after the divorce. After divorce, whether the result is good or bad, childhood and adulthood is different. It’s one of the processes that many people in the world go through. The rates of divorce tends to increase each year. There are about millions of children who suffer from their parents divorce. Children at a younger age, whose parents get a divorce have a higher predicament then those who are in their teen or early adulthood years. Most of these children are young and they don’t have any clue on how to deal with the divorce situation. To be more explicit, children at ages seven and ten will be taken into account. The girl is Melanie and the boy is Mason. Their Parents have just gone through a divorce. The mom was chosen to take full custody for providing for her two children. The parent might have difficulty when left with the task of providing for her seven and ten year old kids due to the changes in their development. As a matter of fact, the physical development such as growth is not expected to be affected by divorce unless the child was born with an incomplete nutrition or had a severe problem, for example premature birth. One of the many problems premature kids have is that there brains are more smaller than those who reached a complete term. There brains grow more slowly throughout their life. This problem will cause the child to have long term health problems. These children are at a high risk of developing. But in this case, Mason and Melanie are very healthy. Divorce can cause major mental health problems as well. One of the problems these two children might experience is chronic stress because instead of giving off the epinephrine, the body will release stress hormones. Epinephrine is another word for adrenaline and its the chemicals that the body hides when it is under acute stress. Releasing massive stress hormones during divorce can affect every system in the childs body. The stress that they experience can also lead to depression and anxiety. Also, divorce might cause these kids to have trouble sleeping. There bodys might be unsettling which might cause them physical stress which keeps them from getting the rest that they need. If these kids don’t get enough sleep then it can lead to aggressive and insubordinate behavior. For example, they might get into fights at school or the playground. Last but not least, they might gain weight. This is because some children don’t like to express their emotions or like to talk about their problems. For instance, Mason is more likely to gain weight because he might feel that it’s not okay to show emotions in public because he wants to look “tough.” Girls on the other hand are able to cry when they are upset about something. When guys don’t talk about how they feel, they tend to rely on food to make them feel better so they gain a lot of weight. Young Girls who come from a divorced family might experience puberty earlier. These girls might start to menstruate early because they might experience a separation in their home. When Melanie’s father leaves after divorce, the timing of her puberty changes. She might get her first period a year earlier then when she’s supposed to start her cycle. Her father has an affect on her physical and social environments which is why it might change the timing in her puberty. This is because her father releases pheromones airborne chemicals signals which are signals that might cause an effect on the way she acts or her cognitive development. Not to mention, stress during a family divorce influences puberty to change. As a consequence, this seven year old might have major risk problems. Some of these problems might include anxiety, teen pregnancy, breast cancer, and etc.
In the Nature vs. Nurture dispute, this term is used to see whether the heredity or the environment impacts the individual's psychological developments such as their behavior, intelligence, personality, etc. Nature is the person's inherent qualities or the genes while nurture is the personal experiences the person has or the person's environment changes. Divorce clearly falls under the nurture category. This is because the child’s environment is affected after the divorce. The moment where the child is born, parents are the most important role models the newborns have in their lives. The way that their parents behave is very important because it could influence the child’s development in their personality. In this case the two children are likely to follow in their parents footsteps when they are older and might expect to get a divorce as well. Some parents don’t monitor their child’s actions or behavior after divorce. They allow them to live a very unrestricted life. Thus, the seven year old might have a sexual behavior. Girls tend to get very anxious and withdrawn from others. Girls who come from divorced families might become sexually active at an early age then the girls who come from intact families. They also might be sexually abused at a very young age. This results from many aspects, including lack of parental involvement and awareness in the child’s life due to the ultimatum of a single parent. Divorce can bring a lot of stress to a child. Children who come from a divorced family, is more likely to abuse freedom. Parenting is important to help the child to avoid sexual activity or pregnancy. Divorce can also affect the child's environment because they will move out of their parents home early to get married.
According to Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development, the Concrete Operational Stage is when the child starts to understand problems. They have the potential to understand dimensions and features of something. Their thoughts become more organized and logical. At this stage you can not manipulate information to the child. These children would be at the Concrete Operational Stage. This is due to the fact that they are at that period where they have significant growth and development. During this stage, they will start to recognize how the world around them works and how it forms relationship with their families and friends. Because of the restricted cognitive capabilities, the child might have changes in their environments due to the divorce. During this stage while in the divorce process, the child might experience academic problems. This is because of the changeability in their comprehension and their ability to determine the coping skills. Divorce has been found to affect a child’s academic in a negative way. They suffer abstract thinking because it will be difficult to solve problems that include X and Y variables. Solving algebraic problems acquire the child to think a lot which the child is not capable of. There have been many experiments done that prove that children who come from divorced families are behind academically and receive low test scores. Divorce is one of the many emotional situations which causes children to lose focus in school. Divorce affects the critical period of development of the child’s development and learning. Mason and Melanie might consider dropping out of school because they might not know what their learning or they might lose interest in school.
