Divorce Paper

The Effects of Divorce in American Culture
The effects of divorce on the American culture are immense. Social scientists have been studying these effects for many years now. The studies are continuing to confirm that the climbing rate of divorce in the American culture is hurting the society and also frequently devastating the lives of many American children. More often than not people decide to get a divorce before they really think about the effects of divorce. People usually decide to get a divorce based on emotion rather than logic which can hinder their long term happiness. There are many areas in which divorce has a negative effect in the life of a child or an adult. Many of these effects also directly correlate to the effect on a society. However, there is hope. Although divorce is being more widely recognized as being harmful to both culture and to the individuals involved, there are many ways that a society can seek to reduce this harm and attain a goal of being a culture dedicated to the well-being of the family unit. Children involved in a divorce are deeply affected and the lasting effects will virtually extend out to every aspect of the child's life. The statistics being provided show the many ways that this is true. Children of divorce are more likely to show signs of struggle with academic achievement have more emotional problems, are involved more frequently in drug abuse and crime, and many others. Conduct problems are common in children coming from broken homes. A study suggested that this could be due to the fact that divorce has a negative effect on the parenting a child receives (Shansky, 2002). A father becomes less involved for example. Also, a mother must adjust along with the children and often experiences depressive tendencies as a result. These type behaviors inhibit the ability of a child to receive the parenting that they deserve. Another cause of problems has been shown to be that religious worship tends to be less prevalent in the homes of those that have been divorced. This can have serious implications as worship in a home has been proven to be a significant factor in the well-being of the children. This also tends to create problems in the children relating to conflict handling abilities and also poor self esteem. Children in a home with two worshiping parents have a better chance of overcoming these obstacles. (Himes & Coriden, 2004) The economic factors are also a problem with divorced families which in turn has a direct effect on the ability of the children to succeed financially. The majority of divorces that occur, result in the household income being reduced by as much as half. This can have a much greater effect on children growing up in a family that is financially secure before the divorce. The adjustment and change that must occur financially is often devastating to the children especially in their formative years. (Fagan & Rector, 2000) There are countless studies and results of said studies to prove the effects that divorce is having on America's children. There are not as many studies related to the longer lasting effects as these children become adults. However, it is a well known fact the children of parents who divorce are much more likely to be involved in a divorce in their adult years thus setting in motion the merry-go-round effect. Their children are affected as they were, are likely to have the same problems they had, and will most likely continue the cycle of divorce through the next generation. The negative effects that these adults suffered as a child spill over into almost every aspect of their adult life. There is an increased risk of poverty for these adults whether or not they have children of their own. They are much less likely to receive the relationship skills that tend to be acquired by children that are able to watch a healthy relationship between two parents. A single parent can teach these skills to their children, but a child is more likely to model something that they have witnessed. These same adults are also more likely to continue abusing drugs or alcohol into their adult life which has many ramifications of its own. The problem essentially lies in the fact that all of the problems that a child faces as a result of divorce are exacerbated in their adult life with a much greater effect due to the influence they are able to have. All of the effects that have been mentioned as pertaining to individuals also directly affect the culture in which they occur. The societal effects of divorce are proving to be more profound than previously realized. The legislation that occurred in the past regarding the laws of divorce was largely based on data and information that had not fully been realized in its infantile beginnings. Today, the true effect on a society where divorce becomes acceptable and is treated as such is currently being shown. There is also a significant effect felt throughout the economy of the United States. This is due in part to the significant amount of families that turn to government assistance following a divorce. The amount of households with children that undergo a divorce and subsequently move into poverty status is astonishing. This is the end result for almost half of all families that end in divorce. Almost 40 percent of families on government assistance are single parent households resulting from a divorce or divorced individuals that have re-married (Adelson, 1996). This is largely due to the fact that the average household income drops by almost half following a divorce causing the inevitable seeking of assistance from the society to help support the single parent and their children. Something must be done to begin to reverse these destructive trends in the United States. These trends are impacting the culture in ways that are of no benefit to the most important part of culture, the family. Now that divorce has been recognized as being a catalyst in the weakening of people, economy, and the nation as a whole, the state and federal governments must take action to begin the process of reducing the divorce rate in this country. This will most likely require an entire change in the way that divorce is viewed in the eyes of the American people. The media tells people that it is acceptable, many religions view it as often necessary, and the court system approaches it as a useful tool for its people. One way that this reversal of trends could be accomplished is for the media to treat divorce in a similar fashion to the way that the media and the government began to treat the use of tobacco products. The cultural shift that has occurred toward the use of tobacco products has been nothing short of amazing. This was accomplished by a barrage of information being fed to the people about the negative effects and the consequences that come from using these products. The same approach could be taken toward divorce. A multi-billion dollar ad campaign followed by a shift in the attitude of the courts and the government could almost certainly be the beginning of this much needed change in how divorce is viewed in the United States. The American government currently spends $150 billion per year to help subsidize single parent families while it only spends $150 million per year on programs dedicated to preventing the disintegration of the family (Fagan & Rector, 2000). It is obvious that another way to begin the change would be to begin offering more free programs dedicated to providing information including counseling that would teach families the benefits of staying together. They could learn from other couples who have been in the similar situation of once considering divorce but did not follow through and later found after time the divorce would have been a big mistake. They could be taught the huge financial benefits of staying together in a counseling-type setting. They could also learn how much they and their children will truly suffer as a result of divorce. These and many other things could contribute to the effective change that will be necessary to keep families together. If looked at honestly and accurately, divorce can be considered one of the worst social diseases to attack the American culture and its people. It is a disease that is contagious and destructive to the society and must be seen as such for any effective change to occur. It effects in a negative way almost every institution of the American society including the economy, the schools, the courts, and worst of all the children who are the nation's future. These effects can be lessened if the rate of divorce is also lessened. There will be a cost, but the long term payoff will most certainly exceed any costs in economical terms, and the payoff will prove to be a benefit that the American culture so desperately needs.

