Divorce has grown conventional in today's society. First marriages stand a 50% chance of breaking up and second marriages stand a 67% chance of doing the same thing (issue 8 pg 146). It seems as if instead of working out problems and believing in love, people are giving up and throwing away all they worked on together for so long, thinking that their next marriage will be much different. By doing this they are hurting not only themselves but also their children and could cause them to have negative side effects later on into their adult lives according to clinical psychologist Judith S. Wallerstein. Erikson's theory of personality development can help calculate which and how stages are affected when parents get divorce. Stages 3, 4, 5 and 6 seem to be the most affected by the divorce because the main conflicts the child is confronting at the time are necessary to go through them calmly for a healthy development. Stage 3 of Erickson's theory of personality development lasts from 3 to 6 years of age and it is the stage in which the child becomes aware of their independence and that they do not always have to do what their parents say. It is called Initiative versus guilt because they take the initiative to do as they please and at the same time feel guilty that they do not obey the rules given to them. The conflicting question during this age is "am I good or am I bad?". If a divorce occurs at this stage, the child might believe that something they have done caused them to do so, filling the child with guilt. Stage 4 of Erickson's theory of personality development lasts from age 6 to the beginning of adolescence. The main theme of this stage is industry versus inferiority. 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. The symptoms of having a broken home might not always be very noticeable until a person is peeled little by little and ready to fix their heavy past.
As the case may be, children are strongly affected by divorce. Some react differently than do others, but all experience some kind of emotional change. Exposure to a highly
Children of divorced parents may have a lower sense of psychological well-being than children who grew up with intact families the range of feelings that a child may encounter include: disbelief and denial, sadness, loss, loneliness, depression, anger, anxiety, fear, relief, and hope. Some children may experience long-lasting emotional effects into their adulthood that damage their ability to preserve relationships. The result of parental divorce shapes children emotionally and may impact self-esteem, future relationships, dating and marriage (Armando Loomis and Booth 895+)..
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.
Demo, D. H., & Acock, A. C. (1988). The impact of divorce on children. Journal of Marriage
Erikson believes a person’s personality changes throughout their lifespan and primarily focuses on ego. Furthermore, ego is a person’s sense of self-importance or self- acceptance. This is a major factor when discussing personality because how we perceive ourselves, reflects onto others. Erikson’s eight stages of psychological development consist of infancy, early childhood, preschool, middle school, adolescence, young adulthood, middle age and old age. He indicates that during each stage of life a person experiences a psychological crisis, which could aid in a negative or positive result. During the infancy stage, the psychological crisis is trust vs. mistrust, meaning total dependence on the mother or father. If either or both parents show love and attention, then the child will develop trust, or otherwise mistrust if neglected. Early childhood, around the ages two to three years old a child becomes more mobile and shows signs of independence. The caregivers will either assist the child in all their needs or wait patiently as they figure them out on their own. Erikson distinguishes the importance of allowing children to face their own challenges with the tolerance of failure. This will provide the willingness to push through hard times and overcome adversity. Stage 3, initiative vs. guilt describes the interaction between other children and their ability to make decisions. A child will initiate activity with others continuously when he or she feels secure. Nevertheless, when children are told ‘no’ they react with feelings of guilt. The fourth stage of Erikson’s theory begins to explain inferiority. In this stage, a student will be introduced to teachers who become a major part of a child’s psychological development. With encouragement, children will feel confident in themselves, whereas negative reinforcement may cause self-doubt. Identity vs.
Divorce is becoming a worldwide phenomenon, significantly affecting children’s well-being. It radically changes their future causing detrimental effects. According to (Julio Cáceres-Delpiano and Eugenio Giolito, 2008) nearly 50% of marriages end with divorce. 90% of children who lived in the USA in the 1960s stayed with their own biological parents, whereas today it makes up only 40% (Hetherington, E. Mavis, and Margaret Stanley-Hagan, 1999). Such an unfavorable problem has been increasing, because in 1969, the legislation of California State changed the divorce laws, where spouses could leave without providing causes (Child Study Center, 2001). This resolution was accepted by the other states and later, the number of divorced people has been steadily growing. Such a typical situation is common for most countries in the world, which negatively affects children’s individuality. However, remarkably little amount of people can conceive the impact of marital separation caused to offspring. (? passive) Many children after separation of parents are exposed to a number of changes in the future. They have to be getting 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 act to children after divorce, in order to minimize the adverse effect on children.
The first study to be considered is a qualitative study which spanned a 25 year period and looked at 131 children from divorced families of the 1970’s. It was specifically concerned with growth and development (psychologically and socially) of these children post divorce and had extensive follow-up interviews with both parents and children at 18 months, 5, 10 and 25 year marks. At the 25 year follow-up a comparison group of adult children from intact families who had otherwise similar backgrounds were also interviewed. Some of these “intact” families were ideal while others were filled with conflict, most were somewhere in the middle. This study found a casual relationship between divorce itself and the well-being of the children which was significant all the way into adulthood. The study found that parental conflicts from before the divorce were not dominant in the children’s memories but unhappiness was related mostly to the separation itself (most children in this study had no expectations of the breakup prior to it occurring). The exception to this is when violent events occurred as with 25% of c...
