The Effects Of Parental Divorce On Children And Adolescents

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Oppawsky, J. (2014). The Nurse Sees it First The Effects of Parental Divorce on Children and Adolescents. Annals of Psychotherapy & Integrative Health, 1-8.
The family unit has been the cornerstone of civilization since the beginning of time. It is the one, ubiquitous common bond that brings human beings together in hopes of perpetuating their lineage. We do not simply mate for reproductions sake. On the contrary, we look to pass on to our children certain cultural beliefs and values that define our very existence. Moreover, just as Satan endeavors to separate the unity Christians have with their Heavenly Father so does divorce threaten the sanctity of marriage. According to the American Psychological Association, (2016) “about 40 to 50 percent of married couples in the United States divorce”. The dissolution of marriage is not a victimless incident. Its consequence has a far-reaching effect on society as a whole, but even more devastating are the effects on any children that are involved.
In her article about the symptomatology effects viewed in children of divorce, Oppawsky delineates the responsibilities and obligations nurses have not only with recognizing the debilitating somatic issues found in children of divorce, but also stresses the importance of appropriate treatment of the child and psycho-education for the parents, respectively. Her reasoning for this postulation is due to the fact that “nurses are some of the first professionals to see [the] reactions” (Oppawsky , 2014, p. 1) in children who experience divorce. “Reactions [that] mimic reactions to or symptoms of physical ailments and illnesses” (p. 4).
After the initial introduction, Oppawsky draws attention to three main reaction types experienced in chi...

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... future and as such should be treated with the utmost care so as to prevent small problems from manifesting into lifelong pathologies. A commonly spoken maxim alludes to how resilient children are. How easily they can adjust or adapt to a given situation. That adult decisions do not affect them because they are not part of the problem between mother and father, mostly. And for the most part children are resilient. They can and often do adjust or adapt to the given situation. But at what cost? Parent’s decisions do affect their children in more ways than most would like to acknowledge. Most pathological problems in adulthood can be traced back to some experience or another in childhood. If we wish to lessen these issues later in life then we must address them early, before they have a chance to become cemented into one’s core value filter system.

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