poor self-esteem, and they may even find themselves unable to maintain an intimate relationship in their adulthood. Divorce affects every child differently, but it can cause many social issues into their adult lives.
They have to get used to a further living area, feelings and circumstances. Their response to divorce can vary and depends on age, gender, and personal characteristics. This essay will show the effects of divorce on children under various aspects such as educational, psychological and social impact. In addition, it will contain data about the divorce rate in the US and present disparate reactions of children. It will also include adequate recommendations for parents as to how to act on children after divorce, in order to minimize the adverse effect on children.
Most people, when thinking about divorce, worry about the impact that it has on the children that are involved. Even though children are most likely better off if totally incompatible parents separate instead of staying together, divorce is about loss and change, and it is still hard for children. Everyone knows that divorce has its effects on children. There are three different sources that try to explain these effects. Graham Blaine Jr. states that divorce is a threat to all children, whereas Rhona Mahony states that divorce is not always the cause of behavioral or academic problems in children coming from divorced families. Yvette Walczak and Sheila Burns state that the extent of the damage can be determined by the parents and their methods of explanation to the children.
Divorce is a very common word in today's society. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, "divorce is the legal dissolution of a marriage or a complete or radical severance of closely connected things"(Pickett, 2000). This dissolution of marriage has increased very rapidly in the past fifty years. In 1950 the ratio of divorce to marriage was one in every four; in 1977 that statistic became one in two. Currently one in every two first marriages results in divorce. In second marriages that figure is considerably higher, with a 67% average (National Vital Statistics Report, 2001). One critical aspect of divorce is often not taken into consideration: How it affects children. Every year 1.1 million children are affected by divorce (Benjamin, 2000). Children from divorce or separation often exhibit behavioral and long-term adjustment problems (Kelly, 2000). Throughout this paper I will discuss divorces effects on children at different age levels, how they react, and what can be done to help them.
In older times, women were responsible for the entire household work. But today, the scenario has completely changed. Now men and women are equally accountable for the household work. Even though the responsibilities have been shared, yet the divorce rate is increasing steadily. Today’s generation couples divorce due to several reasons. This includes fighting and anger between the couples or love for each other has changed. Other reason may be parent fall in love with someone else. Sometimes due to serious problem such as drinking, gambling, and spouse abuse. Financial issues or sharing duties can also be major reason for divorce. Each and every reasons of divorce affect the children’s life differently. In spite of all these reasons, majority of parents don’t care, what will be the affects of divorce on children’s life. How these innocent children handle and adapt to the new environment. Divorce can have both positive and negative affect on children’s life.
It is unfortunate that marriages sometimes end and there are children caught in the middle of the marriage but it may be worst for the parents to stay together simply for the children’s sake. However when parents do divorce the children are the most effected by the divorce. Often enough the divorce causes children to feel displaced and also to have feelings that their world is coming to an end. These children tend to grow into adults with either extreme emotional detachment and self-esteem issues or they will have strong family values and try to prevent the cycle from repeating itself but the majority of these children grow up suffering from the divorce.
Considering that over 45 percent of marriages today end in divorce, it is crucial to understand recent research regarding the positive and negative effects of divorce on children’s mental health. Studies have shown that although children of broken homes generally have more adjustment difficulties than children of intact families, the distinction between these two groups appears to be much less significant than previously assumed (1). In the case of parental separation, studies suggest that children undergo a decline in the standard of living, exhibit poorer academic performance, engage in increased alcohol/ substance abuse, as well as experience diminishing rates of employment. However, underlying factors must be taken into consideration when assessing the long-term consequence of divorce on children, which happens to be resiliency rather than dysfunction (1). These key contextual factors that influence post-divorce adjustment include parenting styles, custody arrangements, age of the child, financial stability, and most importantly, the nature and magnitude of parental conflict. Persistent, unsettled conflict or violence is linked to greater emotional anxiety and psychological maladjustment in children, whereas negative symptoms like fear and insecurity are reduced when parents resolve their conflicts through compromise and negotiation. Although divorce unveils many risk factors involving a child’s health, it may be more beneficial rather than detrimental to children living in highly discorded families, in which children are able to acquire externalizing and internalizing behaviors (1). The development of coping skills and living in a supportive and empathetic environment are two crucial components for children to manage their ne...
Sarrazin, J., & Cyr, F. (2007). Parental conflicts and their damaging effects on children. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 47(1), 77-93.
Children are psychologically and socially affected by divorce and may need counseling either at the time of their parent’s divorce or in the future. They may react instantly by getting lower grades or becoming depressed or anxious. Younger children may begin to cling to the parent that remains in the home with them for they fear that both parents will eventually leave them. Older children may begin to rebel or become extremely disobedient and disrespectful. You may see unpleasant attitudes develop and they can become unsocial and no longer desire to be around their friends. Most children feel guilty for their parent’s ...