There have been multiple Psychologists that have recognized development periods that have to be healthy in order to develop through life. These periods are called the critical periods. It is a period that happens through a lifetime during a specific development. The newborns first couple months are the most important because those months are the critical periods. The focus of this issue is for the infant to become attached to the caregiver or in this case their parents. They have to form a relationship with the parents and themselves. Before the child is born, they can recognize their parents voice when they are in the mother’s womb. There are many ways that children can bond with their parents. Some examples might include comforting or protecting the child which it will assure the promise of keeping them safe. The deprivation leads to self confidence for healthy connection for later in life. That is because when a child is nurtured and bonded with the parent correctly than they will inaugurate good attachments with people later in life. It is more likely for children to have emotional harm during their life when bonding does not occur. These kids have had a good bond with their parents until their parents got a divorce. Their dynamics becomes recycled when the child is in their adulthood. They might experience a relationship with emotion or anxiety. When a child has a good critical period, it supports a child confidence and identity. If they do not have a good critical period then the child might grow up not knowing who they are. Children need the critical moments with their parents in order to have a good life that is ahead of them. Every child learns how to cooperate and form a relationship with others. After the divorce, the parents both get busy or might not speak to the child because of their depression. This can result negatively because the parent is being less reactive to the child’s needs.
In addition, children who come from a divorced family will experience social development changes. They struggle socially because they tend to be more aggressive and will have a substandard relationship with people their age. They are also less involved in extracurricular activities. Mason and Melanie are both adolescents who are growing up. There at the age where they should be hanging out with friends or joining after school activities. But, divorce can cause damage to their social developments. This is apparently suitable because the mom might have less money to pay for their activities. Also, the mom will probably not be available to drive them to their practices or attend their events. Besides, if these kids do not join activities they will have difficulty making friends at school. They need friends so they can talk to them and be there for each other when they are having a bad day. Divorce can affect that opportunity because it will make the child be lonely and feeling sad all the time. Speaking about this, in Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development, Kohlberg believed that moral development is an ongoing process that occurs throughout the lifespan. To illustrate, the two kids are at the Conventional Level. During this level, they are at stage 3 which is approval- seeking Orientation. The kids are trying to gain others approval. This affects the social development because if they don't have a social life then its harder to make friends. People will not talk to them but if they do join clubs or sports then people will know who they are. Furthermore, the loss in social support can lead to bad health. Something that death and divorce have in common is that one parent is removed from the home. The fact that losing someone are both related to personal struggles. These types of processes might lower the amount of support the child receives from the parent. The mom might experience and early death, which it may harm the kids capability to form a relationship with other kids or adults. Also, in Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development, the kids are at the Industry vs. Inferiority. The child’s social interactions has a big role at this stage. Kids are able to accomplish very complex tasks. When they succeed, they tend to have a lot of pride in their accomplishments. Children who have parents who encourage them develop the belief in their competences. But, since Masons and Melanie's parents are divorced, they don’t get a lot of support or encouragement, which makes them doubt and have less self confidence believing that they can’t succeed at things like sports.
Continuity vs. Stages describes how people change during their lifespan. There are two types of theories. The continuity theory is when a child goes through their lifespan smoothly. The other theory is discontinuity which the child goes through changes in their lifespan difficulty. These changes can be described by someones social behavior. During the continuity theory, it demonstrates how someone changes continuously. But, discontinuity is when it examines the changes the person has discretely. In this case, the mom was left to take care of her two kids. The children lost contact with their father which this strikes discontinuity between the child- father relationship. Mason had a good relationship with his dad before the divorce. After the divorce Mason would want to have that relationship with his dad but that changes since he lost contact with his father. He might feel that he cannot have that type of relationship with another person which it will be harder for him to make friends. In the article called What Are the Consequences of Divorce for Children?, Dr. Judith S. Wallerstein talks about how children are at a risk for many types of development problems. She describes life as a complicated process and that every individual is unique in their way, but there are no easy answers to how children are affected from their parents divorce. Some children who come from divorced families may not experience problems in their developments because they are strong. But, for those who struggle, some of the problems children experience might occur before the child’s parents are divorced. They might struggle because their parents might be struggling in their relationship, less attention given to the child or the parent might be going through a depression. During a marriage there are high and low conflicts. In the high conflicts, there is usually a lot of yelling and screaming. But in low conflicts the parents are unhappy but their problems aren’t public. Dr. Wallerstein also mentions how its better for parents who have a conflicts in their marriage to get a divorce rather than staying married and experiencing numerous conflicts in the family. Children are going through many developments, including physically, cognitively, and socially. Children are also at risk academically. Children from divorced families do poorly in school. Divorce might affect the child’s religious beliefs. Some children stop attending church after their parents are divorced.
