Childhood Sexual Orientation

Parental divorce can result in devastating effects on children. These children suffer tremendous long-term consequences as a result of an event that is not their doing. This paper reviews literature and opinions concerning the long-term effects of divorce on adolescents. The paper outlines four major areas of interest: aggression as a result of parental conflict and the different types associated with boys and girls, depression in the lives of boys and girls in its various forms, the choice boys and girls make to marry or not later in life and the possibility of adolescents expressing parental alienation. The results of this

As we stated earlier, age is not a safeguard to the effects of divorce (Oppawsky 2). While adults may be more able to understand their feelings and seek the support they need, they are still subjected to the emotional and mental consequences of their parents’ divorce. In Wallerstein and Lewis’ study on the “Legacy of Divorce” many of the adult children recalled their own feelings of shock and unhappiness at the time of the separation and it’s aftermath. Almost all remembered feelings of loneliness, bewilderment, and anger at their parents. Many cried as they recounted their history and their childhood fears that would be forgotten by their preoccupied parents. Some even claimed that their childhood ended when their parents separated. When these children reached young adulthood and when love, sexual intimacy, commitment, and marriage took center stage, many of them were haunted by the ghosts of their parents’ divorce and were frightened that the same fate awaited them. They feared their own commitment (Wallerstein and Lewis 359-360). In fact, children of divorced homes are more likely to experience marital instability and a slight elevation in their own divorce rates. Many of the parental divorced children also found that their parent’s actions were actually causing problems amongst their own children. They often felt lost

and their world. He or she may be uprooted to a new school, city or

In Great Britain the children were age seven, while in the United States the children were age’s seven to eleven. The children were followed up until ages eleven through sixteen and during that time period, they were being evaluated by not only parents, but teachers as well. The study compared children whose parents separated or divorced during that time with children whose families stayed intact. They found that children with parents who separated at some point in time had increased behavioral problems than children whose parents stayed

The scholarly article “The Long-Term Effects of Divorce on Children: A Review,” by Judith S. Wallerstein, explores various studies conducted by psychologists over a twenty year span, about the long term social and psychosocial difficulties experienced by children of divorce. The majority of the research for this particular topic discusses how the problems for these children began long before the actual separation of the parents, a theory that had not been previously researched in full until these studies. After reading the article, it is evident, that often the divorce itself is the last resort of the quarrelling parents. By waiting several years before finally breaking off the failed marriage the parents are unintentionally

This paper looks at the effects of divorce on children based on the application of various psychological developmental theories. More specifically, children within the age groups of 4 to 6 and 7 to 11 will be taken into account. The theories explored and applied will include Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, Erikson’s psychosocial tasks, Bowlby’s attachment theory, Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory, Bandura’s social learning theory and Vygotsky’s, and later Bronfenbrenner’s, ecological or developmental systems approach.

The topic of sexual orientation is both sensitive and controversial. This is evident in events, such as the Pride Parade, and also in media, where authoritative figures preach against it and speak of its “sinful nature” (Emmanuele, Blanchard, Camperio-Ciani, & Bancroft, 2010). Sexual orientation exists in various forms, it differs in the way it is viewed by different cultures, and researchers propose different perspectives to explain the emergence of an individual 's sexual orientation. In the discourse of sexual orientation,

Four areas of primary influence are: academic achievement, prosocial, internalizing problems and externalizing problems. Out of these four areas, academic achievement is most sensitive to family stress. Children from intact families often demonstrate higher mental aptitude than children from broken families. Compare to boys from intact families and girls from broken families, boys from broken families exhibit significantly poorer academic functioning. Boys from families which would subsequently divorce exhibit multiple behavioral problems prior to the divorce, which will naturally lead to poorer school functioning. One possible explanation for this is that boys may be more sensitive than girls to the events in home during the predivorce period. Interparental conflict might disrupt the parents’ attention to and monitoring of schoolwork. Poorly monitored boys, but not girls, have lower GPAs than adequately monitored boys and girls. Boys also perceive angry situations more negatively than do girls. In contrast to boys whose parents would divorce, girls showed a decline in GPA over the entire divorce period. One explanation for this is that puberty changes might have bigger effects on girls than on boys. The decline shown in girls across years may primarily have been a function of cumulative stressors. Furthermore, since the father is usually the one who leave the house, the absence of the male role-model makes it ever more difficult for boys to adjust to divorce. By late adolescence, (ages 15-18) teenagers are awakening to romantic relationships. The loss of parental love and the broken parental vows may cause children to find it difficult to make commitment to long lasting love, especially for boys. There are some evidences that children tend to show more problems if they are in the custody of a parent of the opposite sex than a parent of the same

The statistics for divorce in the 1990's suggest that nearly sixty percent of marriages end in divorce. Given this startling figure, the assumption can be made that many children will experience some effects caused by the life-changing event called divorce. What is it exactly about divorce that causes negative consequences for these children? In what ways will these children be effected? Will these effects show outwardly? I will attempt to uncover some of the complexities surrounding these psychological questions in the following text. The unsettling fact is: young children of divorced parents face great psychological challenges due to the environmental conditions and changes associated with divorce (Wolchik and Karoly 45).