What I have learned in this class…
I learned a great deal about where people come from and how taking sociology would help me a great deal in my nursing career. Sociology takes cultures as a group instead of looking at an individual. As the saying goes; “It takes a village to raise a child.” We are who we are not only from the way we were raised but also by the environment and culture in which we are surrounded by. The medical field deals a lot with ethics and there are so many ethical questions that have to be answered, having knowledge of different cultures perspectives will allow me to handle each patient with the utmost respect. I have always loved learning what made people “tick” the way they do and I thought with all the courses I have taken with psychology that I had a really good grasp on it, sociology has opened my mind to understanding people more than I ever could have imagined. Nursing goes beyond just tending to a patients illness, it helps create a wider plan to ensure that patient illness and over all wellbeing is treated as well. Learning about different cultures and the way the viewed the world has made me a better-rounded individual. I want to go in to hospice care the ability to take of someone until their final day is something I find to be a greatest honor. I want to make sure that they are at peace and that they are comfortable. Because what I am choosing to do is something that most people would run from I had to understand what death meant to others and why most are afraid of it even though it is something that happens to us all. Sociology has enlightened me on cultures perception of death and what it means to them. Sociological inquiry can illuminate and help make sense of the relationship between private troubles like illness, premature death, and lung cancer and public issues. Sociology is a value to nurses to enable them to question the values and beliefs of their professional and the...

Divorce is becoming all too popular in this society. When a couple goes through a �dry� spell or have one too many arguments, they automatically think divorce. Divorce is such a long, hurtful process. Divorce does not only hurt the two adults involved, it also affects the children tremendously. Many people do not consider divorce to be that bad. Hollywood makes divorce look �cool� and uneventful. When in all reality, it is not �cool.� Divorce is the lazy way out of a marriage; the cowardly thing to do when a problem presents itself. What people fail to see is that there is a stigma put on divorced people. Divorce is not the only answer to marital problems, in most cases. Every culture, past and present, has a different view of divorce and a different way of getting a divorce.
Most couples see marriage as a good experience for their emotional health. Couples might say that they get financial freedom, inner peace, consistency, and an outlook to what their future holds (Ben-Zur and Michael 2009). Many couples start out very optimistic, but not all can handle the hard times that are around the corner. Divorce is not a new idea for people. Many discoveries have been made by Anthropologists about the subject. It is also not just for developed countries. Every culture has a different approach to divorce. In the Shoshone Indian Tribe, if a man came home and found his possessions outside of his home, he knew that his wife wanted a divorce.� In other societies, such as the Cewa of East Africa, when a husband wants a divorce, all he has to do is to take his tools, such as a hoe and ax, and his mat to sleep on and leave his wife�s village. Traditionally, in Japan if a woman wants a divorce she must serve for two years at a temple. If a Japanese man wanted to divorce his wife all that is required of him is to write a letter with three and a half lines (Coontz 2006).
Marriages in the past were for different reasons than they are today, thus divorces were for different reasons. People did not marry for love; they married to gain more labor workers, more money, for military purposes, for business purposes, social obligations, or to gain strong in-laws. In some societies, such as ancient India, falling in love with a person before marriage was looked upon as unworthy and disruptive to society. Even in France, love was seen as a form of insanity, and the only recovery would be to have sex. The growth of love after marriage was supported in some cultures, but rarely did a person fully attach themselves emotionally to their partner. Couples in seventeenth century Europe and America were taught that in entering a marriage they would learn to love their partner. But even in Europe and America, too much love was considered a sin (Coontz 2006).
In society today, marriage is no longer seen as a sacred, indestructible union between two people. The United States has a high divorce rate; with almost fifty percent of every marriage ending in divorce. However, the rate seems to have slowed down a bit since the eighties. The rate of older couples getting divorced is increasing every year, but it still remains lower than the total amount of divorces. It seems that numerous older couples, that is age 65 and older, are experiencing divorce. But in the past, divorce of older couples was unheard of due to social forbiddance or shorter life expectancies. Today it is still not seen as much, but the divorce rate for older couples is increasing as the generation known as the baby boomers come into older age. Each of the baby boomers are experiencing more lenient views of happiness, self-realization, and their own attitudes. For younger couples, deterioration and disagreements in marriages are due to problems between the two involved. Marriages that last a lifetime are becoming less dominate in society because people are wanting more personal satisfaction in their marriage, which is sometimes impossible. In the past, marriages were more successful due to financial obligations and shorter life spans. But now, people are living much longer than before and want inner growth and happiness, which creates a person�s need for inner happiness on an emotional level that creates personal wants, some of which are left unattended to. Today�s marriages are not able to provide for each person�s demands, most of which are not all the same. For this reason, numerous marriages end due to the fact that the couple is bored with each other, has fallen out of love with each other, or they wanted to see growth on an emotional level within themselves (Wu and Schimmele 2007).
Today, most couples earn their living by two incomes. This is better for each person in a divorce, because each person has some chance of financially surviving. Women are able to provide for their children after a divorce. But there is still a decline in a woman�s standard of living after a divorce, than for a man (Coontz 2006). Children are affected by divorce due to the loss of a two parent household. Research shows that the children of divorced parents do not have an intimate bond with their parents any longer. This loss of the bond between parent and child is due to the stress and differing emotions that come from a divorce. It does not matter if the divorce was friendly; children are affected by it, no matter what their age or what the situation is (Daatland 2007).