While divorce gives parents a novel opportunity to begin a new life, it leads to an unfortunate twist in lifestyle for the children. In “What About The Kids? Raising Your Children Before, During, and After Divorce” Judith S. Wallerstein, Ph.D., a psychologist who spent 25 years of her life studying the effects of divorce on children, and Sandra Blakeslee, a scientist writer who has spent nearly all of her profession writing for New York Times, wrote, “Each decision to divorce begins a long journey that holds surprising, unexpected turns.”. Divorce leads to many unforeseen negative consequences for the children involved. Some frequent symptoms such as, anxiety, depression, guilt and grief emerge in the children’s behavior.
When a couple with a child chooses to get a divorce this can have major impact on a child at any age. There are many causes of stress throughout the divorce process that can negatively affect children. First, negative reactions and behaviors are dependent upon the situation before the divorce. Some studies show that how much parents fight, how it is done, how it is resolved, and what precautions are taken to protect the children from it's effects are the most important predictors of child adjustment (Kelly, 2000). Meaning that if children are exposed to fights about custody, money, or the failing marriage they could feel the repercussions of their parents conflict. Next, divorce can cause children to have heightened fear...
In Erickson’s Stage development there are eight stage theory of identity and psychosocial development. The first stage is Infancy, which is from birth to eighteen months old. Here is where we learn basic trust vs mistrust, in my personality I would say that the nurturing of my grandmother taught me how to be optimistic and confident in the world around me. As well as developed a sense of trust, in which it gave me hope when a new crisis arises in my next challenge. The second stage is Toddler/Early childhood years, which is from eighteen months to three years old. Here is where we learned Autonomy vs shame, in my personality I would say I am very independent and I pride on how much I accomplish, I was very rebellious as a toddler and always
Does divorce have more of an impact on the way American children act today than originally thought? Long ago divorce was a rare occasion and generally people feared it. Nowadays, fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce. With that being said, the amount of children subjected to divorce is increasing. Individuals seem to believe a divorce is subjected to just the husband and wife relationships but research has found this not to be the case. Children today are becoming more distant from their parents and peers; some consider divorce as the reason. In research and studies done, it is proven that divorce does have an impact on American children and their emotions. Paying attention to children’s attitudes and the way they interact with other children is one of many ways to know there could be a problem in their life. Adults typically overrun the reality of a child’s feels, especially if they were subjects of intact families as children and aren’t familiar with the feeling of parental divorce. Most children do not want to upset their parents so instead of talking to them about their thoughts and feelings, they choose to stay quiet and distance themselves from everybody. The currency of divorce in modern society damages not only our children’s emotional development, but also their social attitudes.
In Erik Erikson’s theory, he believes that all humans go through eight phases throughout their entire life. According to Erikson, during the early childhood development, a child passes through three phases. These three phases include the toddler (Autonomy v. Shame), preschool (Initiative v. Guilt), and elementary school (Industry v. Inferiority). You should be able to tell the difference of a child who is brought up in a healthy or unhealthy environment. Toddlers will take pride in their actions or they will throw temper tantrums. Preschoolers will take responsibility or accuse others for their behavior or actions. And children in the elementary school phase will either be successful or unsuccessful when learning new abilities. In his work, Erikson was trying to point out that “Each stage is an emotional crisis or a turning point, in personality, and the crisis in each stage must be successfully met for normal, healthy psychological development.” (Ciccarelli & White, 2015, p.
Stage one of Erickson development is trust vs. mistrust. This stage happens at 0-18 months. this stage infants develops a sense of trust and learns that to depend on others. Mistrust will form if the parents don't show they care or affection (Funder, 1997). Stage two is autonomy vs. shame and doubt. This stage begins when the child is 18 months through 3 years of age. In this stage the child needs to learn how to control skills such as physical skills, self control and independence. By doing this the child feels a sense of autonomy feeling as if they have control over their life. If the child feels like he/she has not achieve these skills, they feel a sense of shame and doubt (Funder, 1997). A good example of this is stage is a child mastering potty training.Stage three is intuitive and guilt. This stage begins at age 3 through 5 years of age. The child begins to explore, and began to from initiative ideas, they also begin school. the child because to play with others and gain a sense of power and control over things. If the child feels as if the parents support this and feel successful, they feel a sense of purpose. If the c...
When two parents decide to divorce, their children acquire a really tough pill to swallow. The thought of one’s mom and dad not being together anymore and living with just one of them could potentially cause drastic changes in his or her person. The whole concept of divorce makes it tough on the parents as well. Because of the way in which children are affected, the parents face potential relationship struggles with their children. Research has been done and the effects of divorce differ depending on the current age and stage of life of the children. (Oesterreich) Regardless of the age, many children feels as if somehow the divorce was their fault. Also hoping to save the marriage, some kids strive to improve their behavior.
Resilience is a major issue when it comes to the effects divorce may have on parents and children. It is the act of the child or parent attempting to face life adjustments and how they may react to the change. Emo0tionally resilience can be a bad thing because some child display their emotions differently. “As a consequence, the experience of divorce is a psychosocial stressor and a significant life transition for most children, with long-term repercussions for many” (Lamb, Sternberg & Thompson, 2005). This shows that divorce has many everlasting emotional effects on the parties that are involved. Most child tend to display those feelings verbally or through actions within their behavior to express how this has impacted them. Often withholding