Initially, in the article Both Genetics and Environment Influence Children’s Maladjustment during Divorce, the author, Thomas G. O'Connor talks about how the child's behaviors and parental divorce intervenes by genetics. This was analyzed by the Colorado Adoption Project. They studied about 398 families. There has been a lot of research proving that genetics and environment determines how the childs life is going to be after divorce. These results propose that divorce affects the child’s self-esteem, social behavior and their academics. Children at age 12 whose parents separated, experienced higher risks of behavioral and emotional problems. For example aggressive behavior, depression, and withdrawal. Also, kids started to use drugs at an early age.
Equally important, the article Life-Span Adjustment of Children to Their Parents’ Divorce, by Paul R. Amato, Ph.D, talks about how children experience many problems and symptoms of psychological development when there parents get a divorce. They lack of academic achievement and social difficulties. The child's behavior after divorce depends on the amount of contact the parent gives to their child. There have been many researchers who tried to understand how children are affected by divorce. There are two types of research designs. The first design is called cross-sectional samples. In this sample, researchers compare the child's adjustment after divorce. They show how children differ from one another. The second type of research is longitude study. During this study children are being examined by a researcher over an extended period of time. Many studies show that children of divorced family have more problems than those who come from intact families. But, some children show no difference after divorce. Some children show that they are better off with separated parents then having two parents. Some researchers examine children's behavior from divorced families and intact families by looking at their gender, ethnicity, and age. Divorce affects children when their is a loss of a parent. The child's parents are the most important resources for a child. This is because the parents can provide protection, guidance, and supervision. Divorce can also decrease the living of the parent. The parents economy will decrease which will cause a higher effect on the child’s health.
Last but not least, Patrick Fagan, Ph.D., wrote an article called The effects of Divorce on Children.
Fagan mentions that millions of children are suffering from divorce each year. Divorce affects the parents and child’s relationship. It leads to many family conflicts such as social behavior, early sexual behavior, and early puberty. If a family is very religious, than divorce decreases the amount of worship of God. It affects education, which it lowers learning abilities. It reduces the household incomes which could lead to bad health. Divorce lowers the child’s ability to solve conflicts. The parents separation will cause dating for the child very difficult. The sexual behaviors changes when children don’t have a lot of contact from the parent after divorce. Premarital sex increases, while marriage is decreased. When a child is not happy living in their household after divorce they usually leave home very early. When the father leaves, children start to do bad academically. There are less graduations for these children because they lost interest in school or it became difficult for them to learn. After divorce the crime rates increase. Mostly boys who come from divorced families get in a lot of trouble. They start taking drugs or getting in a lot of fights with people. Family is very important but a lot of marriages are getting weaker which is affecting many
children.
There are many community resources that can help those who are going through a divorce or getting affected by the process. One of the resources that is local and that can help you is called Commerce Psychiatric Services. It is located at 55 N Pond Dr Suite 6 Walled Lake, Michigan 48390. The psychiatrist is Dr. Bruce Roth and he provides emotional treatment to all ages. His specialties are depression, anxiety and self improvement. He treats issues like divorce, OCD, Trauma, parenting, and etc. He also helps individuals who have mental health problems such as Dissociative Disorders, Impulse Control Disorders, Personality Disorders, and etc. Another resource you can use is in the state. This place is called Michigan Institute for Behavioral Health, LLC. Its located 37799 Professional Center Drive Suite 103 Livonia, Michigan 48154. The psychiatrist is Dr. Barika M Butler. She treats issues like anger, anxiety, grief, parenting, and etc. She has many treatment orientations which include Cognitive Behavioral, family systems, etc.