In the contrary, another longitudinal study took place across two decades with a cohort of preschoolers (4 years old) whose parents had been separated between 12-18 months. They were assessed again two years later (age 6) and then follow-ups occurred at 10, 16 and 24 years of age. The sample was expanded at each assessment and ended up including divorced, non-divorced and remarried individuals among 450 families. The most significant finding of the study was that 75% of the children were able to positively adjust between 2 – 6 years post divorce, while 25% still struggled with psychosocial problems for decades (Zimiles, 2004).

This paper discusses the correlation of children with divorced parents and their ability or inability to have intimate relationships in their futures. In most cases, it depends on the age of the child at the time of the divorce. Studies showed that marital problems, including but not limited to divorce, was associated with negative social, emotional, and physical affects in the children’s lives. Most articles included have different types of specific details, but all generally have the same outcome, being that children with divorced parents love differently than those that have parents happily married. Similar studies surveyed college students and discovered that children with fathers, who divorced and remarried, did not have a close relationship, which made these children more likely to avoid relationships. This literature review discusses the impact that divorce has on children who have or do not have relationships because of what happened to their parents’ relationships.

Homosexuality is defined or characterized as attraction towards the same gender either male or female. It came from the Greek language, where “homo” means the same or similar, hence referring to the attraction between two beings of the same sex. Homosexuality is also referred as a clinical term. Most male homosexuals generally prefer to be called "gay men" and most homosexual women generally prefer to be called "lesbians." Homosexuality is one of the three main categories of sexual orientation, alongside bisexual and heterosexual. The longstanding consensus of the behavioral and social sciences and the health and mental health professions is that homosexuality is an example of normal and positive variation in human sexual

     Adolescents also develop mixed emotions and have mood swings, which makes the relationship with their family members difficult to maintain. Males have a difficult time dealing with fact that they are lacking a father figure. They sometimes feel as if they were betrayed and no longer loved by him. This rejection from their father adds to the difficult time for adolescents. The are continuously wishing for a reunion of their parents. In some cases, harsh feelings and negativity are displayed towards the mother because of the father missing. Females, on the other hand, lean toward their friends as support figures. They try not to allow the divorce to bring them down. "They were happier and also more likely to view the divorce as an improvement to their family situation prior to the separation," (Dufour, p.10).

The world has come very far with all the dramatic changes we have faced over the years. Wouldn’t you agree? As much change as the world has been through there are still numerous social problems that still exist in society today. Amongst those numerous social problems, sexual orientation and inequality stand out to me. Research from biology, psychology, and sociology is where our understanding of sexual orientation comes from. There are two hypothetical theories researchers have discovered examining the biological basis toward sexual orientation. One concept is the neurohormonal theory, biologist contend that homosexuality is caused by abnormal sex hormone levels in utero. The alternative theory is based on behavioral genetics, determining the source and magnitude of genetic impact on sexual orientation. This theory suggested the concept that gay men were genetically female. Later this theory was proven to be false. Homosexuality was considered as a pathology or mental illness. Not every psychologists agreed with that perspective. A researcher by the name of Havelock Ellis stated that homosexuality was congenital and for that reason it could not be considered as a disease. Sigmund Freud another theorist had the concept that everyone is born bisexual and that either homosexuality or heterosexuality is developed through social and personal experience. Ellis and Freud both concurred that homosexuality was not a mental illness. Despite these researchers’ opinions in 1973,

These include academic deterioration, antisocial and delinquent behaviors, anxiety, low self-esteem, and depression. Early promiscuity, relationship difficulties, and illicit drug use are also noted. Other studies correlate resiliency in adulthood as one product of living in a conflictual family system”(Rich et al., 2007 p.164). The effects of divorce vary depending on the situation and the child. “Hess and Camara found that many children of divorce suffer severe emotional consequences such as depression, anger, anxiety, and withdrawal, any of which, if prolonged, can have a negative impact on the child’s overall emotional development. It is also reported adjustment problems in the area of cognitive, emotional, and social development among children of divorce as well. In addition, parental separation has been found to be particularly stressful for adolescents”(Bornstein and Walters, 1988 p.248).