INTRODUCTION
The divorce process is adversarial by nature. Divorce represents an end, often to something once thought to be meaningful, sacred, and beautiful. It is wrapped in pain, anger, self-doubt and encourages mistrust. In most cases it brings forth reasons to despise another person, whether for betrayal, feelings of abandonment or even forced disgust as a means for self-preservation. For parents it can become a race to the courthouse, a competition for love and choice, a habitual disparagement of the other parent.
For children, the divorce process is just as uncomfortable. It might be the end of everything they’ve ever known to be comforting, or true. It raises questions, creates anger, sadness and shame. When parental conflict is added to the upheaval of everyday life for a child, it can have many adverse effects: depression, lowered self-worth, social withdrawal, lack of concentration in school, and it can change how a child handles their own relationships as an adult.
It stands to reason that avoiding parental conflict during a divorce procedure would be in the best interest of a child; however the Court process itself could be considered an antagonist to cooperation. Perhaps the social mindset of divorce bears weight on the adversarial divorce process; perhaps that mindset needs to change.
The concept of collaborative divorce is slowly making its way into American Court rooms. It provides an affordable alternative to litigation, and demands full cooperation of all parties. It reduces the risk of conflict, and in the event of disagreement there are trained professionals ready to intervene. A neutral law firm would function as the core for a movement for collaboration – a movemen...
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...and their effects on each other, during marital conflict.
It is relevant because of its topic, but also in that it is a recent (2010) study.
Silver, R.B., Silver, D.C. (2009). The Sieve Model: An Innovative Process for Identifying
Alternatives to Custody Evaluations. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 23(3), 333-348. doi: 10.1002/crq
This article presents “The Sieve Model”, which was created due to the issues arising from adversary divorce and litigation. The model is clearly outlined and discussed as a program that encourages problem solving instead of conflict creation.
This source further substantiates the sensibilities behind a collaborative law process, building upon court mediation and taking it a step further. It provides a “real-world” example which can be evaluated and used to support a conceptualized structure for a neutral legal firm to function within.
Not every divorce is a contentious battle in court. Some couples understand that they're better apart than together and take steps to resolve all their disputes in a calm manner. These divorcing couples have a chance to use alternative methods to traditional courtroom proceedings. While mediation and arbitration have been around for a long time, there's a new process called collaborative law that might be a good option.
Divorce is and has become a major issue in our society, the reason for that has been attributed to the drastic increase in divorce rates over the years. Divorce often disrupts the flow of the family structure, increases discord, and affects how family issues are handled. Families dealing with divorce are often times in a state of complete confusion and disorder, and filled with frustration, anger, and pain. Power struggles between spouses, which often times spread to the children if there any increase as the addiction worsens. There is a growing concernment among those in different fields like Social Work, Academia, and Mental Health in the United States, other countries, who have taken an interest in how divorce is readjusting
These courts are often complex, involve new partnerships, new roles, and of course new players both in and outside the courthouse. It is important to understand that each problem-solving court will be shaped by local circumstances. As such, problem-solving justice remains as much an uncharted territory today as when it was first introduced.
Zimiles, H. (2004). Schismatic studies of divorce: Essay reviews of for better or for worse: Divorce reconsidered by e.m. hetherington and j. kelly and of the unexpected legacy of divorce by j.s. wallerstein, j.m. lewis and s. blakesfee. Human development, 47(4), 239-250.
Marano, Hara Estroff. "Children of Divorce: 25 Years Later." USA Weekend. Sept. 15-17 2000: 16-17. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 04 May. 2014.
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 process that many people in America go through. The divorce rate continues to escalate over the years. Divorce is a serious problem, it is a gradual process that ultimately results in families breaking up. There are various factors in which a marriage can fail and end up in divorce. Some skip the step of trying to reconcile things and make it work. In some cases it is easy for a divorce to take place. For instance, in cases where both parties are in agreement and have no children it is easier to handle a divorce. But in the cases where children are present, what happens to the kids? Both parents are at each others throats or one is devastated from the rejection, what role does the child play? It is a hard thing to cope with as an adult imagine as a little one or even a teenager, it affects them in more ways than anyone can imagine. It can affect them both physically and emotionally. The effects of divorce are immense, it permanently weakens the bond or relationship between a child and his parents. Can lead to them reaching out or looking to others for attention, causing poor attitudes, low self esteem, dropping grades, loss of virginity, use of drugs and or weapons, or in some cases mutilation of the body. There are various effects that children have to deal with that maybe extremely hard to cope with. One parent may say one thing yet the other disagrees and makes it impossible for the child to have a stable relationship with both of them. Children need both biological parents at their side to be guardians and counselors in their lives, to be examples of what they need to do to become outstanding citizens in our community.
Shepard, A. (2002). Court-affiliated educational programs for kids of divorce, separation. New York Law Journal, 3.
Children can suffer from, fear, grief, anger, depression, shame, sadness, anxiety, embarrassment, self-blame, abandonment, and many other things. (Borden, 2015). There is no guarantee that if a child goes through a divorce that they will experience any or all of these things and there is no guarantee that they would not experience these things if a divorce did not happen as well. A divorce definitely would not help the child in this area and it would be in the best interest of the parents for a divorce to not happen if children were
In a divorce, the parents usually do not get along and may have different opinions on items. They may go to court and fight against each other about what factors caused the separation leading to the divorce and how the properties are divided. This possible exposure is very unhealthy for a child. The child sees his parents fighting and may learn from the behavior and display it. He or she may see that behavior as being an acceptable action. The fighting behavior of parents causes behavioral problems within a child. The child may hear things from one parent about the other that causes the child to take sides when he or she should be learning not to be biased and to love both parents equally.
Divorce is a growing epidemic in Canada and the United States. It affects both parties involved, being the spouses, and also has a profound affect on children of the marriage. Recently our government has been revising the old divorce act. It was apparent that it was time to revise the act because it did not properly protect the children from being caught in the middle of things.
When you hear the word divorce, what do you think of? Separation. Legal documents. Lawyers. A consistent battle between two people who thought they were each other’s soul mates. In the past divorce was never an option. If there was a disagreement between two spouses, they took time to fix the problem instead of saying “You’ve changed. You’re not the person I married” as their “get out of jail free card”. For some people who come from an abusive relationship, divorce is acceptable. According to United States Divorce Statistics forty-one percent of first marriages end in divorce, sixty percent of second marriages end in divorce and seventy three percent of third marriages end in divorce. These numbers are not only shocking, but they are disturbing. Divorce is a very controversial topic in today’s society. One of the most talked topics about divorce is children who come from a broken home will never succeed in anything they do. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in some cases there is an exception to the rule.
In today's society, there are many different types of families. Some include parents, single families, stepfamilies and a variety of others. Along with these different varieties of families there is one common incident that can cause the family structure to change. Divorce is an unplanned event in a family's life. It is something that affects each member of a family at different times and in different ways. About half of all marriages will end in divorce, leaving one million children each year to deal with the process of divorce (Martin et aI, 2003). More than one million children are affected by divorce each year.
...gh this process. Without question, divorce is an area of the life experiences of individuals and families that continue to need further attention and efforts from the field of psychology in developing strategies for reducing harmful effects.
Children react differently yet similarly in divorce. Every child caught up in the distress of divorce has a hard time coping with it and imagining their life without a parent. Their anxiety levels peak as they feel they are going to be abandoned. They experience feelings of loneliness due to the loss of the other parent. Different children go through these emotions at different levels and at different times depending on the child’s age. How bad or how well children handle the divorce depends on how the situation is handled. It can throw the child's entire life into a whirlwind.