January 1st I packed myself my 2 year old daughter and most of our belongings into a new home. I never would have guessed that in approximately two and a half years I would have been getting a divorce from the person who I had been so in love with just a few years earlier. Someone who I had built a home with, someone who I had spent the last 7 years of my life with had a child and raised a step child as my own with.
It was one of the most difficult times in my life, but I felt a sense of relief, hope, and optimism. The relationship had never been a healthy one but I was too immature to see it, I had also been brought up to believe that no matter what the problem you stay and try to figure it out. After bringing a child into the situation and growing up a bit myself, all the events leading up to my separation, I can without a doubt say divorce would not cause more problems than it would fix. Thanks to the no fault divorce process a lot of additional arguments were avoided and its not because it was an available option that I chose to become divorced. The life of myself and my daughter has greatly improved and we both have a chance at a happy healthy life. My daughter is doing well in school and she is a well behaved, happy child. With this being said should there should not be reforms made to revert back to “at fault” divorce and it is not true that divorce only negatively impacts and shapes the children involved.
Two famous and widely known psychologists Constance Ahrons, PhD and Judith Wallerstein, PhD. Judith Wallerstein created a 25-year study on the effects of divorce on the children involved. She was a senior lecturer at the school social worker for the Welfare University of California Berkeley from the years 1966 to...
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...e best possible alternatives to an ending marriage.
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Introduction A century ago, divorce was nearly non-existent due to the cultural and religious pressures placed upon married couples. Though over time Canadians have generally become more tolerant of what was once considered ‘mortal sin’, marital separation and divorce still remain very taboo topics in society. Political leaders are frowned upon when their marriages’ crumble, religions isolate and shun those who break their martial vows, and people continue to look down on those who proceed to legally separate their households. With that being said, couples do not just decide to get a divorce for no particular reason. There must be something driving them towards marital dissatisfaction and further, driving them towards divorce.
Divorce is prevalent in many parts of the developed world, it has been estimated that roughly 50% of marriages in America up until the 1980’s ended in divorce (Rutter). Divorce is arguably a personal hardship for both partners and their children, in that the stress of the divorce places both men and women at varying risks of psychological and physical health problems (Hetherington, Stanley-Hagan and Anderson 1989). However, using C. Wright mills’ definition of the “Sociological Imagination” we begin to view divorce as not just a personal problem of a particular man or woman, but as a societal concern that affects a wider category of people at a personal level. Therefore this essay will examine the societal structures which contribute to divorce
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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 California State Legislature changed the divorce laws, where spouses could leave without providing cause (Child Study Center, 2001).
Divorce is a heavy concept that has many implications for those involved. The situation becomes even more consequential when children are considered. As divorce has become more commonplace in society, millions of children are affected by the separation of the nuclear family. How far-reaching are these effects? And is there a time when divorce is beneficial to the lives of the children? This paper will examine some of the major research and several different perspectives regarding the outcomes of divorce for the children involved, and whether it can actually be in the best interest of the kids.
Zinsmeister, Karl. "Divorce's Toll on Children." American Enterprise. May/June 1996: 39-44. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 04 May. 2014.
Every year approximately 2.4 million marriages occur.Out of those,2.1 millionwill file for divorce in the United States. These marriage and divorce rates have significantly increased since the years past(Coltrane and Adams, 364).According to Schoen, in the 1950’s, 15 out of 1,000 marriages ended in divorce.In the 1970’s, the rates of divorcedoubled,increasing to 40 per 1,000 marriages. Currently, the rate of marriages resulting in divorce remains the same. Most marriages are ending within seven years ofthemarriage for multiple different reasons. Sociologists haveestablisheddivorce as a social problem from the rise in divorcerates due to the early year of marriages (2006).
Girgis, George, & Anderson (2011) define marriage as the union of a man and a woman who make a permanent and exclusive commitment to each other of the type that is naturally (inherently) fulfilled by bearing and rearing children together. These marriages are intended to last eternity and are partially accomplished by raising children together, yet four of every ten marriages lead to divorce and of these divorces, 35% involve children (Ambert, 2009). Children tend to blame themselves for the divorce and are usually caught in the crossfire. These divorces lead to both stress and depression for children and without a strong sense of family, children will have a huge disadvantage over children with a stable healthy family (Arreola, Hartounian, Kurges, Maultasch, & Retana, 2013). Without the ability to cope with the stress of a divorce, children can be effected in multiple ways including a change in mentality, unacceptable behavioural traits and both short and long term emotional factors that will ultimately lead to a critical issue in child development.
Amato, P. R. (2000). The consequences of divorce for adults and children. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62(4), 1269-1287.
Shiono, P., & Quinn, L. S. (1994). Epidemiology of Divorce . Children and divorce, 4. Retrieved April 17, 2014, from http://futureofchildren.org/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=63&articleid=408§ionid=2781
According to Diane Medved there is no such thing as a “good divorce” (A.9). The consequences that are caused by divorce are far greater than the benefits. The results of divorce are broken families, financial loss, and heartache. It is understandable to think that divorce is something is becoming far too common; that the option of a divorce should not be taken too lightly. Many believe that divorce underestimates the value of marriage and commitment. Divorce was uncommon a few years back. In a way, divorce was never really an option.